a checklist can be kept on your phone as well

I'm taking enough weekender trips that I'm getting an idea of what I need and don't need. As I become more and more experienced, I get a better idea of what to add and what to drop.

This trip, for example, I left my pill cutter at home. Since I currently have five pill cutters, Mom suggested I keep a pill cutter in my EDC bag.

That sounds like a plan. What I think would be better is go with Mom's suggestion and one of my own: create an itemized list on my word processor and print it out. It's best to start that now to organize the items in categories. This way I got a month to let my OCD get every item under the right heading.

Under prescription medication, for example, I would list every prescription.

Where we go, when we go, how long will we be gone and what will do when we get there will change some items, such as clothes, but other things should remain the same.

Another change I considered because of this trip, and because I got sick last year, is to add cough drops.

Jeanette Isabelle

Mom and I returned yesterday from a week-long trip. This time I did not forget anything. Nevertheless, there was room for improvement.

Initially, we were to stop at a fast food place on our way there, as we usually do. We made a change mid-trip, have lunch on one of the picnic tables at the visitors' center. After all, Mom packed lunch items for when we reach our destination. Our hotel room has a kitchenette. Therefore, we did not pack paper products or utensils. When we decided to have lunch on a picnic table, we had to improvise. Brochures worked well as place settings and TP is okay for napkins; straws, on the other hand, are not suitable substitutes for even simple tasks such as spreading the mayo.

As we were having lunch I thought it would be good to have a HIPPUS Cutlery Knife.

https://www.swiss-advance.com/product/hippus-cutlery-knife-red/

The problem is, would I use it often enough to justify bringing one on a trip?

It seems like every time we go on a trip, a person gets injured — either one of us or a stranger. Mom and I were already on the tour bus. Another person, an older gentleman, tripped and fell as he was in line to get on the bus. I sprung into action. I grabbed my EDC bag, got off the bus and treated his multiple injuries; the most significant injury was to his head. I used a hand wipe to clean the wound to his head and a couple of other wounds. After I used up the hand wipe, I noticed a smaller scrape. I used another hand wipe to clean that scrape.

After everything was said and done and got the gentleman patched up, I was second guessing what I used for each wound. I should have used a povidone-iodine prep pad on the smaller scrape.

While on the riverboat I got a sunburn, my second in five years. I have silver sulfadiazine which works miracles on sunburn; since getting a sunburn is so rare, I stopped bringing it with me on trips. Do I bring silver sulfadiazine with me for an incident that only happens twice every five years?

Mom and I ran into one problem that all the prepping in the world could not solve. We were arguing about the lid that goes over the toilet seat. Probably since I was toilet trained, I had always put the toilet lid down after I finished. Why, after all these years, would a person suddenly complain about the toilet lid being down?

Jeanette Isabelle

Did anyone else assist you with the gentleman and his head injury? Sometimes you get lucky and it turns into a team effort..

My comments are somewhat critical, but I mean them to be ultimately positive and an assist to you and others who might be aced with a similar situation.

Falls have potentially far more serious consequences than mere cuts and scrapes and someone rendering assistance must be on the lookout for neurological problems and signs of potential brain damage, especially when the head is involved. Is the person normally alert and reactive? coherent? Any swelling, pain, or bruising, especially around the neck and backbone? Are pupils equal and reactive? Symptoms may not appear immediately,but appear as swelling, often internal. progresses.

It sounds like his fall was not all that serious (in line to get on a bus), but the elderly may have fragile bones; it often pays to be especially cautious.

Pessimism pays off when proffering first aid. Look beyond the obvious injury; my experience is that often the most potentially damaging injury (say fractured vertebra) is not obvious and is only revealed during a thorough patient survey.

You did render assistance and your aid was positive and helpful; my remarks are intended to help you, and others who might read this, to do an even better job next time.

I am sure others, with even more experience than I, will chime in with helpful comments.

When travelling in a new locale, it might be worth researching whether Good Samaritan laws are in place. These offer some legal and liability protection if you offer help in good faith and act reasonably within the bounds of your training.

For food items I would prefer a fixed blade over the Hippus. It is much easier to keep clean. Victorinox offers good knives for that (called tomato knife, breakfast knife). Monbento has a cuttlery set in a small box.

Like the comment of hikermore this meant to be helpful to improve first aid actions. By helping you already did a good job.
In the case of a fall it is adviseable to assess injuries before helping the victim to get up (are they oriented, do they show signs of brain injury, do they feel pain indicating a broken bone). Have the victim sit down for treatment. The reason for the fall is also important. It may indicate a preexisting condition (in that line the smell of polish remover may indicate problems with blood glucose levels).
Some people show allergic reactions to the application of iodine. Using the wipe for the scrape probably was the better decision.

There was an employee also helping the gentleman. She was getting his name and other information to record the incident.

She also asked general knowledge questions to assess his mental state. When she asked who the president is, he gave the wrong answer. To which she replied, "It's not a political question. I need to access your mental state."

He or his wife, I forgot which, asked for an icepack. My EDC FAK is too small to hold an icepack. The bus tour company had a cooler on sight and used a plastic bag to make an ice pack. That was the only first aid item they provided. Didn't they have more?

The gentleman and his wife got on the bus. I sat in the seat in front of them so I could continue treating and observing him. Other than what I mentioned, the bus tour company didn't do anything for the man.


I did not see how he fell.

Jeanette Isabelle

If someone can't respond correctly to a question like that, I would examine more intensively

I don't know if he gave the name of the previous president for political reasons or he was confused. He answered the other questions correctly.

I did not voice it; a question that came to mind was would he have accepted help if I owned a red ball cap?

Jeanette Isabelle