Looking for feed back. This is the big "house" first aid kit for me, and it is hung by the door so I can grab it as I'm going out the door if needed. At home, it's backed up with a decent pharmacy which you don't see (tums, immodium, asprin, sudafed, alc and iodine wipes, etc) which is replicated in miniature in my ditch kit.

Now, first let me say that I have more than this at home. This is packed and hangs by the front door so it can be easily found by visitors, and if I have to bug out, well, its on the same row of hooks as my jacket, boonie hat and bag of tricks, and the ditch kit is right above them on a shelf. If BOB gets assembled or I'm hiking/hunting, this goes in one of the pockets along with a small pharmacy package.


The red strap is about 5' of 1" nylon webbing. Thats partially so I can tell it instantly from my bag of tricks by sight or touch, but IS 5' of 1"webbing. The front pocket has six set of nitrile gloves repacked into small zipper bags, and four Wet Ones pack for general cleaning of the would site and whiping away dirt, etc.


The open view. The long white object on the left is a bottle each of acetaminophen and ibuprofen taped end to end. I find stress head aches and fevers react better to the former, while muscle pulls and joint pain the later.


2x military trauma dressings
2x 4" roller gauze
2x saline dressings for burns
1x liquid bandaid (primarily PPE to close small cuts)
1x cravat


in no particular order
~20x 2x2 gauze
~20x 4x4 gauze
~20x 1x3" and .75x3" assorted fabric bandaids
assorted fingertip and knuckle bandaids
tiny purell (again, PPE)
EMT shears (marked to avoid confusion, they've been around a LONG time)
4x 2x asprin (I never use it, but chest pains run in the family)
roll of dressing tape
hank of old utility line (small, might be useful)
3pr ear plugs
blue sharpie
oral thermometer
Gerber "Military Provisional Tool" (I don't like how it feels, so I never carry it, figured this was a good home for it.)

Not shown are a small roll of duct tape (just added it) and an AMK Pocket Dentist which is on order. I'm looking for an N95 mask I like, but so far they all get too moist too quickly. (I could probably give mouth-to-gill to a trout.)

I'm looking for opinions. This thing is pretty well packed, so there isn't much room for additions, but space is limited. I've toyed with the idea of hanging a pair of ALICE dressing/compass pouches on the webbing strap (it fits through the channels for the ALICE clips nicely) for a little bit more space. What do people see as missing?

Nice litte kit, in a really nice little bag. Two things come to mind:

Keep an eye on those gloves. The little thin ones tend to get brittle (or something like that) pretty fast, 'specially in heat, and will fall apart as you try to put them on. I prefer the much thicker ones, even if you can't carry as many pairs.

If you know CPR at all, maybe one of the little folding CPR masks. They are not nearly as good as a real Pocket Mask with one-way valve, but they are small, and better than nothing. You NEVER want to go bareback on anyone 'cept your immediate family, and then only if you are SURE of their medical history...

Great kit. Some comments:

- I didn't see a pair of tweezers.

- Why the saline-dressings instead of water-jel/burnshield?

- I didn't see a desinfectant like povidone-iodine, benzalkonium chloride, alcohol swabs. Although they are already in the 'pharmacy', still not a bad idea to carry them in your FAK.

- glucose tabs and O.R.S. might also be a good addition, as would be a small flashlight, hemostat and some tick-tweezers.

- Also, packing a small bottle of saline and a syringe is very good for flushing out dirt

All in all, good FAK

(I don't think you wanna know my home-FAK

For those interested, the pack is THE PACK-RAT and is really well built. I've stuffed mine and it didn't burst. I use mine to carry "extra" gear, multi-tools, knives, GPS, flashlights, FAK, 550 cord, et al. Great organizer.

Really good FAK. I'd go along with Jim on the tweezers and a light of some kind. Doug's Photon II is a great light for this type of kit. And, I'd add Neosporin or some triple antibiotic ointment, as well as some Betadine or similar.

