A good first aid kit

[Broony]

I need help with this, and it is something that i have been wanting to get for too long now, a good first aid kit. My problem..and as dumb as this sounds to me, im not sure what i really need in it...their are some iteams i know i want...but not everything....

The reason i have not bought one. If i go to any major corporate store (target, fred meyer ect ect) the ones they sell are filled with bandaids, some tape, and a few cloths...and to me they look pretty useless... They look so generic its just a waste of money...

I want a kit with everything...syringes and morphine, razor blades, good bandages, strong wraps. Military medic stuff... If the kit was the size of a small pack that would be fine. Only reason i can ever see using this patricular medical first aid kit that i will be buying, is if i have to leave the house with my stuff and i might not be coming back for awhile.

I have no military background, and i wont ever have military background.

What i need to do is take a few first-aid class, but that cant happen tell winter is over.

For the time being can anyone help steer me in a direction?

[nate45]

Morphine is a Schedule II drug, not only is it illegal for lay people to posses, someone who hasn't even taken a first aid class has no business administering it. Paramedics are the lowest level medical personnel authorized to give morphine and thats with the advice and consent of a licensed physician. Not sure why you need razor blades in a medical kit either.

The kits with bandages, anti-septic, etc are all untrained people are capable of using. You can study first aid on the net in the meantime before you take your first responder course, or whatever you are planning.

You could have some Quik Clot, maybe one or two six inch compression bandages, some 4x4s, scissors, latex gloves, etc, etc. Although if you have no clue what you're doing with them, they aren't much good. Especially alone.

[alex0535]

you would be better off just putting your ideal first aid kit together.

All of the basic stuff in those standard first aid kits are good to have for minor cuts and injuries. If you are stranded in the wilderness, a little cut can turn into a big problem if it gets infected. The infection might of been avoidable if some neosporin, peroxide, or isopropyl alcohol had been available.

Syringes and morphine - good luck convincing a doctor to just let you have some intravenous morphine and syringes. They would look at you like you are a drug addict and tell you to leave as soon as you bring it up. Of the things that you might be able to convince a doctor to give you a prescrition to have would be silvadene cream, which is used to treat 2nd and 3rd degree burns. You could see if they are willing to prescribe you some sort of topical steroid cream, good for things like bee stings and such. An epi pen is good to have, can save the life of someone that is severely allergic to whatever or at least give you a bit more time to find help.

Over the counter things to have: aspirin, benadryl, a small bottle of grain alcohol/everclear, hydrogen peroxide, neosporin or other anti-biotic ointment.

Emergency GPS beacon will facilitate you being found in an emergency far from home. A snake bite kit could be useful.

Basic first aid supplies, get some gauze and wound dressings that are designed to not stick to the wound. Tape. scissors. Ace bandage. bandaids have their place. Maybe even keep a couple tampons handy, as silly as it might seem, if you or someone around you suffers a deep puncture wound or bullet wound, a tampon is a sterile dressing that will greatly slow the loss of blood. A pack of latex or nitrile gloves.

Surgical instruments you might find a use for would be hemostats, surgical sutures, scissors, scalpel, a small stainless tray you can use to sterilize and keep your instruments off the ground or other non clean surface. You may think of other stuff.

Basically all the stuff I listed will be good first aid for everything from cuts and scrapes, head and body aches, sprained ankles, bee stings, snakes bites, allergic reactions, gunshot wounds and other traumatic injuries requiring sutures.

I can't think of much else you might need. Buy a good book on first aid, and keep it with the rest of the stuff in case someone not trained in first aid needs to preform first aid, read it front to back. Would probably be a smart decision to keep a lighter in the bag, as well as a flashlight or head lamp and some extra batteries for it as well.

[Broony]

Thanks for the replys from both of you.

If other people have suggestions at all, please add them!

I am going to have to create my own, this seems to be the best idea.

Like everything in this world, you either do it yourself, or someone does it for you and it has no heart and soul into it!

I will find some Morphine when the time is right,

[Straightshooter629]

You might want to take a look at "Cheaper that Dirt". They have a number of different kits that have items more geared toward the military rather than civivlian needs, and at far better prices than you could assmble them at peice by peice.

[PawPaw]

The Good First Aid Kit is the one you have with you. If it is inconvenient to carry, you won't have it with you. Better to have a couple of bandaids, some alcohol swabs, and a little sterile gauze in a zipper bag in your pocket than to have a 30 lb kit at home.

This is a pretty good little kit, perfectly suitable for carrying in a ruck bag. Any of the items listed might be good to have around.

Here's a more complete kit, but I don't think I'd want to lug that thing very far.

Here's the list recommended by the Boy Scouts of America about what to carry as a first aid kit. You'll notice that they recommend you put it together yourself and store it all in a zipper bag.

A first aid kit doesn't need to be large or expensive. You'll probably never need half of the stuff in there anyway.

[Kevin-]

I'm a big believer in having life saving products like Celox with me at all times. It's actually come in handy twice as it not only works well as a wound treatment but it can also fix a radiator!

I've been looking everywhere trying to find Celox cheap, the best deal I've found is http://www.fulcrumgear.com/shop/celox-z-fold-gauze-5/, no matter what though it's not the cheapest thing but it will save your life! Please let me know if you find it cheaper!!!!

