What Should Go in a First Aid Kit?

[barnhart]

Wow Neto, I would seek medical attention for an injury/infection like that.

[Neto]

Wow Neto, I would seek medical attention for an injury/infection like that.

We moved from the house where that happened in November of 64 (soon after my 9th birthday), so that was along time ago, and my family were probably to be considered 'old school' already then. I know that it was sometime between 1960 and late 64, because we already had indoor plumbing at that time. (I'm pretty sure I remember soaking my foot in the bath tub, although I know that we used the same treatment for an infected cut or puncture wound in later years as well. I just know exactly where I was when I stepped on that nail. )

[Judas Maccabeus]

It was a requirement in Brazil that every vehicle had a medical kit. I may not recall everything that it included, but medical bandage tape, gauze, disinfectant, a scissors, and what else?.... (Oh, I think it also had ready made 'butterfly bandages', a quick substitute for needle & thread. But they are easy to make with nothing more than medical tape.)

But our 'medical kit' in the village also included things like several medical books (one which included instructions on how to perform minor surgery), local anesthesia, surgical needles and thread for sewing up wounds, and all kinds of medications, including antibiotics, penicillin, malaria treatment, snake bit kit, etc. So it depends on where you might need it.

[If you would like to have a medical book on hand, I would suggest Where There is No Doctor, available in various languages.]

That was a required purchase by my mission as well.

[seinetsodumm]

Copaiba oil is also a great antiseptic, one that I've used on burns (not talking sunburn, a real burn) and I didn't even get a blister. Best story I have about it is that one of the Banawa men was chopping a fallen tree to clear the river, and chopped off the two toes next to his big toe. (He had one foot on the front of the dugout canoe, and the other on the log he was chopping.) The ax glanced off of the tree, and hit between his big toe and the next one, severing the bones and leaving the two toes dangling by the flesh over to the next toe. They poured Copaiba oil on the wound and tied an old rag around his foot to keep the toes in place. It healed, leaving the two permanently numb toes, with a scar that went around from the bottom of his foot over across the top. I have a small bottle of it that I got from a Deni Indian, a related language to the Banawa. It appears to help with poison ivy as well, but doesn't prevent some minor itching.

That’s an interesting story. We used copaiba oil with our oldest child when she was teething. It seemed to really calm her irritable gums.

[Judas Maccabeus]

For most real-world injuries, a stack of 4x4 gauze, rolled gauze, and good cloth tape are really helpful. Most first aid kits don't have these things.

You should also consider cohesive bandages. They are sold under the trade name, Coflex and can hold a wound together if you're unable to stitch it. While I hear a lot about antiseptic here, a lot of them do damage tissue. One of the things I would suggest having on hand is aerosol normal sailing. Since it stays in the aerosol, can it remains sterile. You can use it to irrigate cuts, and it typically doesn't sting very much.

4 x 4's are good, two by twos are even better. I've held a number of cuts together with two by twos and Coflex that probably should have gone to an emergency room. If you can't hold the cut together cleanly, and it's still bleeding after 20 minutes or so, you really do need to go to get medical attention. If you go beyond about two hours or so, they likely will be unable to stitch the thing because of the risk of infection since the cut has been open for so long. Oh yes, and please make sure you're up-to-date on your tetanus shots.

It's been a long time since I've been on the mission field, and I assume things have changed, but that's what we all were taught.

[Soloist]

Same with hydrogen peroxide. Cleveland Clinic says it has fallen out of favor as a wound cleanser. "It irritates the skin and can prevent the wound from healing. Essentially, it can do more harm than good."

When I was a boy we treated cuts and scrapes that could be reasonably covered with bandages with the three day method. Let it bleed out a little, cover it up and leave it alone until the third day unless it gets red, painful or swollen. As long as infection doesn't set in this works fine. We called it "let it stew in it's own juice". Sometimes opening it up can disturb the wound and expose it to new infection.

Anyone (else) here ever have lymphatic poisoning? (We called it 'blood poisoning', but it's not that at all. Blood poisoning would be extremely serious.)
As a child I had a red streak that started at a deep puncture wound on the bottom of my foot (rusty nail) and ran up the inside of my ankle, to (as I recall now) just above my ankle bone. Treated with a hot water & Epsom Salt 'bath' for around 45 minutes. The poison was drawn out by the end of this time. (I don't know how old I was, just that it was before the age of 9, when we moved to a new house. I have a scar there from the puncture wound.)

