Northern Dancer
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THE PROVERBIAL FIRST AID KIT
I have all the usual stuff - different-size band-aids, butterfly strips, eye patches, adhesive tape, elastic bandages, antiseptic wipes, triangular bandages, safety pins, disposable instant cold packs, a thermometer, antiseptic solution, a sewing needle, tweezers and a pair of scissors that could actually cut [not the kiddie kind].
It's a different world so I now have these on board too. Tick remover, acetaminophen, ibuprofen, plastic non-latex gloves, a mouthpiece for administering CPR., and any other item that is required. [For example, there are only two places in this country that have poisonous snakes. So I don't carry a snake kit unless I'm in snake country.]
If there is a group - we have a medical record of everyone on the trip and any and all medical conditions, including medications and contact information. Nothing like learning a youth is susceptible to seizures when you are four miles away from your starting point.
I have a small essential first aid chart AND if there is a group they get an essential first aid course. [Cuts and burns would be part of that.] All kits, even when I'm solo, are checked to make sure everything is up to date and working before they are packed.
What's missing from the list? What sort of things might you include?
Do you carry a first aid kit?
For what you might have to do, will it do the job?
Do you know how to use it?
Do you have the rudimentary skills to accomplish the task?
For what you might have to do, will it do the job?
Do you know how to use it?
Do you have the rudimentary skills to accomplish the task?
There was a time I didn't think about carrying a first aid kit, I mean, what was the point of that?
The reality is, like every other outdoor skill, there comes a time when you suddenly realize that it is important to have. I never carried one for the longest time because I really didn't believe that anything would happen. The other obstacle that I needed to deal with is the cost of first aid kits and what you get in them; I thought they were an item I didn't need.
But I learned.
Instead of buying one - because no one had all the items I thought should be in a kit, I made my own. I did however purchase containers based on what I would be doing and how many people were in the group. For a while, when I was in a base camp I made a kit accessible to others in the immediate area. Now I just post a sign that I have one on-site.
I have all the usual stuff - different-size band-aids, butterfly strips, eye patches, adhesive tape, elastic bandages, antiseptic wipes, triangular bandages, safety pins, disposable instant cold packs, a thermometer, antiseptic solution, a sewing needle, tweezers and a pair of scissors that could actually cut [not the kiddie kind].
It's a different world so I now have these on board too. Tick remover, acetaminophen, ibuprofen, plastic non-latex gloves, a mouthpiece for administering CPR., and any other item that is required. [For example, there are only two places in this country that have poisonous snakes. So I don't carry a snake kit unless I'm in snake country.]
If there is a group - we have a medical record of everyone on the trip and any and all medical conditions, including medications and contact information. Nothing like learning a youth is susceptible to seizures when you are four miles away from your starting point.
I have a small essential first aid chart AND if there is a group they get an essential first aid course. [Cuts and burns would be part of that.] All kits, even when I'm solo, are checked to make sure everything is up to date and working before they are packed.
What's missing from the list? What sort of things might you include?