# what's in your med kit?



## EphemeralStick

So I grew up with a nurse for a mom and if there is one thing that had really stuck with me was to always be prepared. She taught me a lot about first aid and medicine so I tend to keep my medicine pocket in my pack well stocked. I mainly have remedies for things that I come down with often [colds, hives, etc.) Currently I have. 

 A bottle of Dayquil
Generic Tylenol 
A tube of Bactracin
A tube of IcyHot
A tube of Hydrocortisone 
Benedryl 
a small thing of Vaseline 
Bandaids
Bottle of Gaviscon

So what do you guys keep on you?


----------



## MolotovMocktail

Before I took off, my sister gave me a small first-aid kit (just some gauze and bandaids and alcohol wipes). I almost didn't take it but I was sure glad to have it when I accidentally sliced a bit of my thumb off with a box-cutter and was bleeding everywhere. Besides that, I had some Tylenol and pills for food sickness, both of which I ended up using.


----------



## Wawa

Not so much in the way of an actual first aid kit, but I usually have food type items that double for medical stuff. Vinegar is the big one; kicked a nasty staph infection with it. Everything gets cleaned with vinegar. Honey I've used very effectively for a bad burn, ginger for nausea, garlic to get over a cold fast...supposedly will get rid of some parasites if you can keep raw garlic down on an empty stomach, but I've never been sure enough if I had the worms or not to know if it worked


----------



## kecleon

I really like these things they call butterfly stitches. I fixed this big gash I had above my eye that I was sure needed real stitches because a friend had a pack of these, since then I always carry them, they take up no space. 

especially if you're in a group it's really useful if at least someone has some basic kit/knowledge.


----------



## wizehop

Whiskey?... Cant say I've ever been one to be prepared along those lines, although its definitely worth having. The only meds I tend to always try to have is Advil, other wise I usually just let nature run its course.


----------



## Tude

Good thread! Since my long distance usually involves bicycles - BANDAIDS, neosporin, wet wipes (had neither and went down hard - had to go into town and hit the first place I saw - a Friendlys rest.), Asperin


----------



## murdermittenkid

moleskin! and ib 800


----------



## Deleted member 125

small moleskin, 3 packets of advil with 2 pills each, 2 packets of burn cream, 3 packets of suncreen, 2 packets of itch cream, 4 regular sized bandaids, emergency blanket, 2 latex gloves, a few other odds and ends.




all fits inside of a first aid pouch swiped from a restaurent job i had some time ago.


----------



## EphemeralStick

@Wawa I carry a bunch of herbal remedies too; lavender oil, ginger root, garlic, etc. I try to keep it seperate from my modern medicine and don't really count them in my kit. 
@jimyf butterfly stitches are legit, I used to carry liquid stitches with me but they got used up on some nasty cuts. They're a bit difficult to get ahold of but my mom would swipe them from the hospital because she's awesome.


----------



## kecleon

Liquid stitches, like medical super glue? That's sick.


----------



## Odin

@cantcureherpes nice first aid pouch. I'm looking for a small container to put travel related first aid in. (thinking waterproof)

I got like a huge stash of med cabinet type stuff. Everything from spray on band-aid stuff, neosporine type gel, itch cream, hydrogen peroxide and rubbing alcohol... to small deals of eye drops and wash.
Also those self-adhesive elastic wraps. Great for a sprain or if you have a minor break/bruised bone like a finger or toe.

@wizehop whiskey is a good one. 

And I don't really like stitches... have only had them a couple times.

Other times had some nasty cuts showing a bit of meat and flap of skin before.
Just wrapped the heck outa them for a week or so. First couple days with a good amount of pressure. (those selfadheisve wraps are great for this...) and then let them heal naturally.
Leaves a scar but don't have to treat myself like a piece of rawhide. Hah... though if I ever did get a gash big enough... having some kinda anesthetic would be useful to be able to stitch oneself up.

Anyone know of a local numbing agent? Something natural or that you could get in a med kit? Would figure its something not available just anywhere...
Unless... tattoo piercing place?


