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I need to go through it and see if anything is outdated and needs replaced.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

 

[Suburban Plowboy]

I always carry top-quality dirt to rub on injuries.

I have been thinking about the first aid issue now that I have a baby son, and I believe it's time for the wife and me to find a course and get some decent supplies.

I can tell you one thing I've learned: always, ALWAYS keep a stash of actual painkillers, not joke drugs like Tylenol and ibuprofen. These days, medical people treat everyone like a lying junkie, so it can be very hard to get real painkillers, and when they finally hand them over, they may give you tiny amounts.

I had my first kidney stone on a Friday night. They discharged me on Saturday morning, after a night on a gurney full of Dilaudid, with enough Percocet to get me through until Saturday night. No lie. I didn't see a urologist until Monday. Thank God my dad had some painkillers left over from dental work.

If you go to the Bahamas or Mexico, you can get painkillers over the counter. I don't know if Canada still permits it. The customs people don't care about a small amount for personal use, as far as I know. A few boxes of Tramadol can provide peace of mind.

To me, the best argument for giving drug users prison time is the misery they cause others by making it hard for us to get medicines we need. Or maybe they should just be horsewhipped on national television, along with pill-pusher doctors who specialize in serving them.