PREPS PART 12: FIRST AID

Some of us , I would hope ALL of us, has some preps for sickness and injury if modern medical help was not available.

Hubby and are are both nurses so we have a pretty wide range of things from sutures to antibiotics.
Please tell us what you have on hand, where you GOT IT and what kinds of medical emergencies you are prepared for.

When I get to work, I'll look through my files...

I have several CD's full of instructional and reference material that can be e-mailed to folks that want it. eg: Navy Corpsman stuff, SOCOM Medical Handbook, WTINMD/WTINDDS, and on and on and on. Some are manageable files, some are really big. I'll post a table of contents in this thread if folks are interested.

With the exception of every day medicine such as...tylenol, asprin, bandages, ointments, ect. ect.......I have nothing. Would really appreciate a good list to go by.

I am so glad that this prep list was started. Many thanks.

This is what I have

Home first aid kit:
• Sterile adhesive bandages in assorted sizes,
• 2-inch sterile gauze pads (4-6)
• 4-inch sterile gauze pads (4-6)
• Hypoallergenic adhesive tape
• Triangular bandages (3)
• 2-inch sterile roller bandages (3 rolls)
• 3-inch sterile roller bandages (3 rolls)
• Scissors
• Tweezers
• Needle
• Moistened towelettes
• Antiseptic
• Thermometer
• Tongue blades (2)
• Tube of petroleum jelly or other lubricant
• Assorted sizes of safety pins
• Cleansing agent/soap
• Latex gloves (2 pair)
• Sunscreen
• Non-prescription drugs
• Aspirin or nonaspirin pain reliever
• Anti-diarrhea medicationAntacid (for stomach upset)
• Syrup of Ipecac (use to induce vomiting if advised by the Poison Control Center)
• Laxative
• Activated charcoal (use if advised by the Poison Control Center)
• Antibiotic Ointment
• Aspirin Tablets (5 grain)
• Kaopectate
• Medication recommended by your doctor
• Bandages
• Ace bandage
• Adhesive tape, 2" wide roll
• Bandages, plastic strips
• Bandages, large triangular
• Butterfly bandages
• Cotton-tipped swabs
• Gauze pads (4" x 4")
• Sterile absorbent cotton
• Sterile gauze bandages, 2" & 4" wide rolls
• First Aid handbook
• Petroleum jelly
• Pocket/utility knife
• Rubbing alcohol
• Scissors
• Thermometer
• Tissues
• Tweezers
• K-Y Jelly
• tea tree oil, one fluid ounce, a natural antiseptic
• one of those emergency blankets that look like foil,
folded up to about three inches by three inches, and
are sold for about $5 each in camping stores.
• one enema bag per person, with the knowledge of
when to give enemas to rehydrate, raise core body temp,
and flush out the intestines from cholera and similar
bacterial diseases that lodge in the intestines and can
be flushed away. In the absence of professional medical
care, properly administered saline enemas can save a person
from cholera.

Other recommended items are sutures, syringes, and other medical supplies that most of us view as fairly sophisticated. I recommend that you start with what's listed here and then study Red Cross materials and determine what they should keep in stock for their own situation.

The car first aid kit
• Burn ointment
• Gauze bandage rolls
• ACE bandage rolls
• Dressing sponges
• Antibiotic ointment
• Gauze pads
• Iodine or similar prep pads
• Alcohol prep pads
• Butterfly bandages
• Antibiotic ointment
• Medical adhesive tape
• Blanket
• Scissors
• Signal flares or reflective upright triangles

The evacuation first aid kit (part of the bug out kit)
• Bandages
• ACE bandage
• Antibiotic ointment
• Anti-Fungal ointment
• Gauze pads
• Iodine or similar prep pads
• Alcohol prep pads
• Butterfly bandages
• Antibiotic ointment
• Medical adhesive tape
• Aspirin and/or non-aspirin pain relievers
• Tweezers

I buy all my medical stuff from Emergency Medical Products. They are by far the fastest and cheapest out there. Emergency medical products website

My medical preps are pretty extensive--they fill up two rolling carts with drawers (each about 4 ft high), a portable first aid kit and a big rubbermaid container in the garage.

