As an avid participant in the ETS forums and especially the new UP Forum, I most closely follow the posts on urban EDC/GHB set-ups. Maybe its that my work takes me into many venues that are, at least in theory, terror targets, that leads me to the belief that most of the EDC/GHB posts with content lists, are "light" in the trauma care area. My basic premise is that if you regularly find yourself in/on urban mass transit, tunnels, high-rise office buildings, etc., you need to carry the civilian equivalent of an IFAK. That would include, at a minimum: an Izzy bandage and trauma pad, (2)3" Kling-type roller gauze, sterile 4x4 gauze pads, tourniquet, sterile vasoline gauze pad or Asherman Chest Seal Bandage, waterproof adhesive tape or duct tape and optionally, a Quik-Clot type hemostatic agent. I'm interested in your take on the premise.

In the first few minutes of a mass casualty incident I am not sure it is realistic to count on those supplies lasting very long, most likely you will be tapped out pretty quickly. If you are suggesting carrying those items for personal use, certainly you could include those items in your kit, just be sure to have the proper training.
Pete

If I knew what those items were and how to properly use them, then I might carry them - but I do not.

Good observation. I can't recall a lengthy discussion of late on First Aid of that magnitude.

I used my REI Dividend this year for a big First Aid kit that I throw into the car for road trips and camping. Otherwise there's just a more modest First Aid kit and miscellaneous First Aid items, such as splints, in there (I'm prone to knee and ankle problems). (I have my rear seats out for the camping season and have in their place two 99-gallon Rubbermaid Action-Packers that tend to accumulate gear).

I'll be interested to see if this thread adds to my First Aid shopping list.

Here's the big First Aid kit which I bought at REI. It's geared toward mountaineering:

http://www.adventuremedicalkits.com/prod...e=Comprehensive

The Comprehensive Kit, introduced in 1987 is equally at home in the Himalayas or the Sierra and any area where professional medical care may be hours or days away. Group leaders will have everything that they need to care for a large group on an extended trip. Upgrades from the Fundamentals kit include a detachable Ultralight & Watertight kit, oral rehydration salts, a scalpel, and dental repair items.

* 72 Hour Home Emergency Kit
* Extended Backcountry Travel
* Group Leaders
* Mountaineering Expeditions
* Trekking in Third World Countries



Bandage Materials
10 Bandage, Adhesive, Fabric, 1" x 3"
10 Bandage, Adhesive, Fabric, Knuckle
2 Bandage, Conforming Gauze, 3"
2 Bandage, Stockinette Tubular, 1" x 4"
4 Dressing, Gauze, Sterile, 2" x 2", Pkg./2
4 Dressing, Gauze, Sterile, 4" x 4", Pkg./2
4 Dressing, Non-Adherent, Sterile, 3" x 4"
2 Eye Pad, Sterile

Bleeding
3 Gloves, Nitrile (Pair), Hand Wipe (Intl)
1 Instructions, Easy Care Bleeding
1 Trauma Pad, 5" x 9"
1 Trauma Pad, 8" x 10"

Blister / Burn
1 Aloe Vera Gel with Lidocaine, 1 oz
2 GlacierGel (Small Rectangular)
1 Molefoam, 3" x 5"
22 Moleskin, Pre-Cut & Shaped

CPR
1 CPR Face Shield, Laerdal
1 Instructions, Easy Care CPR

Dental
1 Dentemp, Filling Mixture with Pain Relief

Duct Tape
1 Duct Tape, 2" x 5 Yards

Fracture / Sprain
1 Bandage, Elastic with Velcro, 3"
2 Bandage, Triangular
1 Instructions, Easy Care Fracture & Sprain
1 SAM® Splint, 4" x 36"

Instrument
1 EMT Shears, 4"
1 Pencil
3 Safety Pins
1 Splinter Picker/Tick Remover Forceps
1 Thermometer, Digital

Medical Information
1 Comp. Guide to Wilderness & Travel Medicine
3 Patient Assessment Form

Medication
5 Acetaminophen (500 mg), Pkg./2
3 After Bite Wipe
1 Antacid, Pkg./12
6 Antihistamine (Diphenhydramine 25 mg)
2 Aspirin (325 mg), Pkg./2
5 Cold Medicine, Medicidin-D, Pkg./2
3 Cortisone Cream 1%, 1/32 oz (.9 g)
6 Diamode (Loperamide HCI 2 mg), Pkg./1
1 Glutose Paste (Glucose 15 g)
5 Ibuprofen (200 mg), Pkg./2
1 Instructions, Easy Care Medications
2 Oral Rehydration Salts

Other
2 Aloksak Waterproof Bag, 6" x 9"
2 Plastic Vial, Flip-top, Large
2 Plastic Vial, Flip-top, Small

