World's Best First Aid kit

[bygolly]

Wow, am I the latest thread killer or what?

Ken

Um...no actually. We are still picking our jaws up. The Canadian expression would be "Beauty eh".

Nice to know that this type of gear arrives at some dive sites. Like I said before, ya never know who's going to be around that can use this stuff. That type of kit is typical of what you would see at certain Heli-ski ops. The guides may not know how to use all of it but invariably there is a doc or ALS type on board.

 

[AzAtty]

Wow, am I the latest thread killer or what?

Ken

Nah, you've just positioned yourself as the alpha male, and us smaller dogs are intimidated. Your kit is the most comprehensive I've seen this side of my trauma bag, and I built it service multiple people for a week in the boonies. I'd love to see a list of what you have so I can supplement mine.

 

[bigken462]

Ahhh, nothing really special in it other than whatÃÔ in any other typical ambulance trauma bag. The only thing more so would be the hard cased 1600 Pelican case being used, and a old GPS unit I no longer use on a routine basis. Before we had navigators on our rigs, sometimes it was a PITA calling in LZ coordinates for a bird if our dispatcher didnÃÕ know exactly where we were, so I thought what the heck itÃÔ not being used so why not? In a realistic EMS setting if things go as they should, the responding agency should have all these bases covered.


The thing to remember with carrying any form of kits, is to always try to allow the system to do the job if they are available. A responding agency has all the tools needed to intervene for any emergencies which may occur. The lil kit I put together is only a small, small portion of what a well equipped ambulance and pair of medics will bring. So, while the idea is to help someone during an emergency, itÃÔ not designed to replace the resources that may very well be only a short distance away. For many emergencies simply providing basic first aid is more than sufficient until the responding units get there. My idea for this ALS kit is for a bail me out of jail option if something goes wrong in the EMS response to prolong help arriving to the scene, or for God sake if the responding agency operates on a tiered system and sends a BLS truck to a known ALS emergency.


Other problems with having a kit is the temperatures involved. No way in the typical setting would you infuse very cold or for that matter hot IV fluids into a patient. With this in mind, sometimes that bag of fluid may be nothing more helpful than something to irrigate the eyes with, or for that matter a small cut or something. For some folks, expiration dates of fluids and supplies would also be a problem. Not many folks would be willing to purchase a whole set of ET tubes, IV caths, tubing, Co2 detectors etc. etc. annually. Fortunately I have an understanding EMS director who is willing to part with a few things as long the practice is not abused etc. If people really give things a thought, youÃÓe more likely to run up on an accident while commuting to and from your dive sites, than you are to have one actually at the dive site. Also, being involved with our local volunteer/paid fire departments also brings a smile if you happen to offer assistance. At least in our area, itÃÔ my co-workers who will be saying thanks for stopping. More or less as a reminder the kit is only planned to be used if immediate resources are not readily available. Very few emergencies require nothing more than simple ole basic intervention.


As for the kit itself, like I said itÃÔ nothing more than any other ALS kit on any ambulance would have. Many of the hard items I had previously from working overseas as a remote duty medic while in Iraq - It had its advantages. Lol. Mostly itÃÔ put together to handle any BLS problem, and in addition I have a lil med kit with several forms of OTC products such as Aleve, ASA, Benadryl, Tylenol, Ibuprofen, Imodium, Dramamine some antibiotic ointment etc these I actually keep in a small tackle box since they are used (by me) mostly on a routine basis. Otherwise, nothing more than any other household would not have in their cabinet other than maybe some small things for stings and bites.


