First aid kit supplies

[Motomantra]

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

[FireIdiot]

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.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2

[Storm Shadow]

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.

[lumpyrutherford]

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

[bomber60015]

Originally Posted by lumpyrutherford

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 . . . . . . .

[davsato]

Originally Posted by lumpyrutherford

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

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

[Storm Shadow]

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.

[PeterW]

Originally Posted by lumpyrutherford

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

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

[rdcamp]

+1

Originally Posted by john e

good on you for stepping up to help out a fellow rider. Just a couple of things about your suggestions that i'd change.

Get rid of the 2x2's and the 6x6's. Use 4x4's and a couple of abdominal bandages, they'll absorb more fluid and the 4x4's can always be folded or cut down. Individually wrapped, sterile 4x4's can be found at any drugstore, they're cheap and pack flat, get as many plies/thickness as possible for maximum absorption.

Antiseptic wipes are far better than alcohol wipes for cleaning any sort of broken skin, alcohol will burn and it is cytotoxic, kills the good cells as well as the bad ones. Bzk (benzalkonium chloride) wipes are bigger, work better and don't sting. They're also cheap if you buy a box of 100. I do keep a couple of alcohol wipes in my tool kit in case i ever need to apply loctite or epoxy to something, they work well for cleaning plastic and metal.

More gloves is better. Like at least 6 pairs. Nitrile is probably best as they're hypoallergenic, good for you, good for the patient.

I'd skip the vet wrap, in my experience it's not all it's cracked up to be. Once it's been stretched out it loses it's elasticity very quickly and falls off. I'd use a couple of 6" elastic bandages and tape. The elastic bandages can also be used with your splint, to hold a cold pack in place, to immobilize a dislocated or broken extremity even if you don't have a splint.

For a compression bandage, pick up an "izzy", an israeli combat bandage. They're great, they can be self applied as well as used on others. Come in a sterile package, available in 4"and 6" widths. One should suffice for the average kit.

For a splint, pick up a sam or one of the many no-name copies. Aluminum bonded with some thin foam padding they can be cut, folded, modded into just about anything. I've used them to make finger splints, just cut off a slice and make sure the edges aren't sharp. They come rolled up, very handy.

If the recommended use for the benadryl is for treatment of insect stings, get a small bottle of the children's liquid. It's much faster acting. They also make benadryl in a gel form, great for topical applications but not for internal usage. If you or anyone you're traveling with is known to be susceptible to anaphylaxis from insect stings, make sure you or they are carrying an up to date epi pen. Same thing for known diabetics and asthma sufferers, don't be like a lot of my patients and tell me that you left your epi pen, inhaler, and insulin at home. Something to remember about benadryl, it will make you drowsy, not recommended if you or the patient is going to be continuing to ride.

Saline can be found in small 20-30 ml individually sterilized squeeze bottles, very handy for flushing out wounds and debris from the eyes as well.

I'd also think about getting some sort of tourniquet, a cat or something equivalent and make sure it's not a chinese ripoff design. The protocols for treating arterial bleeding in extremities is pressure bandages followed by use of a tourniquet in many areas now. If you should come across or be involved in an incident in which a person has suffered from a traumatic injury to an extremity, you'll never stop the bleeding by trying to find a pressure point, particularly if they're wearing a riding suit. A properly applied tourniquet will save a limb as well as life in an extreme injury situation. In addition to actually stopping the bleeding, a tourniquet allows a single caregiver to deal with multiple patients once it's been applied correctly.

I'd also toss a small headlamp in with the first aid kit, it sucks to not be able to see what you're doing and you can't do much with one hand holding a flashlight.

I'd also consider separating the true "first aid" stuff from the "booboo" stuff. If you come across an accident, you need to be able to access that tourniquet or izzy right now, the pain relievers and bandaids can go into a separate bag or box to be used as needed. I keep a couple of bandaid, some advil, tums and a small bottle of eye drops in a little zippered case inside my tankbag for easy, non-emergent use. The real stuff is in a separate trauma bag. All i'm really concerned with in an emergent situation is trying to ensure the patient is breathing and trying to stop traumatic blood loss. The road rash etc. Can be fixed later when you've got everyone off to the side of the road or trail. Same thing with medications.

For reference, i am a licensed, working emt in the state of california but i'm not a doctor, in particular i'm not your doctor so take everything i've written with a grain of salt and don't rely on it to save yours or anyone else's life without further training.

[Phat Ham]

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?

[jon_l]

Originally Posted by Phat Ham

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.

[Sundog]

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

[Nacho911]

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

[Sundog]

Originally Posted by Nacho911

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 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.

[Tall Man]

Originally Posted by AlanCT

...those clear membrane sheets used for large abrasions, whatever those are called.

Tegaderm.
http://www.amazon.com/Nexcare-Tegade...words=tegaderm

Apologies if this data was already provided somewhere in the previous 4+ pages of posts.