Thread: Survival First Aid Kits

As a Marine we were issued IFAKs that contained various items for immediate first aid on gunshot/shrapnel wounds. Now as a civi, I want to know what you all think would be valuable first aid items in a general survival situation. I still have my CAT tourniquet and everyone except my Paramedic buddy thinks I'm crazy for keeping it in my truck. I don't need my kit to be as compact as the IFAK, but space is of course always an issue with survival prepping. What do you guys think are basic and necessary items? PS, if you guys wasted your money on quik-clot or any chemical cauterizing agent, get rid of it. Everyone in my infantry unit "lost" ours (the bushmonster ate it). Some untrained idiot will likely use it wrong and make your wounds worse (it also hurts like a motherfunner when applied). NEVER use that crap on your chest or face! Thanks for any ideas you share.

dollar tree first aid kit + superglue+ tape+ a bottle of whiskey should do the trick. i have the first 3 but cant hold on to a bottle of whiskey lol

Go down to REI and either build your own from the individual items they have or select one of the dozen or so commercial first aid kits they carry.

Clotting agents - I have read what you are talking about on "Qwik Clot" or what ever it is.......I chose the same type of agent that is not supposed to burn, it's called CELOX.

As for the rest....This is what's in my Bug Out Bag -
2 small(2-3gram) packets CELOX
2-4 acohol swabs
2 betadine swabs
2 gauze rolls
4 gauze pads(need some non-stick ones)
assorted band-aids
1 mini tube super glue
1 roll medical tape & scissors
2-4 burn gel packets
Travel size Excedrin, Ibuprofen, Immodium, Tums, Benodryl
4-6 N95 masks(my wife is a transplant recipient, we keep quite a few around, better safe than sorry)
4pr nitrile gloves
2 empty syringes (irrigation)
2-4 packet neosporin
1 emergency dental kit
1 sewing kit with kevlar thread
1 resuscitator mask
1 a breviated first aid instructional manual(plus one on my "smart phone)
2 Isreali battle dressings(see OFADan here on the forums or go to OFAGear.com)
1 tube lip balm
1 small tube sunscreen
1 hand towel
1 small tube Purell

Soon I'll also have a SAM Splint.....not sure what else, couple popsicle sticks couldn't hurt......

I agree what is said about quik klot. I have seen it used and it is a real pain in the butt to clean out of wounds to even begin to treat it. I could save lives, but I would save it for the big bleeding wounds not stopped by direct pressure, elevation, pressure points or unsuitablity of tourniquet placement.

Here are some options.

Medical Supplies IN STOCK and ready to ship!

If you are looking for sources, check out Chinook Medical Gear, Inc - Your Source for Medical Kits, Tactical Combat Casualty Care Items, Emergency First Aid Supplies including hemostatic, bandages, personal protection, iv supplies, tourniquets, evacuation and more! one of the better ones in my opinion FWIW.

Red Cross first aid kits in various sizes.

Antibiotics and syringes from the local farm supply store. (Penicillin is one.) They also have suture kits.

Fish antibiotics from Walmart. (Cipro is one.)

A printed sheet telling which antibiotics work on what. It's a need to know thing.

Not trying to take away from other things listed above, just additional suggestions. More soldiers died in the Civil War from secondary infections than they did from their wounds.

Again I get to post that rubbing alcohol contains baby oil to sooth the skin. You want denatured alcohol for sterilizing.

Alcohol and hydrogen peroxide both sterilize wounds, but they both damage tissues and slow healing. Iodine or Betadine are better.

Lots of generic Imodium. You can die from diarrhea.

Lots of generic Advil for pain and swelling.

IMHO, I would take what you learned in the Marines and build on that, because you like myself (x soldier) are better trained than the average person, I carry what I think i need for what I do and into consideration the availability of medical assistance being readily available, if you are in the middle of nowhere you would want to carry more than if lived near a large city.

A nurse I dated, said the best thing you can do is buy a tackle box or similar type storage container that is water proof and build your, mine is quite similar to the one described in detail above.

My home supplies is much, much more elaborate and so is my bug out kit.

Originally Posted by Gunner3456

Red Cross first aid kits in various sizes.

Antibiotics and syringes from the local farm supply store. (Penicillin is one.) They also have suture kits.

Fish antibiotics from Walmart. (Cipro is one.)

A printed sheet telling which antibiotics work on what. It's a need to know thing.

Not trying to take away from other things listed above, just additional suggestions. More soldiers died in the Civil War from secondary infections than they did from their wounds.

Again I get to post that rubbing alcohol contains baby oil to sooth the skin. You want denatured alcohol for sterilizing.

Alcohol and hydrogen peroxide both sterilize wounds, but they both damage tissues and slow healing. Iodine or Betadine are better.

Where do people find fish antibotics at walmart? The one in McMinnville doesn't have any at all and when I asked about them the guy gave me the stink eye. (Oh, and fwiw, that walmart doesn't have any freeze dried food that I hear people saying walmart carries...) Should I just try a different walmart?

Originally Posted by Decker

Where do people find fish antibotics at walmart? The one in McMinnville doesn't have any at all and when I asked about them the guy gave me the stink eye. (Oh, and fwiw, that walmart doesn't have any freeze dried food that I hear people saying walmart carries...) Should I just try a different walmart?

Or a pet supply store.

I typically think f first aid as falling into 2 general catagories:

Comfort treatment and life saving.

My kit that I take to the range and carry in my car has a tourniquet in it, as well as trauma dressings roller gauze, and med tape. It also has band-aids. What do I use the most often? The band-aids.

Last time I shot Speed Steel at TCGC on of the other shooters cut himself on his Glock. Nothing serious, but who wants a leaking guy around? I put on my gloves (also in the kit) put a band-aid on his thumb, and taped it down so the band-aid wouldn't' get knocked off when he kept shooting.

H

I'm surprised I don't see more triangle bandages in people's kits. I've taken a couple of Red Cross first aid classes (Wilderness First Aid) and we used them for nearly everything in that class.

Maybe there's a better option now?

I like having moleskin in my kit - having a blister will slow you down, or hiking with someone who has a blister will do the same.

And a space blanket - good for treating shock, or covering a body (you never know)

Just to clear the air on Quik-Clot... When it was originally introduced to the military a decade ago, it was the zeolite based, granular, bean bag Quick-Clot you guys are referring to - effective at controlling bleeding, but the exothermic properties made it dangerous to use. A few years ago, Quik-Clot started using a kaolin-based formula which is inert - no heat, chemical burns, etc - and comes in pads or gauze - no more dumping powder into the wound. The military recalled all the granular stuff and now issues the next-gen, kaolin-based Quik-Clot Combat Gauze in the IFAK. So, as long as you buying the new stuff, you should be safe. Just steer clear of anything with Zeolite.