REAL EMT Trauma kits

[Schneb]

In terms of what gear do EMTs use, I've always wondered what the character Johnny Gage had in his little belt kit (from the old--1970s?--TV show, 'Squad 51', aka 'Emergency!')

[Paratrooper89]

I am a fire fighter/Paramedic/SAR tech and instructor here in TX. I have found the the best first aid is the one you make, they are cheaper that way and you can customize them to fit your needs and where you will store/ carry them. I have a 4, one for each of my packs and one for my truck, they differ in size depending on where they are at. But like das stated unless your willing to spend the money to take a course all you'll really need is some band aids and triple antibiotic ointment and some ace bandages . There are several course out there to help you prepare you for any scenario. I will agree with das and at least get a CPR card and take a basic first aid course. There are several SAR training company's out there that will teach you wilderness first aid, but unless you have the basic it will do you no good.

[RICHFL]

I'm writing on this thread after reading the first 3 comments.

If you read the basic idea of this web site everything you have talked about may NOT be available for you due to your location during a disaster or SHTF where there may be no one available to help you.

The idea of getting training is the best idea I read here. The more information you have on hand (including on-hands training) the better. But you will not be able to use that training without proper equipment.

So to start preparing your individual trauma kits for carry. I suggest you review what the military uses now for the individual member in combat. It is totally different from what I carried in Vietnam and Gulf War 1. The training is more advanced for individual members and the medics assigned to units have nearly the same training as a Emergency Room Doctor has.

Also after SHFT you may not have a way to resupply your trauma kit(s) without storing additional medical supplies. This is the one problem even my group has. Our Doctor and team tries to purchase additional equipment/supplies that if they had a choice would supply a major combat unit for a year.

So in the long run you will need to compromise on how much training and supplies you put into medical services for your family. There is only a certain number of hours in the day and just so much money we all can spend on preparing.

[Buggyout]

I got this:

http://www.amazon.com/Elite-Large-St...Army+first+aid

My NP wife went through it and said it was good to go.

-Buggy

[myakka]

Buggy, I think the bag might be the easy part. (If you can spend $135 easily cough cough...) But the training to use it???? Put the time in now while you can!

[Buggyout]

I agree. I have training, although, it was years ago. We all had to be whatever level is after first responder. ( I forgot Ha ha) I can plug leaks, wrap limbs and stick IVs. My problem is that my wife can do everything, so I don't even bother. Also - I hate body goo. :p

I would say medical stuff is my weakest skill.

-Buggy

[Schneb]

Glad to see this thread active. I've felt that the household bumps/scrapes/insect bites-type kits were just not enough, but didn't know what to add that I would still be comfortable using.

I've been thinking of better ways of treating cuts and such--certain otc burn cremes, and/or ways of irrigating to get crud out of a scrape. And lots of bigger bandages. Also, rehydration salts are an easy add-on. I had an asthma inhaler left from when one of our kids temporarily needed it, but the wife tossed it when she was clearing out old meds. Maybe that's for the best, but I saw someone at a party needing one and another person lending theirs, and it was pretty cool to see a 'can't breath' situation instantly solved. I wish epi-pens were not prescription items.

Those kinds of items would be good as add-ons without (I hope) getting into procedures that would cause harm if done by someone who didn't know what they were doing. (please tell me if I'm wrong about such)

But all that said, I want to get EMT training. About that, it seems like it would be particularly great if teachers (which, that's me) got such training.

I'd love to see it offered as an option in place of the classes I have to take every few years to renew my teaching certificate (methods classes, for the most part). My argument for allowing first aid training in place of such is this: if you give teachers the option to train for emergency response, you've not only got people on-site who can help in the event of a kid going down from a peanut allergy or from heat stroke during two-a-days, etc. (i.e. normal but still serious medical emergencies) but if there's a school shooting or something, they're on-site for that. It might not make a difference with fast responses from actual EMTs and such in case of the latter--but it would be a good feeling to know that schools had an extra layer of that kind of training.

And it would also mean such trained folks were sort of sprinkled through towns and cities and neighborhoods.

But wait, there's more!

We have systems/arrangements in place to call in substitute teachers, so if regular teachers were a sort of reserve 'emergency response corps', they could respond to regional, etc. emergencies with substitute teachers stepping in to hold-down the fort in classrooms. If the right teachers are involved, you'd have people with (hopefully:rolleyes:) some people skills, too. They might have foreign language skills, if you recruited from the middle/high school language folks. Not a bad thing if/when the next Katrina or Sandy or tsunami hits.

And, of course, with summers off, and so on, it's easy to schedule in their initial training and refresher courses and such.

But anyway. Enough with the grand policy visions. I realize I'm kind of talking 'big govt.' stuff and this is maybe not the best venue for selling such. Thanks for reading this far if you did so.

To get back to the focus of the thread:

I'm with TennOutdoors (on page 3). I realize playing doctor without the know-how could cause more harm than good, but if my kit has something that a trained medical person could use and one happened to be on scene, it'd be a pretty good feeling to say 'here's a kit, use whatever you can'. I'm thinking of airway-related items in that regard.

My planning hasn't really faced up to the long-term effects of an EOTWAWKI scenario. I'm more focused on being first at an accident, or mass casualty scene with not enough trained responders on hand. So the idea of doing more than stabilizing someone isn't something I'm ready to take on.

But if I was looking at an EOTWAWKI scenario, seems like sutures and antibiotics would be a next step.

[m38]

I'm of the mind that I'd rather have it and not need it, than the opposing view. I do a lot of trips into the mountains with groups where almost anything could happen to us. I maintain 2 kits. One is a basic level EMT kit built up in an M3 medic bag. Lots of bandages, splints, quickclot, tape, gauze, aspirin, tylonal, sling, antibiotic creme, nytril gloves, CPR vomit barrier, and benedryl. Good stuff for common everyday injuries or stings.

I also carry a separate kit with advanced medical parts and supplies in it. Sutures, military torniquet, antibiotics, scissors, scalpels, more quickclot, trachiatubes, toe tags, nytril gloves, and more stuff that I don't remember. It's an advanced kit for folks with advanced skills. I often have folks along who have had the training or worked as the skilled professional. But usually they do not carry a "tool kit" with them. So I keep one on hand, because if they need it, I want to have it there for them. Medical rescue in the mountains can take many hours, or possibly until the next day, to recover a patient. I like my friends and guests, and would like to keep them around. So I go to training each year, and collect good gear based on recommendations from the trained pros I know.

[herk7769]

Have you guys heard about this!

http://www.popsci.com/article/technology/how-simple-new-invention-seals-gunshot-wound-15-seconds

[Schneb]

Herk, that looks like a game changer--and that it's got the backing/fast-tracking says a lot. I mean, there's always a news story about some new gizmo for this or that, but this one sounds like the real deal.
Least, I hope.

Also--seems like we should be doing more than using gauze, etc. When you think about gauze as a technology--it's about as ancient as it gets. Yes, the idea of having it sterile is newer, but basically, it's the same absorbent, cloth covering people have used since forever, right?

So yeah. Looking for some new ways to do it's job better makes a LOT of sense. I guess quickclot and such pretty much are a new generation of wound dressings. Maybe this will turn out to be the next one beyond those type of products or maybe just part of that next generation, but glad to see people having some fresh ideas, either way.