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#285595 - 08/25/17 04:09 PM Re: My Checklist [Re: haertig]
haertig Offline
Pooh-Bah

Registered: 03/13/05
Posts: 2322
Loc: Colorado
There's also some really good pump aerosol spray-on antibiotic that is made with silver. I wish I could remember the name of it. We use it on ourselves often, to help heal minor wounds, and it works great. We stole it from our horse locker! You spray it on like Bactine and just let it air dry in place.

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#285596 - 08/25/17 04:12 PM Re: My Checklist [Re: Jeanette_Isabelle]
haertig Offline
Pooh-Bah

Registered: 03/13/05
Posts: 2322
Loc: Colorado
In case anyone is wondering, yeah, if you have horses, you learn a lot about wound care!

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#285597 - 08/25/17 04:14 PM Re: My Checklist [Re: haertig]
Jeanette_Isabelle Online   content
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 11/13/06
Posts: 2946
Loc: Nacogdoches, Texas
Originally Posted By: haertig
Get a box or two of the super large, super absorbent feminine hygiene pads. They are a good addition to the much more expensive and harder to find "trauma pads".

I'm familiar with that improvision.

I have a twenty-five count box of 5" x 9" trauma pads, thus far one has been used for a first aid kit. Also, trauma pads are not hard to find; they may if the brimstone hits the fan.

Jeanette Isabelle
_________________________
I'm not sure whose twisted idea it was to put hundreds of adolescents in underfunded schools run by people whose dreams were crushed years ago, but I admire the sadism. -- Wednesday Adams, Wednesday

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#285598 - 08/25/17 04:21 PM Re: My Checklist [Re: hikermor]
Jeanette_Isabelle Online   content
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 11/13/06
Posts: 2946
Loc: Nacogdoches, Texas
Originally Posted By: hikermor
Always consider that your dedicated supplies may be exhausted. Keep in mind the protocol for sterilizing bandages, etc...

Boiling? Other than using feminine hygiene products as trauma pads, I'm not well educated on improvising.

Jeanette Isabelle
_________________________
I'm not sure whose twisted idea it was to put hundreds of adolescents in underfunded schools run by people whose dreams were crushed years ago, but I admire the sadism. -- Wednesday Adams, Wednesday

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#285599 - 08/25/17 04:32 PM Re: My Checklist [Re: haertig]
Jeanette_Isabelle Online   content
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 11/13/06
Posts: 2946
Loc: Nacogdoches, Texas
Originally Posted By: haertig
Note that you only need sterile pads as the first covering over a wound. Once the wound is isolated with one or two of those, you can stack on the much cheaper "clean" gauze pads to absorb blood or whatever.

I'm not sure why you'd need sterile gauze. You cover the wound with a sterile pad, and then the gauze just holds the pad(s) in place. "Clean" gauze is good enough, your don't need the expense of sterile.

It would be difficult to list every first aid item I have. I have two ten packs of 4" x 4" gauze.

I have two 2" rolls of CoFlex. Do I need more?

Jeanette Isabelle
_________________________
I'm not sure whose twisted idea it was to put hundreds of adolescents in underfunded schools run by people whose dreams were crushed years ago, but I admire the sadism. -- Wednesday Adams, Wednesday

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#285600 - 08/25/17 04:40 PM Re: My Checklist [Re: haertig]
Jeanette_Isabelle Online   content
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 11/13/06
Posts: 2946
Loc: Nacogdoches, Texas
Originally Posted By: haertig
There's also some really good pump aerosol spray-on antibiotic that is made with silver. I wish I could remember the name of it. We use it on ourselves often, to help heal minor wounds, and it works great. We stole it from our horse locker! You spray it on like Bactine and just let it air dry in place.

That sounds similar to what I have, silver sulfadiazine cream. It's prescription only and it works miracles. It cuts the healing time of burns in half. I also used it on a sunburn and I was pain-free in two hours!

Jeanette Isabelle
_________________________
I'm not sure whose twisted idea it was to put hundreds of adolescents in underfunded schools run by people whose dreams were crushed years ago, but I admire the sadism. -- Wednesday Adams, Wednesday

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#285602 - 08/25/17 05:47 PM Re: My Checklist [Re: Jeanette_Isabelle]
AKSAR Offline
Veteran

Registered: 08/31/11
Posts: 1233
Loc: Alaska
Originally Posted By: Jeanette_Isabelle
Originally Posted By: chaosmagnet
What first aid and other medical training do you have? I've found that as I've trained with more interventions that I start building opinions on which gear works best for me to do what I've been trained to do.
I took a class on CPR and first aid. Aside from the CPR, the course on first aid was not useful. I learned more by studying Wilderness & Travel Medicine by Eric A. Weiss, M.D. and practicing what I studied on myself.
Teaching ones own self is always a good start, and Weiss is not a bad book. However, since first aid seems to be a primary interest of yours, I strongly recommend you try to get some additional formal training. There are many aspects of first aid that can be learned better in a group, with a good instructor.