Contents from the best of my recollection and from reviewing the picture:


1. Full ALS airway kit complete with ET tubes from 2.5mm-8.0mm
2. Curved and straight blades with small and large handles
3. Adult and Child McGill forceps
4. CO2 detector
5. Adult-child ET holders
6. Manual rescue vac suction device
7. Adult-Ped Oral and Nasal airways
8. KY jelly
9. Couple 1000cc bags of normal saline
10. 15 gtts set tubing
11. 22-14ga Insyte IV caths
12. 3cc-10cc syringes and a cpl oddball set of needles
13. Adult IO kit
14. IV Start kits
15. Adult Ambu bag
16. Nasal cannulas, NRM mask
17. Chest decompression kit
18. Various types of tape
19. Various sizes of kling and elastic bandages
20. Various sizes of ACE wrap and Coband
21. Several sizes of Steri Strips and Dura-Bond
22. SAM Splint
23. Various small to medium burn dressings
24. Abdomen and other types of trauma dressing
25. Fabric swing and swath
26. Couple 4x4 packs
27. Hot and cold packs
28. Bite sticks
29. Various sizes of Band-Aids, alcohol preps
30. Field Otoscope with various sized tips to evaluate ears for barotraumas
31. Adult BP cuff and el cheapo stethoscope
32. AA flashlight, Trauma shears, Ring cutter
33. Typical gloves, eye wear
34. Garmin GPS Map 76 and a trusty ole compass
35. 2-15L/min O2 reg with a D size cylinder nearby
36. Hummmm, IÃÎ sure there are a few other goodies not worth mentioning over the internet

While I dang near hand to stand on the lid, all the stuff has its own lil spot. Naturally since I keep this in the dive trailer all the time, things such as the fluids will have to be used with hard scrutiny since things such as temperatures affect them. My idea is, if crap goes south to the point that you have to use this stuff, all bets are off and itÃÔ live or die. As I mentioned in the other post, IÃÍl do what it takes to help my dive buddy, and I would hope also, that my dive buddy if able would do what it takes to help me. In that case, you damn well better do everything you can to save my sorry fat keester - which is why I keep the keys to the truck on me so no one goes home w/o me. Lol. The main thing is to plan ahead for how you wish to deal with such emergencies. My philosophy is that itÃÔ better to have and not need, than to need and not have. I hope this post helps, and would rather it not turn into a beaurocratic bean counter meltdown of why folks should not use field trauma kits etc. etc. If you got the recourses and knowledge to use the stuff safely then there is no reason not to offer aid to your fallen brother.


Kenny

Sorry for the funky marks. Seems like it screwed up when I copied it over from word.

 

[bamamedic]

Wow, Kenny....you have an IO kit? And a chest decompression kit? Goodness!

I knew there was a reason I liked having you as my dive buddy

I've got a little "car first aid" kit, but it's so small, that it fits into a fanny pack. Just a CPR mask, some gloves, a BP cuff/stethoscope, and some basic first aid items such as bandages, and it's more for those "oh, crap...I just witnessed a car accident" type things.

 

[bigken462]

Both are cheap, small and disposable and the chances of needing either is slim to none. I don't care for the IO stuff, not sure why I even grabbed it. When the state approved the usage of the IO drills we were tossing all the old IO needles anyway so I figured why not. The chest deco kit on the other hand has bailed me out on several occasions while on the truck. Not sure if it would have a use in barotrauma or not. Short of your dive buddy shooting you with his spear gun, I guess anything would be possible. Lol

The chances of any of that stuff being used is pretty small, but at least its there for those rainy Mondays when nothing seems to go right.

Kenny

 

[louxwe]

That was just what I was looking for and I like the picture. I am planning on having a pretty extensive kit with the pelican case option that I carry in the car that covers diving as well as my other hobbies(climbing, hiking, mt. biking, etc.) and then include in that kit a smaller break out kit, in a separate container that I can pull out of the big kit and throw in a backpack, camel back, bring on a boat with me, take on a hike. That smaller kit would also include basic survival gear too, (signal mirror, fire starters, food,etc.) The smaller one would cover most of the basic stuff and would be mobile enough that you don't mind taking it everywhere, but when not in use would go with the big kit which could be kept in the car or taken with on extreme/remote adventures. Although not an EMT, I have some military survival/medical training and I agree with you, let the lawyers fight it out, when it comes down to it you do whatever you can to help someone out.

Thanks, Bill

 

[emttim]

Wow, even an IO and thoracostomy kit....yeah that tops anything I would have thought of, lol.

