Let's talk first aid

[Justin Crossley]

I know we have had a few threads on this already but I had a situation a couple weeks ago that got me thinking and I wanted to bring it up again. The situation was not uncommon. @Ryan Avery, Kelly, and I were about halfway done cutting up a cow elk I had shot when Ryan cut his index finger pretty deep. Between the two of us, we had enough stuff in our first aid kits to do a pretty piss poor job of bandaging him up. So here's my question to everyone. And I have one caveat; assume the user has little or no medical training.

What do you bring in your first aid kit?

 

[Felix40]

Wash it with water. Put some neosporin on some toilet paper and wrap it tight with tape.

I cant see packing anything more than the absolute basics. Ibuprofen, neosprorin, mole skin, tape and maybe tweezers if Im in the cactus. Theres just not much that you cant fix with that.

 

[HiRidge]

Besides basic bandages ect. One thing I've used that requires no med training is super glue. I've used it more than once to "stitch" a cut.

 

[*zap*]

Keep Calm and Keep The Injured Person Calm.
Keep telling the injured person or yourself that you will get this treated and they/you will be A-OK. Do not panic.

Stop the bleeding....pressure, pressure bandage or TQ. Clotting agent if necessary...

Bandage and carry on or get proper treatment if necessary.

Partial list would be.....good supply of gauze pads, antiseptic ointment, full roll of lukotape(very important/useful), Israeli pressure bandage, TQ, super glue gel or super glue and some baking soda(baking soda sprinkled on super glue makes it set very, very fast), scissors, clotting agent,

Get some training even if it is a good utube channel.

 

[Jerm]

Dang Zap...you get around...didnt know you were on rokslide too, buddy....

 

[*zap*]

Dang Zap...you get around...didnt know you were on rokslide too, buddy....

Just joined. Very good stuff/people here. I am very happy with my decision to join rs. Hope all is well in your world!

 

[skierhs]

When I’m solo i try to grab a flare or two smaller ones. They add some weight but when it’s only me I figured the ease of ripping a flare would be the best option. Almost never bring it when I’m not alone but if it’s wet enough then I may.

 

[Jerm]

Heck ya Zap....All us Kansas boys are livin the dream eh! Rokslide has the best classifieds out there...great place....a bit less drama than AT...lol

Sorry for the off topic posts...Zap is a good one,,,,a little grumpy at times but thats because hes old...lol
just ribbin ya Zap....

 

[Ryan Avery]

The issue with a deep cut is stopping the bleeding and getting it clean. The mistake on my part was not having enough gauze and some decent tape like lukotape. It bleed right through two pieces of gauze and the duct tape would not hold when saturated with blood. Like mentioned above super glue is a must. It was an eye opener for sure.

@Justin Crossley, you kept me alive and I got to bleed all over your elk meat

 

[Napperm4]

First aid training does not equal medical training but probably the most important thing anyone can bring that weighs nothing is knowledge.

My first aid kit contains

A few bandaids large/small/ odd shape
1 x small burn dressing
4 x 3” gauze pads
2 x steri strips
1 x super glue single use tube
2 x single use polysporin
2 x single use muscle gel
4 x alcohol wipes
4x tincture of benzoin
1 x pack of rehydration salt
4 x aspirin 81
1 x tweezer
1 x nail clipper
3 ft of leukotape
1 x small ace bandage or vet wrap
2 x doses Benadryl
1 x daily dose of Imodium
2 x daily doses of ibuprofen
1 x daily dose of Tylenol PM

Other items in my pack that can be used for first aid

Small Leatherman
Big Safety pin & Seeing needle
Zip lock bag (can be filled with water as a cold compress or cut the corner to irrigate a wound)
Duct tape
Cordage

I realistically only need to treat the common injuries I’ll see out there - sore muscles, small cuts, scrapes, burns, sprains.

I have everything I need to stop bleeding, stabilize / splint a sprain or broken bone, avoid infection, manage pain, cool a burn and treat for shock.

Anything immediately life threatening is what the cell phone or spot is for.

 

[rbljack]

After this fall elk hunt I "upped" my first aid kit/supplies. While on my elk hunt sawing firewood, the blade skipped and got my thumb holding the log pretty good. Bled all over the place in the snow right at camp. Luckily I had the gauze necessary and enough leuko tape after letting it bleed for a while to clean it, and then irrigating the would with clean (treated) water. LESSON 1: keep the first aid kit readily available so when you start bleeding all over the place, you don't have to dig it out of the bottom of your pack!

I also heard that elk 101 podcast about the broadhead in the calf and decided I was going to add more supplies. My first aid kit is around 12-14 ounces total weight and fits into a quart size zip lock bag. It is ALWAYS placed in a kifaru medium sized pocket attached to my reckoning pack on the exterior so I have quick access to it. My biggest purchase was the Garmin In Reach Mini, and its kept in the basement pocket of my AGC bino harness. Another possible first aid item in the bino harness is one of those cheap mylar blankets.

The first aid kit does have some band aids and boo-boo stuff, but goes well beyond that. I'm going through my list off the top of my head here, but it goes something like this:

Most importantly, For heavy bleeding/series wounds/ cant stop bleeding in an appendage: I have the SWAT T tourn, zip strips, quickclot gauze, 2 large 5x9 Curad Surgical Dressings/gauze.