----------



## EphemeralStick

Odin said:


> Anyone know of a local numbing agent? Something natural or that you could get in a med kit? Would figure its something not available just anywhere...
> Unless... tattoo piercing place?



Chloraseptic maybe? Although the other things that are added to it probably shouldn't get into your blood, like the artificial flavoring. 

I know you can get prescription strength numbing agent from doctors for things like strep throat that doesn't have any other active ingredients but I can't remember what's it's called. 

It's like this bottle of all thick numbing goo. I figure a few dabs of that stuff and you should be tolerate the pain of self stitches but honestly I'd just use butterfly stitches or even regular super glue. 

stitches arent very practical when it comes to first aid outside of a hospital. This is because the risk of infection is incredibly high, seeing as there's no way to properly sterilize your needle and whatever thread you use for the job. 

Super glue works well enough but you have to be careful with which kind you use since there are a lot of adhesives that are toxic. 

Butterfly stitches are the best way to go, hands down.


----------



## lone wolf

wizehop said:


> Whiskey?... Cant say I've ever been one to be prepared along those lines, although its definitely worth having. The only meds I tend to always try to have is Advil, other wise I usually just let nature run its course.


if you're waking up with headaches after a night of drinking whiskey reach for a bottle of water and save yourself a few dollars on advil. most people experince headaches because they are dehydrated.


----------



## Tude

@Odin - Neosporin has one out that has a pain killer in it. Think it's >$6 a tube - little pricey but lasts a long time - If I can get the little packets - I like that better. Never done a side by side test (neosporin with pain killer and neo without) but I'd like to think it works  And yeah forgot about butterfly stitches - they've saved me from a couple of ER visits (plus some tape - took an hour to stop that bleeding hehe).

I'm starting my busy season with bicycle races, etc and attending some other shows - with the tables of samples and giveaways - I occasionally find medical ins companies with a table and on the good times they will have those small med kits (other than pens or post it note pads). And thanks to other kind companies there who give you bags with their logo on it - it becomes a nice carry container for the freebies. Will think of you guys ws if I fin some (and snag them).


----------



## Kal

Bandaids and wet wipes.


----------



## spoorprint

I haven't looked, I'm doing this from memory. In a plastic container that can fit in a butt pocket .
moleskin
4 2x2 pads
silver ointment
Ibuprofen 200 mg.
Orajel (my teeth break)
scissors (kids-trauma shears wouldn't fit0.
tiniest eye drops I can find.
a couple band aids and blister pads.
1 pare gloves in case I need to help someone else.(stuffed in the top).
the case wrapped in duct tape.
clortrimaton,
That goes in my pack.

In my pocket: mint tin with a few pepto bismo tablets, molesin (pre-cut) bandaids
a wet wipe, two Ibuprofen.


----------



## finn

I guess I'm the only one rocking a tourniquet and some hemostatics for serious bleeding. Butterfly closures are great, I've found them in pharmacies as of late, so they are becoming more common, though if you really need something stitched together, I'd go with a medical stapler before I fool around with a sewing needle. I also carry many 2x2 gauze pads, a stretch bandage, tweezers, medical shears (useful for cutting any kind of fabric and cheap- and spoorprint, they do make mini-medic shears, too) 2 pairs of exam gloves, alcohol, rescue remedy (to calm injured people down), tea tree oil, honey, and a few odds and ends. As you can tell, I'm a former street medic. I'd carry more if I were actually medicking or traveling though.


----------



## Badly Drawn Girl

Odin said:


> Anyone know of a local numbing agent? Something natural or that you could get in a med kit? Would figure its something not available just anywhere...
> Unless... tattoo piercing place?


Get yourself a tube of Anbesol, or the generic equivalent. It's marketed as an oral analgesic for toothaches and the like. Just look for any active ingredient that ends in "-caine" - that's code for a local anaesthetic of some sort. In this case it's benzocaine. Lidocaine is another common one. But I suggest the Anbesol because it's a gel and a more concentrated formulation. Dab it on like Neosporin and you're golden for a good several hours.


