First Aid Kit

[Deleted member 18083]

My knowledge of all things medical is minimal, but accidents happen as do non-injury medical emergencies.

What should be in my first aid kit?

Suggestion: Let's omit items of a personal nature.
... David

 

[PDoz]

David, I carry the Aide brand adventure kit with an extra snake compression bandage, but more importantly I carry a garmin inreach mini to call for help.

https://www.andystrapz.com/category/first-aid

It's VERY compact for what it contains, with all the dressings vacuum bagged / compressed. I'd recomend adding a sam splint for more remote rides if you think you might consider self retrieval with, eg, a brocken wrist - but I guess that depends on your personal threshold for calling for help .

I strongly believe in considering in advance what level of injury you'd risk self retrieval, because it's frightening some of the decisions we make when the adrenaline is flowing. Two years ago I delayed calling an ambulance for over 30 minutes whilst I waited for my wife to respond to the text " would you mind coming home, I've fallen off the bike" - 4 brocken bones in my foot, brocken shoulder, ribs brocken in 6 places, a punctured lung......we don't make wise decisions when adrenaline is flowing!

BTW , if you are after a kit for in the car , keep an eye on this site https://www.survivalfirstaidkits.net.au As we get closer to xmas they start discounting their kits by 30-50% , they have an adventure kit that lives in my 4x4 , and it has a nice zip off sachet that carries the bushwalking gear like snake compression bandages, blister dressings etc. Their bandaids aren't spectacular - I've added a few advanced care bandaids to the kit - but it's a reasonably cost effective and well organised kit for when bulk isn't a concern

 

[Feliz]

My knowledge of all things medical is minimal, but accidents happen as do non-injury medical emergencies.

What should be in my first aid kit?

Suggestion: Let's omit items of a personal nature.
... David

I guess that means I can't say diaper?

 

[Mr. Coffee]

@David Berry

One thing to keep in mind is that there are really two contradictory things that most people want from a "First Aid" kit. The first is to treat whatever minor dings and scrapes you acquire over the normal course of events (any time I work on the drivetrain or brakes I scrape up my hands, especially in the field). The other is to keep someone alive, prevent further injury, and minimize discomfort until you can get them to a hospital.

The other thing is that I cannot overemphasize that actual skills are more important than anything you might bring. I highly recommend taking at least a basic first aid course (there are some you can take online), and if your needs are more elaborate you can find other organizations that provide much more extensive training for more complex situations.

What I'd recommend for a first aid kit is start with a basic first aid kit from an outdoor store and enhance it. "Enhancements" are kind of a matter of personal taste and experience but there are a few things I'd usually throw in:

• A couple of rolls of a stretchy gauze. "Kling Gauze" is a common brand name. This stuff is awesome.
• Cotton Elastic Bandage -- e.g. an "Ace Bandage". At least one.
• A couple of cravats. Or if you carry one or two very large bandanas or a Pack Towel you can skip this.
• Some tape. Usually I find that "athletic tape" from the sporting goods store works better in the field than "first aid tape". YMMV.

You can always get much more elaborate if you so choose.

 

[Bruce Arnold]

I like Adventure Medical Kits a lot. They come in various sizes and prices to fit different needs. I've got one of the smaller ones tucked away in a pocket of the front bag on my CCS. Don't know if they're sold where you live. You could put together your own kit, and use one of these as a guide.

 

[DDBB]

We had an extensive first aid kit on our boat that we toured the great lakes with. With room being limited on the bike a small kit would have to do. I kept pain pills (prescription) in the boat kit which I thought was an important addition. If you break a bone or dislocate something hours or days away from help, severe pain is not going to be addressed by a tylenol. I dislocated my elbow skiing on Vail mountain years ago and w/o the morphine the ski patrol gave me, the toboggan ride down the mountain would have been excruciating. A bumpy bike ride with a broken arm would be really bad

 

[chromatose]

I used to be in industrial first aid. Easiest thing to carry is a roll of tape (black electrical or a partial of duct tape) and either TP or gauze. The tape is good for real bleeders that require direct pressure for a short period of time. Tea Tree oil is great for healing when you get off the trail. gl

 

[PDoz]

David, a bit more details re the Aide brand kit I linked to, and why I purchased it.

Andy who stocks them is a very experienced outback motorbike rider who was also an ED nurse . I travelled through new zealand with him 18 years ago and was impressed with the amount of research and design that goes into the gear he stocks and sells. I have been abusing his luggage for the past 18 years and he has a well earned reputation amongst outback motorcyclists in Australia..

I personally have easy access to conventional dressings etc that can be used for first aid , and for many years I carried a kit that I had designed myself. Unfortunately, most dressings are not packaged with adventure travel in mind, so for my annual once in a lifetime outback motorbike trips I'd be throwing away / replacing most of the contents of that kit. Whilst I'm lucky enough to be able to do that, er, at work....there was always the concern that a dressing might be compromised when actually needed.

The aide kit was designed as an adventure first aid package - not only does it come in a robust waterproof case, but the dressings are vacuum packed to ensure they remain functional and also compact. It fits neatly into the rear storage compartment of my camelback toro ( great product, insert diversion into the benefits of wearing back protection....) , there are a few extra things I have added - eg a decent length of fixamol, which imho is your diety of choices gift to gravel rash. I also carry some fibreglass cast material, but for the average first aider it would make more sense to carry a sam splint. The extra snake bandage is a personal preference - I've had way too many tiger snakes take swipes at my motorbike boots and I guess I'm still getting my head around cycling in just shoes in Australia.....

That adventure kit Bruce linked looks nice as well, but from the images it seems to be filled with conventionally packaged products - so presumably it will be more bulky and possibly less robust. If you do manage to find an Australian distributor for those kits I'd be interested to see one in the flesh - they might be a better option for my car kit than the survival first aid kit I linked .

 

[DDBB]

I think you mean fixomull .. Great stuff!

 

[PDoz]

I think you mean fixomull .. Great stuff!

That's really embarrasing. Thankfully we have nurses to write notes about dressings .....

 

[DDBB]

Actually it should be called "fixitall"

 

[PDoz]

Actually it should be called "fixitall"

I like that, " give them a shot of ceftrianything, then wrap it in some fixitall"

 

[indianajo]

When I broke my jaw I rode the bike to the E-room, so adrenalyn covers a lot of injuries. Great it wasn't my leg.
The main thing you can do that requires immediate attention is tourniquet a severed artery on a limb. I wear a belt and a sleeve of a rain suit that could do that. Binder clips on my pants leg could fasten those. That could happen from a flying truck tire shard.
Fortunately in Indiana we don't have aggressive poisonous snakes as Aust., so I don't have to carry a snakebite kit like the boy scouts made us carry. Necessary in Arizona/Colorado/California/Rockies I would say.
Gunshot wounds are a hazard I ignore, but a ball of gauze to stuff in the hole could save you. Unfortunately my panniers are frequently wet inside so I feel that would be soaked and or moldy if I needed it. Mostly I stay home in deer season, and the weeks right before when the poachers are out.
I do carry one severe pain pill (opiate) left over from a dental procedure, to allow me to walk/crawl to the nearest road. I used it once when I pulled a muscle or tendon badly.
I carry 20-40 oz of water at all times.
I do ride places where cell phones do not work, but not far enough from main roads that I feel I need a satellite phone.