Is It Possible to Have Too Many Gauze Pads?

Not including what I have in my medical kit, seven first aid kits, and seven wound care kits, I have one box of twenty-five 4" x 4", one box of 100 3" x 3", and ten ten-count 4" x 4".

Do I need more ten-counts of 4" x 4"?

Jeanette Isabelle

yes

Do you mean yes, as it is possible to have too many gauze pads, or do you mean yes, meaning I need more than ten counts of 4" x 4"?

Jeanette Isabelle

Hopefully you won't need them, but I would get more gauze pads. Do you have 5x9 trauma pads?

Changing the dressing each day runs through them pretty quick.

In addition to what I have in my kits, I have a 25 Count box, minus one, of 5" x 9" trauma pads.

Jeanette Isabelle

You need "more" is the best answer.

I've been reflecting on just this sort of thing myself and using my (long ago) experiences as an EMT and showing up at accidents and such it is amazing on how much you can go through in wound supplies in just one incident. I figure what I currently have on hand with all the car kits, personal kit and house kit I would be able to cover only one or two incidents and everything would be used up.

I've been discussing it with a friend who is still in the emergency medical field and I have concluded that I need to stock basic first aid supplies a lot deeper than I have. Right now I will guess you have enough material for one bad incident and then it's all used up. Future re-supply may be hard so having extra on hand is the way to go.

The full box of trauma pads could all get used in one or two incidents if you had to deal with a major bleeding situation with several wounds and/or subjects at the same time. Food for thought...

As an EMT I can tell you that when someone is bleeding, you can ALWAYS use more gauze pads.

I just have a few boxes at home, and now I see that's nowhere nearly enough. Alright, so how "deep" do we need to stock our first aid supplies? Please be specific for us non-medical people!

A contrary opinion here. I have attended many scenes in outdoor settings, using my EMT training to good advantage. Direct pressure, usually involving one or two gauze pads, worked to stop bleeding. Occasionally we had to resort to IV technology in case of severe blood loss.

One of these situations involved a bystander who walked into the spinning rear rotor of a helicopter, virtually severing his arm near his shoulder.

In any case, you need a balanced first aid kit ready for lots of different situations, so make room for other items.

While sterility is highly desirable and a worthy goal, it is difficult to maintain in an accident setting. If you must, resort to non-sterile items. the goal is to stop the bleeding.

I will agree with our Geezer in Chief, hikermor the objective at the time is to stop the bleed. However once that's done how about resupply? I've got 'good enough' on hand in a kit to generally stop the bleed but once that incident is resolved where do I get more?

Having an "adequate" supply is personal and unique to individual situations but I think (due to us always having a supply source) we underestimate what will be needed if we have to work without logistic support and only have what we have.

The ten-count packages of 4" x 4", which I can "buy" with two credits each (I currently have 61 credits for this quarter), do not fit in my medical kit or EDC FAK. Therefore, they would be for home use only.

What I have for my medical kit and EDC FAK are the two-count packs of 3" x 3".

Jeanette Isabelle

Is it possible to have too many gauze pads? Probably not.

Do you have a good supply...aka enough...gauze pads? Probably.

I would reckon you have more than most. I agree with Hikemor that using the gauze next to the actual wound is critical and using anything clean (even unsterile) on top of the gauze is okay.

You're not a hospital, nor do you need to be. You could stretch what you have a long time if you needed to and that is a decision you can proactively make at the time of the incident.

Practical & balanced preparedness will always get you further than excessive preps in isolated areas. Always plan/prepare in balance and don't get caught up in everything you read in various forums. Glad Equipped.org is pretty well balanced.

You raise an interesting and pertinent question - resupply. For various reasons, let's say the corner drugstore is unavailable. But we have lots of clean bedsheets, etc. What is an acceptable protocol that would result in sterility?

I think I have hear somewhere that boiling for 5 minutes would do the job. Is this close?? What is better?

Use a pressure cooker for boiling for higher temperature. Boiling the sheets may result in shrinkage. Be prepared to compensate for that.

Excellent idea Max
Also when I was in a SAR group I carried a couple of feminine hygiene pads for large wounds

After I get everything else I want, I will have five Credits to spend this quarter. A roll of CoFlex is three Credits. A 10 Count packet of 4" x 4" is two credits. I currently have thirteen rolls of CoFlex.

Do I need more CoFlex? I can either get a roll of CoFlex and a 10 Count packet of 4" x 4" or two 10 Count packets of 4" x 4" gauze.

Jeanette Isabelle

I ordered two more 10 Count packets of 4" x 4" with a current total of twelve 10 Count packets. I will get more credits at the beginning of the fourth quarter.

Jeanette Isabelle

Disclaimer: I have no affiliation with any of the following companies other than I am a customer.

The following is not a complete list. I include this for you to understand better what first items I have.

(1) Custom Medical Kit
(1) EDC FAK
(3) Heavily Modified Total Resources International FAK
(25) 4" x 4" Gauze Pads
(100) 3" x 3" Gauze Pads
(100) 3" x 4" Non-Adherent Pads
(100) 1" x 3" Flex Fabric Adhesive Bandages

The following is my current supply of what I can "buy" with credits. In other words, I can get more of the following at no additional cost.

(3) Curad FAK https://curad.com/product/complete-first-aid-kit-175-count/
(7) Curad Would Care Kit https://curad.com/product/wound-care-kit-assorted-sizes-25-count/
(2) Ready Set Prevent Kits https://firstlinebenefits.com/products/ready-sets/
(1) 100 Count Box Latex Gloves
(5) 100 Count Box Nitrile Gloves
(12) 10 Count 4" x 4" Package Sterile Gauze Sponges
(13) 2" CoFlex
(6) 8 Fl OZ (236 mL) Hand Sanitizer
(20) 3" x 4" Non-Stick Pads
(50) 2" x 4" Plastic Adhesive Bandages
(100) Fingertip Flex-Fabric Adhesive Bandages
(100) Knuckle Flex-Fabric Adhesive Bandages
(80) .75" x 3" Plastic Adhesive Bandages
(5) 1" x 10 yds Cloth Tape
(3) 200 Box Count Alcohol Prep Pads
(3) 13 Oz Petroleum Jelly

I thought I had a 4 Ounce bottle of hydrogen peroxide, but it may have expired.

Is there any area I listed where I lack, especially regarding items I can get with credits?

Jeanette Isabelle

Several years ago, when I was building my medical kit, I received recommendations that far exceeded the bag's capacity. When I asked for home recommendations, I received positive feedback to my initial question but not the follow-up.

I'm left to wonder what's going on. I'm not building a medical bag. Therefore, I have plenty of room this time if that's what concerns you.

Note: There are other first aid items that I can "buy" with credits, but there are too many to list. If you think of something I have not listed, go ahead and recommend it. I might be able to get that too.

Jeanette Isabelle