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First Aid Kits, What are you carrying?


Ronnie

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I've had the boat First Aid kit for a few years, I'm thinking it's time to replace it. I've seen some boats with pretty extensive kits and some with a box of band-aids. 

Post up what you're carrying, lets see some options.

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Anyone remember the crew member that had worked up advanced blood clotting product?  That would be a good thing to add. 
 

I have a fairly standard kit in a mole bag stuffed with some extra hemorrhage control items but nothing as advanced as he/she was describing 

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Having retired from the military and still working for the military I am fortunate enough to be able to source my med kit stuff from my old unit. Most won’t have the ability to get military purposed kits, but they are way more useful than the off the shelf kits you can buy. Unfortunately and in my direct experience the majority of the serious injuries on boats that we have had to deal with were similar to combat injuries we had to deal with. Traumatic amputations and burns being the 2 my crew and I had to deal with last year. For that reason my kits have, and I highly recommend a good supply of stopping the bleeding items. The usual headache, allergy and bee sting stuff is included. A heavy duty zip lock bags can be a big help for sprains, bruises and left overs.😁 Your phone and good knowledge of the waterway and access points for EMS will help a great deal as well. There used to be an old military saying which comes to mind, stop the bleeding, start the breathing, protect the wound and treat for shock. Probably dated, but still I find it to be a good guideline.

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As an ER/trauma nurse my kit is loaded down and theres one in every vehicle and the boat. Quik clot is amazing and I had to use it on my son this past year in a playground incident where he basically scalped himself. In addition to quik clot/celox, I suggest benadryl, an israeli bandage, a cat tourniquet, and superglue. I also keep tweezers, cold packs, saline flushes from work ( for eye irrigation) along with lots of 4x4 gauze. This kit really got its first use with my sons head injury but I had everything I needed to get him handled in the field before getting him to the hospital to get his head put back together. All that stuff is useless though if you dont have a basic clue on how to use it. I highly suggest a first aid class as well. 

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11 hours ago, mxmark4 said:

I highly suggest a first aid class as well. 

Specifically, Wilderness First Aid (weekend class) or Wilderness First Responder (whole week) are good choices for situations where EMTs can't just drive up to the victim.  I'm headed to a WFA class next month.

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I kept a bit more elaborate one when we trailered and were potentially a little further away from EMS.  Now that we're on a small 200 acre lake and are less than a minute from the dock at any given time, I mostly just throw my ski patrol pack in the boat minus a few of the splinting supplies, so mostly stop the bleeding type stuff (4x4's, tape, cling, coban, Quick Clot, etc.).

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Remember anything can be a splint. Paddle, another limb ( for fingers or toes), drift wood etc. The important thing to me is having something to bind you to the splint. Cpr mask is another good one to have. And while most folks have goggles for that emergency underwater rope removal from prop, a buddy had a guy drown on his boat several years ago when he unexpectedly went overboard. They dove and dove looking for him, but were unable to find him. So I have goggles and a water proof light since our clarity is not great where I boat. 

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1 hour ago, mxmark4 said:

Cpr mask is another good one to have. 

I agree, but also.... for some the CPR protocol has been updated to just chest compressions. I assume from people being hesitant to give a stranger mouth to mouth. Just compressions to the beat of the song "stayin alive" is supposed to work just as well. That said, I'm in to try whatever it takes to keep another alive.

A water proof light is a great idea, I'll add that to my kit. 

Edited by BlindSquirrel
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 I have never put my mouth on a strangers but have done cpr multiple times. I have seen that most people dont push nearly hard or fast enough. Anytime you stop compressions it takes about 10 compressions to build up and get the blood flowing again. Respirations are no where near as important as strong compressions. Pump that chest! 

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16 hours ago, BlindSquirrel said:

I agree, but also.... for some the CPR protocol has been updated to just chest compressions.

give it a couple months.  I have been CPR "certified" for 23 years (military).  I can't count how many times our training has changed over the years.

