[Closed] First aid kit?

Great band.

I can't recommend any off the shelf kits. I can recommend making your own up with a range of plasters, dressings, foil blanket, permanent marker and sticking it all into a waterproof bag. Cheaper than off the shelf and much more useful

G

Big fan of adventure medical gear. I do add to the kits but they fully waterproof.

http://www.unsponsored.co.uk/press/adventure-medical-ultralight-0-5-first-aid-kit/

Knowledge is the key thing. You can improvise most things quite happily

I carry steristrips ( sticky stitches things,) painkillers, some film dressings a sterile needle some sticky tape. thats it.

Got a LifeSystems Mountain one after doing my 2 day outdoor first aid course for MBLA. The paramedic giving the course recommended that one with a few items being replaced by more practical pieces. It's good for £30 or so, though larger than the pared down one I carry on most rides.

I work for a medical device company and so have a kit containing wound dressings, surgical glue and haemostats to stop bleeding. Never had to use it thankfully. Spare inner tube can be used as a
Sling - had to use that before for broken collar bone.

Knowledge is the key thing. You can improvise most things quite happily

Quite definitely this! Avoid off the shelf kits. Put something together that fits your needs. When "on duty" as ML or MTB Leader I carry something similar to below, but when playing out on my own it's a much slimmed down affair!

https://www.ukhillwalking.com/articles/page.php?id=3593

tj said-

I carry steristrips ( sticky stitches things,) painkillers, some film dressings a sterile needle some sticky tape. thats it.

edit: I don't carry the needle as wouldn't know what to do with it

As tjagain says, knowledge is key. You could have a full paramedic kit but if you (or those with you) don't know what to do with the items in it then it's all but useless.

I take a few plasters, steri-strips, antiseptic wipes and blister pads. Everything else can be improvised. I'm not going to be able to deal with a broken leg or similar beyond being able to make the victim safe and comfortable.

Obviously if you are in charge of a group then there's a responsibility to have appropriate training and the kit.

Obviously if you are in charge of a group then there's a responsibility to have appropriate training and the kit.

Absolutely ...that's why my leaders kit and personal kit are so different.

+1. A fully loaded kit for leading rides is pretty heavy and bulky. When riding with mates, I have a small kit with some duct tape, a few dressings and wipes, an eyewash and a pair of gloves

mine is in a Poundland pencil case lined with a ziplock sandwich bag - has survived rain so heavy I had to wring my clothes out at the end of a ride.

I just carry the basics - few plasters/dressings, a tube of eye wash and roll of tape.
If you have an incident which can't be managed by the above you're going to hospital anyway, so you might as well improvise with clothing etc, as the hospital will clean any injury properly.

Roll of cling film cut in half. Fixes most things temporarily.

sterile needle

What's that for?

simons_nicolai-uk - Member

sterile needle

What's that for?

Guess it's for popping blisters ...opens up whole new debate!!

sterile needle

What's that for?

They're pretty good at digging splinters out as well..

The needle is for blisters and splinters as suggested

I also have a pair of gloves in my wallet at all times after once getting covered in blood dealing with an RTC casualty. I would advise gloves as well.

Researching MTB first aid materials the other day, I came across this gem from the archives...

http://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/first-aid-kit-contents-2

I tend to stick some bits together for my first aid kits and carry a mix of stuff in the car and a smaller set when out on the bike.

The one in the car has a good mix, CPR masks, gloves, couple of sterile needles, TQ, Celox bandage, normal bandage, clothes sheers, some simple plasters and stuff, triangle bandage.

On the bike i'd probably carry a field dressing, some gloves and a couple of plasters.

Interesting looking back at that thread. I have slimmed down what I carry a lot since then.

An interesting thread. For those who carry a First Aid kit, excluding the nurses/paramedics/GP's, what amount of first aid training have folk got ? I know a lot of it is common sense, but interested to see the demographic.

First aid training at work, and as I work on a site with a hugely diverse range of uber dangerous chemicals, also part of emergency response team, so get fire training at Glasgow airport, confined space rescue, emergency evacuation etc. Compete in national comp as well, which is bloody competitive.

I'm definitely more in the camp of having a very basic kit, and using knowledge/experience and anything else I have available in a situation.

I'm currently a work first aider so have an in-date certificate for that.
Also have 30 years of scout/outdoor first aid training behind me.

