small first aid kit

[zwickey2bl]

What do you put in a small first aid kit for daytrips? Trying to fit this into a little nylon zip pouch thats about the size of a pack of cigarettes. Have some idea of basics but would like you guys thoughts on any itmes specific to our bowhunting needs that I might not think of...

[nineworlds9]

Hmm.  That's not much space, but the following won't take up much space either.  A couple ace wraps, a pressure dressing, a pack of sterile 4x4s and 2x2's, and a tourniquet, a roll of gauze, a roll of bandage tape, some band aids.  To me that's a decent 'if I'm gonna bother' kit.  If thats too much, an ace wrap and some band aids LoL... aside from that direct pressure and/or pinching off artery with fingers, and paracord will do the trick.

[Bud B.]

In the unfortunate event of a cut by a broadhead, a small tube of super glue. Gauze. Small self made roll of vet wrap. Bandaids. Aspirin or other pain killer in a tiny ziploc. Foil packet of antibiotic ointment. Small amount of toilet paper. Alcohol wipe in a small packet.

[KenH]

Super glue (designed to glue wet skin together)
Anti-histamine tablets (not for me, but others have   allergies to stings)
Antibiotic ointment
Q- tips
Gauze
Bandaids
Pain killer
Alcohol wipe
Tweezers

[nineworlds9]

I was going minimalist, but I like the idea of the antihistamine (diphenhydramine aka Benadryl) you never know when something may catch you unawares and sting the crap outta you LOL.

[zwickey2bl]

Thanks guys, some good ideas there. I may end up having to get a slightly bigger pouch. I've tried just putting it all in a ziplock bag  but if I try to get other items out of the pocket on my quiver, they make noise. Just trying for a minimalist type kit but with the sharp toys we play with, it needs to be capable of being some realistic help in event of an accident.

BTW I was reading some newer info tonight on use of torniquets, seems they aren't the no-no they were said to be for a while. Here's the text:

"I recently took a first aid class put on by TCCC (Tactical Combat Casualty Care) and it was great.  I love how first aid seems to be getting simplified every year.  One of the main topics was the application of tourniquets.  They are no longer the voodoo once believed.  I have added a tourniquet to my kit, and highly recommend you do so as well.  Feel free to make your own tourniquet, but have it staged and ready.  Don’t plan on piecing one together when you need it.  There isn’t enough time and here is why.  These numbers are approximates, but relay the potential severity.  A subject with a massive bleed (i.e. arterial) will become woozy and loose fine motor skills at approximately 30 seconds.  That same individual will lose consciousness at approximately 1 minute and will be dead at 2 minutes.

The C.A.T. tourniquet (Combat Application Tourniquet) is what I carry.  They cost about $30 bucks and are super light (2.4 ounces).  Also, and very important, the C.A.T. tourniquet can be operated one handed.

I know what you are thinking, “but won’t they have to amputate my ______?”  According to the instructors at TCCC, due to modern medicine a tourniquet can be applied for up to 6 hours without the limb having to be amputated and there are reports of soldiers having tourniquets for up to 12 hours and still not losing the limb."

Here's the link, full article is about a first aid kit for hunting:

 http://backpackhunter.com/2014/03/27/diy-ultralight-first-aid-kit/

[Bud B.]

Your belt can be a tourniquet. A sock. Bootlace. Other tie-able items. Vet wrap can be as well, if you have enough.

[halfseminole]

I keep a Quikclot sponge in my kit, as well as Dermabond (medical superglue) and a tourniquet.  I keep a suture kit at home as well.  I don't do minimalist on first aid.  I am not gonna die over a few ounces of weight, though to be fair my health is a lot more precarious than ya'lls.

[zwickey2bl]

Originally posted by halfseminole:
  I am not gonna die over a few ounces of weight,  

There's a lot to be said for that idea, for sure. I guess when I said "minimalist" I really meant the minimum that is still adequate...

[KSdan]

Great post on tournis. . .

READ THAT AGAIN guys!  You need the ability to put a tourni on with one hand. . . .  while injured and going into shock.  Try one hand when you are healthy. . .Very difficult!  I saw a CAT the other day and it seems the way to go.

[Biathlonman]

One handed tourniquet always goes in my pocket when playing with sharp pointed things. Our training the last 5 years say tourniquet anything.  Short version is the military tested extensively in the desert the last couple years and found no negative to them only positive.

[eidsvolling]

Tampons – for medicinal purposes only. (Well, fire starter as well, if needed.)

They weigh nothing, come in individual waterproof containers and can be applied very quickly to any inadvertent holes from sharply-pointed sticks. I keep a couple in a belt pouch on my pack.

[Sockrsblur]

Big first aid kits are great to have and there is a lot of great stuff listed so as a nurse ill offer a couple tips from another angle that may be helpful.

