Wednesday 8 August 2012

HAMMER's First Aid Kit


Following on from Shiver's post I'd like to share my First Aid Kit with you all. Firstly I want to say  I am not medically trained. Everything in this bag has either been bought on the high street or on eBay. Most importantly it all serves a purpose. If you don't know to use it or don't need it, it does not belong in your First Aid kit. Right that's the serious bit over.

When we are out in the field our the most common injuries are minor cuts (Plasters), lacerations (Steri Strips and larger dressings/ plasters), Burns (Burn Gel) and infection (add your personal antiseptic here..I like diluted hydrogen peroxide in a dropper bottle). We have all done it at one time and have either cursed at not having anything to hand or said a silent prayer for being smart enough to pack the right kit for the injury in question. My suggestion is cover these first and then build up around what else that could go wrong....just think ..What if...?

Below are pictures of my first aid kt.



In Picture 1 you can see the tables (painkillers and antihistamine), paramedic scissors, tweezers, hydration tablets, pen torch, scalpel, Forceps, Thermometer, emergency whistle, cigarette lighter, Oil of Cloves for tooth ache, saline solution etc
 
In the center section I have a bottle of TCP, Slings, cold and flu tablets  and rubber gloves



In Picture 2 I have 3 bags where I've emptied out the contents to show you. The far right contains bandages, the middle one contains some saline solution, syringes, mini bottle of rum, and some disposable gloves. Finally the far left one contains the foil blankets, plasters, and the burn gel




This is all contained in one of these:

Black Mountain Outdoor Stores on eBay


A DPM PLCE Medic side pouch (contents NOT included) that fits on to my 100ltr Bergen or my 40ltr day sack. This can also be used on its own as it has two carry handles incorporated into the case. Its waterproof, but not crush proof you you still need to be mindful of any dedicates placed in there.

This is A LOT of kit to take. I use this as camp kit when I'm out and a home first aid kit when I'm in the house. From this I can break this down to add to a smaller personal first aid kit when I need it.

If you not going to build your own kit I'd like to recommend Lifesystems First aid Kits. I have used these in the past and they have been great. They come in an abundance of sizes and contents and instructions are included.Well worth the money to have the peace of mind at hand.

I hope you have enjoyed my first post.

2 comments:

  1. Fantastic first article Hammer, I think we can all benefit from the wealth of information on here, and add a few extra items mentned here to our own personal first aid kits. This would be nice to have as a downloadable PDF check list, and like you said this is designed as a 'base' medi kit, a lighter kit can be made by stripping down some of the items in here for shorter trips away, into a smaller pouch or bag.

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  2. I just purchased one of these from ebay, its made by Kombat.UK and I must admit, its a good size and should hold everything you need in an emergency. The bag is a very well made piece of kit and has 3 mesh pouches with velcro for easy removal, so you can break your kit down into smaller pieces and it has elasticated kit storage loops on the inside cover, and a plastic and mesh document compartment, which is a nice touch for your notes or medication details.
    I did notice that this particular bag is heavily padded, so small glass bottles can be transported without risk of breakage and I would assume that it would also be good at keeping sharps from piercing the bag if they managed to become dislodged inside the bag, which is peace of mind when your carrying this bag.

    The only thing I can think is wrong with this bag is there are no fast clips to attach this to the yolk system along side a rocket pouch,as a day sack, however it does zip on to the standard issue bergen easily, and im sure with a little modification you can customise this to fit the day sack.
    The clips supplied are slightly different also and although they fit they do not secure themselves, as they are slightly different in manufacture. However Kombat.uk, has included tonns of spare connectors so you can customise your bag loops to take them and to me thats good foresight and its a another good point in my books.
    Overall, I like it, the quality is good, the price was good, (about £20 unfilled) and it has all the fittings to fit onto the standard PLCE belt rig in place of a few pouches.
    Keeping perishables waterproof by placing them in ziplock bags or waterproof tins is the only thing I will do inside this bag.
    Its not too big & its not too small, and I think its a good buy.

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