Been refreshing my medical kits over the last few weeks. I have an interest in staying alive and having some medical kit is a good way of doing that once the basics are sorted.
I’m a great believer in having a good kit with several items as well as some instructional books. I also believe in having some advanced stuff that I don’t know how to use but can be used by a professional such as a Doctor, Nurse, EMT or anyone with beyond first aid skills. I have several medical books which are well beyond first aid books but would be OK for Doctors. Although nobody I have in my group at this time has anything beyond basic first aid skills you never know what will turn up.
I have four areas that I cover;
- Car Kit
- House Kit
- EDC Kit
- Survival Kit
Large first aid kit enhanced with extra burn items, clotting powder and emergency blankets. Basically it is until the emergency services get there so don’t need to have duplicates of items that I can replace.
As Car Kit but with larger quantities and includes more comprehensive manuals as well as additional item such as olive oil, thermometers, woollen blankets, dental kits, stethoscopes and blow up splints and the like. What I will need for the emergency services to get here plus everyday issues that doesn’t require going to A&E for.
A smaller kit that fits in my pocket. Contains basic stuff for general use. Bandages, eye patches, tourniquet, clotting powder, burn items and antiseptics as well as plasters, tweezers etc.
As house kit but a lot more of everything and as this may never be replaced there is a lot of everything that I have picked up over the years and contains lots of everything that is not perishable as well as some that are but will last a long time. It has dental equipment, bone saws, surgical equipment, transfusion kits, etc and also includes tools I can’t even spell. This is a superset for covering every eventuality I can think of. There are items in there I don’t really know how to use and I have books in there that I don’t understand. Hopefully we will either learn or find someone who does. It will run out eventually if it isn’t restocked but should last a long time if used carefully.
All my smaller kits are in Green bags clearly marked as First Aid so they will not be missed when you are in a rush. Each kit has a first aid book in there, larger kits have larger books and more of them. The Survival kit is in several boxes with several quite detailed books as well and although each box is documented it won’t be the best place to go in an emergency. The Survival kit is meant to be pulled together after an event where you can still use the House or Car ones until you have extracted what you need from storage.
My hope is that my basic first aid knowledge and experience will be enhanced when I start having to perform first aid and that I come across someone with medical experience, a doctor, EMT, Nurse or even a vet as I know that me and mine can’t gain the experience we need outside real experience and the law seems to be set against me experimenting practising on the homeless and down and outs.
If you use a chainsaw in your woodland,you may like to carry with it a dedicated first aid kit with large dressings and a tourniquet.
Highland al
I have a house kit in the woods with the tools. Only problem I see though is when I end up on the floor with my leg over to one side I may have a problem applying the sticking plaster.
Plenty of hydrocortisone cream, unseasoned meat tenderizer and baking soda for those bees.
First Aid kits and medical supplies are undoubtedly important, but prevention and protection against injury and illness is always better than trying cure or mend yourself!
If you are involved in hazardous activities, make sure you have the ‘right’ kit to start with, ie: chainsaw trousers/gloves/visor etc and/or other protective clothing and equipment suitable for what your are doing, or for the environment in which you may expect to find yourself….
Second what Devonian said, I use chainsaws on a regular basis, if you take them seriously enough, wear the right kit, maintain them well, take regular breaks to avoid getting sloppy and do a little basic training to get your technique right( this last will save you a lot of backache) then chainsaws can be your friend. A good rule of thumb is also to have a safety man working 2 tree lengths from you. You should both know first aid and if either of you are climbing then both should have a certificate for rope rescue. If you don’t have anyone to act as a safety man at least carry a mobile phone or radio and make sure beforehand that the person that you’re planning to call in an emergency knows where you are and what to do.
You will achieve much much more working as part of a small team then you ever could working as bloody minded individuals.
Interesting point about bee stings, you can reduce the amount of venom that the bee sting injects by scraping the detached sting off your skin with the sharp edge of a knife as quickly as possible.
The worker bee’s Sting is barbed so that when the bee stings, the sting rips away from the bee’s abdomen and stays stuck in your skin while the venom sacks continue pumping for up to a minute. Trying to pinch it to pull it out would just inject more venom but immediately scraping it out (almost like the same action as shaving with an old style razor) will remove the whole thing before all the venom is injected. The faster you can do it the better. Bee venom is slightly acidic so wash with a mild baking soda solution. Wasp stings are best treated by washing with a mild vinegar solution. Wasp stings do not detach so they tend to sting repeatedly.
Very hot water (as hot as you can stand) can help reduce the long term damage of some venomous bites, stings or puncture wounds by degrading venom.
Whatever bites or stings you, don’t scratch. Scratching will only increase the histamine reaction.
The same thing goes if you get something in your eye, rubbing it will only make it worse but rubbing the OTHER eye will stimulate the tear ducts in both eyes and help start the body’s own mechanism for cleaning your eyes.
Great info/responses to this article!! As a former EMT, I have supplies all over the place(irritates the wife big time!!)but would rather have and not need , than…you know the rest! Found my car kit to be missing a few items the other day, never a good thing!(taken care of ASAP)Having a “better half” that has large wounds to take care of keeps me ordering enough medical supplies to last a month.. Discount Medical.Com is a great website to buy in bulk at fantastic prices! My other kits are all fully stocked…double checked them after the car kit issue…Keep posting great info!!!
THANKS!!!
Steve
For those with health issues, preparing for any type of disaster or crisis can be quite a challenge. I receive a lot of email from worried people, asking how they can prepare for disasters while at the same time dealing with a wide range of medical issues and health problems.
For many years I have been using herbal medicines to sort out health issues and they work fine…my husband ,who has a a long term health issue takes prescription drugs. I have spent some time finding herbal replacements and learning how to grow and make them…anti -coagulants etc…and working out dosages so I can keep him well if standard pharma drugs are not available…they often taste crap but hey it beats dying !
After a world changing event, I hope these skills will be useful and possibly worth trading items or services I may need for myself or my family.
I have heard that the world is running out of usable antibiotics….my stock of echinacea is growing as I write(pardon the pun) although my hubby thinks it is a terrible waste of good vodka.
worth checking out how to make colloidal silver…not hard…not expensive…keeps well…could save your life.
NFN
A good stock of anti biotics wouldn’t go amiss, I’ve recently returned from Sussex after a trip where I was helping to cull muntjac while I was there I received a tick bite.
You have a 72hr window (at best) to start treatment in order to prevent Lyme Disease. 60% of the time there are no symptoms until it’s too late. Lyme disease is an incurable long term debilitating illness.