what's in your first aid kit?

[dulcibella]

I'd add an Epipen to all these good suggestions - I'd hate to lose a shipmate through anaphylactic shock in response to a jellyfish or wasp sting.

[st599]

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I was taught not to use a tourniquet as it can cause more damage but to use a fist at the top of the arm or in the groin and elevate the limb.

I had to use this on someone who severed an artery in their arm and kept them alive for a quarter of an hour until the medics arrived.

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They can cause gangrene, but if you need to sail the boat they can work, like the big nappy pin to keep an airway open.

Burnjel is good stuff to have, cools, forms a waterproof barrier, and if you get the American variant, contains painkillers.

[geoid96]

I don't think we have anything that hasn't previously been listed. However we carry two separate kits. One with the hopefully never to be, or rarely used items, and another for the plasters, antiseptic and other things used on a regular basis. This keeps the large bandages etc in better condition and makes stock taking easier.

[Kilter]

Most of the above plus Syndol pain killer, works well for me, super glue and Duct tape

[BrendanS]

Pottering around the UK, I carry the basics. If I was going further afield I'd have an assortment of things not mentioned above (I don't think) such as adrenaline (epipen is one, but also a version that can be injected into heart direct), superglue (that has been mentioned by Kilter just now) and an assortment of needles and syringes if going into areas where you might need to be given injections in an emergency, as they are often reused, and even basic bits of kit to do things like a tracheotomy (this can be done by lay people if they know the principle and can save lives). Though most people wouldn't be able to use such items, they can be used in emergencies with advice by phone, or by people on board or nearby that have medical or para medic training. It would be good to put together a full kit, but I'm thinking off the top of my head at the moment

[alan_d]

While tourniquets, including self-applied ones, have been shown to be effective in a military context they are of less value in the kind of injuries sustained in civil settings. The big drawback is that they cut off the blood-supply to everything downstream of where they are applied, running the risk of destroying healthy tissue. In most cases of traumatic bleeding, firm and sustained pressure at the bleeding point is the treatment of choice, and the best way of applying it is with the human thumb (over some sort of pad).

[john_morris_uk]

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I was taught not to use a tourniquet as it can cause more damage but to use a fist at the top of the arm or in the groin and elevate the limb.

I had to use this on someone who severed an artery in their arm and kept them alive for a quarter of an hour until the medics arrived.

.

That was the received wisdom - and certainly pressure can be applied in the manner described. However tournquets are back in vogue and we are all isuued with them when deployed.

[Haven't-a-Clue]

OK, touniquets, this advice based on using them for 26 years in the medical setting ie opreating theatre. TIME of application 2 hours, yes they can be applied for 2 hours, this is what we do in theatre for ops like knee replacement, compound fracture repair etc. After two hours, release and assess perfusion, if bleeding has stopped, light pressure dressing and observe, if bleeding is still heavy, firm pressure dressing and re-apply tourniquet after 5 mins. This is what we do and we haven't lost a limb yet........o' course, we DO have medics around to correct the situation anyway, but.....so, if you are going to use one, record the time of application and label the casualty. Can't recommend first aid course too highly and if I could sit through one without feeling ill and passing out, I'd do one........I can do the job, I just can't do the talk, wierd, no?

edit:use the widest tourniquet you can find, not a piece of string, that will cause necrosis underneath it.

[jdc]

A difficulty I have had is buying adequately large bandages and wound dressings over the counter. But horsey people know and have easy access to decent sized stuff, so we carry on board vet wrap, see http://www.equestrianclearance.com/_...ges/index.html

and Animalintex wound dressing, see http://www.equestrianclearance.com/w...ice/index.html.

The vet wrap is self-clinging and really useful, both as a wound bandage and also to wrap and partly immobilise / stabilise sprains and tendon damage (and I imagine could be used in place of a cast in emergency, although fortunately I've not had occasion to try this).

[Conachair]

antibiotics (which can be bought over the counter in Spain) ..

Pretty sure legally that's a thing of that past now unfortuanately