Of course you must remember that in the eyes of the law doctors and nurses are not "first aiders" in the eyes of the law

Mine includes some trivial things, which get used loads. A tiny wee torch, some big blister plasters (compeed type, the really thick ones- they stick like spunk to a duvet and can fix camelbaks, be a tyre boot, decent sized cuts, or even blisters), and an assortment of indigestion, diarrhea, and prescription painkillers- not very useful in an emergency but very useful for saving rides.

tjagain - Member
Of course you must remember that in the eyes of the law doctors and nurses are not "first aiders" in the eyes of the law

yes, a GP mate of mine was remarking on this as I applied a dressing to his deep head cut when we were away camping the other week 🙂

I have the 2 day Outdoor Emergency First Aid training, as part of MBLA, haven't had to use much of it,so far, thankfully...

iainc, was chatting to Jules about this recently and he remarked that for level 3 MBLA you really need a great big bloody first aid kit 😀 think he fully expects a zombie apocalypse soon 🙂

Work First Aider. British Red Cross course and a wilderness first aid course as well.

Of course you must remember that in the eyes of the law doctors and nurses are not "first aiders" in the eyes of the law

Also, if I needed first aid, I'd take a nurse or doctor without a second thought 🙂

Also, if I needed first aid, I'd take a nurse or doctor without a second thought

I have a friend who has worked in A and E for years and in all the times we've been around each other and blood coming out of people has been involved he has been by far the calmest and most collected of us all. I would definitely rather have someone who knows what they're doing fix me up than a best hope from someone with a few days training but I suppose in most situations beggars can't be choosers.

mactheknife - Member
iainc, was chatting to Jules about this recently and he remarked that for level 3 MBLA you really need a great big bloody first aid kit

🙂

aye, I can believe it. The ones we had for doing the L2 MBLA with him were big enough !

In the end I carry the first aid kit for me rather than hoping someone else has something with them. If I fall off and slice myself up I want to have something to deal with it. If I had to help someone else I would give it a go only if I'd checked there was no-one more qualified first

Some nurses and doctors will have good first aid skills, others will not.

However if I wanted to lead a group I would have to do a first aid course as first aid is not actually part of my training - and as for being a workplace first aider we should in the eyes of the law have people doing first aid courses even tho we have doctors and nurses on the premises

Of course and A&E consultant would have far better skills than most first aiders - but is still not legally a first aider. daft ain't it.

We would also be held to a higher standard in the eyes of the law than a lay person and have a duty to intervene if we see someone needing help!

I have first aid training for work in construction and also for SYFA - youth football coaching.

Never had to administer first aid yet other than to my own dumb self

In my (extensive!) experience, the best people to have around if you have a casualty are paramedics, nurses and vets. Doctors tend to run away (fair enough, they're on holiday too!).

Vivid memories of being very happy to be (literally) shoved out of the way by a casualty's mate, who turned out to be a trauma nurse!

I've just had to a first-aid refresher, bundled in with a French mountain leader CPD course. They got a specialist 112 doctor in to talk to us. Interestingly, he had a list as long as your arm of drugs that we should consider carrying. When one of the group rightly pointed out that we aren't allowed to administer drugs, he said "That's right, so what you do is, you call 112, ask to speak to a doctor and talk it through with them."

list as long as your arm of drugs that we should consider carrying

Share??

hairylegs, from memory:

Epi-pen + some other drug for severe allergic reactions
Aspirin (for heart attacks)
Strong painkillers (paracetemol & codeine)
Sugar in some form for diabetic hypos

There was more, but I can't remember!

This is for group leaders BTW, not for personal use.

big fan of steri-strips. A youngster cut their shin deeply and it wouldnt stay closed under my dressings & bandage. So long drive and long wait in A&E for a nurse to close it up with 3 steri strips worth 80p.

Never had much success with steri-strips I've got to say. Usually too much blood / mud / sweat / rain / tears going on to get them to stick.

On a backcountry trip a few years ago, we were comparing 'personal First Aid kits' and one of my snowboarding buddys commented that he carried a 'nerve block' in his kit as he didn't trust anyone else to administer one if he broke his leg or similar ...

He is a Consultant as it happens. 🙂

stevomcd - Member

Never had much success with steri-strips I've got to say. Usually too much blood / mud / sweat / rain / tears going on to get them to stick.

The ones we get at work seem to be much better than the ones you buy in chemists

Aspirin (for heart attacks)
Strong painkillers (paracetemol & codeine)
Sugar in some form for diabetic hypos

Cheers buddy

Pretty much what I carry plus Imodium, anti-histamines and rehydration salts. (all depending on the length of the ride)

I think epipens, inhalers,GTN sprays etc come into the "personal meds" category and if leading a group would expect them to bring their own/declare their condition at the beginning of the ride