medical

bluehealer

If you do a first-aid course I am sure you will find out what you will need for outback travel, and more important how to use what you have got.

Wayne

Depends on what you are capable of doing. My wifes a CNS (clinical nurse specialist) in emergency nursing so we tend to have a well stocked first aid kit. If you haven't done any first aid courses or are a bit rusty than I would suggest a St Johns first aid course. This will then give you a good idea what you need to carry.
Basically you only need to keep some one alive till qualified help arrives so this is why most first aid kits concentrate on dressings. Airways, Breathing and Circulation (CPR and EAR), control bleeding and treat any other injuries.
Therfore if you learn CPR and EAR, have sufficient dressings to control the bleeding and for splints then every thing else is not life threatening.

regards

Bob

the most common is sun burn have somthing to take the sting out and a cream to keep the skin moist (fell asleep in the shade once was not in it when woke up)

if dibetic see doctor about a course of antibotics to take with you then if proscribed you wont have problems with conflicting with what you are already taking

david has some good options on line and no problem geting refills

the rest is comon sence take what you need for what you are doing, or may do like something for those hard worked muscles (or toungs no alcohl) if your doctor knows he can be helpful or should be at what they charge

do not take advice on medication brands with out doc's sayso he knows you best

according to granny an apple a day is all you need (pun intended)

frank
CBS
Cant Bl**dy Sitstill

I am a Level 3 first aider, and to tell you the truth I can't think of anything that would take other than good quality bandages except:
* Eye wash (in little disposable plastic bottles)
* Some kind of pain killer
* Some kind of mild antibiotic liquid/creme/ointment
* Prescription medications that you (or those that are travelling with you) would take, and understand how to administer others for them in life threatening circumstances, e.g. Atshma, Angina. etc. You can actually buy Ventolin from a Chemist with out a script these days, for use for those who are prone to asthma attacks. Generally speaking you can't do any serious damage if you give Ventolin to a non-athsmatic.

Air splints are a good idea, but bloody expensive, and really you can do the same job with bandages.

Bandages do lots of good things, like help to stem the flow of blood & immobilise.

Just as a side issue, I hear lots of people suggest the use of a towell to stem the flow of blood, just remember what a towel is designed to do.

And for gods sake do a Level 2 First Aid course, knowledge ain't hard to carry around and it normally doeesn't take up a lot of room in the storage compartment.

First Aid .................. think about it again ................."FIRST AID".

That's what it's all about .... being able to offer aid in the first instance.
As has been previously stated ... DO A COURSE.

It's amazing the lives which have been saved by the simple application of first aid ... rather than standing around in a circle saying things like .......... bleep I think he's stuffed .......... whatda reckon??

I have to admit I'm a little rusty in that I did mine years ago and should do a refresher course but I still remember the basic DRABC.

We've gone a tad overboard in our kit in that it's a mobile medicine/first aid kit in a box. But what the hell ............... some day I'll meet some bloke who needs brain surgery............... and I've got all the right gear. ..............;-}Fidei defensor

Rosco

I guess you have your answers in the previous posts, but what about snake bite anti-venom??
Two things I hate in the bush, snakes and crocodiles. Crocodlie bites you cant do much about I guess, apart from perhaps first aid if you have any arms left. Snakes bites though there doesn't seem to be much you can do about apart from short term solutions, like pressure bandages etc.

But what if help is over two or more days away? Thats plenty of time for the venom to wiggle its way into all areas of your body.

Last time I checked about two years ago with St. Johns, no anti-venom was available to the general public. Why is this I wonder??

Can anyone enlighten me why such a potential life saving package is not readily available for public use?

Cheers
Equinox

Bluey,
I know you have asked a serious question but quite frankly, if you're out there and you've been bitten by a snake, taken by a croc/shark, rolled the car and severed your head etc your basically dead meat. I think for a group of travellers the best policy is to have a clear understanding from the outset that if anyone snuffs it that they get buried on location, and none of this heroic calling the RFDS to resuscitae a day old corpse. Lets face it - we are all going to die sometime. If you kark it doing what you love you are very fortunate indeed. Let's not waste precious resources flogging dead horses so to speak. Bob

Bluehealer,

I've lived and worked in the outback most of my life and for years I never carried anything more than a packet of bandaids and a bottle of some sort of 'snake oil' that was guaranteed to cure coughs, colds, sore holes, brewers droop and tape worm. I stopped to help a bloke in a rollover once and realised that no ammount of bandaids and magic elixer would be of benefit in administering first aid for broken bones.