Taylor what you carry to what you do... if I'm Stalking the backcountry with South ill carry more than I do hunting from camp or the truck. When seriously wounded the best thing the average person can do it get to professional help.

Update old stuff... I've seen some old kits, expired drugs...

What do you use the most... me it's bandaids-so I don't skimp... buy some that really stick ie coverlets. Steri-strips are great holding pieces of tape to close a gaping wound, ductape will work. A little tube of triple antibiotic ointment, alcohol whipes. Drugs were mentioned, I wouldn't forget them, they can be a big comfort even when your not wounded.

Tourniquet... I see this word primted alot in the posts above. Please be careful, by definition a tourniquet implies you are completely concluding blood flow for a traumatic wound that will not stop hemorrhaging with lesser conventional interventions. For most any wound I think the emergency nurse or Dr would like to see you come in holding firm direct pressure. That being said... You have to stop the bleeding! That may take more than an open hand over a wound providing general pressure in that area. If it doesn't stop bleeding put what ever you have over the area and push harder... a tourniquet is a tool and could actually be used to apply much less pressure than the artery stopping power it implies, and maintain that pressure hands free.

Having said to be careful, I googled the CAT tourniquet and ordered one, thanks for the post Ken. Stuff happens, if not to us then maybe someone we find in the woods.
I smiled as I read Mike Mittens solo moose hunt... "This was not my first time doing it alone, but slow knife strokes and safety was on my mind." Great advise there... take your time and think about what we are doing! Nothing beats prevention, be careful out there guys!

[DaveT1963]

Superglue, tweezers, motrin, tampon, Benedryl, small amount of duct tape, Iodine tablets, alcohol wipes, space blanket... Most other items can be fashioned from things you wear or carry (clothes, bowstring, etc.

[Roadkill]

tampons and kotex pads work all too well for plugging and getting a clot going.  If you just want to take along a couple of tablets, you can use a soda straw, grip the end with pliers, heat the end to seal it.  Drop in your pills, grip the other end, cut it and weld that end with heat.    takes more time to get the straw than it will to safely store a couple of asprins in a water proof plastic case.  
My big kit includes the topical pain killer, actual sutures and hemostat, scissors, betadine,eyewash, h202, bandaids, gauze, vet blood clotting powder (yeah, but if you have to stop it, this will work), tweezers, ointments, mercuichrome (sp), for highlighting splinters and cacti, a variety of antiacids, antihistimines, asprin and tylenol, tooth pain killer.  This kit stays in the truck at every camp we have.  I have gotten to clean and bandage up lots of small scrapes and even stitched myself up.  
Agree, update your stuff in the kit.  I just looked at mine and I am way off date on certain meds.

[Longbow58]

Wow some great ideas guys!

[halfseminole]

Just a thought here, but I'd try to get my hands on Bactroban (mupirocin) over triple antibiotic, it'll kill dang near anything and far, far less stuff is immune to it.  I have to keep it on hand as I am prone to infections after cutting myself but it's really a lot stouter than triple antibiotic.  Need a scrip for it though.  Ask your doctor about it.

I'd advocate Quikclot sponges or powder over a tourniquet in most situations.  There are appropriate times for one, and you should have one, but for a lot of stuff this will seal it off fast so you can get to help with less risk (as a self-applied tourniquet done in haste can be done all kinds of wrong even by the experienced) and improve your chances of a full recovery.  I'm not paid by anyone-I'm married to someone on permanent blood thinners for clotting problems and have one myself and I've watched them work.  They're quite amazing.  Seeing as I hunt with what is effectively a terminal illness (we can drop without warning from an exploding aorta) I have to take precautions above and beyond, but the stuff I use wouldn't hurt to step up your game in the woods and give you better chances if you are hurt.

Stuff like my kit helped my father when he fell on his knife and nearly cut his left hand off.  A tourniquet was used, but so was Quikclot.  He didn't even need a transfusion when he reached professionals.  Quick thinking and advanced first aid saved his hand and his life.

[Rob W.]

Here is my little survival/med kit I keep in my quiver.

 

[J-dog]

Problem with tourniquets in my mind is when the average guy or gal thinks one needs be applied. What looks like a lot of blood really isn't, you can lose lots and still be cool; direct pressure goes ALONG WAY. Shoving in a quick clot style blood stopper topped with a good pressure bandage goes far. Talks to some medics at some firehouses and they can fill you in really good on blood loss.

Good stuff in the kits, snake bits are a possible issue round here, an ace bandage used for pressure dressing for that. For some of us in that cardiac age range (? Is there one) having some chewable baby aspirin in the kit may be helpful if the ticker starts to throw issues.

Finger nail clippers
Tweezers
Scalpel blade
Ace bandage - this will do many things,
Gauze various sizes
Band aids three four
Pack of quick clot
Four chewable baby aspirin just wrapped in foil
Some square cloths for making slings

Packs down fairly decent, you can go as big as you like to carry