I think what a lot of people don't understand is how much stuff you would go through in an emergency or extended TSHTF scenario. Two pairs of latex gloves in the first aid kit isn't going to cut it. I have seven boxes at the moment. One or two boxes of cold meds will take care of one cold for one person--we stock 10 boxes. A couple of boxes of bandaids won't last long when you have to do unfamiliar manual labor--we have over 30 boxes of bandaids alone. See, you have to think in terms of MULTIPLES when there might be no way to restock.

A few months ago we moved the medical preps into another room, so I had to go through and throw out anything that was expired and make a list of stuff to get. Some non-standard first aid kit stuff that might be helpful: epsom salts, ben gay, prep-H, glass repair kit, oil of cloves and temporary dental repairs, rolls of coban wrap (I get mine at a feed store), several bottles of betadyne, several packages of chucks (underbed pads), lots of cold and allergy meds, thermacare wraps (love these things), splints, crutches, canes, walkers, potty chair, shower chair, antifungal cream or spray, yeast infection medications, glucose tablets, lots of burn cream...you get the idea.

Where do I get stuff? Well, I shop and get stuff on sale at grocery stores and department stores. We used to have a dented can place that sold squished boxes of gauze and bandages real cheap. I found a few boxes of eye pads on clearance at CVS. I got a bunch of stuff with coupons when Eckerd's ran coupons of 50% off any of their brand of items.

My advice is to get as much stuff as you can covering the ailments that typically affect your family. Then learn about first aid (books, practical experience) and expand your kit to cover more major issues. We have sutures and medical kits as my S.O. is a nurse. I would rather have too much stuff than too little.

All of the above

A warning about sutures: even a deep cut will heal eventually if it's kept clean. I advise people AGAINST trying to sew up their own wounds, because you may be closing up a dirty wound and end up with infection underneath. Plus, it's terribly painful: do you really think that you or your screaming child will be able to hold still as you run a needle in and out through their skin?

fruit loop said:

A warning about sutures: even a deep cut will heal eventually if it's kept clean. I advise people AGAINST trying to sew up their own wounds, because you may be closing up a dirty wound and end up with infection underneath. Plus, it's terribly painful: do you really think that you or your screaming child will be able to hold still as you run a needle in and out through their skin?

Click to expand...

Yes, this is something only to consider if you're in the buzzsaw end of TSHTF. If soething absolutely has to be closed up, butterfly bandages, hydrogen peroxide and antibiotic ointment is the way to go. The only other alternative to sutures that I've heard about is the use of superglue, but I'm not sure of the "mechanics" of that.

I just remembered another veterinarian trick involving a mix of benedine and sugar to coat/pack a wound. Again, not something I'd do without having the mechanics down.

I have a small clinic's worth of medical preps, from a field autoclave to lab gear (much more to acquire there though), oxygen, meds, cardiac monitor, cases of bandages, sutures, skin staplers, reusable as well as disposable needles and syringes, casting materials and more.

Seriously, I have a small medical suplly business but first dibs go to my personal preps, the rest is for sale. The storage shed outside is barely large enough for everything.

I do have extensive training and experience, being an RN, plus 24 years before that in EMS. Recently attended the remote medical procedures course in KC (Night Driver was there too, and Goatlady, et al).

Despite the admonishments against same suturing does have a place in serious preps. You do need to know what you are doing, how, why and when, and also when and how not to.

Shameless plug: The forthcoming book Survival and Austere Medicine: An Introduction is due out very soon. Over 200 pages of what and why with a little how to as well. My personal medical library is extensive, everything from Where There Is No Doctor to War Surgery, Field Manual and Save Lives Save Limbs, both by Dr. Hans Husum.

The key is training and education, coupled with proper prepping. If you can't get there on your own couple with someone who can.

RR

Agree with prudentwatcher-

Most "First Aid kits" are for ONE event. Not sustained care. It is amazing how quickly you can go through gauze, pads, and tape on a simple wound.

