With the results of Katrina still being dealt with I keep thinking about priorities (medical, shelter, water, and food). What items would be good to have in a first aid kit for an extended situation like this? What would you put in to avoid infection/disease? Would you include a dental kit, or any other specialized items, that would be left out of a normal FAK?


Robert

For an extended FAK I would definetly put in some anti-diarrhea type OTC meds. Tylenol/generic equiv., aspirin, Benydryl/generic equiv., Pepto-Bismol. To avoid infectious diseases you really need to get up to date on your immun. shots. Waterless hand cleaner. Primatene Mist, sold OTC has epinephrine in it, only way you can get epi W/O prescription, treats breathing problems (asthma) What are others thoughts on sleeping pills? Sometimes you are so hopped up on adrenelin that you cant get to sleep. I refuse to take them because Murphys law says soon as they kick in, I need to be fully alert. As a paramedic, I keep IV fluids and admin kits on hand. Seeing the NO disaster, diarrhea takes a toll on the kids. Cant keep fluids in them. Maybe some Pedialyte? Thats all I can think of for now.

Benydryl works great for sleeping aid and is non-habit forming.

More materials to care for a wound for some time, prophylactic antibiotic like the good pathologist on another thread took (notice he chose ciprofloxacin), lots of handwashing, more than one N-95 mask (Dr. Sanjay Gupta was seen wearing a mask even while riding in a boat around the streets), plenty of water treatment tablets (see below). Brushing the teeth would be nice to be able to do. A finger brush (or cut down regular toothbrush) and some baking soda or tooth powder for brushing is light and takes up very little space.

Miss. Shelter Closes as Several Fall Ill

Sep 4, 1:45 AM (ET)

BILOXI, Miss. (AP) - Officials closed a shelter Saturday because more than 20 people there fell ill, and doctors believe the patients may have contracted dysentery from tainted water. Another 20 people in the area also were treated for vomiting and diarrhea.

The shelter at a Biloxi school had been without water and power since Katrina hit Monday. About 400 people had been staying there, and doctors said some may have ignored warnings to stay away from water.

Some running water came back on late Friday, but it was not safe to drink or even to use to brush teeth or wash, said Dr. Jason Dees, a volunteer working at Biloxi Regional Medical Center.

Most of the patients were treated with antibiotics. About 30 ill residents were taken to a hospital in Mobile, Ala., while the rest were bused to a shelter in Thomasville, Ga.

Biloxi police Cpl. Kayla Robert said she had no idea what caused the illnesses.

"Who knows what they swallowed before they got here," she said. "Half of them were swimming in stuff that we don't even know what it was."

think about what will be in short supply -- bleach, gloves, otc meds, and how many people you're planning to treat

There may be circumstances where a doctor or medical care is accessible, but medications and certain tools may be in short supply or non-existent. I like to keep a few extra goodies on hand for this situation. If I don’t use them the items can always be donated to others based on greater need.

This kit is stored in a large plastic Craftsman tool box for quick deployment. This kit has most of the usual First aid items with the addition of:

-Military style surgical/suture kit.
-A broad spectrum antibiotic.
-Prescription Pain medication.
-Anti-diarrheal medication (Imodium)

If you have a good relationship with your physician you may be able to get script for the necessary prescriptions. The pain meds are leftovers from surgeries, kidney stones (D’oh!) etc. I keep the pain meds in their original bottles to be sure labeling is correct.

I store at home additional items in larger, more economical sizes. This is my non-portable stuff. It is all located together in a cabinet. Again, these items can be used or donated as needed (assuming a local emergency). Some of this I purchased to be prepared, other items are leftovers from personal or family injuries.

-Extra bandages, gauze pads/sponges, gauze rolls, ace bandages.
-Extra splints, slings, knee/elbow/wrist braces, crutches (cheap at thrift store).
-Alcohol (6) bottles
-Hydrogen peroxide (6) bottles
-Hibiclens
-Betadine
-Hydrocortisone ointment/cream.
-soap
-personal hygiene items
-large box latex gloves
-large box of dust masks
-toilet paper
-paper towels
-porta potty w/extra storage bags
-plastic trash bags (large/small)
-gravity fed, solar shower bag.

I also store a large gravity fed Katadyn water filter. This filters water without having to expend energy/time pumping. Clean water is crucial to treat/prevent disease. I store approx 150 gallons of water in multiple locations inside/outside my house. I learned this lesson from my brother-in-law. He used his travel trailer to store emergency water. During the Northridge earthquake a brick wall next to his trailer fell over. It nicked the side of the water tank. When he went to get the water for his family, the tank was empty.

Good luck,

TR

In addition to a well stocked kit, you'll get a lot of mileage out of better training. The basic First Aid from the Red Cross is a start, but, for longer term scenarios, you'd be better served with a Wilderness First Aid, or Wilderness First Responder course. (Ok, there are Wilderness EMT courses too if you've got the time/energy, it's a lot of work.)

I know, you're not in the wilderness. The thing that makes these courses good for the scenario you described is that they are designed for situations where you might not have the EMS system able to reach you quickly. They are designed to teach you how to handle medical problems when more advanced medical help may be days away. Most of the folks I see at these are outdoor group leaders, outfitters, hunters, Scoutmasters, etc. Still, the knowledge would be valuable even in non-wilderness situations for handling disaster scenarios where the Fire/Police/Rescue services are overwhelmed. Some examples of places that do a good job are:
National Outdoor Leadership School's Wilderness Medicine Institute, (NOLS WMI):
http://www.nols.edu/wmi/

Stonehearth Open Learning Opportunities (SOLO):
http://www.soloschools.com/index.html

Good luck!

Check your larger State Colleges. For example, Unversity of Florida officers a Wilderness Course
University of Florida Student Health Care - Safety Training

In case you don't want to look,they officer:

Emergency Oxygen Administration
Wilderness First Responder Course
Bloodborne Pathogens Courses
CPR
First Aid
First Responder
Lifeguarding
Wilderness Training Courses

I would stop thinking of it as first aid. I know I'm being picky, but first aid is something to get you to the doctor so that what ails you can be treated. If you're in a place like Mississippi after Katrina, you're in a survival situation, not a first aid one.

My suggestions are to assemble a suitable kit of supplies and get the training to know how to use the supplies. I've got a list of links at
http://www.cieux.com/adventureKits.html
for, among other things, how to equip a long-term kit and where to get training.

I'd suggest doing some research and building a custom kit based on your needs and situation. I'm in an area that gets earthquakes, so I going to worry about different things than people in Florida and New Orleans (burns from broken gas mains igniting surrounding buildings, for example), but many of the issues are similar (collapsed buildings, but our collapses will be of multi-story office and apartment towers).

Among the non-first aid issues are long term food, long term water, and long term shelter (and local weather). These may be more important for that long term than bandages and iodine.