First aid kit supplies

Combat veteran, Vietnam. GOD BLESS THE CORPSMAN. We love you guys.
Thanks for being there.
Carry on.

I carry a Maxpedition FAK attached to my bag. I use Grimlocks to attach it, so it's easy to remove and throw in a saddlebag. I carry basic essentials, even though I am a Firefighter/Paramedic, I'm not trying to carry an entire trauma kit. That's what an Ambulance is for. I carry a 6 inch Israeli Bandage is in my FAK. If I need a tourniquet I have it. The rest is trauma shears, band aids, some 4x4's, a roll of gauze, hand sanitizer, a CPR mask, Vitamin I (Ibuprofen), Chap stick, small flashlight, a small Leatherman, tape, 2 pairs of nitrile gloves, Baby Asprin, and MY epi-pen.

Anything is better than nothing, and a charged cellphone is a must.

I've seen people decide to shove half a jump bag into a saddlebag. I usually shake my head and mutter something about Johnny Gage.

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well i think you can do a lot with a single bandage and improvisation, maybe some ducktape too.

i notice a lot of adds have, this kit meets requirements of eurostandards for motorcycles that are legally bound to carry first aid kits or something, basically meeeeens euro have to carry a first aid kit


really, i have a little coleman hiking first aid kit under my seat, ive stuffed a few extra things in, 2 bandages, thermal blanket, some extra band aids, some alcohol wipes a pill container with panadole, ibeprofan, voltarin and phenergan, it came with a few big band aids, tweezers gaze tape antiseptic wipes, etc anyway. looks like my overstuffed wallet anyway, but it fits under my seat.



i sometimes carry a big first aid kit in my panniers too, just a standard thing off the shelf but stuffed with some gloves, swiss army knife duck tape, and a few other htings that were floating around in my panniers. think i might have a PPK kit in it from work too, personal protection kit, gloves bandaids, bandages, saline solution or some anti septic solution now i think it is. washing blood off your self basically.

i notice a lot of folks carry "space blankets". are they any better than a plastic contractors trash bag?

Absolutely yes . . . .they reflect a huge percentage of heat that strikes them. helping to keep the injured person form becoming shocky . . . . . . .

i would say so. dual purpose too, i use one when im cold camping to put underneath my airmatress and it means the matress doesnt dump heat into the ground like it would. laying on it directly would be even better but its too rustly and tbh maybe too hot

i think the space blankets are essential for mvas, the going into shock thing is a pretty nasty thing even if your not seriously injured, you can still go into shock.

Yeah, I've been close to being stuck overnight a few times as well. (Lost on dirt roads, getting dark). They'll make that a hell of a lot more tolerable as well - which makes it safer, since if you know you CAN hold out until morning in something less than utter misery you are more likely to do the sane thing i.e. stop, wait for sunlight.

Pete

+1

Any idea what someone who never ventures off paved roads should carry? I live in the city and 95% of my riding is commuting where an ambulance is probably no more than 10 minutes away. Every once in a while I go on a trip where help might be more like 30 minutes away. Is it even worth carrying anything?

Sounds like a cell phone would be the only essential.

I'll make a few comments also from my way of looking at it. I'd add/change a few other things.

One thing to keep in mind is what are you trying to address.

• Keep them alive till...You wll probably NEVER use this stuff, but you may want it because if you do need it, you better have it.
• Try to prevent permanent damage. While grinding bone ends together riding out without a splint won't kill them (or you remember!), it will make for a shorter leg eventually and much longer heal time, which would suck
• Last is ease pain, remove splinters...But a pill or two does not take up much room.

My kit changes according to my ride, and who is along - as well as what they have and what else I may be carrying. For example, while I have a SAM splint and carry it, I could see using tire irons or tent poles and getting by pretty well. What you need riding for 2 weeks, a long way from a road is quite different from a sport ride for the day, even though the injuries expected may be exactly the same.