----------



## Badly Drawn Girl

As for me, I guess you could call me a "street medic" too. My big talent is pharmacology, so I'm pretty good at pulling any dirt-cheap generic from the shelves and finding a hundred different uses for it. (Did you know that the big brand $100 face creams have the same active ingredient as aspirin? Ask me why my skin looks so great!) If something ails you, and you're not in immediate danger of dying, I can probably find you a cure for under $5 at the local Rite-Aid. Medicine is cheap, people.

In my kit I have (mostly generics):

NSAIDs of some type
loperamide
antihistamines
hydrocortisone cream
aloe vera gel
tea tree oil
Visine
antibacterial gel, i.e. Neosporin
band-aids, gauze, and medical tape
antiseptic wipes
New Skin (liquid bandage)
@finn the Rescue Remedy is a GREAT idea. I often get stuck with the kids who are having a major physiological and psychological meltdown and I definitely could have used something like that. For some reason when you tell someone they aren't dying, it makes them even more convinced that they are dying.


----------



## Antelope Bob

1 bandage
1 medical sewing kit
Alcohol


----------



## Preacher

Too much to list. I didn't raid my work's first aid wall boxes for 6 months before I quit.


----------



## MolotovMocktail

Preacher said:


> Too much to list. I didn't raid my work's first aid wall boxes for 6 months before I quit.


SETTING: @Preacher's old place of work
_All of the sudden, it starts hailing box-cutters and tiny slivers of wood. People are getting minor lacerations and splinters left and right. Several employees run to the first aid kits on the walls._
EMPLOYEE 1: It's empty!
EMPLOYEE 2: This one just has a scrap of paper saying "See ya, suckers!"
ALL EMPLOYEES, in unison: DAMN YOU, PREACHER!

SETTING: a parking lot somewhere far away.
_Preacher wakes up in his van on a bed of gauze pads and alcohol wipes. He laughs as he pushes past a mountain of medical tape rolls to get to the door. _
PREACHER: And no one will ever be the wiser.

_Curtains closes and audience bursts into applause._


*This has been StP Theatre. Next week: @Odin travels in time and drinks absinthe with Van Gogh. Stay tuned!*


----------



## Odin

FUCK... 



Don't you know?... don't knock the green fairy.


----------



## Odin

YOu BAstards,


----------



## Preacher

@Odin @Wolfs Paw and I say we need to meet up with you and discuss this.


----------



## beano

Not a whole lot

• tiger balm for insect bites
•plasters(Band-Aids)
•bottle of poitin(Irish moonshine 95% ABV) a cure for anything even lost limbs


----------



## TheOddAnarchist

Finished mine today 
-alcohol wipes 
-Gauze 
-Ace bandage
-Band aids
- anti bacterial cream
-Allergy,cold, anti diarrhea pills
-Ibuprofen
-Bengay
-Pin X for worms

anything else i should add? What's a good small thing for maybe staph?


----------



## dirty andy

Band aids
Neosporin
Krazy glue
Immodium for the shits
One blister pak sleeve of dayquil
Some killers, usually four vike or perk tens any stronger and I start eating hem just for fun


----------



## Decrepit

Medical grade scissors x2
hemostat (medical clamp)
tourniquet
medical bone cutting scissors
gauze in many sizes
several cling wraps
medical tape x2
bendable/flex splint
needle and sutures (stitches)
scalpel
cpr pocket mask
home made triangular bandages from fabric for slings
finger splint
bio hazard bag
eye puncture "doughnut hole" bandage secure
a surgery kit with includes a lot..


----------



## spoorprint

finn said:


> I guess I'm the only one rocking a tourniquet and some hemostatics for serious bleeding. Butterfly closures are great, I've found them in pharmacies as of late, so they are becoming more common, though if you really need something stitched together, I'd go with a medical stapler before I fool around with a sewing needle. I also carry many 2x2 gauze pads, a stretch bandage, tweezers, medical shears (useful for cutting any kind of fabric and cheap- and spoorprint, they do make mini-medic shears, too) 2 pairs of exam gloves, alcohol, rescue remedy (to calm injured people down), tea tree oil, honey, and a few odds and ends. As you can tell, I'm a former street medic. I'd carry more if I were actually medicking or traveling though.


