Ready Blog

A few month’s ago, we traveled out of town to volunteer for a charity event. During the 3 days, I loaned my travel first aid kit to a colleague and we lost track of it during the closing ceremonies. He promised to find it and send via mail. While looking for it, he commented it came in handy several times to help during the physical endurance event we were crewing. Yes, there were volunteer medical teams, but sometimes they were not immediately available. The bandages, gauze, sterile wipes and even butterfly closures and steri-strips helped a few skinned knees and blisters get to the medical tents.

In tracking down the lost and found kit, we found it traveled to a different volunteer’s house back in Houston. During Thanksgiving, he accidentally sliced his hand pretty seriously while sharpening the knife in preparation for carving a turkey. Hmm.. wonder if they still ate Turkey? He owned several first aid kits at his house and for his own travels, but needed a few extra items out of mine as well. Again, the kit came in handy. Mr. Turkey Carver has since had surgery on his hand to repair some of the damage to his cut (giving you an idea of the severity). We quickly compared notes on what worked and what was missing in our kits.

Gauze patches with a slick-no stick cover slide and are a pretty useless. They slide when wet from sweat, moisture, or especially with an unusual amount of blood. Ick! (stuff that visual back down in my brain) Cloth tape works almost better than duct tape. It sticks to just about anything. Steri-strips and butterfly closures need a clean surface, but will then stick and hold. The other item that might have been helpful would be one of the new emergency coagulants such as Celox. Does all this sound like overkill? Maybe, but ask the people who received relief during an endurance event, and the home emergency that we think will never happen to us. Or even more likely, most of us know we need a first aid kit, may even have one, but plan on getting around to adding to it and organizing it better “some day” maybe.

Sure, calling 911 or going to the Dr. is the ultimate answer. But, what we do in the interim can make a difference on how quickly someone recovers, how much damage and just plain basic comfort. Do you have an emergency first aid kit in your house beyond a few band-aids and Hydrogen Peroxide? Is there one in your car? at work? do you travel with your own kit? How about a power outage during a storm when you or your neighbor is injured and the emergency medical personnel are slow to respond due to emergencies all over the city. What would you need?

The basic lost and now found (on it’s way back to me when Mr. Turkey Carver recovers) kit measured only about 4 x 6 in a pouch, but included basic things like antibiotic creams, burn creams, extra pairs of gloves to deal with blood, various tape, bandages, and strips for wound closure and management, scissors to easily cut tape. It packs lightly and any medications such as advil or antihistamines were kept up to date. I have a larger home kit, but they even seem unwieldy in most cases. Adventure Medical makes some of the most comprehensive kits for their size I have seen. If you want to get started making your own check out Adventure Medical or Chinook Medical for a strong basic kit, then add items you might need for your particular activities.

Let me know what is in your kit. What have you found worked or didn’t? I knew the scissors in my kit would be helpful, but never thought that a person trying to help themselves with a hand injury would need them so seriously. Think about trying to tear your own gauze or tape with one hand and teeth? It could be done, but having the correct tools made the job easier.

Most of all stay safe and learn basic first aid before you need it!