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20 hours ago, BlindSquirrel said:

I agree, but also.... for some the CPR protocol has been updated to just chest compressions. I assume from people being hesitant to give a stranger mouth to mouth. Just compressions to the beat of the song "stayin alive" is supposed to work just as well. That said, I'm in to try whatever it takes to keep another alive.

A water proof light is a great idea, I'll add that to my kit. 

True, but you're probably more likely to need to do rescue breathing for an airway obstruction/drowning on a boat than straight CPR on an adult/heart attack victim, so a pocket mask wouldn't be a bad one to have regardless.

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-epi-pen
-sterile wound stapler
-tweezers/splinter removal tool
-variety of bandages/guaze/tape/wraps
-disinfectant pads
-new skin liquid bandage spray
-aspirin
-reflective blanket

and lastly and first aid booklet in a ziplock
 

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7 hours ago, ajbski said:

-epi-pen
-sterile wound stapler
-tweezers/splinter removal tool
-variety of bandages/guaze/tape/wraps
-disinfectant pads
-new skin liquid bandage spray
-aspirin
-reflective blanket

and lastly and first aid booklet in a ziplock
 

I have looked and looked but not been able to come across epi pens without a prescription. The one I have expired sometime around 2016. Do you have a source for yours or did your md write for you to have one for emergencies? 

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Last time I got one it required a prescription, but it was one of those ask and you shall receive type of prescriptions.  I gave up carrying one around because they got expensive and supposedly expired. I keep loads of Benadryl in each vehicle in case I have a bad reaction to a bee sting.

Edited by oldjeep
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formulaben
20 hours ago, ajbski said:

-epi-pen

I was all geared up to pack those around given that not only was it a good idea for others, but we had a specific passenger who needed them...then we discovered that they have temperature limitations.  For us, if left on the boat at the slip it was obvious that it would be useless after a period of time due to the temperature limitations:

EpiPen® and EpiPen Jr® Auto-Injectors and Epinephrine Injection, USP should be stored in the carrier tube provided at a temperature of 20-25 °C (68-77 °F); however, temperature excursions between 15-30 ºC (59-86 ºF) are permitted.  EpiPen®, EpiPen Jr®, and Epinephrine Injection, USP Auto-Injectors should not be stored in refrigerators or in a vehicle's glove box.  EpiPen® Auto-Injectors and their authorized generic auto-injectors should not be exposed to extreme heat or cold and should be protected from light.

https://www.epipen.com/hcp/about-epipen-and-generic/safety-and-storage

 

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1 hour ago, formulaben said:

For us, if left on the boat at the slip it was obvious that it would be useless after a period of time due to the temperature limitations:

Yea I wouldnt leave it in the boat for long periods of time either.

5 hours ago, oldjeep said:

Last time I got one it required a prescription, but it was one of those ask and you shall receive type of prescriptions.  I gave up carrying one around because they got expensive and supposedly expired. I keep loads of Benadryl in each vehicle in case I have a bad reaction to a bee sting.

i guess it depends on how far away from emergency services you get while boating. benadryl will defintely make allergic reactions more manageable, but it wont stop anaphylaxis like an epi pen.

for me personally, i am very sensitive to bug bites. one bee sting or wasp bite start closing up my airways. if i get enough black/deer fly bites in a single area, same thing. i was once unfortunate enough to get swarmed by bees while crawling through the bush and there is no doubt that an epi-pen saved my life. we go boating in relatively remote areas. 40 min to the closest town and over an hour drive to the hospital. if something goes wrong for us, the only way out is a heli lift. ill take my chances on a epi-pen that was potentially exposed to heat or expired if its the only one available.

its not a must for most. but its good to have just in case, lots of people dont know whether or not they are allergic to insect bites and stings.

 

ive always thought of prop strikes being the single biggest hazard that i could not possibly be prepared for. i know the risk of it happening is much lower since our boats have the prop underneath. but wakesurfing we get really close and are "playing with fire" in a sense.

has anyone witnessed prop strike? what to do in the scenario? (apart from the obvious like get them out of the water, stop the bleeding, call for help, keep them conscious, perform cpr if no pulse)

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