Just posted my most recent blog entry on what I plan to pack as a first aid kit. Got a lot of insight from these forums. Tried to go real light, but I'm a first aid geek ... I'm hovering around 9 ozs right now
http://laughingdawg.blogspot.com/
Just posted my most recent blog entry on what I plan to pack as a first aid kit. Got a lot of insight from these forums. Tried to go real light, but I'm a first aid geek ... I'm hovering around 9 ozs right now
http://laughingdawg.blogspot.com/
L Dog
AT 2000 Miler
The Laughing Dog Blog
https://lighterpack.com/r/38fgjt
"The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness." - John Muir
Looks very similar to the first aid kit that I've carried for many miles. The one thing I would add would be a tick removal tool. You can get them through REI. Yeah, you have tweezers but the removal tool does a much better job. With the tweezers, you end up squeezing the tick and can push the bad stuff into your system. The tool is really light and takes up almost no room.
GA - NJ 2001; GA - ME 2003; GA - ME 2005; GA - ME 2007; PCT 2006
A wise man changes his mind, a fool never will.
—SPANISH PROVERB
I'm a first aid geek too. Don't forget the super glue!! I see you have some strip things for deep cuts, but super glue and a butterfly bandage work wonders!
I'd recommend leaving the hydrocortizone creme though, because the benadryl will work better (if you haven't grown a tollerance to it like I have, stupid sleeping pills), and more effectively. And weigh a ton less.
Not that you'll need it or anything, but consider having plan A B and C for tourniquets if you end up needing one. I saw you listed splints from nature, so I figured you might want to get your head wrapped around that too. Just in case you get bit by a shark on the trail or something.
I appears to me that the packaging might be as much as half of the weight. You could repackage almost everything in there, save a lot of weight and it would take up less space as well. Places that sell those quarter-sized plastic pill cases are great. They are about the size of a stack of 4 quarters. I made a cardboard divider that makes 4 compartments out of one, and it works great. If you repackage take into consideration that there will be a much shorter shelf life for the products due to exposure to air, moisture, and the abrasion from shaking as you hike. I use a flattened cotton ball in the pill containers to help keep the pills stable.
Hi Fog Horn, how much super glue do you use, just a smear? I have seen advice against using it. I have been tempted a few times to use it but feared the consequences. On the trail I have suffered with cracks in the fingers which are slow to heal as they are out in the weather all the time.
Now that's the way to do it- make it all fit in a ziplock! Mine does too. I add a 1/2 oz. leakproof Nalgene bottle filled with either Betadine or hydrogen peroxide for wounds.
Oh, after I woke up with my eye swollen shut due to a spider bite in New England I started carrying some Benadryl too. Lesson learned.
Cheers!
Last edited by Spokes; 10-17-2011 at 13:51.
"Fish Camp Woman.... Baby, I like the way you smell"
- Unknown Hinson
Duct tape instead of adhesive tape...you can buy a mini roll that is about 1/2 the size of the one pictured or make your own. I bought a pack or 4 and put one in each of my glove compartments and have one one my first aid kit.
+1 on the super glue! I work in the emergency room and we use it all the time! I use it on myself every time I get a small cut or scrape! You can leave the bandaids at home! Just glue and go!
Some of the large tubes of ointment you could decrease by squeezing some into little zip lock bags instead. Save a little weight. Also, if you are using the super glue, you don't want to use any ointment. Just clean the would the best you can, let it air dry, then apply the glue.
+2+ on super glue. I worked in steel mills and industry all my life. Always had cracked skin on my fingers, mostly near the nails, and they are painful and don't heal well due to use and exposure. Clean it up good, add a drop of super glue, squeeze shut, wipe off excess - and no more pain plus no open sore to get infected. You never really know it's there once it wears down a bit. Plus it heals quicker than being left exposed. The healing skin carries the glue out with it as it grows.
"That's the thing about possum innards - they's just as good the second day." - Jed Clampett
GA - NJ 2001; GA - ME 2003; GA - ME 2005; GA - ME 2007; PCT 2006
A wise man changes his mind, a fool never will.