A cheap source of gauze:
(happy colors are good for kids) http://store.yahoo.com/allpetvetsupply/equhthr001.html
(Coyote Brown for the adults) http://store.yahoo.com/allpetvetsupply/equhjor001.html

A good supply house:
http://www1.mooremedical.com/index.cfm

And yet another:
http://www.progressivemed.com/

As a taste; I have the following documents avaialbe: (WAY MORE if there is interest; think gigabytes. From basic care to real specialty stuff. If someone has hosting space, we need to talk.)

Special Forces Medical Handbook Vol 2.pdf (old typed format) (3.4MB)
SOF Medical Handbook.pdf - 2001 (40MB)
SOF Ear Nose Throat Medical Handbook.pdf (26MB)
US Navy Corpsman Text as an active .pdf file (17MB.)
Ranger Medic (7.7MB)
Operational Medicine 2001 (as a set of HTML files)
Tactical Management of Urban Warfare Casualties in Special Operations (1.1MB)
Tactical Medecine for SEAL Mission Commanders.ppt (3.4MB)
Tactical Combat Casualty Care in Special Operations.ppt (8.3MB)
The "Virtual Naval Hospital" as several html files.
HAZMAT Emergency Response Guidebook.pdf - 2000 (1.7MB)
USAID Field Operations Guide for Disaster Assesment and Response (1.1MB)
Venemous Snakes of the Middle East Identification Guide (7.5MB)
"Surgery Guidelines" 1991 Edition - Walter Reed Army Medical Center .pdf (1.5MB)
USAMRICD Tech Memo 90-2 "Chemical Casualty Care".pdf (3.1MB)
Tactical Mgmt of Radiation Casulaties.pdf (221KB)
Tactical Mgmt of Chemical Casulaties (351KB)
Tactical Mgmt of Biological Casulaties (333KB)
Medical Mgmt of Biological Casulaties (488KB)
Heat Injuries.ppt (2.7MB)
Head Injuries.ppt (2.3MB)
Foot Care.ppt 1.2MB)
Burns.ppt (3.1MB)
Viral Agents.ppt (2.7MB)
Chemcal Warfare - Vesicants.ppt (6.6MB)
Biological Warfare - Toxins.ppt (845KB)
Bacterial Agents.ppt (2MB)
Chem War - Pulmonary Agents.ppt (972KB)
Chem War - Nerve Agents/ppt (3.6MB)
Chem War - Cyanide.ppt (364KB)
Medical Mgmt of Biological Casualties Handbook 1993 Draft Edition.pdf (3.2MB)
Field Hygiene and Sanitation - Dept of the Army 1988.pdf (2MB)
Pressurized Submarine Rescue! (Like I'll ever need to know that stuff)
War Wounds.ppt (299KB)
Medical Aspects of Radiation Casualties.ppt (3.7MB)
Triage Issues.ppt (2.3MB)
Chem War Emergency Medical and Public Health Issues.pdf (1MB)
Orthopedic Trauma on the Battlefield.ppt (4.6MB)
Vascualr Trauma.ppt (3.4MB)
Hemmoragic Fever Viruses.ppt
Q Fever.ppt
Anthrax.ppt
Ricin.ppt
Botulinum.ppt
Plauge.ppt
Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis.ppt
Smallpox.ppt
Toxins Overview.ppt

I have a military M-3 field medic kit I keep on standby, with a few extra added items that make it a little more usable for a long term situation. I added a blood pressure cuff, stethoscope, extra bandages, extra tape, curlex, bandage scissors, and assorted sauves, ointments, and OTC medicines that would come in handy.

I would have preferred to have an M-17 kit, but they are gawdawful expensive and hard to find.

I live in a high risk area, so I had to add a few items for the terrorist dimension.

I also keep M-8 paper, M-9 paper, two radiological survey meters, 6 dosimeters, a dosimeter charger, decontamination wipes, an NBC suit, and an M-95 gas mask with an NBC filter in a separate bag next to the medic kit.

I have 4 1st aid kits, one of them is a homeopathic kit.