 

[bigken462]

It really sounds more invasive than it is. The IO device is nothing more than a small needle and hub used for peds when IV access has proven to be unobtainable otherwise. Again, longer than usual scene times would occur before you reached a point in your care that you would need to use an IO and by then a ambulance damn well have better been on the scene for a lil while - in that case, it's their pup to take care of. The likelihood of it being used again is just about none, but it was free, and still in date so why not. Today in the field we use a mechanical IO drill that has both Ped and Adult sized IO needles so we no longer had a need for the boxes of old style pediatric needles we once used.

Now the Chest decompression kit is not exactly the type your thinking of I don't think. To my knowledge, Paramedic don't place chest tubes in the field. Not around this area anyway that I know of. What you will find in the field is the placement of a temporary needle decompression of tension pneumothorax in the pre hospital setting with a large bore cannula. For years medics used nothing more than a simple 14ga cath and and the finger cut off a glove or your typical good ole Trojan condom. A few years ago, we replaced the safe sex flappers and started to use the asherman chest seal dressing and a 14ga cath.

Today, thankfully we have a kit with everything needed to do a quick and dirty deco. The technique is pretty easy, fast and usually get quick results. The chest tubes now on the other hand is something that I've only seen done in the ER. There may be areas where medic's do these in the field, but none around here that I'm aware of. With that said, overseas and in remote areas we did have these in our trauma bags to use if needed.

I would like to see the thread continue, but in the way the OP had in mind. Ya'll post some of the stuff you guys carry. I'm always open to add a few things when new ideas come my way.

Kenny

 

[SparticleBrane]

 

[emttim]

It really sounds more invasive than it is. The IO device is nothing more than a small needle and hub used for peds when IV access has proven to be unobtainable otherwise. Again, longer than usual scene times would occur before you reached a point in your care that you would need to use an IO and by then a ambulance damn well have better been on the scene for a lil while - in that case, it's their pup to take care of. The likelihood of it being used again is just about none, but it was free, and still in date so why not. Today in the field we use a mechanical IO drill that has both Ped and Adult sized IO needles so we no longer had a need for the boxes of old style pediatric needles we once used.

Now the Chest decompression kit is not exactly the type your thinking of I don't think. To my knowledge, Paramedic don't place chest tubes in the field. Not around this area anyway that I know of. What you will find in the field is the placement of a temporary needle decompression of tension pneumothorax in the pre hospital setting with a large bore cannula. For years medics used nothing more than a simple 14ga cath and and the finger cut off a glove or your typical good ole Trojan condom. A few years ago, we replaced the safe sex flappers and started to use the asherman chest seal dressing and a 14ga cath.

Today, thankfully we have a kit with everything needed to do a quick and dirty deco. The technique is pretty easy, fast and usually get quick results. The chest tubes now on the other hand is something that I've only seen done in the ER. There may be areas where medic's do these in the field, but none around here that I'm aware of. With that said, overseas and in remote areas we did have these in our trauma bags to use if needed.

I would like to see the thread continue, but in the way the OP had in mind. Ya'll post some of the stuff you guys carry. I'm always open to add a few things when new ideas come my way.

Kenny

I actually made a mistake when I said thoracostomy, I meant thoracentesis. Definitely two completely different things. As far as the OP's intent, I haven't even gotten around to getting a first aid kit set up myself, but for any diving in the U.S. where there are skilled professionals who will respond to a 911 call, I probably will limit my supplies to BLS stuff, mostly trauma with a few essentials such as ibuprofen, aspirin, vinegar, etc. and of course oxygen.

Now if I went to another country, well...I probably couldn't get anything fancy through security at the airport anyway, but in a perfect world, I'd bring one of everything that I was trained to use because I'm not going to rely on ambulance drivers (huge distinction from EMTs and medics, amb drivers is what still exists in many underdeveloped countries and they have no medical training) in a third world country to take care of me since they're just a taxi cab driver. Hell, I'd even bring a couple liters of HBOCs if they were able to perfect them to the point where they're added into EMS.

Allow me to add the missing link to the triad of things that will fix anything.