What’s in your First Aid Kit?

So you starting IV’s and doing needle decomp on random people with trauma?

 

I am guessing if he has it and can obtain the stuff he was trained in how to use it.

I was a medic in The Army and if I had it and knew someone in need I would do it.
They want to take me to court later saying I saved their life I am ok with that.
Or if I didn't I know I tried.
I have only been to one scene where an immediate IV was needed but the EMTs were there in 3 minutes.

 

If you look at the parentheses it is family only for the decomp...

And yes if it’s a severe trauma and IV access is needed and I’m first on I would start a line and render care since that is within my scope of practice. Also notice they are only large bore IVs. I’m not going to be doing all this care for someone that has a broken leg. Again those are only going down if I’m about to make kool-aid.

 

So what medical director do you work under that allows you to do so off duty?

 

I would not be under medical direction as you said I’m off duty. That would then fall under the good Samaritan law which protects against litigation after the fact. And as long as nothing I do is deemed grossly negligent it prevents litigation. And since Intravenous therapy is in my scope of practice nationally and locally I’d be fully confident that if for whatever reason made it to court that any other person of my licensure would in fact do the same thing.

 

I don’t agree in the least bit, but whatever you’re confident with

 

Fully confident

 

I’ll bring this thread back to life. Man, some of you people have seen some stuff. I recently realized how unprepared I am and just spent ~2.5 hrs cruising the meditac website and ended up picking up this kit.
https://meditackits.com/products/deluxe-emt-trauma-bag

For $110 I figured it was worth it to have them compile the kit for me. And their kits are legit! I’d argue maybe the best bang for the buck you can find out there. I thought it was a scam at first because all their components were name brand. I’ll be sure to post up pictures once received. Their assault trama kit is the real deal. Also picked up their backpack as I’m not really a duffle guy.

To go alongside this pack I plan on making another medication pack following this:
https://expeditionportal.com/overland-medicine-over-the-counter-field-pharmacy/

I’ll probably add in a few other things like Ondansetron. If you’re stuck way out there and start puking, things can go downhill real quick.

going to seek out some courses so it’s not all for not if a situation ever arises.

 

Glad you brought it back up. There are a few things listed on some posts that I need to add to my kit.

My kit is built in to a Milwaukee pack-out and rides in the bed with all of its pack-out friends. I spend a lot of time close to my truck, but not always close to medical help, especially when the weather turns. In the winter, I can be 20 mins from basic medical attention and an hour or two away from exceptional medical attention. But when the weather rolls in, that can turn in to hours or even days when they close the highway and ground the life-flight choppers. So I've tried to up my game recently.

I go through a lot of bandaids (for myself and others) and occasionally see a cut that ought to be stitched together. Luckily, I've only seen one guy with injuries severe enough to need immediate hospital attention (knock on wood). He received a puncture wound about 3" deep right next to his femoral artery that nicked it and bled like a mutha. I was working at a shop at the time; after checking him over quickly, I had him sit down and apply pressure to his leg while I ran over to the first aid kit on the wall. There was only a torn vinyl glove and ONE SINGLE BANDAID in the whole box! We tossed him in the back of the van and hauled but to the hospital.

I also watched a driver fall asleep and roll their Jeep off the highway through the woods one early morning. The thing cartwheeled three or four times - not rolled, but cartwheeled - headlight, tail lights, headlights, tail lights, head lights, tail lights as it bounced off the lodgepole pines bordering the road. I thought for sure I was showing up to a dead body as it looked like someone was ejected from the room, or at least finding a bad trauma situation. Driver was crazy lucky; the fiberglass roof exploded in to a couple of pieces which is what I saw eject from the vehicle. It was 2 degrees out and corralled the driver while they walked around in shorts and a t shirt for 15 minutes before another driver showed up. They were in total shock and completely nonsensical (though didn't really exhibit signs of a concussion). Medics and highway patrol showed up in about 25 mins and I let them take it from there, but it was an eye opener for me.

A couple of things not mentioned that I keep in my kit are: sports tape, emergency blankets, cordage (NOT for tourniquets, so don't fret about that), permanent marker, wound seal (maybe somebody else mentioned this), gatorade powder, and Cramer Cold Spray. We see four seasons, so risk of exposure includes both hypo- and hyperthermia. I was happy to find Cramer Cold Spray as I sometimes work myself to exhaustion in less-than-climate controlled environments and need to immediately cool down to get my brain back in to gear.

Anybody have experience with Zip Stitch Laceration kits? Are they any better than steri-strips for lacerations needing more than a bandaid or two? I joked with my ER buddy that I was just going to use my super-duper-super glue if I needed more than a bandaid. He laughed and pulled out a bottle of superglue from his tray. If anybody is familiar with a product called 2P10, I usually have some nearby.

 

Packout is a great idea. I was thinking about putting my stuff in the cross bed toolbox but it gets way too hot in there.

I’ve seen the zip stitches put to use before. They work really well and seem to be fairly easy to use. Just make sure you clean the wound before.

 

Kit arrived today. Pretty sweet and seems to be comprehensive. I swapped the kit out of the duffle bag it came with into a backpack. Figure it’s a little easier to handle if you need to move a distance with it. Here’s how I organized; insight welcome for better organization ideas.

Top outer pocket: bandaids, splinter stuff, insect bite wipes, antibiotic ointments


Bottom outer pocket: gauzes, tape and wraps


Middle inside pocket: scissors, splints, and larger pads


Back innermost pocket (not the one you want to go into): tourniquet, blood pressure and clotting, CPR, airway stuff, burn dressings, forceps, chest seals, emergency blanket and general survival stuff