First aid kits

[talkToTheHat]

Long ago i had a reasonable first aid kit, went as far as butterfly sutures and the like. It has been plundered and not replenished in the years since i gave up adventure sports.

Assuming im touring in the uk and exploring back roads, what is reasonable to carry? The handful of plasters found in cheap travel kits can fuck right off, if it needs a little plaster it can wait until i get home. What actually makes a difference between loss of life or limb in the time between binning it and an ambulance showing up? Other than a mobike phone and duct tape? And yes, wearing all the gear.
____________________
Bandit. does. everything.

[b422063]

Plasters, steristrips, 2-0 vicryl rapide, lidocaine, intramuscular and subcutanious needles, 20ml syringe, medium swabs, oramorph, some spencer wells clamps and a phone should see you through most emergencies until you can summon help.

[c_dug]

I'm a trained first aider and I have naff all clue what half of the stuff that b422063 listed does, which is the crux of it really, you probably have room for enough stuff to perform open surgery on the go, if it came down to it (how much does a field medic in the army carry?), but what do you actually know how to use?

The only genuinely useful thing I can think of would be eye wash, that and decent first aid training. Keeping somebody conscious and breathing would be my priorities until the Ambulance arrives. I struggle to think of many situations where a bike crash would result in openly bleeding wounds, it tends to be more broken bones or internal bleeding, you're unlikely to carry anything to deal with those sorts of issues.

Having had a seagull shit in my eye while on the bike, I really wished for eye wash.
____________________
I am a bellend, I am a man of constant sorrow, I am a gummy bear, I am a rock.

[Llama-Farmer]

Depending on how much space you have and how much money you want to spend...

The following will fit into a small double-fist sized bag
- Tourniquet
- Celox gauze (other haemostatic trauma dressing)
- CPR face mask/barrier
- Gloves
- Small notebook & pen/pencil
- Large bandage
- Scissors (good ones though, that'll cut through stuff like bike leathers and thick denim)


If more space and money are available then you could consider, in no particular order,
- Asherman chest seal
- Eyewash
- Burn solution/dressing
- Chlorhexidine solution or iodine tincture (for antiseptic application)
- Portable BP monitor
- Sp02 pulse oximeter
- OPA/NPA airway (oral airway and nasal trumpet/nose hose), but only if you know how to use them and when you should/shouldn't use them




A plaster or sterile wipe never saved someones life... but Celox gauze can stop catastrophic bleeding in only a couple of minutes... it's what combat medics (and now the air ambulance docs too) carry for serious trauma injuries.

Knowing how to use what you're carrying too is as important as what you are carrying. And not just the textbook way to use them, but innovative and improvised ways too and being resourceful, such as splinting a pelvis with a ratchet strap or seatbelt cut out of a car.
____________________
Current Bike: 1999 Honda CB600 FX Hornet
Next Bike: I want a CBR-RR. And I want an F800 GS-A. And a VFR 800. Can I have all 3?
Dream Bikes: Honda VFR750R RC30, Honda NSR500, Ducati 996 R

[b422063]

Thus my point: What level is your training. The stuff I listed would mostly be used for an arterial bleed in an emergency setting.

Tell me the incident you intend to come across and I'll tell you what you need. You're touring the UK, not Afghanistan, I wouldn't bother with taking one. If you need it, you can pop to Tesco or a minor injuries unit. Do you carry one on your daily commute?

A phone with GPS and Here maps (for offline use) will be more useful as you can summon help.

(Having said that, I *do* carry two bottles of normal saline solution to wash my eyes out after flies hit them with the visor up)

[The Shaggy D.A.]

Duct tape and superglue.
____________________
Chances are quite high you are not in my Monkeysphere, and I don't care about you. Don't take it personally.
Currently : Royal Enfield 350 Meteor
Previously : CB100N > CB250RS > XJ900F > GT550 > GPZ750R/1000RX > AJS M16 > R100RT > Bullet 500 > CB500 > LS650P > Bullet Electra X & YBR125 > Bullet 350 "Superstar" & YBR125 Custom > Royal Enfield Classic 500 Despatch Limited Edition (28 of 200) & CB Two-Fifty Nighthawk > ER5

[talkToTheHat]

About 60 hours training, but certificates long lapsed. Used to be designated first aider with sailing and canoeing groups I was involved in. Will be doing motorcycle specific training later in the year. My current work is low risk and my high risk hobbies have an embedded paramedic becasue stunt horses. Talking of which, have been at yet another event where there was a stunt horse related injury. Not one of my lot and emergency services were already on scene. Did I mention I dislike proximity stunt horses.

Celox looks like a plan. Have always been dubious of tourniquets but I do know how to use/improvise one. Roadside use is different to remote wilderness use though. I will see if a chest seal fits if it is what I think it it is. Have previously improvised such out of a section of MRE bag and duct tape. Eye wash might just be worthwhile.

I figure that If i can carry a litre or so of first aid kit that might make a difference, it's not a great inconvenience in between 90 and 140 litres of storage.
____________________
Bandit. does. everything.

[c_dug]

We have these things stationed about the place at work:

https://www.beeswift.co.uk/Images/EWS20@.jpg

It's what I'd carry on the bike rather than one of the big half litre bottles. I'd never actually thought of it before but when I have a bike again I'll probably stash some under a seat.

I hate things in the eye!
____________________
I am a bellend, I am a man of constant sorrow, I am a gummy bear, I am a rock.

[Omega]

[pepperami]

[c-m]

Most stuff has been mentioned but I also carry an Israeli bandage which can be used multiple ways, and a Euro splint or Sam splint.

Usually for off road adventures though.

[The Shaggy D.A.]

[Llama-Farmer]

[Llama-Farmer]

[talkToTheHat]

[Matt B]

Bearing in mind that most people don't know what they are doing in most situations, the best thing you can carry is a mobile phone. Stuff that needs sorting with a simple first aid kit can wait. Anything else phone 999 and let a professional sort it.

My entire first aid kit under the seat consists of two sterile field dressings I have left over, and a pair of blue nitrile gloves. Could probably stem a bit of bleeding with that, or apply pressure.

Example - last week while we were in Europe on the Jolly a Swiss guy on a KTM straightlined a corner, jumped a ditch and planted himself firmly in a field. None of the many bikers who stopped whipped out a first aid kit and made a sling for his busted collar bone. A speaker of the local language phoned an ambulance, we picked up his bike and went on our way.
____________________
stinkwheel: He had an animated .gif of a cat performing fellatio. It's not socially acceptable. It can have real life adverse effects on other people.

[c_dug]

To be fair I was taught that people will naturally hold the arm in the most comfortable position, so there is no need to use a sling in most instances unless the person needs to move somewhere.
____________________
I am a bellend, I am a man of constant sorrow, I am a gummy bear, I am a rock.

[Llama-Farmer]

[c_dug]

If there are two of you, one of you is injured enough to require some of the kit mentioned in this thread, and you are remote enough not to have signal, I hate to say it but I reckon next stop is the morgue for Mr McCrashy.
____________________
I am a bellend, I am a man of constant sorrow, I am a gummy bear, I am a rock.

[Howling TerrorOutOfOffice]

I'd consider carrying a shot or 2 of morphine if I could be trusted.
____________________
Diabolical homemade music Bandcamp and Soundcloud
Singer songwriter, Artist and allround good bloke Listen to Andrew Susan Johnston here
The Harry Turner Project

[Llama-Farmer]

[nowhere.elysium]