—SPANISH PROVERB
I keep a little laminated card in my first aid kit with my own info on it. Blood type, allergies ("No Known", in my case), daily medications, emergency contact info, and health insurance info.
L Dog
AT 2000 Miler
The Laughing Dog Blog
https://lighterpack.com/r/38fgjt
"The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness." - John Muir
L Dog
AT 2000 Miler
The Laughing Dog Blog
https://lighterpack.com/r/38fgjt
"The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness." - John Muir
L Dog
AT 2000 Miler
The Laughing Dog Blog
https://lighterpack.com/r/38fgjt
"The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness." - John Muir
When I got my WFR first time around, I hauled around a bunch of stuff - thought it was cool - heavy and never got used: My kit fits in a quart zip-lock:
1 pr. rubber gloves
1 roll coaches tape
4 Dr. Shoals blister pads
a little bit of duct tape
iodine prep pads
Vitamin I
One asprin (for M.I.)
Epi pen (when out with groups)
lance (needle)
that and a good brain is all you need (unless you are involved with a rescue or are employed as a trip guide)
With yours and the others endorsement, I went out and read up on it. There are some who would advise against super glue because of the chance of irritation to the skin. They point at the formulations made specifically for medical purposes like Dermabond. I found that on Amazon, and it is right spendy!
http://www.amazon.com/Dermabond-Topical-Adhesive-5ml-vial/dp/B002TSIP9O/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=office-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1318895726&sr=1-1-catcorr
Lots of variations that are almost as expensive. I've always kept those tiny, one use sized tubes around. Like these:
http://www.amazon.com/Scotch-Single-Super-Glue-AD119/dp/B00342VCGM/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1318895612&sr=8-3
Might just put a couple of those in the kit
Sharks! Now I have to worry about sharks?!I'd recommend leaving the hydrocortizone creme though, because the benadryl will work better (if you haven't grown a tollerance to it like I have, stupid sleeping pills), and more effectively. And weigh a ton less.
Not that you'll need it or anything, but consider having plan A B and C for tourniquets if you end up needing one. I saw you listed splints from nature, so I figured you might want to get your head wrapped around that too. Just in case you get bit by a shark on the trail or something.
I'm of the opinion that tourniquets are a last resort thing. Having said that, a bandana, or cloth ripped from a T shirt would work. You know, in case of sharkbite ...
L Dog
AT 2000 Miler
The Laughing Dog Blog
https://lighterpack.com/r/38fgjt
"The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness." - John Muir
L Dog
AT 2000 Miler
The Laughing Dog Blog
https://lighterpack.com/r/38fgjt
"The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness." - John Muir
I Like the 1/2 oz nalgene bottle of betadine idea. I have a few BZK antiseptic towelettes to clean a wound area. Most suggest cleansing deep wounds with just water - unless the wound is more than a few hours old. Then flushing it with something like betadine diluted with water is done to make sure there's no chance of infection. The problem we face is the potential of being a couple of days away from urgent care. At home, we can slap a bandage on a cut, go to urgent care and get them to clean it, and sew it up. We have to make sure a wound is clean, and close it up so it can heal without getting infected.
That stuff can be a life saver for someone having a severe allergic reaction.Oh, after I woke up with my eye swollen shut due to a spider bite in New England I started carrying some Benadryl too. Lesson learned.
Thanks for your comments.
L Dog
AT 2000 Miler
The Laughing Dog Blog
https://lighterpack.com/r/38fgjt
"The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness." - John Muir
I have carried a first aid kit off and on, but always end up getting rid of it. It is too small for anything major, and anything small I just don't worry about. Most first aid stuff can be improvised from gear you already have if you really need to. If I get a cut, I just use toilet paper and duct tape band aids. I was a medic in the army, though, so I can treat stuff and improvise. Different gear for different people, I guess. One thing I wouldn't do without is my magnesium and firesteel. With a fire, I can do anything I need to, but I rarely make one.