I've been looking at tourniquets. What brand would you recommend?


----------



## Chaseur

Firstly, you don't actually use a needle or get stitches when you use butterfly closures. I once got a NASTY laceration on my knee, all you do is put them on and then pull the skin together using the extra sticky to fold them and hold the skin together, effectively allowing your skin to heal together. They're nice, I didn't even scar.

Secondly I have a whole bunch of things in my First-Aid kit, a wilderness first-aid manual, an accident record and pencil, an assortment of adhesive bandages (butterfly closures too), an assortment of gauze pads, a roll of gauze, larger wound pads, sponges and a roll of medical tape, an elastic bandage, antiseptic towelettes, triple-antibiotic ointment, iodine wipes, antimicrobial wipes, sting-relief wipes, burn cream and hydrocortisone cream, antacid tablets, ibuprofen tablets, acetaminophen tablets, allergy-relief tablets, safety pins, latex-free medical gloves, bandage scissors, splinter forceps, and a resealable waste bag.

The kit is pretty small too (7 x 5.5 x 2.75) inches, and weighs just under a pound.


----------



## outskirts

Wawa said:


> Not so much in the way of an actual first aid kit, but I usually have food type items that double for medical stuff. Vinegar is the big one; kicked a nasty staph infection with it. Everything gets cleaned with vinegar. Honey I've used very effectively for a bad burn, ginger for nausea, garlic to get over a cold fast...supposedly will get rid of some parasites if you can keep raw garlic down on an empty stomach, but I've never been sure enough if I had the worms or not to know if it worked


Yeah raw garlic will knock out a nasty cold most of the time. If you mix the raw minced garlic in some yogurt or sour cream, which will coat your stomach, it is easier to keep down half a bulb of raw garlic.


----------



## landpirate

i'm really into cohesive bandages at the moment ; Like this kind of thing, it sticks to itself but not to your skin -
http://www.wilko.com/first-aid/wilko-blue-cohesive-bandage/invt/0348502

So useful on humans and on my dog as it doesn't stick to her fur. You can use it as support for sprains but it's also really good for holding on dressings. 

I also really like zinc oxide tape as it stays stuck really well but can be removed easily without pain unlike some plasters (Sorry bandaids!), you can also rip it so don't need scissors to cut it which is a bonus and it's pretty cheap too.


----------



## Dunedrifter

Sharp tweezers! I have this mini-tweezer that has a sharp point and precision, flat edges. Pulled many splinters out and saved my ass from many infections. A must have for me.


----------



## Deleted member 20

Nothing! I use hand sanitizer for infection control (found in all portajohns & many restaurants). I feel that keeping myself washed including cuts & abrasions helps everything. I guess I have electrical tape in my pack at all times so I could improvise a bandage with some toilet paper or napkins, I always have zip ties, 55o cord & a belt as well if i needed a tourniquete. Hopefully I pass out from shock & someone else ties it & or calls 911 for me. They say an ounce of prevention is worth a pound a cure.I havent gotten injured much in my life so I guess my common sense & situation is the best ounce of prevention I can carry with me.


----------



## landpirate

I had an accident about a month ago whilst flint knapping arrow heads. I was using a piece of antler to strike the flint and stupidly hit the top of my thumb really hard. So hard I managed to split the underneath of my thumb open and there was blood everywhere. Anyway, after a few days it started to get infected even though I was doing my best to keep it clean. A friend gave me some Propolis tincture to put on it and I have to say I was sceptical but that shit worked wonders. Within a few hours it stopped throbbing and when I took the dressing off in the morning it had completely dried it out and the infection had pretty much gone. 

So I now have Propolis tincture in my first aid kit.


----------



## spectacular

marijuana and some bandaids


----------

