[Closed] First aid kits

This Light and Dry Micro First Aid Kit
https://www.lifesystems.co.uk/products/first-aid-kits/light-and-dry-micro

You're best putting together your own, tailored to what you need it for. A lot of prepacked kits have redundant items you'll never use but simply add to the weight and bulk of the kit.

Get yourself a wee dry bag, have a look at what's in most prepacked kits and build your own. You can get most of it in the supermarkets but for everything else I use https://medtree.co.uk/

Also think what you already carry as bike spares. An inner tube can be used as an arm sling for example.

The Light and Dry is an excellent start. Add lots and lots of sticky plasters for boo boos and you're good to go. A cheap credit card multi tool is worth adding for scissors, tweezers etc

Aye, that thought occurred.

Thinking plasters various, some non-absorbent dressings, a triangular bandage, small tube of germolene/savlon. Not sure what else.

Certainly don’t need a small sachet of sunblock ?why

I carry this.
2 Paracetamol/ 2 Ibuprofen
Wound dressing
Bandage
Couple of wipes
Couple of plasters
Disposable gloves
A whistle.

Good point about the inner tube sling. You can also just tuck an arm inside a collar to create a sling position.

Whistle and gloves a good shout.

dustypumpkins +1

Most 'first aid' kits are tiny plasters for the office.

I work on not having much that's for scuffs and skelfs - mtfu. I do have a few cleaning wipes, but not many.

I work on needing to do proper big first aid, so rescici aid, BIG wound dressings, burn pack, zinc tape, triangular bandage, cling film etc.

Having this 'big kit' has saved a friend's life, see the 999 episode with bikers on Helvellyn for the full story.

Foil blanket is the thing I've needed to use most in real situations. 3 times now.

Tend to carry dressings and bandages rather than plasters. If you crash in a bike it's usually a big hole rather than all one.

Credit card tick remover has been added to my collection recently.

I carry ( when I carry a kit at all) steristrips and occlusive dressings ( tegaderm / duoderm) plus some stretchy tape in large pieces to be cut to size ( mefix)

tick twister in tick season / areas. Paracetmol and ibuprofen

That will deal with small cuts and gravel rash which can make the difference between ride ending and finishing. BListers ad headaches. Major injury you need the pros and can improvise stabilising major breaks etc

And if kids are ever involved, sweeties. It's the most used item in my "first aid kit" by far!
Also decide where to draw the line on what you carry. It's easy to get carried away and fill an entire backpack with bandages in all shapes and sizes. My work kit is huge but what I take on a personal ride is vastly different.

@matt_outandabout MTFU is my approach, less successful with a tired 7yo who has just lost her back wheel minutes after telling me she’s faster than the TdF bike people.

LOMO do a little one in a dry bag, but I think you can get the dry bag separately for not much £s.

The wee LOMO bag looks ideal.

with a tired 7yo

I feel your stress!

I've three drybags -

ickle one of rescisci aid, silver blanket and a couple of wound dressings. It's tiny and is always with me, even on evening pootles.

- mid size is a 'cover all' with added proper space sleepiing bag, buffs, light, etc.

- hoofing big "everything but the sink" for when kids are involved, either on DofE or just mine when smaller. Seems to get used at trail centres most. 🤔

I get the MTFU comments re minor cuts and grazes but I once took a minor trail tumble and grazed my legs. No one saw it and my bike was ok - the two most important considerations obviously, so I remounted and carried on. A day or two later I started to develop some angry, painful weepy sores on the grazed area which spread up both legs and got worse. Eventually a trip to the docs and a course of strong antibiotics shifted it, though I still have a couple of scars from it 2 years later. Caused apparently by bacteria in the soil and quite common. A quick clean up at the time with an alcohol wipe (ouch) and some savlon would probably have prevented it. Both things I didn't carry then, but do now along with plasters, ibuprofen, steristips, tic remover etc.

If you are really interested in doing First Aid, get yourself onto a 2 day 'Outdoor first aid' course.
It'll cost you around £80+. Less if you have a group who want to do it with you.
But it is well worth it, and a good 2 days learning.
I've done 2 now (have to renew every 3 years) and dont regret it at all.
The instructor will teach you what items you will require in a first aid kit, and give you loads of ideas of what to use to strap injuries/breaks if you havent got anything in your first aid kit.
You should not give anyone any tablets. You can carry them, but cannot say to someone 'take this'. They have to conciously ask, even then, you have to be very cautious about giving them any.
I've done both Courses at Thornbridge Outdoors, in the Peak, Gt. Longstone. nr. Bakewell.

Seems a bit superfluous given that I’m an ATLS instructor 😛

(I should add that like most secondary care doctors, anything more than a quick ABC or scrapes/grazes is better dealt with by someone with more expertise away from hospital, unless we’re in A&E Resus)

I carry an emergency bivvi, small packable thing that sits in the bottom of the bag. Only time I've used it so far was for a young lad who had come a cropper at Gisburn and went into one of the streams hopefully helped keep him warm whilst the ambulance arrived.

Seems a bit superfluous given that I’m an ATLS instructor

Well why didnt you mention that, and why don't you tell us what to carry?

It pees me off when I give a decent, helpful reply to your query, and you give a condescending reply.

Foil blanket is the thing I’ve needed to use most in real situations. 3 times now.

Yep, same here. When people go into shock and get cold its handy to have one.

@alanl I’m sorry if I’ve caused offence, didn’t mention it because I didn’t think it was all that relevant initially.

I shall add foil blanket to my list.

Well why didnt you mention that, and why don’t you tell us what to carry?

It pees me off when I give a decent, helpful reply to your query, and you give a condescending reply.

A bit harsh. To be honest I didn't see any condescension there. Asking what other people carry in a cycling first aid kit is valid whatever quals the poster has. It's not like there is universal agreement on the exact contents and you can always learn from others.

Condescension really wasn’t the intent, and as above I’m sorry if I came across that way.

Back on topic, apart from dressings/antiseptic, on the list of suggestions I’ve got a whistle, disposable gloves, foil blanket, and some form of long-life sweets. Oh, and calpol melts given the size of my kids.

To be clear, I’m not planning on any long trips into the wilds here…

OK, sorry, I've read it the wrong way.