Survival Tools
1 Matches, Waterproof

Suture / Syringe
1 Scalpel, Sterile, Disposable, #11 Blade

Wound Care
6 After Cuts & Scrapes Anethestic/Antiseptic Wipe
2 Cotton Tip Applicator, Pkg./2
1 Instructions, Easy Care Wound
2 Povidone Iodine, 3/4 oz
1 Scrub Brush, Sterile
1 Syringe, Irrigation, 20 cc, 18 Gauge Tip
1 Tape, 1" x 10 Yards
3 Tincture of Benzoin Topical Adhesive, Vial
4 Triple Antibiotic Ointment, Single Use
1 Wound Closure Strips, 1/4" x 4", Pkg./10

Dagny,

Open it up and inventory the dated items. I have several of these, and two were new from the store, but many of the consumables were already out of date. AMK took good care of me though.

What paramedicpete said - make sure you have training to use everything, particularly the tourniquet and chest seal.

I do pack a bag with rolls and rolls of kerlix, lots of 4x4s, some 4x6 ab pads, gloves, and about 10 rolls of adhesive tape - its EDC in the sense its in my car every day, and another at home every day, and a third in my office every day, so 'it' goes in proximity to everywhere I go but is not 'on my person' every day. If my building collapses the kit is stuck with me - if another building falls down, I'm there with 1 or even 2 kits, assuming I stop at my car. Also some triage tags, scissors, some splint material on the bottom, some cheap rain ponchos, some essentials I'm forgetting, but basically its all meant to stop bleeding and control shock for a period of time (less than 24hrs).

Same kit contents, three copies. I can treat one person, or 50-75 people from each bag. Another person who needs supplies can pull from this bag. I can apply only the level of care I'm trained for by nature of the contents. I have one tourniquet and one Asherman's chest seal per bag, and about 2 hours of formal training in their application, which I think is pretty minimal, mostly limited to identifying situations when you definitely would need to apply them. I am not likely to take the time to apply either in a mass casualty situation, but a trained EMT might.

In the course of the last year I have pulled some kerlix and some 4x4s from this kit for isolated injuries. I have added a small supply of knuckle band aids and some neosporin just because I can find them easier in this kit than unpacking my regular FAK. The contents are all durable, nothing slated to expire, so its a sunk cost I've invested in Just in Case.

Two of the biggest problems are bulk and weight.
If you load a bag up with all the stuff you would like to have it often ends up not being EDC or even car cargo because it is too bulky and heavy.
If it is not with you it is unavailable to you when you need it and then it is no good at all.

Bandages can be too easily improvised at the scene from clothing or other stuff to sacrifice a lot of space to carrying them. Field expedient bandaging might not be very sterile, but once the person you have done first aid on gets to the trauma unit the doctors can fill them full of whatever antibiotics they please.

That is why you see a lot of first aid kits that are little more than a few bandaid strips, adhesive tape, gloves and possibly a valved resuscitation mask.

The biggest part of your first aid kit should be what you carry between your ears.

edit:
Make sure you include a good watch and note taking material.

Will do - thanks!

I realize this is pure heresy here, but I must disagree with the concept of every-day-carrying, on one's person, a First Aid Kit, with any reasonable content.

I keep a pair of gloves stuffed in a 35mm film container in my jacket pocket, and there are first aid kits in my office, down the hall in the communal kitchen, in my car, and in the vehicles of my employer's security who respond within a few minutes of a 911 call, along with EMTs who respond nearly as quick, etc etc, all the way up to the local hospitals and Trauma Center in Harborview. For convenience I sometimes have a band aid in my pocket, though those tend to get crusty and thrown away before I use them. I have used the gloves 3 times in the past year though. Better safe than sorry.

As I see it there are two possible scenarios requiring first aid: something you can treat immediately, with a trip to a nearby first aid kit, or calling for help, which comes running; and a mass casualty incident that could erupt on you, flood your ability to respond, sidetrack or delay the usual first responders, leaving you on your own, and requiring more first aid than you can ordinarily carry on your person to deal with. Scenarios in between might differ in scale or severity, but I don't see the reward:return on carrying any significant first aid supplies on my person except when I am remote from it all, ex. backpacking. I go to lengths to keep first aid supplies near me always, but not on me.

As per usual YMMV, and it probably will.

Luckily (or unluckily maybe?) I always seem to either be in my truck, or within 50 meters of it when these things happen. I keep a relatively well stocked FAK and maintain proficiency with local EMS friends and a trauma cutter I know.

This is one of the reasons ( including being a control freak ) I alway offer to drive.


Now if I could get folks to quit doing stupid things just as I come around the corner...