does anybody carry

[bnsafe]

a med kit with them in the backcountry, and if so which one. im trying to decide if its overkill or necessary. im leaning towards overkill

[pointysticks]

i do!!

i dont buy a kit. i have a heavy duty ziploc with my own stuff. i cut myself all the time. heck, i just got stitches a few days ago.

i carry small iodine vials that i break apart to expose a swab tip. cleans cuts and wound beautifully. my doctor friend also sent me some swabs that are filled with medical grade superglue. and big bandaides..small bandaids are useless. moleskin is useless IMHO..i use bandaides.

[rowdycwby1]

I've always carry one you just never know. I have a small one I bought then I have one that I make my self that in cludes sutcher material and stuff just cant be to prepared.

[Lefty]

I do: Home made, some is vacuum sealed the others in a zip lock container , some in a tough waterproof container all in ziplock bag
Trama clot
Vet tape
1' band aid
super glue
packets of burn spray
packets of nesporin
Ladies xtra large pad
large gauze
asprin
clean para cord(tourniquet) or for a splint)
6 Oxycodone
asprin
benadryle
tums
duct tape
advil
micro towel
mini tweezer (cacti)
Micro blade
snake suction and iodine
a mini photon red led light
And a phone it may or may not work but I can send an emergency text from many locations

I have two Docs near my neigborhood, both were in Iraq and the one last year was back in Afganistan
He told me enough pain meds to make it to the truck, and whatever to stop bleeding,.. then told me if I stick my self with my own knife to just lay back and bleed out,.. his sence of humor

I figure I have other items in my pack that could pull multiple duty
My two big worries are snake bite and a broken leg, massive bleeding
The most likely would be twisted ankel or a fall on sharp rocks
I hunt alone and try to keep the truck within 2 hours, I do keep more first aid at the truck. But sometimes Im nearly 2 hours to the small town clinic
Hmm if its real bad : ,.. Maybe a phone call to lifeflight, a comfortable rock, the 6 oxy and just wait

Im glad you posted this thread. I dug out the snake kit and read the instructions, jumped on line and checked what i should do in a wilderness situation. Ill talk to my Doc neighbor,.. and see if life flight is what I need for snake bite if I m way back

[bnsafe]

I thought about making my own, I am a nurse and have access to suture etc.

[pointysticks]

Those pre soaked q-tips with the iodine are the best for wound care.

My wife graduates from nursing dec 13th. Yeehaw!

[bnsafe]

tell her congrats, its not an easy job an theres a reason for the high burnout rates. but it has its rewards to

[pointysticks]

yea..she is getting that.

she is doing her preceptor-ship right now..brutal. wipes her out. kinda glad we dont have kids. phew! (or i would never hunt anymore playing daddy daycare;))

[bnsafe]

its a tough job at times, lots of weekends and holidays, nights, etc. it takes a lot out of the family life. nice thing is she can get a job just about anywhere.

[MontBison]

I'd be interested to hear what you find out on the snake kit lefty. Does anyone else have a fear of getting bit by a rattler or is it just me? It seems like your pretty much screwed if you get bit

[bnsafe]

bison im afraid of getting bit by a gardner snake, nasty stinking worthless things. im gonna need a heart attack kit not a poison kit

[LckyTylr]

I'm not worried about much of anything at this point. I have a first aid kit that I have assembled over the years to handle the minor stuff. One thing that I don't have is Iodine q-tips, so thanks for posting that. If I get myself into a really bad situation (rattler, extreme hemorrhaging, broken leg), I'll push the magic button on my SPOT. I hunt alone, it's really a good piece of mind for myself and my Wife. My Wife, Parents and In-Laws all track my progress from home on their computers, watching me go into nasty places and sending my angry texts for when I get back to service. It's great fun.

[baddaddy]

I carry one in the truck, one on the ATV, and one in my pack. OK a little overkill. Never know when you will need one.

[Lefty]

I'd be interested to hear what you find out on the snake kit lefty. Does anyone else have a fear of getting bit by a rattler or is it just me? It seems like your pretty much screwed if you get bit

I bought a cheap snakekit, has a blade, string, iodine ,and and suction cup.
I read up a lot on different medical sites basically
Keep the bite area low,
stay calm,
get to a hospital

I will likely be to far from a hospital for quick help, I will likley need to hike out on my own , drive out on my own
Il will use the suction cup, and iodine, and the tourniquet . I hope to be smart about the tournquet and use it lightly
I plan to ask a Doc for more advce. Ive heard that some bites at the time of the stike will about take your legs out from under a guy.

I dont know, should a take an asprin? An Oxicodone? I dont know

[elkaholic]

What is the best place to buy the materials for your first aid kit? Walmart, Walgreens, army navy surplus store? I need to put one together.

