First Aid Kits
 

I find the pre-packed first aid kits to be a sorry lot: overpriced and not very useful.

I planned and set up our own that meets our specific needs. My wife takes thyroid medication so we built up extra of that and packed it. Any prescription medication can be refilled a few days early each month and a supply retained in a recent prescription bottle (and rotated). Some insurers have limits like 3 days early or something, and after Katrina I just asked our doctor to prescribe an emergency supply and paid for it outside the insurance system.

We have santitzation supplies like peroxide and betadyne, topical antibiotic tube, silver treated curad bandaid type items for minor cuts, butterfly closures for a nastier cut that might otherwise need a few stitches, a surplus kit for sutures if a worse cut required them, good tweezers for splinters, nail clippers, good scissors, saved pain killers not used up from dental work, aspirin, things for both directions of minor gut problems (that people die of in places with no medical system), electrolyte powder, gloves, infectious unit masks, fish tank non prescription antibiotics, zinc oxide tube (kills off some kinds of minor skin infections), baby type ointment, large bandages and good elastic style tape, SAM splints, sprain 'ace bandage', allergy remedies, sugar (an emergency topical antibiotic), salt (a useful germicidal gargle), big sterile syringes and sterile water for washing wounds, female yeast infection over the counter treatment, q tips.

I do not think i have remembered everything... the point being we looked at what minor maladies have needed treatment over the last decade and also what a pandemic might call for and what no doctor or pharmacy being available might call for and selected. We packed the various items out of their cardboard boxes in ziplock bags to keep them more compact and dry and sanitary.

From herbal remedies we added hibiscus for tea that eases breathing in colds or flu situations, mexican yam for the wife, and hawthorne which is good cardio support for me.

Golden seal is wonderful for high fevers in my experience, but costs about as much as gold these days, so our very old supply is all we have.

We put it all in a multipocket carry on size rolling or backpackable bag. It is not a space hog but could treat many minor problems that can (and do) become deadly in unsanitary conditions without medical services, plus meet our specific needs.

Re: First Aid Kits
 

Add cayanne pepper tincture, maybe some ice packs to that and you'll be in good shape.

Re: First Aid Kits
 

When I had my own machine shop two doors down from me there was a company that used to sell medical equipment from overseas, while I was there they close down the business and almost everything that they had in stock went into the large dumster used for trash.

Lucky for me my company was across the dumster I saw them dump the first barrel of "trash" which I took out right away..... it took them about five hours to dump all their medical equipment and about seven for me to take them out.

After making what I considered to be a complete field hospital, plus some extras, I took the rest to the swap meet where I sold the rest for about $4,500 and it took me two months, some people must have been survivalists like myself because they bought $500.00-$600.00 at one time.

Many of the samples were still sealed in the packages the way they came from overseas...... the best ones were from Germany and the worse ones from Pakistan.

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Pakistani nationals firing through Ponce's pockets before dumping his sorry Cuban ass into the local stream.:haha:

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Lol Lancer, at least they are kneeling down or I would think that they are doing something else hahahahahahahaahah :rolleyes:

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This is an area I've been concentrating in the last year.....we already had a decent stash of medical supplies, and I've been doing a work-study trade with buddy of mine that is an ER doc.....he is teaching me to do wound repair and minor surgery ( we use chicken carcases shot with a .22 ), and I teach him woodworking/carpentry. Nice trade off IMHO.

Hopefully, should the SHTF, he will be around and I won't have to use my limited skills......and I can take care of his wood needs......but if not, we'll each have another skill.

Our local farm co-op is a wonderful source of anti-botics, etc....'for the cows'......

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:rofl: this reminds me of when my dad was teaching EMT classes, he had all his students practicing on chickens and he made my mom come in and he sliced her open and sewed her back up for a demo. She still has the scar and now their divorced.

