What do you have for a first aid/trauma kit?

[gsganzer]

I've always made it a point to be prepared. This also includes fire extinguishers and first aid/trauma kits. In my truck, I carry a self made first aid/trauma kit. Most first aid kits are loaded with bandaids, lotions and aspirin. I wanted a kit that was better suited for job site or outdoor injuries. Like injuries from livestock, chainsaws, job site tools, gunshot or knife injuries. So, I put together a hybrid kit that has bleeding care supplies (clotting gauze etc.), tourniquet, sucking chest wound, splint, eyewash as well as a reasonable set of band aids.

I need to go through it and see if anything is outdated and needs replaced. I also need to see what I might want to add, like a blood pressure cuff and maybe some light surgical stuff.

Years ago, when I used to dove hunt, one of the members was a DR and he even packed plasma for the group hunting weekend. Lots of folks joked about it, but being prepared really isn't a joke. That same hunter/Dr is on my deerlease and I had him put together a good trauma kit for the deer camp. I also made every member provide an emergency contact number.

What does everyone else do for first aid/trauma kits?

 

[Hay Dude]

I feel like eyes are very susceptible to injury in outdoor clearing, cutting, etc.(branches, flying/thrown objects), fuel, hydraulic fluid.
I like a portable eye wash kit and would like to find one to carry.
Big band aids for big fingers & hands and athletic tape for rough cuts and antiseptic to get a jump on infections.
Best thing is a celly and hopefully more than 1 bar of reception for big problems…

 

[Fuddyduddy1952]

Nitrile gloves? Maybe oxygen if you have room. Glucose for a diabetic maybe.
I carry a few 5mg Diazepam (Valium) with me my Dr. swears by it, bee stings & trauma because he said the body over-reacts to things. Peroxide. Bar of soap.

 

[ning]

When we started beekeeping, we got the doc to write for an epi-pen which we keep in our bee bag. Neither of us are allergic, but a small number of people do seemingly randomly become allergic after not showing reactions previously, and there's also a chance that a visitor could get stung. IMO it's a good thing for a trauma kit and if you've got insurance they're really cheap (and if you don't, CVS has a generic version 2-pack for $110).

I've also got some older (officially expired) tylenol with codeine in there. It may not be 100% as effective as when fresh, but it may be better than nothing...

I'm with you on the typical first aid kit being kinda pathetic. To me a band-aid isn't really first aid - I mean technically it is, but the truth is that the only reason I use band-aids is to keep a wound clean as I don't bleed much and after a bit of pressure bleeding isn't a concern - contact with the wound is; while it would be convenient not to have to stop work to go home to slap a bandaid on a little cut it's not a big deal - I'm more concerned about the trauma part of the trauma kit, where you may want to stabilize the problem right then and *then* go home.

I also have sports tape (white cloth, not slick) that's good for stabilizing; medical tape (white, heavy, slick) works very well as a blister protector or prevention (if you regularly get blisters in a spot, or feel irritated in a spot, put some tape on it).

If you think there may be someone else to help (help you, or you help them), you could consider adding an "onsite defibrillator"... $1-1.5k pretty pricey, but could be a lifesaver. Don't know if they "go bad" over time (other than presumed batteries).

 

[RjCorazza]

I carry a small kit in a zippered pouch on my zero turn while out on my route, and in the tractor cab. Consists of a few 4x4's, a small trauma dressing, Coban elastic wrap, and a few bandaids.
I really need to add a commercial tourniquet to my kits.

 

[etpm]

That blood clotting gauze is fantastic stuff. I hadda use it for the first time when I sliced a 1/8 thick chunk off of my finger. There was no replacing the sliced of skin so the clinic put that clotting gauze on the prolifically wound and the bleeding stopped. I now have some at home. Blood Stop is the brand name but there are others.
Eric