I was wondering how many of us have a current (less than 2 years old) stocked first aid kit in their coach or tow vehicle? I was in a situation where I needed mine over the weekend, and some of the date-coded items were out of date.
How often do you check yours for old stuff, and fill it?
Terry
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Terry You repair things with tools. You fix things with a hammer.
AIR#2611
As we get ready to fulltime we've been going through a lot of stuff ... we opened our First Aid Kit the other day ... some of the items are out of date.
Stocked, but I'm sure some things are approaching expiration!
Glad you brought up this thread! It's a strong reminder.
I also carry suture kits - travelling with the pups you never know when you will be absolutely required to use them.
Some other suggestions (that I have needed at one time or another) are Syrup of Ipecac and a good charcoal absorbant for ingested poisons, novapain, neosporin, or similar topicals, and both ointment and pill forms of Benadryl.
Elemental Sulfur is good for insect (tick and chigger) prevention (dust clothing and footware).
Good example of needing a first class kit for us was last summer when Mary broke her leg en route to the Forum Heron Lake New Mexico Ralley. We were 1 1/2 hours from the closest hospital - an air splint sure would have come in handy.
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Dennis
"Suck it up, spend the bucks, do it right the first time."
Bad....plastic box with obvious cross on it, but not much more than a roll of gauze, 2 or 3 band aids ( the less popular sizes) and the funny little scissors in it. Used up everything else mountain biking and working on the Airstream.
Will go buy new First Aid Kit tomorrow, before going to Baja this week.
Good idea for a thread, by the way!
Fully stocked and absolutely up to date.
As a practicing EMT it shouldn't be any different.
Just my 0.02: please do not carry equipment &/or drugs you are not trained and comfortable in using. We see many patients harmed from well intentioned people.
Originally posted by KIMILI Fully stocked and absolutely up to date.
As a practicing EMT it shouldn't be any different.
Just my 0.02: please do not carry equipment &/or drugs you are not trained and comfortable in using. We see many patients harmed from well intentioned people.
Most people would do well with a "basic" kit:
acetiminophen (Tylenol)
burn ointment
topical antibiotic
scissors
bandages
tweezers
cotton swabs
latex gloves
soap (hand sanitizer)
splint
These things can be useful to almost anyone, with almost any experience, with little chance of causing further harm. More specialised items can of course be added according to a person's experience, geographic area, and environment.
A snake bite kit may be of more use to some, and an insect bite kit may be more useful to others, for example.
Oh, one other thing: those instructions are printed on those packages for a reason...
Terry
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Terry You repair things with tools. You fix things with a hammer.
AIR#2611
Both trucks have them and fully stocked. Uhhh Need to check the dates in one though.
First Responder with CPR training as well.
My first CPR cert was a LONG time ago. I could not believe how much they changed it when I did my First responders class. They through a lot of the counting for timing out the window.
I also have a little Life Guard training.
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1959 22' Caravanner
1988 R20 454 Suburban.
Atlanta, GA
Just bought new bandaids and Neosporin antibiotic cream last week. Gauze pads are still sealed and in good shape. A few sinus meds need to be updated and just refilled the tube containing extra strength aspirin that I keep in the truck ashtray (nonsmoker). Betadine scrub solution was used last week and is still in sufficient quantity in the bottle. Forceps, tweezers and scissors are still clean.
As a CPR/First Aid/AED certified Instructor, I keep one first aid kit with CPR mask in the truck and 2 small first aid kits in the Excella. Oh yea, checked to see that I still have soft earplugs for when one of the hunting buds sleeps on the front couch rather than driving back to Nashville. He can saw some Zzzzzzz!
__________________ Craig
AIR #0078
'01 2500hd ext. cab, 8.1 litre gas, 5 sp. Allison auto
3.73 rear end
Mag-Hytec rear diff cover
Amsoil Dual by-pass oil filtration system
Amsoil synthetics all around
265 watt AM Solar, Inc. system
"Most people would do well with a "basic" kit:
acetiminophen (Tylenol)
burn ointment
topical antibiotic
scissors
bandages
tweezers
cotton swabs
latex gloves
soap (hand sanitizer)
splint
Terry"
I'm sorry Terry but experience tells me to disagree with the above.
You'll be surprised of how much damage an inproper application of a splint can cause or how different allergic reactions can quickly get out of hand because some lay rescuer used 'latex' gloves or an antibiotic cream etc.
I agree, it is mostly common sense, but sometimes during an emergency untrained people panic and even though they had all the best intentions...bad things happen.
If you're unsure of what you're doing please just:
- dial 911 asap!
- sit by the patient and monitor their breathing and pulse
- try to reassure them, hearing is always last to go, speak calmly.
- gather as much information possible from conscious patient (contact info, allergies, last oral intake, events leading to emergency etc.)
Don't forget to relate all the information you gathered to the rescuers.
My suggestion is again, do not put anything in your CPR kit you do not know 100% how to use.
I was also a lifeguard for 9 years and saw some pretty interesting situations...
See the issue for us is that at times when boondocking we can be up to 25-30 miles from the nearest hospital...some of the roads aren't that great either taking 2x the amount of time. Plus, there is zero cell coverage-- hey when we boondock, we really boondock!
there is zero cell coverage-- hey when we boondock, we really boondock!
Great that's the way to go!!
Many different organizations offer free CPR/First Aid courses. Useful to all boondockers and not. This is agreat course for everyone and is relatively short.
You never know when those few hours will come in handy to save a life, your own or somebody else's.
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