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I keep a trauma kit in addition to the usual first aid stuff and an EMT jump bag. Among the items in it are an oral airway kit, nasopharyngeal airways, CAT tourniquets, a cervical collar (which had already been used once), pressure bandages (I like the Israeli ones that can be used as tourniquets), a couple of Hemcon bandages and hemostatic gauze, skin staplers (2 sizes) and staples and staple remover, enough plaster cast supplies for two casts (though I intend to use one for a demo for my students), IV start kits and IV catheters and a saline lock (but no saline), glass syringe (can be sterilized and reused), field surgery kit w/extra hemostats, suture kit w/extra sutures, SAM splint, needle kits for chest decompression, an Asherman seal and petroleum-impregnated gauze, a bunch of gauze and bandages, some vet-grade antibiotics, and a few other items I can't remember off the top of my head. I'm still working on the kit.

I have been trained in the use of items in the kit, though some of them require more practice than I've had. I have 2 paramedics, an EMT, and an RN in the family, so skill won't be a problem. I've mostly focused on two type of items: those that will stabilize a patient in a trauma situation (such as chest decompression needles, tourniquets, etc.) and those that might be in short supply in a large and widespread disaster (like sterile saline starter sets). Some of the stuff I aquired because the items became available to me, and I didn't want to pass them up.

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I really don't know how to use any of the stuff that I have but with my VA Dr. and his wife (trauma nurse) coming over WTSHTF I don't worry to much about it.

Two years ago when I was shot in the love handle I took a long nose pair of twicers and took the bullet out myself.... din't hurt or bled till I took the bullet out........ the next morning my whole side was purple and black.

Re: First Aid Kits
 

OK, for tear, cut or puncture wounds...

Steri Strips made by 3M (kind of looks like filiment tape) - I've used these MANY TIMES and saved many a trip to the doctor for sutures - even did the same thing when my mom sliced one of her fingers to the bone. Cleaned it out completely while she grimaced. Sent my dad to the local pharmacy for Steri Strips (and they make them in several sizes). Once my dad returned I used two strips as the cut was to the bone and about two inches long.

Two weeks later my mom went to her doctor for some other reason. Her nurse asked if my mom wanted her to change the bandage, which she had been doing every other day at my recomendation. As the nurse changed the bandage she asked which emergency room did the "work"? My mom proudly told her that "MY SON" was the doctor. The nurse commented that it was a very professional job. Tearing and cuts are best 'repaired' with Steri Strips.

If you get a puncture wound, like stepping on a nail or bitten by an animal, Liquid Bandaid works wonders. Again, making sure the wound is clean and dry before using the Liquid Bandaid (same as the Steri Strip).

All of the antiboitics listed in the above threads are excellent suggestions. Ditto about going to your doctor and explaining after Katrina you would just feel safer with a three month supply on hand. And pay for it out of pocket, as NO insurance company I know of will reimburse you.

A couple of other things.

First is where/how to store your first aid supplies. I use medium sized fishing tackle boxes, purchased when they go on sale (just about right now) at Wally World or one of the other discount stores. I have three just for 'overflow' first aid supplies. One just for electronic supplies like SW radio (with a spare long wire antenna and small batteries - AAA, AA, C & D). Finally is my 'normal' first aid kit. It has everything you could need short of major sugery, which I would not attempt if I don't have to. I do have a roll each of SS suture wire and regular suture thread. Plus about twenty curved suture needles in different sizes, with suture thread already attached.

Second is rotating meds. Even aspirin. Most over the counter meds have a 'use by' date. As long as they are kept in a cool, dry, dark place they should be good for several years after the 'use by' date. I keep unopened bottles in a special box marked 'give away meds'.

IE, when/if SHTF I have my own current supplies that are for my family ONLY. Then there is a 1/2 cubic ft box full of unopened aspirin, advil, etc type of OTC stuff. I will gladly give them out to people with the caveat that "NOTICE THIS MEDICATION IS OUT OF DATE - USE AT YOUR OWN RISK". I've even printed 1"x2" labels that say that and stuffed them in the box with the meds. I just have NOT attached them yet.

