Back country first aid kit

[ctwiggs1]

These pigs have helped save a lot of lives, that's for sure

[pianoman9701]

QuikClot isn't for every wound, but there are some wounds that have no better treatment.  Good stuff to have for sure.

Man.  I've got a pretty strong stomach and have never been anything but excited while dressing/butching game, but GAWD taking a scalpel to the femoral artery of a live animal is a savage thing to watch.

Funny to think: my wife is a Physician Assistant and during school she was working on a live pig just like this, when her professor casually walked by and sliced through the pig's aorta and told her to save the patient.  Which she did 

Did she save it in little vacuum sealed packages in the freezer?

[yakimanoob]

QuikClot isn't for every wound, but there are some wounds that have no better treatment.  Good stuff to have for sure.

Man.  I've got a pretty strong stomach and have never been anything but excited while dressing/butching game, but GAWD taking a scalpel to the femoral artery of a live animal is a savage thing to watch.

Funny to think: my wife is a Physician Assistant and during school she was working on a live pig just like this, when her professor casually walked by and sliced through the pig's aorta and told her to save the patient.  Which she did 

Did she save it in little vacuum sealed packages in the freezer?

I wish.  When you think about it, those little piggies save more human lives than you or I could ever hope to claim.  But the fact that they're cremated as "medical waste" still just makes it feel like a waste. 

On a lighter note: we did have a pig's foot in our freezer for YEARS.  It was suture practice before being forgotten.  But we got such a kick out of our friend's reactions to finding it occasionally that we let it stay there 

[Doublelunger]

This was a good thread worth reviving.

My backcountry first aid kit includes:

Tourniquet
Hemostatic agent
Benadryl
Epi-pen
A handful of asprin/ibuprofen
A few strips of leukotape.

First aid kit is always in the top most easily accessible pocket of my pack.

[SpicyTacos]

whisky

thanks in advance

[yakimanoob]

Worth reviving indeed.  Since my last post, my wife and I joined SAR and she has learned a boatload about wilderness medicine.  The main thing I've learned about first aid kits is what, as a not-medically-trained person, I could actually do for myself or a person I meet in the woods.

Basically, I just focus on stopping the bleeding and having some tape to fashion a split with a stick if needed, and being able to call for more capable help if the situation is dire. I know enough to know how much damage I could do if I mis-apply any kind of medicine or advanced treatment. Plus, of course, a few things for cuts and scrapes, blisters, etc. and some basic comfort meds (ibuprofen, antihistamine, and anti-diarheals)

My kit is, more or less:
cat tourniquet
nitrile gloves
a few gauze pads
a sugical gauze pack
some stop-clot power
a few bandaids
some Neosporin
medical tape
safety pin (super useful for a million things, including make-shift bandages/wraps)
tweezers
super glue
butterfly strips
a couple tegaderm patches
moleskin
ibuprofen
antihistamine
diphen
imodium

All of the above weighs in at ~ 7oz. 

Comms is not often added to the list of first aid, but imho it's a vital part of any first aid system.  For the past few years I've carried a Garmin InReach, which I highly recommend.  Since joining SAR I also got my ham license, and can't seem to find the courage to walk into the woods without my HT with me  .  Between my cell phone, ham radio, and satellite communicator, I should be able to call for help wherever I am. 

I wish my comms weighed ~ 7oz 

Some helpful resources via my wife and the rest of the CWMR medical committee:
https://wms.org/magazine/1044/Wilderness-Skills (tl;dr: you should be carrying a tourniquet and know how to use it)
https://wms.org/magazine/1176/WFR-Scope-Of-Practice
https://blog.nols.edu/2016/06/03/27-considerations-for-a-first-aid-kit

[KFhunter]

Tag

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[Stein]

I have beefed up my kit a bit after reading some stories and doing more thinking.  I still have a few ouchie comfort items as well as now carrying a hemostatic agent.  It all boiled down to the notion that hunting involves bullets and sharp things and bleeding out while waiting for help is a significant risk.  I still don't carry much, but more than I did before for sure, the hemostatic agent is probably 90% of the weight and volume of the kit.

[ctwiggs1]

Just going to drop that annual nudge to the tourniquet on here.

Carry one. 

Two thirds of "preventable" deaths in Vietnam were guys bleeding out from extremities.  Tourniquets are an easy solution.  Keep one in your truck, keep one in your bag. 

[KFhunter]

I carry paracord in my kill kit, easy tq

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[zwickeyman]

2 band aids
Super glue
Duct tape
Turnicate
Blood clot

[yakimanoob]

I carry paracord in my kill kit, easy tq

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Coming from you, I believe that.  But for most folks who don't practice, the time it takes to tie a proper tourniquet out of paracord could be a life-or-death issue. 

Whatever you carry to stop the bleeding, PRACTICE.  If you haven't used your tourniquet, then you don't know how to use your tourniquet.  And seconds matter when a broadhead goes through your leg.

[hunter399]

Are you guys saying ......
Cutting my shirt
Electric tape
Zip ties
Are not good enough...

I did watch the above video.....
Very interesting.

[xX Let ER Rip Xx]

Zip stitches!!! Quick clot x2, 550 cord, tampons, maxi pads, electrical tape, 2 things of superglue, aspirin, Benadryl and ibuprofen. And a lighter and needle and dental floss and some 8lb fishing line. Never know..... better to be prepared and have enough then not what may help you in a pinch, or help you help your buddy.