First Aid and Hygiene Packs

[BananaPhuck]

What do you guys have in your first aid or hygiene packs, if you have one?

In my first aid, I have:

• Bandaids
• alcohol pads
• Medical tape
• Guaze Pads
• Neosporine

Then for hygiene, I have:

• Toothbrush
• Toothpaste
• Deoderant
• Soap
• Razor
• Hand Sanatizer

Is there anything else I should carry? I should probably put some advil or something type of pain relief (vicodin?).

 

[Angela]

I would also add tweezers to that list, I never like to travel without them and yeah definitely ibuprofen or something similar.

 

[finn]

Just bring stuff you know how to use, no point in trying to be more fancy.

 

[BananaPhuck]

I would also add tweezers to that list, I never like to travel without them and yeah definitely ibuprofen or something similar.

Forgot tweezers! I can't believe I didn't think of them... They are great for getting small to decent sized foreign objects out of skin (which would other wise become infected).

 

[Lint]

Some kind of antihistamine like Benadryl is handy if you encounter someone going into anaphylactic shock, like getting stung by a bee if you're allergic. Even if you're not allergic, getting stung a shit-ton can cause you to swell up bad. I've always had some in my bag but never had to use it yet.

 

[finn]

You're bringing deodorant? Why? As for the alcohol pads, I say you can substitute some high proof alky-hol, instead since that's used more for cleaning up the site of the injury and disinfecting tools more than wounds (which iodine-povidone is better at). Just put some on gauze pads, and suddenly they are alcohol wipes. It's very multi-use. Medical tape is nice, but duct tape is handier and more versatile, seriously, the extra speed that you are given with med tape will only help people who are better trained than you.

Bring some nitrile medical gloves in case you have to deal with someone else's injuries (bloodborne pathogens, blahblah), or in case you have to handle something nasty. There's a little trick to getting them off even if they are drenched in human juice without getting any blood on your skin.

 

[spoorprint]

In my personal kit I carry moleskin and a small pair of scissors.(for foot blister protection).
Forgot them last summer and ended up hurting for a few days.
Gloves in case I need to help someone else.(latex free)
Calm Forte homeopatic cammomile and hops tablet work great as a sleepa aid, no hangover.
Rescue remedy for stress.
Some people are going back to colloidal silver instead of antibiotics,because it produces fewer allergic reactions.Haven't tried it yet.
In my big kit-not my everyday one- I carry an irrigation syringe for wound irrigation,
a microshield for cpr, and a copy of Doctor Buck Tildens little Wilderness First Aid book.
ps, remember tape-surgical is best, duct tape in a pinch.

 

[veggieguy12]

I've several times picked up and carried a first-aid kit, but never used 'em. So every time I re-assess my pack and want to cut weight, it has to go.
I don't carry soap, that's readily available anywhere around civilization, and not totally necessary anyway; plus, liquids can leak, bars can break, crumble - either way, it's a mess.
I do keep tweezers, and nail clippers, and deodorant (I like to clean-up and operate under the radar in the 'straight' world), and definitely toothpaste and toothbrush and dental floss. (Thinking both in terms of the pain and the cost, I have real concerns over damaging my teeth, and I wanna avoid any serious dental problems that could arise from neglect.)

 

[BananaPhuck]

Teeth are always important to keep healthy, and they're a bitch if they get chipped or rotten.

 

[sharks77]

There's a little trick to getting them off even if they are drenched in human juice without getting any blood on your skin.

how do you do it? it never works for me

 

[finn]

how do you do it? it never works for me

Okay, it's much easier to show in person, but I'll give it a shot.

You'll be pinching the area between your wrist and your palm, so you'll want to bend your wrist slightly forward and turn your thumb in a bit, so you have a nice loose area right there. Slowly peel off the glove off that hand, too quickly and the blood will splatter. Once you have that glove off, scrunch up that glove in your gloved hand so that it is balled up in your fist. Slide your ungloved finger underneath the glove on your other hand on the palm side and pinch it from the inside and slowly peel that glove off, so that the bunched up glove is held within the one you just peeled off. Finally, tie off the wrist of the glove as if it were a balloon. That is called a medic starfish.

