Does anyone have a favorite commercially available medical kit, or useful information on this subject generally? Our local scout troop is considering standardizing its med kits, and although we may build our own, we will also considering buying kits that have all the requisite components. I have a number of wilderness medicine books and I have usually put together my own kits for my personal use. I am a little prejudiced against buying a kit, but I would like to know others' experience. The kits would be intended for use in North America, without terrain restrictions. TFJ ------------------------------------------ The information contained in this e-mail message may be privileged, confidential, and protected from disclosure. If you are not the intended recipient, any further disclosure or use, dissemination, distribution, or copying of this message or any attachment is strictly prohibited. If you think that you have received this e-mail message in error, please delete it and notify the sender. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
My wife is a surgeon and gave a nice, compelling lecture to our club on first aid for the uneducated. She recommended bringing a kit that consists of a few wound dressings, tape for use as a wrap or splint holder, aspirin, and Band-Aids. It costs next to nothing to put this kit together and the knowledge needed to use these items will be retained in time of crisis. Jim et al ----- Original Message ----- From: "Joyce, Thomas F." <TJoyce_at_bellboyd.com> Subject: [Paddlewise] Prepackaged Medical Kits? > Does anyone have a favorite commercially available medical kit, or useful information on this subject generally? Our local scout troop is considering standardizing its med kits, and although we may build our own, we will also considering buying kits that have all the requisite components. I have a number of wilderness medicine books and I have usually put together my own kits for my personal use. I am a little prejudiced against buying a kit, but I would like to know others' experience. The kits would be intended for use in North America, without terrain restrictions. > > TFJ *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Does anyone have a favorite commercially available medical kit, or useful information on this subject generally? I have a hybrid I have a commercial kit and have added additional items. I take a triangle bandage. If you have been to first-aid classes they can be useful. I also added flexible sam splints; they pack up fairly small and are great for fractures (REI carries them). I used to carry the inflatable splints but the Park Service in the Grand Canyon advises against them because they do many helicopter rescues, and the difference in air pressure can cause serious problems. I have good anti-dirrhea medication, an antihistamine, bee sting wipes or stick, blistex, I also carry dive ear to keep my ears dried out and comfortable. I also advocate for ultra thin maxi pads they are marvelous bulk bandage pads and your female paddling companions will appreciate them. Sounds like a lot of items but most items are fairly small. The Grand Canyon private boaters list has a very comprehensive first aid list. It is probably too large for most kayak trips, but you can pick the most commonly used items. http://www.gcpba.org/community/firstaid.php This brings me to my favorite wilderness paddling injury story. On one of our trips a kayaker split his chin open on a rock it was serious enough to require stitches. Scrounging through the meager first aid items they found tampons and duct tape. We duct taped the tampons to his chin but neglected to cut the strings. He arrived in the emergency room with the tampons on his chin and 4 strings dangling down, needless to say he was a huge hit with the hospital staff. -- MZ *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
I think Forgey in his book on Wilderness Medicine makes the point that tampons are an excellent supplement to any medical kit. TFJ > This brings me to my favorite wilderness paddling injury story. On one of > our trips a kayaker split his chin open on a rock it was serious enough to > require stitches. Scrounging through the meager first aid items they found > tampons and duct tape. We duct taped the tampons to his chin but neglected > to cut the strings. He arrived in the emergency room with the tampons on > his chin and 4 strings dangling down, needless to say he was a huge hit with > the hospital staff. -- MZ > > *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0 : Thu Aug 21 2025 - 16:33:31 PDT