My take is another on the "Be Prepared" side for folks who are trained:
http://www.laughingdog.com/2011/10/b...d-kit.html?m=1
My take is another on the "Be Prepared" side for folks who are trained:
http://www.laughingdog.com/2011/10/b...d-kit.html?m=1
L Dog
AT 2000 Miler
The Laughing Dog Blog
https://lighterpack.com/r/38fgjt
"The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness." - John Muir
Nice link. Thanks Chilly Willy.
Women can have heart attacks also. Just sayin'. Hope this doesn't psyche you out. ;-)
Thanks for the list. If you break a leg, you can make a splint from branches, sleeping pad, stuff like that. Just saying you can have a sort of game plan ahead of time, and that can help determine what to bring. Don't just prepare for the easy stuff. Basic first aid should cover some scary stuff also. Yeah, it can be gruesome, but it can happen on highways also. I took my first aid in basic training from an army seargeant. He kept it pretty graphic. I don't think of garbage bags the way I used to. Anyhow, haven't used any of it yet. Knock on wood.
Sorry for the mispelling of Sergeant. whoops.
That covers jsut about everything I carry except good old moleskin (or storebrand equivalent)....
i don't pop blisters so I don't worry about that, my knife is sharp enough to act as a razor blade so I don't need that either.
I used to carry a maxipad with me all the time. Odd i know but they are sterile until opened, they make great bandages on large wounds and you never know when you might need to rescue a lady in need...just to be nice about things.
the rest of my kit is duct tape.
Take almost nothing I say seriously--if it seems to make no sense what so ever it's probably meant as a joke....but do treat your water!
The section of foam I bring along for under my feet in the hammock and sitting on the ground doubles as a possible brace for a sprain/break. With a bit of the duct tape I have around my poles, I have a ready made soft cast. It's a good bit of first aid to know about.
If you have large blood flow, this is consistent with an arterial bleed.
If you do not have any sterile gauze, take the patient's clothing and apply pressure.
If it is still bleeding, do not remove the first layer, apply more material and hold more pressure.
If the blood is still coming and you are unable to control the bleeding, consider the mantra "life over limb." You want to save your life even if you may lose your limb.
If you will lose too much blood before being able to make it to definitive care (ie. a hospital), make a true tourniquet above the site of bleeding. A true tourniquet will cut off all circulation to the area distal to the tourniquet. Consider the real possibility that you will lose the limb. Once you have made the tourniquet, do not remove the tourniquet. Write the date/time the tourniquet was applied directly on the limb with a pen. The hospital will need to know how long the tourniquet has been in place. You need to be at the hospital before they can remove the tourniquet. Removing the tourniquet prematurely can release the acidic toxic blood back into the blood stream and this can be fatal. Once the bleeding is controlled, make the patient comfortable and keep them warm. Treat for shock. They will not be able to properly thermoregulate, so you must be sure to keep the patient warm. Any notes that you write about the patient, the incident, the patient's allergies or medical history should be tapped to the patient's chest in the event of an air evacuation. This is only a brief explanation limited to a few injuries. Do not leave your patient alone. Get help. Send others for help.
Ibuprofen, benadryl, immodium, neosporin, a few band-aids of varying sizes, one or two Band-Aid blister kits, Body Glide, small Swiss Army knife. Not that it couldn't get worse, but I've never needed anything more than that.
"Hahk your own hahk." - Ron Haven
"The world is a book, of which those who do not travel read only a page." - St. Augustine
http://www.scrubhiker.com/
I always love to discuss hiking and first aid, so great question. As others have said, the first thing to do is take a first aid class, the GMC in Vermont offers some very good wilderness first aid classes, although they are a little expensive. Blisters are a very big problem and so are minor wounds. Duct tape is a must and so is some form of first aid for blisters. Other stuff you can fill in as you gain experience.
"I told my Ma's and Pa's I was coming to them mountains and they acted as if they was gutshot. Ma, I sez's, them mountains is the marrow of the world and by God, I was right". Del Gue
Things you will actually use in your first aid kit:
Alcohol pads...you're going to be dirty, so anytime you get cut or a blister you're going to want to keep it clean.
Bandaids
Neosporin
Pain reliever (aspirin, tylenol, advil, ibuprofen, whatever)
You really won't need much more than that.
There is no treatment I can give myself or others that will replace the need for professional medical help, only delay it. And on a trail as well traveled as the AT, it is unlikely that I will need to be sterile in my treatment of major wounds, because I will be visiting a hospital ASAP. There are only three pieces equipment I know how to use that A. could save someone's life and B. could not be improvised from things I already carry. I'm not going to haul a backboard and an AED out, and epinephrine is prescription only (I don't have any allergies). And I am not going to drink some whiskey and sew myself up unless I'm more than 3 days from real treatment, which NEVER happens on the AT.
So I carry enough to treat the little things, but any problem that would send you to a doctor in normal life should have the same result if you are hiking.
Here is a list:
band aids + neosporin (packets if you can get them, buy a tube if you get a big scrape that needs multiple applications)
cortizone cream (bug bites and stings)
Advil (or pain killer of choice)
Nail clippers (seriously, take care of your toes)
Blister treatment of choice
body glide (or other chaffing treatment)
I agree with most everyone here - a few bandaids, foot care kit is about it. Some of those tubes of things I replace by filling the substances into a straw and sealing both ends with a bic lighter. I'll make extras for resupply if I use them, and the weight is negligible that way. My entire first aid kit fits into a 2 x 4 zip lock except for the tri corner bandage, and it includes needle, duct tape, and floss to fix gear. I can take care of my nails in town, so if I do a bounce box, the clippers will be in there. Also, being a girl scout, I've always learned that a tri-corner bandage is handy. I know most think it's overkill, but I'll be carrying it. It came in handy when I broke my arm in '89. Now I have a silk one, so it's lighter. I don't consider body glide, vitamin I, my meds, including albuterol to be part of the first aid kit - those are just along for the ride because they go into the back country with me. I will get an epi pen as I do have asthma, and it's the one thing I may need that could save my life in the event of a reaction, but that's about all I'll add. Never needed one before, but you never know.
Quilteresq
2013, hopefully.
When I was in Ski Patrol, we made rather large ones out of cotton material. Big enough to sling a big boy. Mines 60" from corner to corner, and is festooned with lizards. Kind of a woodland cammie lizard motif. It'll be my bandana and function as scarf, wash cloth, a water pre-filter, pot holder, do-rag, neck covering in the sun, bandage, sling ...
L Dog
AT 2000 Miler
The Laughing Dog Blog
https://lighterpack.com/r/38fgjt
"The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness." - John Muir