Just a thought, no body carries anything for poisoning. Syrup of ipecac is the usual recommendation - to induce immediate vomiting(except for some items, mostly corrosives and acids). This is not much of a big deal if you are dealing with adults, but if you might have children or are involved with Scouts or something like that (anyone we know?), poisoning is somewhat more probable, and a purgative might make your short list of FA items. Just depends on circumstances....

I got on this line of thought when I was cleaning up in the backyard and found a bottle of herbicidesitting in the weeds. Just a few days earlier, my neighbor's delightful young boys had been over, gorging themselves on oranges and everything else in sight. I need to find our bottle of ipecas.....

Apparently, syrup of ipecac is no longer recommended: http://www.poison.org/prepared/ipecac.asp .

Thank you very much for the update. One has to wonder what the best course of action might be when impossible to call the Poison Control Center. Any options at all?

Do not try to make your child vomit. If your child has swallowed a strong acid, such as toilet bowl cleaner, or a strong alkali, such as drain or oven cleaner, vomiting could further injure him by bringing the burning substance back up through his throat and mouth. Dilution with water or milk is sometimes recommended but first check the container for MSDS information and recommended treatment. Never assume.

Poison Help
1-800-222-1222 is a nationwide toll-free number that directs your call to your local poison center.

Call 1-800-222-1222 if you have a poison emergency. This number will connect you right away to your nearest poison center. A poison expert in your area is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Also call if you have a question about a poison or poison prevention. You can find prevention information at http://poisonhelp.hrsa.gov.

Be prepared. Post the Poison Help number by every phone in your home and program the number in your cell phone. Be sure that caregivers and babysitters know this number.

Where the phone is not available, I think your best move is to trigger your PLB or evacuate your casualty, but not to offer anything by mouth unless you know what was ingested and you're sure about how to treat it.

"meds like T(ylenol) have no place in a FAK."

This advice makes no sense at all to me.

I was stumped by this at first too. I missed the "except for personal use" part.

Ideally, adults should have and administer their own meds, and parents should do the same for their kids. I do keep prescription and otc meds in my FAK and in a pill fob on my key chain - but - they're intended for me and my family, not for strangers. Maybe it's my training, but i'm just not comfortable giving out meds so i don't plan to. I will give away gauze, band aids, CPR, etc. though.

I have always considered 'First Aid' to be keeping someone alive until 'Secondary Aid' arrives or, rarely, assisting their evacuation to 'Secondary Aid" with immobilisation and so on.

Giving pain killers and using plasters is just dealing with minor niggles which do not need 'Secondary Aid'. Really just dealing with the day to day events of life, scratches and bruises.

What is the official definition of 'First Aid"?

Exactly. Sometimes being able to treat those things can have a significant positive morale impact. Other times they can keep an unpleasant event from becoming an emergency.

Thank you, Jacqui. The basic is that in normal first aid, you do not offer meds to the patient. What you might choose to take yourself, or provide your children is an entirely different matter. I am sure most of us carry some kind or another of NSAID or whatever for personal use.

A year or so ago, I was leading a hike on a remote island 9San Miguel) and one of the party asked a buddy to get a Tylenol when they returned to the boat. We were a good 45 minutes from the beach, and it was at least another half hour or so out to the boat. I had a packet of T with me, and I offered it to them. It's OK to provide something like that, if they initiate the transaction. Perhaps a fine point, but fairly important.

I note that Red Cross FA kits now include a packet of two 81mg aspirin tablets. This is a change from the old days, and I believe they are included for administration to a potential heart attack victim.

It is also abundantly clear that I need to get myself into an updated FA class of some sort. Probably nothing more dangerous than a rusty EMT.