Well, there is LOTS MORE. For example, the Boy Scout Handbook on first aid is TOPS in my book for simplistic first aid. For more complex problems, knowing a good DR like Tn Andy (or myself) know should come in handy. Oh and don't discount the local county vet, as they are AT LEAST as good as any medical doctor, especially during a SHTF scenario.

In a REAL SHTF emergency, I would use filiment tape in place of Steri Strips and Super glue in place of Liquid Bandaid. But only AFTER using up all my normal supplies.

Re: First Aid Kits
 

Hi wallew-

I haven't been able to find 3M Steri Strips
on pharmacy shelves. Are they behind the
counter, do ya have to ask for them?
On the web, I notice they are a bit pricey,
so if I buy just one box of 50, what size
should I get?

BTW I asked you a gunsmith question in
another thread, but it was some time ago,
so I forget where.....

Hope you are well recovered.

dtnwn

Re: First Aid Kits
 

With all the great posts, I will now improve my kit. Thanks, guys and gals.

Yours sounds amazing, Ponce, but I won't go that far.

I will add steri strips, a disposable skin stapler or 2 and a few other mentioned items.

And yes, thank heaven for vet supplies!

Our vet makes home visits instead of working out of an office, which makes our pets very happy. He was here to take care of our dog's ears and check our remaining 17 year old cat out today. I told him about our kit and he thinks post Katrina every family should have a good first aid kit. I expect if there is some additional antibiotic we wanted he might prescribe it.

I did not inquire today.

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Perhaps this isn't "first aid", but having a kit of a few high calorie items by the first aid kit could be extremely useful.

Re: First Aid Kits
 

Sam,
You SHOULD be able to get them at your local pharmacy. I get mine at WalMart. I have to ask because it seems they move them every time I go in for the Steri Strips. Ditto for the Liquid Bandaids. But they SHOULD be somewhere near normal Bandaids. Ask the pharmacist if they carry them. And while NOT CHEAP, they beat the snot out of going to the emergency room for stitches. Work at least as well as those stitches which may or may not be available if SHTF.

We have discussed the Benjamin/Sheridan pellet rifle. Which I agreed that the mods done to ANY Benjamin to make it more powerful was a good thing.

We also discussed the question regarding Tritium front sight on your shotgun. Or laser pointers for your weapons. Yes on the Tritium front sight on your shotgun - though in truth, given it's short range (unless you are using sabot rounds), you should be able to 'point shoot' it from both the shoulder and the hip. No on the laser pointers, consider a 'red dot' style of sight if you just gotta go past iron sights on rifles. Weapons lights... That's a hard one to answer. Using a light is worse than laser pointers at 'giving away' your position. I won't put them on my own weapons and that is my personal choice. BUT, having multiple flashlights available is always a good thing - I ONLY use MagLite, cause it's been proven in the field by all sorts of LEO's for years.

We also discussed the term "bullet proof". So that's about it for firearms questions. If you would like to revisit any of them, let me know. I'll check in here when I feel up to it.

Thx for the well wishing. Unfortunately I seem to be back in a cycle of prescriptions that don't do their job. Which keeps me either in pain or in bed due to being over medicated. There is no middle ground it seems. Next doctor visit is in early November. The last time I went through this it took two years to get the meds correct. This time I'm hoping for a solution a little quicker than two years. Which is why I don't post much recently. Just too worn out with all my meds and getting sick with my IBS. The sad part about IBS is it used to gross me out when I (or anyone else) threw up. Now, I have grown accustomed to heaving out everything in my stomach at short notice. Which basically sux.

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wallew-

IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome)? Dammit!
Tough stuff to deal with.

