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#108961 - 10/18/07 12:07 AM Re: My FAK needs help! [Re: ]
hiker1 Offline
Journeyman

Registered: 10/17/07
Posts: 79
Loc: Missouri
If there is room for the shears in the FAK, then keep them. I've had to cut through winter gear to get to an injury and trying to use a knife to do the same thing could easily cause additional injury to the patient.

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#108976 - 10/18/07 03:15 AM Re: My FAK needs help! [Re: ]
duckear Offline
Addict

Registered: 03/01/04
Posts: 478
Originally Posted By: Hacksaw
I go back and forth though because it's definately way safer to cut clothes with the EMT shears than an ultra sharp folding knife.



Guess it depends on who is driving the knife!

wink



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#108978 - 10/18/07 03:34 AM Re: My FAK needs help! [Re: duckear]
OldBaldGuy Offline
Geezer

Registered: 09/30/01
Posts: 5695
Loc: Former AFB in CA, recouping fr...
"...Guess it depends on who is driving the knife..."

And how much you want the victim to bleed from new places. Having stripped more than one victim naked with my EMT shears, I highly recommend them for safely cutting away clothing to get to a wound...
_________________________
OBG

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#109091 - 10/19/07 02:10 AM Re: My FAK needs help! [Re: duckear]
ironraven Offline
Cranky Geek
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 09/08/05
Posts: 4642
Loc: Vermont
Cold, tired, in the dark, but you can see well enough that you know that there something warm and sticky dripping out of the cuff of your best friend's jacket, and his arm has a really odd looking new joint. After his head slapped the belly of the moose no one saw in rain.

You want sheers. smile
_________________________
-IronRaven

When a man dare not speak without malice for fear of giving insult, that is when truth starts to die. Truth is the truest freedom.

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#109372 - 10/21/07 01:09 PM Re: My FAK needs help! [Re: ironraven]
Brangdon Offline
Veteran

Registered: 12/12/04
Posts: 1204
Loc: Nottingham, UK
Originally Posted By: ironraven
Iodine wipes, rather than the bottle- smaller.
But you only get limited uses. Somewhere in the main site Doug Ritter writes in favour of tubes and bottles and against single-use packages. I currently like to have a 10ml bottle of antiseptic liquid. If the iodine will do that job I'd keep it.

I don't know much about the MIOX pen. Does it involve making new antiseptic on demand? Is it something to be bothered with when you are in a hurry?
_________________________
Quality is addictive.

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#109373 - 10/21/07 01:16 PM Re: My FAK needs help! [Re: Brangdon]
JIM Offline
Old Hand

Registered: 03/18/06
Posts: 1032
Loc: The Netherlands
Quote:
But you only get limited uses. Somewhere in the main site Doug Ritter writes in favour of tubes and bottles and against single-use packages. I currently like to have a 10ml bottle of antiseptic liquid. If the iodine will do that job I'd keep it.


From the article that you (must have) read:

Many kits now include small towelettes, pads or swabs of various antiseptics, adhesives, cleansers and the like packed in individual application packets. While very convenient, the shelf life of this packaging tends to be pretty short, much less than if the product was in liquid form in a bottle. While very convenient, all too often you tear open the package to discover the pad is dried out and useless because the packaging leaked or was punctured. If you rely on these sorts of packaged products, be sure to replace them with fresh ones every year or two. Another serious drawback is that they are of such limited quantity. Better to pack small containers of the preparation, either instead of, or perhaps better, in addition to the packets.

Small 1/2 or 1 oz. plastic bottles of things like Betadine (Povidone Iodine 10% solution), an antiseptic scrub, or Mastisol, an adhesive (much better adhesive than Tincture of Benzoin, often found in kits. It also doesn't sting like Benzoin does if you inadvertently get it in the wound), can often be obtained from your physician, who receives them as samples, or at a good medical supply house. Alternatively, you can decant from a larger bottle into a small one. The one drawback, such as it is, is that you also need to pack small gauze pads or cotton balls to apply these preparations.

Similarly, single application foil packs of antibiotics, salves and the like, while convenient, aren't necessarily the best choice for our uses. If you only need a little of the compound, the remainder is wasted and cannot be saved for possible future use. If you need more than a few applications of the compound, the number of packets on hand, you are also out of luck. In a survival situation, with the possibility of numerous dressing changes, you'll run out too soon, unless you add lots. Small tubes of these preparations are a better bet for survival use. However, if you do open a tube for some other first aid requirement, you should probably replace it at your earliest convenience since it loses its sterility once opened. Once again, the best bet may be to have some of each, single use packets and tubes.

_________________________
''It's time for Plan B...'' ''We have a Plan B?'' ''No, but it's time for one.'' -Stargate SG-1

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#109441 - 10/22/07 01:55 AM Re: My FAK needs help! [Re: Brangdon]
ironraven Offline
Cranky Geek
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 09/08/05
Posts: 4642
Loc: Vermont
I agree, they are limited. But when volume is a priority, the wipes do have the advantage over tubes. They also have the edge when it comes to situations where environmental contaminants may be a serious consideration.

As the original article points out, a mix probably best. But if you don't have the space for both, you have to pick to fit. Buy your ticket, take your chance.

As for the MIOX, it wouldn't be compatible in terms of space with this kit without significant revisions.
_________________________
-IronRaven

When a man dare not speak without malice for fear of giving insult, that is when truth starts to die. Truth is the truest freedom.

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