I now carry a kit fully stocked with what I recognize as being not only what I need for my own first aid, but also what may be required to help some other poor bugger. I also got my senior first aid certificate - it is time and money well spent.

Diesel1

It sort of get mentioned in passing by one of the replies, but I'll mention it again:-

Talk to your doctor what you intend to do and ask hgim about one packet of some kind of general ANTIBIOTIC TABLETS. Your doctor will need to approve & give you a prescription (and some advice) which prescription you will need to fill before you go. These can be useful if you are couple of days away from a chemist/doctor and you get an ear infection (just ask Melissa), tooth infection/abcess, skin/finger infection, etc., and will "stop the rot" until you can get qualified medical treatment.

I reckon the most important items to have in your first aid kit is a HF radio or Sat phone so you can be talked through the correct procedure by an expert. i noticed when I was recently in hospital that they constantly monitored my blood pressure, temperature and pulse. A blood pressure / pulse machine costs about $150 and is claimable from private health schemes and thermometers cost very little. This is the info the RFDS would want until they were able to retrieve the casualty.
The other things we take are for bleeding, pain, fractures, bites (mosqueto to snake) skin irritation and antibiotics, and the books we received at our first aid courses. Just think, at grade three St. John, you learn how to deliver babies.

Mal T.

Everyone,

First Aid is a very important issue. I agree with those who say knowledge is your most important item. I am trained but I still carry the book I was given on the last course I did. When you do a course through an approved course prvider they will give you an up to date book. The practice of first aid is constantly being updated and revised as a result of research. That is why accreditation only lasts for three years, so keep up to date.

I made up a first aid kit from a list I got with the SA Desert Parks Pass af what their rangers carry. I add to this items that experience tells me we as a family are likely to use. Stingoes, panadol, moisturizing cream etc.

The other thing I would say is what ever happens don't give up. As a firefighter and accredited rescue operator in NSW I have seen plenty of people put in the back of an Ambulance who I thought were dead or would die only to find out later that they have made a full recovery.

Please don't bury me until my doctor says it's time.

Duncs

I have done a First Aid course and that was a while ago. But the basics are still there. I carry a little pocket book titled STAY ALIVE which has a host of interesting stuff in it including first aid, dangerous animals and even how to winch yourself out of trouble. I carry a basic first aid kit with bandages and necessary stuff like anti-histamine tablets, eyedrops,eardrops, sunscreen and skin repairer including superglue and burn creams for when you have climb under vehicle when it is hot as well as all the medicines I need to keep me going.

On a number of occasions I have had severe tooth problems out bush and this is where a bottle of scotch comes in handy. Drink quarter to half of the bottle(neat) and then proceed to remove offending tooth with fencing pliers. My missus goes and hides when this is happening. One tooth took over an hour to come out. Hard yakka with two mirrors. The net result of these extreme procedures was a dentists nightmare but I am happy to relate that all the remaining bits have now been removed.

In my 30 years of going bush I have seen more dead snakes on the highways than in the bush. Have not camped near the waters edge when crocodiles are around and have been bittin on the odd occassiion by a redback. The advice I give to anyone is to use commonsense(that word again), be careful, drive according to the road conditions and always take good care when camping. When sleeping on the ground in a swag always throw a tarp down as a floor. Spiders and ants normally do not like to walk on a poly tarp. Enjoy the bush and keep your camping simple.

Cheers,Willem
Out on the Gibber

I must say im glad to see so many of you have dun your first aid courser,s , as i have dun . Why go overseas when you can ExplorOz
ERROL

Don't forget to pack the Viagra :-)
You might need it with all the spare time you have travelling.
Sorry - you had enough good replies. Can not be too serious. Cheers
Allan