Moving one step down in the severity/ for deep cuts or wounds I carry an ace bandage so I can wrap up the affected area after applying gauze if needed (Also handy for sprains, splinting, etc.) There is also about 5-6 feet of leuko tape in there, numerous sizes of gauze (3x3, 4x4,). I carry a small syringe to irrigate a deep cut and remove dirt, debris, etc to minimize infections. Iodine for cleaning the wound, bioclusive bandages for covering a wounded area, steri-strips to close a wound if not too severe.

Eye Kit contains 2 eye patch bandages, and two packets of eye drops (one time use for each).

Foot Kit contains Moleskin and small toe nail clipper. I removed the powder from my windicator and replaced that power with non-scented foot powder which is located in my bino harness.

Boo-boo kit includes: A few Band aids, tweezers, carmex, anti biotic ointment, alcohol prep pads, Iodine Prep Pad, 1 packet of burn cream, 1 scalpel blade wrapped in tape, 6 q tips, cold sore cream, 1 tube of superglue, Vaseline and cotton balls are in my fire kit, but available if needed. I also have a mirror if needed. Its on my compass.

Meds include a few benodrylls (sp??) for allergies, 2 aspirin, 2 packs of electrolyte powder, Imodium AD for the beaver fever, and some Tylenol or Advil. 1 packet of vitamin C (1000 mg). I have additional meds in a different area of my pack. Two water treatment tabs. The items in here are limited/designed for a one time or one-incident use.

My splint kit is simply the closed cell foam Thermorest small pad that I carry to sit on and the trekking poles I bring with me/use as needed. Each pole has some additional leuko tape on them, plus some duct tape.

 

[aion2come]

I have the normal stuff for small pains and cuts, but after watching the elk101 episode I upped my kit with a tourniquet and a SAM splint. I realized that in an emergency, a broken bone or a life-threatening wound would be two of the most likely causes, and I wasn't remotely prepared. Feeling better about that now.

 

[chippewawarrior]

Besides basic bandages ect. One thing I've used that requires no med training is super glue. I've used it more than once to "stitch" a cut.

This ^^^^
I carry: https://www.rescue-essentials.com/gluseal-90-adhesive-skinstitch-2ml-1-ampule/

Along with plain old super glue and steri strips for deep cuts.

I use compressed gauze ( https://www.rescue-essentials.com/h-h-primed-gauze/), and pressure to stop the bleeding. I also carry Quick Clot gauze for serious wounds.

I don't carry a specific tourniquet as I could improvise one with other gear as needed. I've used them at work several times for gunshot wounds and while they work well, the best one I have used was improvised from yellow police tape.

 

[5MilesBack]

Just a few bandaids, some gauze, leukotape, Quickclot, iodine poppers........but had one break open in my first aid bag this year.........everything still smells like iodine including my pack. May have to rethink those. Even at home, about the only time I use bandaids is to keep from getting blood all over the place.

Back in the 80's I was removing the lower part of the legs at the joint with my knife and ended up slicing my right index finger to the bone just in front of the joint with the hand......still have that scar. I just gauzed it and taped over it with athletic tape until I got home. It could have used some stitches but I just wrapped it until it healed.........about two months later.

 

[Outdoorsman12b]

I take minimal possible. Adventure Series .5 ultra-lite plus some Imodium and benadryl. I will be adding liquid band aid this year for the reason you mentioned. Duck/electrical tape also helps quite a bit with closing up wounds. Guessing you guys were using one of those razor knives like the Havalon. I used one once and never cut my hands so many times. My hunting partner packs cut proof gloves for cleaning.

 

[steelheadmike]

Hunt Backcountry just had a pretty good podcast on the subject.

 

[Gunnersdad49]

Coflex or Vet Wrap is cheap at a vet supply, expensive at an outdoor first aid aisle. Same stuff. It works great for keeping a bandage in place, stabilizing strains, sprains, breaks. I used to pack an ace bandage, but the coflex works better for me.

In addition to things mentioned above, steri-strips and good waterproof bandaids like Nexcare are awesome to keep little boo-boos from ruining a hunt. These pictures are of a wound that we steri-stripped. As long as you can get good alignment (proximation) of the edges, and keep it closed, stitches or staples aren't (in my non-professional opinion) necessary.

 

[*zap*]

Is the vet wrap reusable or once and done?

 

[Gunnersdad49]

Is the vet wrap reusable or once and done?

It clings to itself, but does not have an adhesive. It can be reused if you are careful with it, but I treat it as disposable, ripping off as much as I need, saving the rest for later. So it is sort of like a tape, 3" wide, 5 yards long.

 

[Southforkguy]

My first aid kit is a custom kit I put together, stored in a quart ziplock inside the talon for quick access outside of my Seek Outside pack. Not sure on weight but maybe half a pound? Keep more stuff back at camp. This should cover most major puncture/deep cuts/gunshot while in the field.

quick clot pack
3x4 gauze pad
antiseptic towelette
a couple small bandages
sterile surgical suture
1/4" roll medical tape
4.5"x4 yard gauze roll
aluminum finger splint
triple antibiotic mini pack