[pointysticks]

What is the best place to buy the materials for your first aid kit? Walmart, Walgreens, army navy surplus store? I need to put one together.

this here is the rub for me. if you went out and custom made a kit, i think it is super expensive. i just raid my home kit and hope for the best. one time, a doc friend sent me a bunch of random stuff because he knows i am accident prone. he gave me ER stuff. like a gag gift..that works.

if i had to start from scratch..i think buying a kit would be most cost effective no? then customizing it?

[Lefty]

What is the best place to buy the materials for your first aid kit? Walmart, Walgreens, army navy surplus store? I need to put one together.

this here is the rub for me. if you went out and custom made a kit, i think it is super expensive. i just raid my home kit and hope for the best. one time, a doc friend sent me a bunch of random stuff because he knows i am accident prone. he gave me ER stuff. like a gag gift..that works.

if i had to start from scratch..i think buying a kit would be most cost effective no? then customizing it?

I mostly dumped my first aid kits stuff.
The asprin and tums I think were from a motel,
Neosporin packets were given to us from work
Some came out of the medicine cabinet in the bathroom
Vet wrap , farm store
I think I got the Trama clot at REI,.. but Ive seen it other places now
The good tweezer came from Walgrreens
I stuffed most of what I have in a waterproof lightweight tought plastic container

First aid kits have too much of what you dont want or need( in my opinion) My scout troop had purchased a $100 first aid kit. A couple years later a nurse built us one of what we needed

[ChukarNUT]

I make my own. Duct tape for blisters, probably most common "injury" in backcountry that can ruin a hunt! allergy meds are something often overlooked but can literally be a lifesaver even if you dont think you have any allergies. also taking or studying a wilderness first responder course is highly recomended and suited for our type of recreation!

[elkaholic]

After looking at the kits,they have a lot of the stuff that I already have, I'm going give a go at putting my own together. Got some Quick clot packs on sale yesterday and I should have gotten the snake kit. I will pick it up later on.

[mtnmutt]

I bought mine from here and added and subtracted to it: http://store.nols.edu/Store/pc/home.asp

For my backpack, I have the Ultralight 2.0 First Aid Kit. The more heavy duty bag is in my car.

I took NOLS 2 day Wilderness First Aid class. Very hands on training. American Red Cross also offers a Wilderness First Aid, however a person who took both said the NOLS one is better. I am a bit medically stupid and would still need to look up info in my Wilderness Medicine Field Guide (water resistant).

Make sure you have an irrigation syringe and clean water to irrigate any wound before applying dressing.

Items that were not mentioned that you may want:
Moleskin with precut donut holes - duct tape hurts when you remove it.
Blist-O-Ban
irrigation syringe
2nd skin burn dressing
Transparent Semi-Permeable Dressing
Tincture of Benzoin Vials
Trauma Shears

QuikClot was mentioned and is extremely important. Most archery injuries are from your broadhead or knife while field dressing.

The instructors said do not carry things you do not know how to use. It would be a waste of space and weight.

In my car, I have the SAM splint. Things in your pack can double for a splint if needed. If backpacking, use your sleeping pad.

I also carry a SPOT, but I know it can take 4-6 hrs for help to arrive. SAR is an all volunteer organization by Colorado county. You may want to figure out how to prevent yourself from going into shock. If that is even possible.

[ChukarNUT]

Dont waste money on a snake kit. they actually do more harm than good. if you have a poisenous snake bite (rattlesnake in elk country), evacuation is top priority. "Keep the patient physically at rest with the bitten extremity immobilized and kept lower than the heart. Remove rings, watches, or anything else that might reduce the circulation if swelling occurs. Wash the wound. Measure the circumference of the extremity at the site of the bite and at a couple of sites between the bite and the heart, and monitor swelling. Evacuate the patient by carrying, or going for help to carry, or, if the patient is stable, by slow walking. Do NOT cut and suck. Do NOT give painkillers unless the patient is very stable, showing no signs of getting worse. Do NOT apply ice or immerse the wound in cold water. Do NOT apply a tourniquet. Do NOT give alcohol to drink. Do NOT electrically shock the patient."

NOLS courses are amazing. I have taken the Wilderness First Responder course twice, 2nd time for re-cert--and have studied all the material for the Wilderness EMT. In my opionion someone in your camp should have a WFR. If you hunt solo or have kids that you take outdoors away from civilization also very-very wise and re-assuring.

Epi-PENS are often something overlooked especially when people in camp "dont have allergies". well when i worked for a backcountry wilderness therapy program and the nearest help was a 3 hour drive, and 5 mile hike--or a 1 hour airlife flight away--we had a girl go into an extreme food related anaphylactic shock. she had no KNOWN food allergies. within minutes of ingesting lentils she was swelling, rash ridden, and airway closed. we luckily has EPI-PENS for other kids in the program for bee allergies, and injected her and called airlife via sat phone. we had to inject her 2 more times and administer a longer term antihistamine to keep her airway open before airlife arrived 1.5 hours later. without those epi-pens and knowledge by myself and staff thanks to NOLS WFR courses she would be dead. Real life example why its important to have the proper gear and knowledge for your kids, yourself, and buddies when recreating far from help!