Having been inspired by the great tips and info from this site, I'm redoing my personal mini survival kit. I want to make the best use of the available space, so I was wondering if someone can tell me if a portable aqua tablet in a couple cc's of water would make a good antiseptic or should I carry something else?<br><br>

That's a very good question. One of the keys to the "Mini Kit" concept is to get multiple uses from a single item. Iodine based water purification tablets do produce a mildly antiseptic solution in water, after all that is their intended purpose. It would certainly be better to clean or irrigate a wound with treated water than risk introducing other little bugs, critters and nasties from untreated water. I would still use the 2 tablets per quart of water recipe. Don't use this on someone who is sensitive or allergic to iodine.<br><br>

I second the suggestion about two tablets; use as sterile (filtered and sterilized) water as possible to irrigate a wound. Another way is to add 16 drops of PVP iodine (Betadine) to a liter, or to boil the water (and cool it). Do the best you can under the circumstances. Another item on wound irrigation - 9 x 1 gram salt tables to a liter of water will give a saline solution for irrigating a wound.<br><br>

Hi,<br><br>Talking about multifunctional products for a survival kit I think that a small bottle of KMnO4 crystals would be a better choice when one wants it to be a multi purpose 'item'.<br><br>In high concentration it's a very good disinfectant and even helps you to kill off naty "foot fungus" lower concentrations are fine for cleaning wounds and it can also be used to "sterilize" water to make it potable.<br><br>The nice thing is that one can use the coloration of the water as a gauge, depending on the number of KMnO4 crystals one dissolves in the water the color changes from light purple to a dark purple color.<br><br>Also a small amount of the KMn)4 crystals go a long way.<br><br>Best Scouting wishes from Holland,<br><br>Bagheera<br><br>

Re post on potable aqua. Is KMnO4 Potassium Permangenate? I was no good in chemistry.<br><br>Is anyone familiar with Chlor Floc ?<br><br><br>

Hi GarbageBandito,<br><br>Yes KMnO4 is Potassium Permangenate <br><br>

In my pocket kit, I carry three Povidone-Iodine U.S.P. Prep Pad's. They are individually wrapped in a small foil wrapper similar to an alcohol prep pad. They are mfg by Dynarex Corp. of Brewster, NY 10509<br><br>I read in a forum somewhere where one guy kept these in his kit for a dual purpose antiseptic and water purifier. He suggested dropping one pad into a quart of water similar to using purification tabs. <br><br>I have never used them in prac app, but, I do have them.<br><br>

some real odd tasting water wouldnt it be?<br><br>

Those prep pads sometimes contain a very mild detergent. Those which do will slightly foam or leave a white soapy look as they're used to prep. I have not been able to determine with any consistency which brands do or don't. Perhaps there are some surgeons or surgery tech. out there who can name a particular brand. HOWEVER: There are so many products actually intended for the purpose, and safe water is such an important part of the survival picture, why use a technique which is unproven. I wouldn't want to drink it. I do like the idea of multi-purpose items, but who needs diarrhea in a survival situation.<br>Read one of the wilderness medicine books in the ETS links for a pretty balanced picture of water purification approaches. I really want a "for sure" and not a "perhaps", myself.<br><br>

You guys in the Netherlands get foot fungus??? I thought the Klompen protected you. <br><br>My reading about potassium permanganate is that it is outdated as an antiseptic. Multi-purpose, yes. But possibly not the best choice for any of the purposes. While I might give it a place in a larger kit or bug-out bag, personally I wouldn't put it in my mini-kit. Just my opinion.<br><br>There's even some argument about iodine dilutions causing some tissue damage: for those who carry iodine concetrates or crystals and intend to make their own antiseptics... be sure you know what you're doing.<br><br>

In a primitive situation, there is no advantage to using the time and resources to make up a saline solution for wound irrigation. Just use water and plenty of it. "Dilution is the cure for pollution!"<br><br><br>Jeffery S. Anderson, M.D.<br><br>

I wouldn't think that it would be much different in taste than water treated using iodine crystals........or most types of water purification tabs. <br><br>I have and use both. In my mini tin kit, I use tabs in the small glass vials with teflon lined caps as suggested by Doug.....and have for a couple of years. I just have a very small, flat Omniseal waterproof wallet that contains some items, and I had thought about using the pad for its possible dual roles, since it is nearly impossible to pack tablets in any manner that would be flat (for a wallet or otherwise) that wouldn't result in their crumbling or going bad.<br><br>

I agree that the saline is not a necessity, but are you saying that any water is okay, if you have the option to treat it? If you don't have any option, certainly, you use what you have, but the man's question was about the advisability and sufficiency of treating, provided he had the means, and whether Potable Aqua would suffice, with an eye to stocking a kit accordingly. Is your advice that treating suspect water is a waste of time and resources? Considering your background, I respect your opinion on the matter.<br><br>

Im not a flight surgeon, but I had to do quick and dirty first aid in the C.G. enough times to understand the rational. In the field, Time is the enemy with injuries. I flushed a recruits eyes with sea water to remove brasso, and a can of coke to flush a puncture wound on a pleasure boat. the goal is to STOP further tissue damage,be it poison, caustic or mechanical agent. A proper facility can handle the minor complications of our expediant measures along with the initial trauma.But only if the patient is aliveand the limb, eye etc. still viable . <br><br>