Wife: when I was about that age, I jumped off the back of a 5 ton style pick up and my heel landed on a broken bottle, slitting it open. My dad washed it out and used super glue on the back. Apparently that’s what they made it for in Vietnam, but I think the medical grade stuff nowadays has different ingredients. It worked though.

[R7ehr]

Super glue might be a good thing to have. Use it to glue wounds shut, as that is what it was originally invented for.

[Neto]

It was a requirement in Brazil that every vehicle had a medical kit. I may not recall everything that it included, but medical bandage tape, gauze, disinfectant, a scissors, and what else?.... (Oh, I think it also had ready made 'butterfly bandages', a quick substitute for needle & thread. But they are easy to make with nothing more than medical tape.)

But our 'medical kit' in the village also included things like several medical books (one which included instructions on how to perform minor surgery), local anesthesia, surgical needles and thread for sewing up wounds, and all kinds of medications, including antibiotics, penicillin, malaria treatment, snake bit kit, etc. So it depends on where you might need it.

[If you would like to have a medical book on hand, I would suggest Where There is No Doctor, available in various languages.]

That was a required purchase by my mission as well.

We (the mission agency) complied, of course, but I should have clarified that it was (is?) a government requirement in Brazil. (As was - is? - also for a fire extinguisher in every vehicle. In fact, every new vehicle came with one as standard equipment.)

[Bootstrap]

For most real-world injuries, a stack of 4x4 gauze, rolled gauze, and good cloth tape are really helpful. Most first aid kits don't have these things.

You should also consider cohesive bandages. They are sold under the trade name, Coflex and can hold a wound together if you're unable to stitch it. While I hear a lot about antiseptic here, a lot of them do damage tissue. One of the things I would suggest having on hand is aerosol normal sailing. Since it stays in the aerosol, can it remains sterile. You can use it to irrigate cuts, and it typically doesn't sting very much.

4 x 4's are good, two by twos are even better. I've held a number of cuts together with two by twos and Coflex that probably should have gone to an emergency room. If you can't hold the cut together cleanly, and it's still bleeding after 20 minutes or so, you really do need to go to get medical attention. If you go beyond about two hours or so, they likely will be unable to stitch the thing because of the risk of infection since the cut has been open for so long. Oh yes, and please make sure you're up-to-date on your tetanus shots.

It's been a long time since I've been on the mission field, and I assume things have changed, but that's what we all were taught.

What do you mean by aerosol normal saline?

To me, most cheap first aid kits contain the things you need for fixing little boo-boos, but very little of what you need in a serious situation. Or even a moderately serious situation.

[Judas Maccabeus]

For most real-world injuries, a stack of 4x4 gauze, rolled gauze, and good cloth tape are really helpful. Most first aid kits don't have these things.

You should also consider cohesive bandages. They are sold under the trade name, Coflex and can hold a wound together if you're unable to stitch it. While I hear a lot about antiseptic here, a lot of them do damage tissue. One of the things I would suggest having on hand is aerosol normal sailing. Since it stays in the aerosol, can it remains sterile. You can use it to irrigate cuts, and it typically doesn't sting very much.

4 x 4's are good, two by twos are even better. I've held a number of cuts together with two by twos and Coflex that probably should have gone to an emergency room. If you can't hold the cut together cleanly, and it's still bleeding after 20 minutes or so, you really do need to go to get medical attention. If you go beyond about two hours or so, they likely will be unable to stitch the thing because of the risk of infection since the cut has been open for so long. Oh yes, and please make sure you're up-to-date on your tetanus shots.

It's been a long time since I've been on the mission field, and I assume things have changed, but that's what we all were taught.

What do you mean by aerosol normal saline?

To me, most cheap first aid kits contain the things you need for fixing little boo-boos, but very little of what you need in a serious situation. Or even a moderately serious situation.

It is sold in most pharmacies, and it is plain.9% saline in a spray can, under pressure, just like hairspray. Better than pump bottles, since it is stored under pressure, bacteria can’t get in. Literally no one is allergic to it, and it will clean a cut or abrasion with minimal pain, since it is isotonic. Many antiseptics damage tissue and sting. Best thing available to clean out a child’s injury.