Tick tweezers, not something I think about in winter. And I always carry a light, so I didn't even think about it. Hence the asking. And I'm pretty sure I'm adding a couple of small pouches to the sling so I can put in providone-iodine wipes.

As for the saline vs burn jels, most burn jels have either aloe or lidocane in them. My sister-in-law would swell up like a ballon and turn scarlet if we used aloe on her, and there is a real possibility that my last living act will be to strangle the sucker who uses any 'cane drug on me. Let's just say I really scared the dentist when I had some work done when I was little.

I was thinking about those, but they have a pretty short storage life, only two-three years IIRC. I was planning on using a dressing pad, but if I'm putting stuff on the outside of this, it might not be a bad idea.

Ow yea, another thing:

Despite the red-coloured sling that tells YOU that it is a FAK, I would make sure it's identifiable as a FAK to other people with for example a FAK-patch put on the Packrat

I use and like Tick Twisters for removing ticks. I got mine from:

www.vetamerica.com

Here's the exact page, until it changes:

http://www.vetamerica.com/index.asp?Page...2&image.y=9

Bear

I"ve thought about that, but if I do, I'll probably break a couple more needles and add velcro to the medrat as I did with the bag of tricks a few months ago. 1000D cordura on the outside, 500D on the inside, VERY hard to stitch through. :P

Actually, every one who is has seen it has understood instantly that it is medical gear, but I also color code everything medical in nature red. That, and my jacket is over the bag of tricks so it hard to confuse the two. But I can see the potential issue, particularly with them being twins and getting pudgie.

Nice set up up

An antihistamine like Benedryl tablets? You never know when someone is going to show an allergic reaction to a bee sting... it tends to happen at the most inconvenient times.

Sue

I've been debating that. THe problem is that Benedryl drops me hard and fast- is there a non-drowsy antihistamine? One that works.

Claritin has always worked well for me, and became over-the-counter a few years ago. There are a few prescription antihistamines available as well, e.g. Allegra.

Claritin is behind the counter because it contains the EVIL psuedephedrin. No prescription, but you do have to ask for it. They even have the quick dissolving tabs that work real fast. (The first time I used one of the "Redi-tabs" it was like eating a snowflake. I wasn't sure it had even been there, so I took another. Same feeling but I resisted taking another. The last time I got a package of them they didn't dissolve nearly as fast.....probably a good thing.)

And therin lies the problem. Everything I've found is either a simple decongestant and stimulant (psuedoephidrine) or knocks me on my butt but would take care of a hystamine reaction and maybe buy 5-10 more minutes if someone just found out the hard way they are allergic to something. That latter is the effect I want, but not something that I can use as a sleeping pill on the principle that I want to be able to call for help.

Claritin is a brand name for the drug loratadine and comes in a 10 mg dosage. (Same as Alavert, I believe.) Claritin-D is loratadine (an antihistamine) mixed with pseudoephedrine (a decongestant).

Besides, that's not really what I meant when I said "over-the-counter". I was referring to that fact that Claritin and Claritin-D used to be prescription-only medications a few years ago.

I do like those RediTabs, though! Really easy and convenient to take, as long as you can pop the darn thing out of its blister pack.

Quick question. One of the reasons I carry Benadryl is in case of bee stings or another life threatening allergic reaction. Would Claritin work for the same purpose?

The main difference between Benadryl (diphenhydramine [in the USA]) and Claritin (loratadine) is that diphenydramine is both an antihistamine and a sedative. Loratadine, on the other hand, is non-drowsy (for most).

Note that in Europe, Benadryl apparently contains acrivastine or cetirizine (think Zyrtec) instead of diphenhydramine. I am not as familiar with these two alternate antihistamines as I have never taken them (so have not researched them).

As for using medications to prevent severe allergic reactions, i.e. anaphylactic shock, I'm wholly unsure of how effective antihistamines would be in this role. Runny noses and watery eyes are in a whole different ballpark than anaphylaxis. The best prevention is to avoid allergens that you are hypersensitive to in the first place. Other than that, knowing how to properly treat it is the next best thing.

