First Aid Kit

[Papa D]

oh yeah - I forgot - benadryly is in my kit too - 5-6 tabs - if you can't sleep, they will always double as a sleeping pill

[LDog]

Now that's the way to do it- make it all fit in a ziplock!

Now I need a cuben fiber ziplock!

[Blissful]

Read the blog, just some comments -

- change to whiteblaze.net

Your chances of snakebite are highly remote
Deer ticks are prevalent from Shenandoah NP north to MA - not primarily New England. Agree with prophylactic meds for it - one 200 mg loading dose upon discovery of an embedded deer tick is what I have read online (but clear this with your MD!).

Aspirin - its good to have 80 mg tablets for chest pain issues, not so much irregular heartbeat. Any man over 50 should be taking this every day unless they have bleeding issues or are on coumadin (a blood thinner) or have ulcers - but clear with an MD
Tylenol is for pain, it does nothing for inflammation. Advil takes care of both but don't take it if you have ulcer issues
I might also put that if you have a sensitivity to bee stings you carry an epipen, it could save your life
Sticks won't really help a sprain. Packing a 2 inch ace wrap is a good idea, imo
Gloves for wound care? Just use your hand sanitizer. I'd also skip the burn pads, other bads, steri strips, syringe, and gauze wrap.
I carried a small tube of anti itch cream. Helpful with deerfly bites and poison ivy

Surprise you don't mention Duct tape as general first aid remedy for hot spots and wound care. Don't need first aid tape if you have duct tape

Thanks for the blog!!

[LDog]

Read the blog, just some comments -

- change to whiteblaze.net

Doh!

Your chances of snakebite are highly remote

Agreed. I packed nothing specifically for this, but I'll tone it down as a risk.

Deer ticks are prevalent from Shenandoah NP north to MA - not primarily New England. Agree with prophylactic meds for it - one 200 mg loading dose upon discovery of an embedded deer tick is what I have read online (but clear this with your MD!)

I'll change it to read mid-atlantic thru new england states. I'll also talk about treating our clothing with Permethrin, our bodies with DEET, and conducting thorough tick checks, as the preventative side of the issue. There are a number of conflicting protocols depending on who your doctor listens to. A single dose when an embedded tick is found is one protocal I read. Another waits for symptoms to appear. I would be inclined to take a dose upon discovering an embedded dear tick, then wait for symptoms to start a regimen. I intend to talk to my doctor about this.

Aspirin - Its good to have 80 mg tablets for chest pain issues, not so much irregular heartbeat.

I'll rewrite this to be more specific. I really meant to imply myocardial infarction in a homey way.

Tylenol is for pain, it does nothing for inflammation.

It's also the pain reliever specified when one has bleeding that needs to stop. It can be taken concurrently with ibuprofin without OD'n - I've taken Tylenol when I was in sustained, severe pain, and I anticipated my last dose of motrin to be fading - covered the dips in pain relief. [I'm not a doctor, a doctor told me this, don't even think of doing this without talking to your doctor, this conversation never happened, Capisce?] Not gonna carry a lot of Tylenol - just a few 2-pill packs. I'm going to carry a pretty good qty of ibuprofin - at least for the first month :]

I might also put that if you have a sensitivity to bee stings you carry an epipen, it could save your life

I don't have sensitivity to bee stings, but I can carry an OTC antihistamine that could make my life more comfortable, and just maybe prolong someone elses.

Sticks won't really help a sprain. Packing a 2 inch ace wrap is a good idea, imo

I'm still considering an ace bandage or a roll of cohesive wrap. They'd be good to wrap a sprain, provide compression to soft-tissue injuries, and to help splint a fracture. But they're bulky. A sprain can be effectively wrapped with adhesive tape or duct tape. Splinting can be done by using sticks held in place with cravats made from bandanas or torn up clothing...

Gloves for wound care? Just use your hand sanitizer.

This is not for my wounds, or for Mary's, They're there if I have to deal with some strangers body fluids ... A place to save an ounce? Maybe ...

I'd also skip the burn pads, other pads, steri strips, syringe, and gauze wrap.

The burn pads do seem to be a luxury item. Be nice when I clumsily spill the contents of my cook pot on my hand tho. The rest of them are there for any wound deeper than a bandaid fix. The slice I put in my thumb a few months ago was stitched up by urgent care pretty quickly. But when we're 2 days away from town, it'd have to be cleaned, closed and bandaged to avoid infection. Granted, I could cut down a bit from the variety and qty of bandages I'm carrying. Probably save an ounce or two. As I said before, I've got 5 months left to look at it!

I carried a small tube of anti itch cream. Helpful with deerfly bites and poison ivy

I've got a couple of small foil packets of hydrocortisone cream for those anoyances. I updated the entry to mention using it for poison ivy.

Surprise you don't mention Duct tape as general first aid remedy for hot spots and wound care. Don't need first aid tape if you have duct tape

I mentioned Duct Tape - To replace an ace bandage to splint a break! But I don't really subscribe to using it as a general first aid remedy - I know that's heresy round these parts. I'd use it on myself. I'd tape up a sprained ankle with it. But I'd be concerned about how Mary would react to the rubber adhesives in duct tape. I use Spenco's latex-free Adhesive Knit moleskin product for hotspots, and duct tape to repair ripped nylon and blown out shoes.

Thanks for the blog!!

Thank you for reading it, and for your informed comments!

[LDog]

Just posted my post season reevaluation of my first aid kit. Cut it down by 4 ozs, and I don't think I lost any real capability. Let me know what you think.

http://www.laughingdog.com/

[Liminal]

PetCo has inexpensive Tick Pullers (good for people too)... just got mine tonight

[LDog]

PetCo has inexpensive Tick Pullers (good for people too)... just got mine tonight

Thanks for your comment. I have a pair of titanium tweezers with long, thin tines (?) with sharp points that can be sliped between a tick's body and mine so that it can be pulled out gently. Doubles for splinters, cleaning out wounds ... Got rid of the tick puller I had been given that was both redundant and a single use item.

[Mr. Bumpy]

Don't forget the lomotil!

[Nytro]

That kit looks great! I was thinking about making my own kit myself. Last year I ended up getting one of those .9 adventure medical kits. I liked that the bag was waterproof (an aloksack is too) but already came with everything needed for a fair price.