First Aid Kit: how to set yours up

The purpose of this thread is to show you how to put together a first aid bag that is more functional, affordable and maintainable than than any "ready to go" kit.

I decided to put this thread together after seeing quite a few members purchasing the Toyota first aid kit as well as high end set-ups that are functional but very expensive and more difficult to maintain.

Why put your own kit together instead of just buying something that is setup and ready to go? Here are a few very good reasons.

1. You'll actually know whats in it and where supplies are located
2. You will be more likely to look at expiration dates (medications and even bandages expire)
3. Its fun!!!

***I have no intentions of providing any kind of training or instruction. If you want to learn more the American Red Cross has numerous first aid/CPR classes available***

 

Ok so whats the definition of first aid and why am I bothering to make it the first thing we talk about?
first aid
ˌfərst ˈād/
noun

1. help given to a sick or injured person until full medical treatment is available.

The key phrasing here is until full medical treatment is available. A good first aid kit is only intended to stabilize an injury or illness until definitive care is obtained. I.E. a medical doctor has evaluated you in an emergency room. With that said does every bump, scrape and bruise require and emergency room evaluation by a doctor? No, but it does require a bit of training, experience and good healthy chunk of common sense to determine what you should throw a band-aid on and what may need a couple stitches.

So what kind of things come to mind when you think of first aid? Im a morbid person so I tend to think of things like anaphylactic shock caused by a sting or bleeding to death alone in the woods because I was staring at the shiny coil-over reservoirs on my truck instead of paying attention to the chainsaw that I was running.

How can you possibly be prepared to stop death at every corner? The answer is you can't. The average person doesn't have to means to carry a full airway kit, trauma/med/drug box and the myriad of diagnostic equipment that comes along with it. This is what that looks like on my engine.

Your taco probably doesn't have this much room and even with all this fancy crap not everybody was meant to continue on is the plane of existence. So where can your first aid kit make a difference and still be affordable in a SHTF scenario? Lets have a look at that orange box in this picture.

closer

closer
even closer

This little corner has some very important tools for controlling hemorrhage, is relatively easy to use and in my opinion should be the primary bulk of your kit! (compared to everything else here, its also some of the less expensive stuff , more on that in a bit). So why is this stuff important? Because your a Tacoma owner and according to your demographic and this graphic your biggest concern is probably traumatic injury.

 

All right on to the what you should actually being carrying and why. Like the demographic above shows most Taco owners first aid kits should be set up to handle some trauma management. There are many different mechanisms of causing traumatic injury but Im going to focus mainly on those mechanisms that can lead to hemorrhagic shock and eventually death. This is because this type of trauma can actually be managed fairly well by your average layperson in the field. ****Im not talking about massive internal bleeding caused by significant blunt trauma. Unfortunately this can only be fixed by a trauma surgeon.*** Im talking about punctures and lacerations. These types of injuries can cause significant blood loss but with some quick thinking and a few dressings can be controlled fairly easily.

So lets take a quick look at this pic again talk about the items I have listed. Again I have no intention of providing training. This is merely to provide some friendly advice and illicit discussion.

• 4" stack of clean 4x4s

These are great for controlling minor hemorrhage and versitile for creating temporary bandages. They aren't sterile but you can keep them clean in a zip lock baggy. These can also be purchased any drug store or even find them at most dollar stores!!

• Sterile ABD pads

These are nice for a slightly larger dressings and again can be found easily at drug stores and dollar stores.

• Sterile 4x4s

These are good for dressing minor wounds that you feel dont need the attention of an emergency room. Drug stores and Dollar Stores should have these.

• Petrol gauze

An optional item as it takes some minor training to use but good for thoracic penetrating trauma. Find it on Amazon

• Combat tourniquet

These are awesome! Easy to use even with only half of one fucntion hand and is something that actually might save your life someday. Ill let the Mayo Clinic explain
http://www.mayoclinic.org/medical-p...ma/combat-tested-tourniquets-save-lives-limbs

Tourniquet - (Black) Recon Medical Gen 3 Mil-Spec Kevlar Metal Windlass Aluminum Lightweight First Aid Tactical Swat Medic Pre-Hospital Life Saving Hemorrhage Control Registration Card (1 Pack)

https://www.amazon.com/Tourniquet-A...9PDA3/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1491609609&sr=8-
3&keywords=tourniquet

• Hemestatic Gauze

Another great item for controlling difficult bleeds. Its a little more expensive than other items listed but may be the best option for severe thoracic and abdominal wounds. Its more involved than simply slapping it on top of the wound so learn to use it if you want

QuikClot EMS Rolled Gauze 3" x 48"

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00D...6_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=hemostatic+gauze

• Israeli dressings

These are pretty cool but am going to throw them in to the optional pile just because if I thinking of using this Id almost always skip it and go right to tourniquet. Still an awesome dressing and has some good uses.