I'm very partial to the Wilderness First Responder course (WFR, often pronounced "Woofer"). The great thing about these classes is the emphasis on practical scenarios, where one gets to try out what you have learned. Also, a lot of emphasis on improvisation. The instructor may set up a scenario, in which you have minimal first aid supplies, but there is a whole pile of gear of the sort one might have while camping or hiking. Your problem is to improvise a solution to the problem using available materials. Then everyone in the group debriefs, about how well it worked, and alternative ways one might solve the problem. Also a lot of emphasis on decision making, like can this injury wait until daylight or better weather? Or do we need to evacuate the victim right now? Also emphasis on long term care, when it isn't practical to evacuate to a hospital. Many of the people taking WFR are outdoor professionals (guides, SAR, etc), who have dealt with some really gnarly stuff, and you will also learn a lot from the group discussions.

The downside to WFR is that it is about a 70 hour course, and costs around $600 (last time I checked). There are also 2 day Wilderness First Aid (WFA) classes that cover the same material, just in less depth. Because it is a shorter class, WFA tends to be a good deal more affordable than WFR.

There are several national outfits that sponsor these courses. Wilderness Medical Associates (WMA) is one. Wilderness Medical Institute (WMI), affiliated with NOLS, is another. I've had personal experience with classes from both these outfits, and both are good. Another organization that sponsors wilderness medicine classes is SOLO, I have no personal experience with them but have heard they are good.

However, I would stay clear of Red Cross "Wilderness First Aid" classes. In my experience they tend to be very watered down and not nearly as good as those from WMA, WMI or SOLO.

I hope you can find a way to get some formal training. I think you would enjoy it, and learn a lot.
_________________________
"Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas any more."
-Dorothy, in The Wizard of Oz

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#285606 - 08/25/17 06:33 PM Re: My Checklist [Re: Jeanette_Isabelle]
TeacherRO Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 03/11/05
Posts: 2574
+1 Most of what gets used in non emergency situations is Ibuprofen and band aids.

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#285609 - 08/25/17 06:40 PM Re: My Checklist [Re: TeacherRO]
Jeanette_Isabelle Online   content
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 11/13/06
Posts: 2946
Loc: Nacogdoches, Texas
Originally Posted By: TeacherRO
+1 Most of what gets used in non emergency situations is Ibuprofen and band aids.

I have four boxes of self-adhesive bandages:

Originally Posted By: Jeanette_Isabelle
(100) Waterproof Adhesive Bandage, 1" x 3"
(80) Plastic Bandage, 0.75" x 3"
(100) Flex-Fabric Knuckle Bandage
(100) Flex-Fabric Fingertip Bandage

Jeanette Isabelle
_________________________
I'm not sure whose twisted idea it was to put hundreds of adolescents in underfunded schools run by people whose dreams were crushed years ago, but I admire the sadism. -- Wednesday Adams, Wednesday

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#285614 - 08/25/17 08:31 PM Re: My Checklist [Re: Jeanette_Isabelle]
chaosmagnet Online   content
Sheriff
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 12/03/09
Posts: 3819
Loc: USA
Originally Posted By: Jeanette_Isabelle
Thank you for the reply. My experience has been you cannot have enough tape or alcohol prep pads. As I mentioned, I will get more alcohol prep pads.


I don't use alcohol prep pads much; they are good for use on unbroken skin before drawing blood and giving injections. They're also good for quick cleanup of unbroken skin and reusable medical devices. For wound cleaning they're definitely not the best choice, as the alcohol damages good cells and retards the healing process. BZK wipes are what I stock instead.

In addition to analgesics consider OTC meds for allergies, congestion, and digestive issues.

Quote:
I have a 100 count box of 3" x 3" sterile gauze pads. The box is almost full; I don't know how much I have left.


For significant wounds a box of 3x3s will go in a flash. Consider rolled gauze as well.

Quote:
CoFlex? I have two 2" rolls.


I think of one roll as being good for one wound, maybe two. Accordingly my largest home-based kit has quite a bit more

Quote:
I took a class on CPR and first aid. Aside from the CPR, the course on first aid was not useful. I learned more by studying Wilderness & Travel Medicine by Eric A. Weiss, M.D. and practicing what I studied on myself. As for on the field experience I wrapped a sprained ankle, treated first and second-degree burns on myself and a security guard, wounds, bleeding and someone closing the door on my hand at work. For my hand injury, I already knew what to do: cold compress and anti-inflammatory medication (aspirin).


Consider training for trauma. A TCCC-based class for firearms instructors and/or law enforcement personnel will give you more life-saving capability than most first aid classes that I've taken. I've taken TCCC-based classes from several instructors now and I've learned more and better each time.

If you're preparing for longer-term emergencies consider _The Survival Medicine Handbook: A Guide for When Help is Not on the Way_ by the Altons. Be sure to get the Third Edition rather than one of the older ones, there's a lot more content in it. I was privileged to take a class from them on suturing and they're amazing in person.

Also consider the Hesperian books, starting with _Where There Is No Doctor_.

If you can (and I haven't yet) consider a Wilderness First Responder class taught by NOLS or another reputable provider.

Classes that include hands-on practicing of skills are dramatically more useful than lecture-only classes and book learning.

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