Too much stuff and info to get into right now though, but much of the really important stuff came from here: http://www.newtonlabs.net/

And it's not cheap. I also have a friend who's a bach flower herbalist -- lots of good stuff from her as well.

BugoutBear

fruit loop said:

A warning about sutures: even a deep cut will heal eventually if it's kept clean. I advise people AGAINST trying to sew up their own wounds, because you may be closing up a dirty wound and end up with infection underneath.

Click to expand...

There was a great program on the History Channel yesterday called Roman War Machines, where they talked a bit about taking care of wounds from battle. They preferred staples made out of silver to close wounds. They also used rosemary as an antiseptic. . .and yarrow as well.

BugoutBear

Housecarl said:

I just remembered another veterinarian trick involving a mix of benedine and sugar to coat/pack a wound. Again, not something I'd do without having the mechanics down.

Click to expand...

betadine is great for cleaning a dirty wound but RARELY do we ever leave it in the wound. You see, both hydrogen peroxide and betadine are what's called cytotoxic, meaning harmful to the tissue. If using it daily to cleanse a dirty wound we generally follow that with a light rinse of normal saline. Hydrogen peroxide should always be diluted in 1/2 with normal saline for open wounds for the same reason.

Hey Mark D.
I would certainly appreciate more documents that you have. I've really enjoyed all your previous posts as well---very informative.
Joe

Mark, I am impressed. I would love to have a few of the things on your list. Do you want me to pm you?

If you are interested. PM me, and we can hash-over what you are lookng for specifically.

This is Grantbo
Here is my Wilderness First Responder kit listed by pouch. It runs well under 18 lbs. .

#1 OPEN FIRST
• 4 pairs of gloves
• Wilderness & rescue medicine field guide
• SOAP note tear sheets
• Plastic pencil
• Instant hand sanitizer
• Micro Shield-CPR mouth barrier
• EMT shears
• 3 x 5 yds self-adherent bandage
• 2 cravats w/2 blanket pins
• 4 x 4 pad
• 6 x 9 wound dressing
• Surgical Mask-to protect incase of disease

MEDS
• Cravat
• Oral thermometer
• Antibiotic ointment
• Ibuprofen 200mg
• Acetaminophen 500mg
• Ipecac Syrup/Activated charcoal
• Water purification tablets
• Pepto bismol
• Energy Gel-for diabetics needing sugar
• Dental Kit-small
• Floss
• Laxative
• Digel-anti gas
• Salt/sugar
• Sinus Decongestant – 2
• Sore Throat Relief – 2
• Benadryl -6
• Anti-diarrhea – 2
• Pepcid AC – 2
• Antihistamine - 4
plus some Rx pain killers

WOUND CLENSER DEBRIDEMENT
• 3 x 3 Gauze Sponges – 2
• Scalpel – disposable
• Scrub Brush
• Eyewash
• Eyewash lubricant – 4 small
• Povidone-iodine 1 oz
• Shur-clens – 2. Small
• Shur-clens. Large
• 1 gal. plastic bag for irrigation
• Hypo-70cc for irrigation
• Sizzors
• Hemostats – 2
• Long tweezers
• Alcohol Prep pad – 3


BP – CUFF
• Blood Pressure cuff
• Stethoscope
• Headlamp

BANDAGES & TAPE
• 3 in. elastic bandage
• 4 in. conforming band.
• 1 in. roll tape
• 2 in. roll tape
• Non-adhering dressing – 3
• Hydroseal bandaids
• Other types of bandaids
• Butterfly bandaids
• Sterile pads 4 x 4-2
• Betadine swabs – 2
• Large blood stopper bandage


Also in pack:
SAM splint
Blister Kit
Burn Kit

I know how and am certified to use it all.
My home kit is substantial for veryyyyy long term care

Israeli Emergency Bandage

I found a good source for the so called Israeli Bandage - used by our military (and others)
http://www.foreandaftmarine.com/FIRSTCARE.htm - can be used one handed.


Current discount on TraumaDEX - used to stop severely bleeding wounds.

http://www.buyemp.com/default.asp (see special on bottom of page) only $5.00