Flashlight/Headlight is a MUST for many reasons. One with a strobe function is good. And even though you think you are carrying one anyway in your backpack, it really does pay to have a small one in the kit, just in case it got left on in your pack or..... Because "Just in Case" happens very frequently.
One other thing that I need now is reading glasses...
I'd bring duct tape rather than the usual lame medical tape of one kind or another. If you really need to tape somebody up, you are going to want it to stick till they get out. Can double for your bike first aid kit needs also.

I have a model of having multiple kits that "stack". I won't list all the contents, but you'll get the idea.

• Mother kit sits in a small Pelican case with reflective tape on it so that when in use, it can sit on the road. This goes with me in the car. Lot's of extras go in here.
  
• Inside that is more of a Trauma kit with flashlight, glasses, bandages, splint, quick clot, Duct tape, gloves, etc., This kit is in a separate bag so it can come out when needed and when I don't carry the larger kit. This is usually what I carry on the bike, sometimes losing the splint and such for short trips.
  
• Then the "first aid" kit with tweezers, neosporin, aspirin, sort of items. Most of the stuff here can usually wait till you get somewhere, but if I have space. I mean you are not going to die from a cactus spine in your leg.
  
• There is also another group of items that I sometimes carry that is really more rescue/survival oriented. Very small space blanket, whistle, reflector, more water tablets, etc.

I can pull things from the rescue oriented kit and put it in the Trauma kit which goes on the bike if I want to carry it.

Sundog

Didn't read the whole thread so if this is a repeat comment sorry. Carry a bar of soap. You can clean a wound well with simple soap and water. Especially road/gravel rash. A stream is usually easily found as your water source. Also carry dental floss and a sewing needle. You can use to stitch a wound if needed, also sew a rip in your tube before you throw on the patch.
Ride safe YFF's

I used to carry something to stitch people together with (they have small sterile self-contained packs with needle and thread), but actually have found that the magic of duct tape works almost as well and is MUCH less traumatic on them and me. I really don't like needles :eek1 Faster and multi use also.

While not wanting to be paranoid about it, I would think twice before washing out a large open wound in a nearby stream. You may well be putting in some of exactly what you are trying to wash out. Road rash is probably already dirty though.

Another vote for Adventure Medical Kits. I add some "water gel" burns dressings. If you are camping and have a stove, sooner or later you will get burnt. They also work well on blisters.

This is on sale all the time- and a good basis to start with

http://www.rei.com/product/832243/rei-backpacker-first-aid-kit-special-buy

the little red pack is good to organize stuff too. i've pulled out a bunch of stuff to our bigger plastic car kits, and put in some extra splints, bigger tape, larger wrap etc... I also have some stronger medicine like 4 oxycodone etc.

+1 on the kotex. I also have 2 super small ob tampons. Great for nasty broken noses bleading profusely.

Swimming shorts makes an excellent sling, it is even adjustable. I used one when i had broken my clavicle.

Head goes in from one leg, and the arm goes in through the other leg, Your wrist hangs from you neck with the waist part which is adjustable.

Just got Email from LA police gear they are having a sale on emergence med supplies. I just stumbled across this thread last night at work it caught my attention mainly because of my accident last oct 31 which I'm just now returning to work from crushed my tibia above my ankle with spiral fracture from knee through bottom of bone and fractured fibia just below knee Ti rod and 6 months later things are looking up. Need to get my kit put together since I do a lot of dual sport by myself accident got me thinking about taking first responder course. Sorry could not figure out how to forward email. :huh

After 47 years with Type 1 I've learned a few things.
First is that most people haven't a clue about diabetes--even many who have the disease.
Second is that you can't miss giving sugar or Pepsi or hard candy. Not chocolate: the fat slows down sugar absorption.
If glucose is already high, a Pepsi isn't going to matter. If it's low, Pepsi etc will be just what the doctor ordered.
Look for weird behavior: angry and short, can't concentrate, incoherent (worse than usual!) acting "drunk" ---all are some symptoms.
+1 on give it even if I say I'm fine. My wife can tell you stories about the things I've done when glucose was low that I cannot remember doing or saying.
There are a lot of diabetics out there and even more ignorance. Do some reading. Your friend with diabetes will appreciate it.

Hey Gents and Gals,
I am back around so I can answer more questions if you have any.