First Aid Stocking Advice

[Dlit]

Got a nice bag to fill with first aid supplies, any thoughts for someone with some first aid experience as to what you would put in it.

Thinking:
assorted bandaids
gauze
bleed stop
tourniquet
trauma scissors
tri ointment
burn cream
emergency blanket (silver ones)

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[Heimkehr]

Pain pills -- OTC or prescription at your discretion
EMT shears (is that what you meant by trauma scissors?)
Waterproof, hand-tear paper tape
Self-adhesive elastic wrap
Nitrile exam gloves
Hand sanitizer
Dramamine (a field-expedient anti-emetic)
Moleskin
Instant ice pack
Folding splint
Tweezers
Sterile saline for wound washing
Eye drops
Safety pins
Glucose tablets or a sachet of electrolyte
Wound closure strips
Small First Aid field guide
Iodine (be aware if the patient is allergic)

 

[Jeepeto]

It’s the day to day stuff for me.

BC powder
Antacid
Imodium
Tampons
Midol
Ace bandage
Electrical tape
Leuko tape

 

[AirportDave]

Second on the folding splint- in fact have a couple along with rolls of Ace bandages. Last September, we were three hours out on Poison Spider (same trip as my avatar pic) taking a break, when my girlfriend slipped on some loose rock, fell weirdly and broke her tibia and fibia. Thankfully one of our club members had a couple, and we got her leg stabilized enough to get her back down on our own. Which still completely sucked for her no matter how smooth the line I tried to pick.

If anyone ever has any doubt which is the tougher sex, it's not us dudes. And the Moab Hospital is amazing in every regard.

 

[cOtter]

Something that I have learned over time….. if bandaids…. Not talking about the specific “brand name” are in a first aid bag in your Jeep for months, it’s very likely that they will be useless when it comes time to use them.

I have had it happen on more than one occasion.

The general running around is not a big deal. I have made it a practice to refresh my bandages before a significant outing. Road trip, day out on the trails, vacation, etc.

I just limit the amount of bandages I keep in the kit.

My thinking…. If somebody had to be turned into a mummy with bandages, ya likely have bigger problems!!!!

 

[ForgottenTaco]

Duct tape to close up most wounds and a bottle or two of whiskey to clean the wounds and also used as a pain killer.

 

[Rodinator1234]

All of the things listed are all great, but I always keep water. Keep a couple bottles of not cold or cool water. In the event you need to wash out a wound, or wash out someones eyes. I take a knife and poke a hole in the cap and make a squirt bottle out if it to wash out a wound.

 

[Dgr401]

I would add superglue for closing wounds quickly.

 

[Sgt Pickles]

CPR mask for adult and infant.

 

[GtX]

Add

Vent chest seal
Quick clot gauze
Israeli bandage
Water gel burn dressing

Diphenhydramine
Loperamide

 

[wibornz]

First Aid kits are cool, but we as Jeepers tend to get way off the road away from easily accessible emergency medical help. When we ran the Rubicon Trail, there was a guy selling emergency helicopter rescue insurance at the entrance to the Rubicon Trail at Loon Lake. It was crazy expensive and I asked him why anyone would buy it. He stated that the most common serious injury on the trail was a rattlesnake bite. The Rubicon trail can easily take two days to run. If you are 8 hours into running the trail and get bit by a rattlesnake, they are coming to get you with a helicopter. The helicopter ride can easily cost more than your Jeep. I did not buy the insurance.

It did cause me to re-evaluate my type of Jeep travel. We often go way off the beating path and we do dangerous/risky things. So I started researching companies that provide insurance and assistance in emergency type situations. I settled on MASA Medical Transport Solutions. It cost me $460 a year and they will pay for anything related to Medical transport from anywhere in the world. What ever it takes to get us help. This covers my wife and I. They appear to be easy to deal with. What ever your insurance does not pay for, send them the bill and they pay it. They have over a 99% pay out. The policy is pretty simple to read and understand. It is about one page long. No 60 pages of fine print. They are easy to deal with and you can call them and get a person to talk to easily. They pay for things like returning your vehicle home, flying family members to you to help take care of you and many other things.

This is the back of my card.

https://www.masamts.com

The web site is easy to navigate and I hope I never need it. We also use a Garmin mini Inreach so we can call for help. when we are out of service. After all, we climb mountains, repel, whitewater raft, hike, and Jeep way off the road. A simple slip and fall when you are 5 hours from the closest hard surface road, can easily cost you more than $50,000 to rescue you. This year, I took a tumble coming down from a mountain carrying our small dog that had gotten attacked by a cactus. I was luck, I just got scraped up and jammed up my shoulder, but it could have been way worse. There was no way a they would get to me if I needed them without a helicopter or some type of very capable off road ambulance.

I carry tools also and had to use pliers to put the spines from jumping cholla cactus. I now always carry multi-tool with pliers when hiking as I was not able to pull these out of the dog by hand.

The "jumping cholla", Opuntia fulgida, is a very spiny cactus, usually a shrub, but sometimes more like a tree, with a number of irregular, jointed branches bearing sharp-barbed spines that are painful and difficult to remove.

We have been as far as 70+ miles from the closest hard surface road. Note that is not the closest town or medical facility, that is just the closet hard surface road........ I would not want to wait for many hours or days to get help or have to pay huge money to receive help.

 

[BeachNJeep]

I'd say careful what you put in your kit as you should be knowledgeable on how to use what you stock. I don't recommend tourniquets unless you really know how and when to use it as inexperience can often lead to limb damage or amputation when a tourniquet was not needed. OTC's are fine, but again, know who is receiving the med and why. I had a patient who was allergic to NSAIDs and couldn't even take Motrin.

Bottom line, stock what you know and use what you know. Take a first aid class and leave serious or major injuries to first responders when possible.

 

[KevinC11]

Motrin and water.

KevinC

 

[Old Jeeper]

Mil Spec Paracord

 

[Poordad]

Satellite radio so that you can summon help while out in BFE. Benadryl for allergic reactions and at least one tactical tourniquet (don't use it until you have been taught when and how to use it properly). Of course plenty of 4x4 gauze and rolled gauze for covering wounds.

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