First Aid Kit Suggestion Needed

There is the first aid you do for a blister or a little cut that keeps a problem minor.Its about being able to continue a trip
Then,there are the serious medical conditions,accidents,trauma,where this hunter's trip is over.The what next? gets important.A broken upper arm may not be life threatening till bouncing down the trail on the way out,the brachial artery gets severed.
If a cell phone or a walkie talkie can communicate GPS grid co-ordinates,and in most of the continental USthat is possible,a primary first aid step is "Activate the Emergency Medical System"'
Once you have evacuation and paramedics on the way,a whole lot can be done to keep life and limb together with just your hands.Keep an airway,don't let all the blood run out,etc.
The first responder/emt type training will help you do no harm,and do what you can to keep things stable till help arrives.
I am not qualified to have an opinion on the merits of products like QuikClot.I see the stuff advertised and I think"Cool,maybe I should..."
But I also think having a Cheaper Than Dirt catalogue does not qualify me to put anything into a wound.I suggest one be trained by a qualified person first.
Not all clotting is good.If I did not know what I was doing,I could maybe kill someone with a good idea like Quik Clot.
I'd be happy to learn more from someone with expertise.
 
If hunting poisonous snake country, a snake bite kit may come in handy. Aspirin would always be on the list. Never know when the 'ole ticker' may go on the blink. Especially during the excitement of the hunt.
 
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If you want a good listing for a compact but effective first-aid kit that you might actually want to carry, go to the backpacking sites and look up "first aid kit lists".

Backpackers spend a LOT more time out in the woods than hunters do.
 
I agree with basic medical kit and checking out the docs expanded list. Also at least three days extra meds. If you get stuck and you're on meds, bad news. EMT training also good so you don't kill someone while trying to help them. A good wilderness survival guide in your pack would be helpful. Number one idea is still phone or some way of calling for help. I've got a good one around but I haven't seen it lately. It would be good if at least one in the group knows CPR and basic first aid. Going out in the wild without that is like wandering in a bad neighborhood with no phone or way to defend yourself.
 
Firefighter/medic here as well as wilderness survival and search and rescue certified medic. The biggest thing is some kind of pressure bandage and some kind of antiseptic. EMT training is a little extensive for day to day life but CPR/First aid training is a MUST for any hunter. I take a lot of stuff but i also have access to a lot of stuff. More than the average hunter would ever need. Here's the kit i keep in my car:

Pressure bandages
Peroxide
Hand sanitizer (can work as a great wound cleaner)
Iodine
Antibiotic ointment
Benadryl
Aspirin & Nitro
Normal Saline and IV supplies
Ice and heat packs
Glucose
Thermometer
Ace wraps
Sam splints
Ibuprofen / Tylenol
and a few other wound/orthopedic things

Everything there except the Saline and IV supplies anyone can get. The biggest problems you're going to occur is gun shot wounds, allergic reactions, and hypo/hyperthermia. And snake bites for some of you in the south.

GSW- Make sure you clean the gunshot wound very thoroughly and apply a pressure bandage. DO NOT try to remove the bullet. Keep the limb elevated, etc until you can get to help.

For allergic reactions take some Benadryl at the first sign of swelling/rash but dont keep hunting doped up on Benadryl. If you do refer to the gun shot wound care information.

Dehydration and fluid loss can cause hypo and hyperthermia a lot faster then most people think so take all the standard precautions and drink plenty of water and you'll be fine.

For snakes bites you only need to apply a light tourniquet. Snake venom travels in the lymphatic system just under the skin not the blood stream like most people think so don't cut off circulation to that area. Don't try to suck it out either. Also don't apply ice. Pop two of Benadryls and get to a nearby hospital.

If you break or injure a limb its very easy to make a splint out of sticks. Two of three sticks wrapped with an ace wrap should do the trick. For an open femur (leg) fracture DO NOT move the leg from the position its in. Moving it can cause major arterial shredding which can lead to a death in about 60 seconds.

Idk just be smart and use your head. Accidents happen but prevention is the best medicine.
 
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I'd suggest an automatic defibrillator, port O2, cannulas, a non-rebreather, vials of epi, narcan, atropine, dextrose, some nitro tabs, a bag of normal saline, ringers, 12, 14, 16 ga caths, back board, C collar, HARE trac, MAST pants....

Or, maybe don't get too carried away. :D

As others have suggested, the best thing you can do (first) is take a first aid course with the Red Cross. After that, you'll find there's not a lot you need, (or can carry unless you're building a rescue squad.) As my training and experience progressed, I added more and more to my personal kit, only to realize later that I needed very little of it.

The Red Cross Advanced First Aid course is a very practical, real world approach to medical emergencies - right up the alley of outdoorsmen. And to tell you the truth, the skill set at that level is the extent of what can be done until handed off to paramedics. You'll also learn what not to do and to "First, do no harm." 'Good Samaritan Law' dictates you act only as a reasonable person with a similar level of training would act.

Ultimately, you would be surprised what you can put together once your training makes your objectives clear. I've cut fuel line in a boat to suction clots from an airway. (Our boat crash victim later died, but his interim survival maintained him as a donor - a choice the family made to the benefit of many!) A towel or rolled sweat shirt and a roll of tape can be used to improvise a cervical collar. You can use your belt and a cut branch with a fork on one end, along with rope or webbing to build a traction splint, for example.

What I carry today is nothing more than a couple of cravats, an abdominal pad for large trauma and a pack of regular 4X4 gauze, 2 packs of roller gauze, tape, trauma shears (scissors), a roll of 1" webbing and some OTC (oral) Benadryl. I could list additional 'nice to have' items, but when a kit becomes a burden it tends to get left at home. The easiest and most important thing to carry afield is the training, and I think you'll enjoy the class. You should do it!

Cheers,
LNF
(Med Comm, Pvt Ambulance, Nat Park Rescue, PM/FF, EMT/ACLS Instructor, PHC Preceptor)

"Don't worry, all bleeding stops. Eventually."
 
Old Times

For really bad bleeds, can't gunpowder be uses to cauterize it.

A portable x-ray machine would also be usefull.
 
Having been an EMT for many years my self I think what edward5759 is the best advise I read on here. Get training and know what you need and don't need.


The best advise I can give you is don't become part of the problem, if you are not trained to do a rescue don't do it. Especially water, if you are not a life guard stay out of the water, if you are not an emergency responder in your work vehicle don't stop on the side of the road. 80% of all ems fatalities occur on the side of the road where they are hit by on coming traffic and killed. DON'T STOP ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD TO HELP SOME ONE UNLESS YOU ARE WILLING TO DIE AND SACRIFICE THE LIVES OF EVERY ONE IN YOUR CAR FOR THAT PERSON. While it is not a 100% it does happen very often where people are hit and killed by on coming traffic. If people can't see a fire engine or ambulance on the side of the road they sure are not going to see your car.

find a boy scout book and build the kit they list and keep in on hand for very basic first aid knowledge.
 
not truly first aid, but...

... if you are out by yourself and get hurt or disoriented, some potentially useful items would include:

1) a portable GPS and spare batteries
2) a spare cell phone and spare battery (or a radio and batteries if you are really out in the boonies)
3) a space blanket (the type that folds down to about the size of a card deck)
4) water purification tablets
5) fire starting materials (striker, waterproof matches, jet-lighter, etc)
6) a small signal mirror (these can be seen from farther away, given sunlight, than just about any other visual signaling device)

... because it's possible you might spend some time where you are when you get hurt.
 
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