 

[Py11]

I'd bring tea tree oil, just for the multi-purpose uses. But shit, speculate on what you might need, and you'll end up bringing everything. As thoreau said, simplify!

 

[raccoon42]

this is what I generally carry for myself
tea tree
clove oil
yunnan paiyao-good for open wounds(non necrotic) as a styptic
external and to a lesser degree internal, is carried by the chinese army for gunshot and fragmentation injury's, I've had this stop a nose bleed when none of the other tricks did.
even comes with a small pill to relieve tension. it's about $3 in any chinese dispensary.
leatherman-ticks and slivers
gauze
alcohol
often cayyenne capsules-for freezing your ass off on a train or simply extra spice to cook with.
butterfly's if available-keeps wounds closed
triangle bandages
floss
toothbrush

if I'm acting as a camp medic or whatever
I usually bring a large modified standard first aid kit with the above as well as some various tinctures and linaments.
you can never have anough gauze or triangle bandages.

 

[Ravie]

i allways carry a pain killer of some kind like tylonal(amazing love for hangovers) along with neosporin, wraps, baby wipes, deodorant(fuck all yall because i like to smell like peaches at least under my pits)and toothbrush/paste.

 

[bobNkamille]

i have currently

-teeth brushing material
-floss but i hate flossing my teeth thats for sewing.
-i carry a shit ton of anti biotics i even have stuff that'll take care of people who are allergic to pennicilin (bobs alergic to that shit)
-always have clean cloth
-iodine
-super glue
-band aids of all different sizes
- a shoe lace in case you have to tie up some ones arm from a massive cut
-chloraseptic for mouth pain aka oral gel
-and a razor blade(must be properly cleaned and soaked in high grain alcohol before used on lancing project) staff sucks Alcohol also helps with boot rote also pissing on your feet but i gurentee you guys know that!

 

[bobNkamille]

oh and tam-poons

 

[Shoestring]

If you're careful in what you do out on the road/rails, you can get away with only carrying:

1.) Toenail clippers. (You can clip both fingernails and toenails). Keeping your fingernails short is a must out on the road/rails! Just look at the person next to you the next time you see them if they have long fingernails! (You nine times out of ten will see nothing but black filth under their nails)! This is a sure way to get sick out traveling or squatting, by eating food that has been held with hands like this! (I know I sure have at first, until I learned to keep mine very short)!
2.) Small stick deoderant.
3.) Two medium-size antibacterial band-aids.
4.) Small tube antibacterial cream. (Having "antibacterial" cream may just keep you from having to be prescribed antibiotics when and if you get a cut)!
5.) Toothbrush with "no" toothpaste. (I have been told that toothpaste is only for mouth odor anyway, "more or less"). ??? I only have four teeth anyway ??? lol! (So this does not matter to me anyway now). haha!
(You can always find soap "anywhere")!

Wal*Mart/K-Mart has plastic school pencil boxes for like .98 cents that I buy to keep all these items inside of safely and all together while being protected too. (They usually last me about four to six months before I have to replace them as well). A few of these items (besides the plastic box/toothbrush/deoderant) can be found on the locomotive unit too. If you're fickle about unit-raiding, just ask the engineer/conductor for them as well as a "Crew-Pack"!
"Crew-Packs", called "Crew Pak", have napkins, small toilet paper bundle, trashbag, band-aids, "Wet-Naps", and sometimes ear plugs.

Good travels my friend!

 

[VisionQue]

http://hesperian.org/books-and-resources/
Free downloads for these books and more.

Where there is no doctor.
Where there is no dentist.
Where women have no doctor.

 

[Kim Chee]

Thanks for reviving this thread...the last post was 7 years ago::drinkingbuddy::

Whoever said benadryl was good for anaphylactic shock should travel with a body bag for when it doesn't work.

If a body bag is too bulky for your pack, consider the more portable and effective epipen for when a person's throat is getting tight due to an allergic reaction.

I have an out of date wound closure kit dirt cheap...mostly for the antiseptic it comes with. There is some tape and gauze in the kit. Can butterfly stitch with it and it is very portable since the antiseptic is concentrated.