I am in no way a doctor, so feel free to consult one for further details.

No "non-drowsy" antihistamines are suitable for the treatment of an allergic reaction. Diphenhydamine(Benadryl) may make you sleepy, but sleepy and breathing is better then unresponsive and not breathing.

I always carry benadryl in my kits. I have the luxury of injectables, but childrens chewable benadryl is just about as good, you just need to make sure that you take the appropriate amount (25 - 50mg PO). Benadryl is VERY effectve in the treatment of severe allergic reactions and anaphylaxis. When our we rewrote our treatment protocols recently we gave benadryl a much higher priority then in the past. I have been able to withhold epinephrine (a medciation I don't like giving patients with pulses unless it is absolutely necisary)on many patients because benadryl worked.

Benadryl doesn't cause drowsiness in me, but I do carry loratadine(claritin)for "seasonal allergies" in others. It works great for the itchy eyes, runny nose, sneezing allergies. It just doesn't work on the major hives, difficulty swallowing, difficult breathing, swollen lips/airway... allergies.

I also like the versitlity of the drug; sleep aid (for many, not me ) antiemetic (anti-vomiting/nausea) and preventing motion sickness are all indictaions for benadryl. I like to call these three indications the long-car-trip-with-a-small-child indications.

Thanks for giving us your expert experience on the subject, Romania! Enlightening as always…

Ironraven,

All in all a good FAK. As others have said, a good CPR mask (with the training to go along with it), benadryl, tweezers (I like County Comm's set) and some triple antibiotic ointment would all be good additions.

Burn gels are nice but overrated. Waterjel has non-aloe, non-lidocaine gels and dressings if you really would like some... but they are not necisary. If anything I would add a couple kerlex dressings, they are are sterile and have a hundred uses... you can never have too much kerlex.

A small flashlight (preferably a cheap headlamp) is an absolute must! Doug's eQ headlamp would be a great addition.

Some zip-lock baggies are also good additions. They also have a billion uses including making ice packs, for irrigating a wound and as an occlusive dressing. I usuually keep 2-4 quart size and 2 gallon size in all my kits (yes even my EMS kits).

If there is room, I like to carry eyewash. Just a couple little bottles, but I live in the land of the dust storm now so...

Also, knowing where you live, I would add a couple heatsheets and 4 or more hotpacks. Keeping a patient warm is all of the battle sometimes.

Now go vacume pack everything :P

Claritin is not behind the counter. Only Claritin-D contains the "evil" pseudoephedrine and therefore is behind the counter.

Then thats the stuff I want.

As I said in another post, It could buy a few minutes. So, if takes 15 minutes for an ambulance to get to me, and I have five minutes before I shut down, and five minutes before I'm having brain damage from lack of air, if it gives me 5 minutes, it's cutting close, but if I have to relearn calculus again, big deal. If I'm a vegitable, REALLY big deal.

If you are relying on Claritin to treat severe allergic reactions/anapylaxsis or "buy time" for EMS to arrive you will not have the outcome you want.

No mini-flashlight?

Any non-negative outcome is better than a negative. I know the odds aren't great, but the odds on CPR aren't so good either.

I apologize, my last response was not meant to be negative. I was attempting to clarify my earlier post… Claritin and Benadryl are not interchangeable in the treatment of severe allergic reactions and anaphylaxis. Although they are both antihistamines, they do not work identically. It would have been inappropriate to let you (and everyone else reading this thread) to leave believing that all antihistamines are created equal and can be used interchangeably.

Compare the indictaions of Benadryl to Claritin

I would relate using Claritin vs. Benadryl for anaphylaxis to using a band aid vs. an Israeli dressing for a GSW...

By all means carry Claritin for allergies… but don’t expect it to work on severe allergic reactions and anaphylaxis.

So keep both on hand. *shrugs* They're small.