Re: [Paddlewise] First Aid Kits

On 28 Mar 2004 at 20:49, PeterO wrote:

> Below, roughly in order of frequency of occurence, are the first aid
> problems that groups I'm aware of have experienced, note some of these
> require treatment while in the boat at sea. Also the list does include
> ailments that are preventable but I'ld like to consider them anyway: -
> 
> - Muscle cramps and muscle problems

I'd bet that dehydration is a problem wrt cramps and some other 
muscle problems.  Rehydration with an electrolyte solutions (ie. 
gatorade-type sports drinks) can help.  If not available, boiling 
some meat in water to make a broth is a wilderness survival technique 
taught in Canada's north (you do have a feral cat problem in Oz, now 
don't you Peter?).

> - Stomach disorders

I always make sure I have some Imodium on board.  No longer 
prescription-only where I live and there are cheaper generics 
available too.  Handy if someone eats something that isn't quite 
healthy after being stored not quite right.  Or drinks the water.

Antacids and such are handy as well.  Useful if the group chef is one 
of those that figures dinner is ready when the smoke detector goes 
off.

> - Head aches

I carry an assortment of pain killers - usually acetaminophen (eg. 
Tylenol) and ibuprofin (eg. Advil).  Never offered, but available if 
asked (liability advice from the local first aid instructors).  I 
carry both, since they are different - one is better for fevers, the 
other for aches and pains.

> - Jelly fish, poisonous fish 

None of them in the Great Lakes :-)

> and insect stings

Oooh, lots of them.  I find Afterbite (mostly ammonia) works well 
most of the time on mosquito bites if applied just in time.

> - Burns from camp stoves

Second SKin has a burn bandage that's great.  If you want to protect 
it from water, cover with a biggish piece of 3M Tegaderm (aka, the 
GoreTex of bandages)

> - Broken limbs

Ditto Wayne - I often carry a Sam splint.  It's bulky relative to 
nothing and I always feel that I should be able to make a splint from 
bits of wood found around the campsite.  It's nice to have a Sam 
splint to make an instant solution, though - no need to scrounge for 
padding.

My first aid kit is modular.  I put stuff into big, wide-mouth 
Nalgene jars (not the bottles).  Each jar has a pair or two of latex 
gloves on top of the other stuff, so that I can "suit up" as soon as 
I open the jar.

One is my cuts, scrapes and blister kit (CS&B).  It contains several 
types of small bandages, liquid bandage, burn kit, Tegaderm, blister 
bandages etc.  The blister bandages I've come to like are from 
Bandaid:

<http://www.bandaid.com/footcare.shtml> - the one on the left.

Another one is my big cut and nasty stuff kit.  Bandages for 
something serious.  Includes some basic (i.e no wings etc), light, 
sanitary napkins - these make good blood-stopping compress bandages.  
Cheaper than the equivalent "real" first aid stuff.  This kit 
includes rolls of tape as well as elastic bandages for sprains.

A third one is the tool kit - small scissors, tweezers, safety pins, 
triangle bandage, space blanket, finger cots etc.  

Finally, a small dry bag with all the big stuff - Sam splint, big EMT 
scissors, notebook (waterproof), CPR mask, etc.

Sounds like a huge mess, but it used to fit conveniently in back of 
my seat in the Solstice - I put straps in to hold everything in place 
and liked the fact I could grab the stuff without opening a hatch.

Now it's a bit big altogether for my Ellesmere, so I'm going to 
reorganize things a bit.  The nice thing about the modular nature of 
the kit is that I can grap the CS&B kit and that satisfies my first 
aid needs most of the time.  It's in the car right now and is the one 
for day trips, skiing, hiking etc. 

Mike
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