$13 Ever Ready First Aid Israeli Battle Dressing Compression Bandage, 6", Black

https://www.amazon.com/Ever-Ready-F...id=1491611391&sr=8-2&keywords=israeli+bandage

• Tape, gauze and Koban

Medical tape is good for applying minor dressings and coban and gauze work great for applying the bulkier stuff. These can be found at drug stores and amazon.



Splinting
There are a ton on really nice options out there from air cast to SAM splints but to keep cost down for your personnel kit Im gonna recommend a good old cardboard splint. These are sold in pre cut sizes but I say the next time you get large order of truck parts just throw the flattened cardboard box under your bed mat or cut a couple of pieces to keep behind the seats. You can cut and fold them to spec when needed.



Duct Tape!!
This stuff has a ton of emergency medical uses. Check out this link for more info
http://www.instructables.com/id/Duct-Tape-in-your-First-Aid-Kit/

Duct Tape sutures. Tear into strips and...



Burns
All burns should be considered serious and even what appear minor can end up being life altering. Always seek professional advise when dealing with burns. Water Jel dressings are a great TEMPORARY dressing until definitive care can be obtained at a burn center.

$20 First Aid Only 4" X 4" Water Jel Burn Dressing, Sterile (Pack of 3)

https://www.amazon.com/First-Aid-On...qid=1491613869&sr=1-1&keywords=burn+dressings
Unfortunately serious burns end up being quite large so the 3 4x4 burn dressings that come in this kit may not do much.

Organization
You can really use what ever you feel comfortable with for storing this stuff. Old back packs work great. I even used to use one of those clear plastic zip up bags new sheets come in. It worked great and I could see what was in it without opening it up.


Tool list

• Quality trauma shears
• Forceps
• Tweezers
• Flush for wound irrigation

That's pretty much it...


Staple guns, Cricothyrotomy, Stitches and other advanced procedures.

Unless you are TRAINED and EXPERIENCED don't even think about it!!!!!

 

Preparedness for medical emergencies.

There is no way to be prepared for every possible medical emergency that could manifest itself while your out on the trail but you can be prepared for the Obvious. By this I mean know your families as well as your medical history. Keep important medications Rx'd by your doctor with you. Does your son have severe allergies to bees? You'd better have his EPI pen. Does your husband have a history of angina? I hope you brought the nitro!

There are a few over the counter medications I do recommend every body brings with them.

• Antihistamine
• Antipyretic (Fever reducer such as tylenol)
• pain relier
• Antidiarrheal
• Antibiotic ointment

I store my meds in one of these weekly pill organizers.

$7 Ultra Bubble lok 7-day Pill Organizer By Apex Healthcare (Colors May Vary)

https://www.amazon.com/Bubble-Organ...91615048&sr=1-5&keywords=pill+organizer+7+day
I use the small round stickers to label different drugs and dont forget to write the expiration dates and store out of direct light!

 

Nice, subbed.

 

Thanks! I see allot of folks buying the toyota labeled kit as well as 400 dollar plus kits. I'm not too fond of either of these kits or any pre- setup kits for that matter so I thought I'd share my perspective. I can be long winded sometimes so I'll start next week when I get back home.

 

Subbed for interest

 

Ok, let's do this!

 

Subd. I always try to keep at least the bare essentials of first aid in the truck. Will like to see if I can add anything on the cheap!

 

This will be fun!! Great idea man.

 

Thanks for the awesome response already! I'm a firm believer that no one person has seen/done it all so would definitely like to keep this an open discussion as time goes on.

 

Just a suggestion, not sure what you have planned. But one thing I'd love to see is two different kits, one kit that has everything you might need in an emergency that is small(can easily fit in the rear underseat cubbie) and never leaves the truck. And then a second kit that is a bit more extensive that you'd pack for when going wheeling or on an adventure where you might be on your own if something happens.

 

. <---- That's my "following" dot.

 

Definatly! I like to keep things pretty basic so once I get some better pics of what I use at work I'll be able to more easily explain and provide links.

 

Is your engine a medic unit as well? As in, you run a non-transporting medic on that truck? That's pretty neat.

 

Yeah we run 2 medics 2 basics per engine/ladder company and we contract with a private ambulance company for transport services. We frequently ride in ALS with the transport company. Our standard of service is a minimum of 2 medics per call so if an engine company is down a medic due to transport the next closest ALS unit will be assigned as well (usually cancelled by the first arriving unit). Quite a bit different than the first FD I worked for. Only medic for 100 mile radius lol.
I need to finish this post this week! I got side tracked on other projects as usual. Feel free to add content as well brother!!

 

Damn, that's really awesome. Our EMS and fire are split, so it's cool to see departments that are adapting to the situation. I can add some info and pics of our go-bags as well as my own. Stay safe!

 

Wonderful thread idea @Lord Humongous