What I've also found handy to carry is a multi tool, instant ice and heat packs, hand warmers and something to disinfect a wound! Please let me know if anyone has any other ideas!

Have a great day and stay safe!

[ClydeFrog]

It's a smart plan to have a small first-aid or "blow-out" kit(a US military/LE term) on you or close by.
Super-storm Sandy & Isaac are recent examples of why it's important to be prepared for serious weather or for accidents, gun-shots, cuts, burns, etc.
You don't need to be a "doomsday prepper" but a few small items can save your life or another person in a critical incident.
I'd get a small nylon or waterproof kit or bag(bright orange, yellow or red so you can quickly see it, even in low-light). Nitrile or latex gloves(I like Nitrile), band aids, EMT/EMS level gear, scissors(or a fixed blade), Quik-Clot bandages for gunshots, medication(if you need it), small bright white light(flashlight), etc can all be fit into a case or kit.
If you are new or lack any formal medical/first responder skills, take a few classes or get a few books/DVDs. Learn how to operate or use a AED too. There may be one close by but no one trained to use it. They are simple & can save lives.
ClydeFrog
www.gunvideo.com www.paladin-press.com www.galls.com www.policehq.com www.usacav.com www.qmuniforms.com

[Woody55]

I have no medical training outside the military.

In my opinion, if you could only have one first aid item, it should be a tourniquet. They make ones that you can put on yourself. Bleeding to death from a wound to an arm or leg is something you can prevent.

You should know how to spling a broken limb. Some rope (which you should have anyway) and sticks (which you should be able to find, but you can buy splints) are all you need. You probably won't die of a broken leg, but a splint will make dragging yourself out of the woods less painful.

Get some sterile dressings and adhesive tape to cover wounds.

Learn how to treat for shock. That's another killer you can do something about. You may have to treat yourself.

Don't get paralyzed by trying too hard. Get trained on the simple things and know how to do them correctly. You could do a lot worse than finding out what the Army considers basic first aid and learning how to do those things.

[johnwilliamson062]

As Nate said if you don't have any training at all you have no use for those items.

I wouldn't carry a tourniquet. First, they aren't used anymore unless you are in military and you need training in how to properly use on in the situations they are used. You can't just put it on and forget it. Second, they are the simplest medical device in the world.

440 cord, a belt, etc. will accomplish all the aforementioned mechanical tasks with little to no ingenuity. There really isn't much medical equipment you would possibly carry that can't be improvised.

Look in your medicine cabinet. Take a small amount of all the medicines you regularly use. Pepto bismo, pain reliever, allergy medicine, midol, whatever. Go to the drug store and look at medicine you have used before and put small amounts into some sort of pill case. Make sure you find a way to label them.

Oragel is a great local anesthetic widely available in the US and many other countries. It burns/chills like hell when first applied to an open wound though. It won't stop all pain, but it will help and faster than tylenol.

Bandaids, ace brace, sterile gauze.

Without any training if you get into a situation where you need anti-biotics, anesthetics, a bone saw, etc, you need to extract ASAP. You can't fix the problem. If not possible just knock them over the head with a big stick.

If you want to get the most basic training possible to allow you to handle those situations with a possibly successful outcome, start looking at Wilderness First Responder training. They'll start you out on building a first aid kit and then add to it as you progress. If you keep with it you can become qualified to do an amazing range of things in the absence of professional medicare with a surprisingly small investment of time and money.

Option 2, go to DRC and tell them your a doctor. Learn as you go.

[MagnumWill]

I'm a member over at the survivalist forum, www.survivalistboards.com.

For things like hiking, backpacking, first aid kits, you'll find a wealth of information over there about this sort of thing.

[ltc444]

It appears that you are building a bug out bag.

A lot of good suggestions. I will add some of my thoughts which I did not see included.

1) Feminine UNSENTED sanitary pads. They are inexpensive and great for dressing large wounds and stopping bleeding.
2) Unsented foamy shaving creme. This is an outstanding covering for major burns. We used it successful on a patient who suffered major burns in a propellant fire. It seals out air, cools and is easily removed at the E room.
3) Iodine crystals. can be used to make iodine for treating wounds and water purification.
4) a space blanket for treating shock.
5) a good stout knife. Having looked at/used a lot of knives I still think the AF survival knife is about the best available.
6) Take a first responder course.

You might want to take a look at Ranger Joes selection of first aid kits. Following is a large kit which would meet your needs.

http://www.rangerjoes.com/First-AidM...t-3-P2480.aspx

[Coach Z]

Marine first aid kits are really quite comprehensive and are based on the needs of what time duration you expect before intervention by medical professionals. I spend a huge amount of time traveling by boat trans ocean and a few times have had to use these kits for major injuries i.e. broken bones, medical stapler and large lacerations and I managed to get a third degree burn in an engine-room when I was younger. Often times we have to buy kits based on an indefinite period with the lack of medical help as we can be offshore for weeks at a time. Below is an example of a medium sized kit and you can click around that site for examples. If you decide to build the kit yourself I HIGHLY recommend a "sam" splint some quick clot and a medical stapler.

This kit is from west marine.com. just a starting point and very friendly website

[Broony]

Awesome, thanks all for the replies. This is good stuff. This is good for everyone.