My Honey has been suffering from some
kind of IBD (Inflammatory Bowel Disease)
for almost year now. She has every test,
some of them multiple times. We still don't
have a definite diagnosis. Doctors have
done all they can. She is trying a draconian
diet on her own. She thinks it might be helping...

namaste'

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Wow... being cut open and then stitched... I usually have to pay extra to get the girl to do that to me... :)

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Buy a book by the name of "Where There Are No Doctors"..... handy book to have around.

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Sam,
Has she tried Belladonna ALK/PB Tabs (donatol)? I find it works wonders for me.

I was misdiagnosed with Diverticulitus for two years. The main difference is that Diverticulitus is brought about by what you eat. IBS is brought on by stress. Have her think about every time she has 'an episode'. Did she have something stressful occur in the previous week? If so, it's IBS. If not, I got no clue.

I also take Lexapro and Zelnorm. The combination of these three drugs make me 'almost' normal. But every once and a while the pain is pretty bad, so I just take extra of my scrips and go to bed. My doctor and I have a deal. I'm allowed to take extra meds OR I can go back into the hospital for four days - the first three days I don't hardly remember because I was on synthetic morphine (dilaudid). I REALLY don't want to go through that again.

If she is having luck with altering her diet it's probably Diverticulitus. I call it the 'no nuts, twigs and leaf' diet, which I STILL follow. Sux, but it became a habit during those two years of being misdiagnosed.

Tell her I send my best and there ARE meds out there that can help. Also, tell her to drink GREEN TEA with antioxidents in it. I don't know why, but it DOES HELP. It was an INTERN that snapped to what my probably actually was. My doctor might have never figured it out...

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I am posting this because apparently
10-20% of Americans suffer to some degree
from IBS.

Wallew- Yup she takes belladonna, which
she thinks helps sometimes. She has another
RX for pain, Librax (?) which doesn't help at all.

Ultrasounds showed very minor diverticulosis,
which apparently a LOT of people our age have.
Whether she suffered an attack of diverticulitis,
we don't know for sure. But after treatment with
antibiotics the pain changed location and "feel".
Later, a test indicated a heavy duty Clostridium
dificile overgrowth which was treated with flagyl.
We surmise this resulted from the earlier course
of antibiotics. The C. d. is gone now, but the
pain remains.

Yes she is often subjected to heavy stress
(she's a contractor), ... difficult clients and driving
Los Angeles freeways for hundreds of miles a day
frequently.

I have UC, but don't suffer much from it very often.

I got my Honey two books which advise two different
dietary regimens. She is trying one of them now. If it
doesn't work she will try the other, because as you say,
this stuff sux.

Have a look at the comments for the books at Amazon.com.
You can even do a usenet (Google Groups) search on the
authors. Amazon search links often don't work so here are
the titles....

"Self Help Way To Treat Colitis and Other IBS Conditions, Second Edition"

"Breaking the Vicious Cycle: Intestinal Health Through Diet"

I'll tell her about your meds and the green tea which she likes anyway.

Thanks and take care....

Edit: Just found this FTC complaint so now I am suspicious about the book "Self Help Way to Treat Colitis ..... "

Re: First Aid Kits
 

I bought some skin closures that I thought
would be similar to Steri-Strips. On closer
examination, they were Steri-Strips! The
reason I didn't notice that at first is because
NEXCARE is printed in huge letters across
the top of the package, 3M is quite small
by comparison.

At K-Mart I also bought a package of
2nd Skin Cut Closures and a package of
Doctor's Choice Skin Closures. These last
two come with special covers to go over the
closure strips. Hope I don't need to put them
to the test anytime soon ....

dtnwn

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More important that a few baubles stored up, is knowing docs personally. Whether it's WTSHTF or TEOTWAWKI you want to know some physicians real well and be able to offer them a reason to give a damn about you.

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I introduced my doc to his wife, more than a
half lifetime ago. Now they got two big beautiful
adult sons. Hope this gets me some points .......
:questionm

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Antibiotic!

I get mine from onlline fish stores and seal them in a vac. bag and put them in the refig. crisper, they stay good for years this way.

Mike 90%