What do you have in your First Aid Kit, to make it a good one

William H ,, the best thing to have in a First Aid Kit is the KNOWLEDGE to use it , a first aid course run by a reputable supplier such as St.Johns or your local Ambo,s and follow their lead re: basic supply /brands ect.

One of these:

First Aid Kit Pro 1

Available from the store here on ExplorOz.

And as replied above, a first aid course.

Only others we've added is a splinter remover, much easier to use than a needle, extra saline wash, tea tree oil (antiseptic) and a bag of salt.

Cheers
Ross

OK , i have 4 compression bandages to stop bleeding , snake bite , etc . I carry a normal drinking water bottle always full that you can squeeze and use as an eye irrigator . And then the usual bandaids . splinter geterouterer , soov , antiseptic etc etc . I also know cpr .

A small bottle of Brandy for medicinal purposes

I never used to have much of a First Aid kit until surviving a head-on collision on Cape York in 1986 made me more wary.

Happy to run with the St John's one but I've found it better to buy a tackle/tool box and fill it up with the things I want.

Mine has heaps and I have a typed list of what's in it on the inside so I can replenish it all when I get home.

Some ideas
Ventolin Inhaler (for asthma)
small torch
eye bath and eye pads
sunscreen
tweezers
scissors
thermometer
Nurofen liquid and tablets
Imodium (diarrhoea)
Maxolon (vomiting)
Phenergan (allergies)
Amoxil and Keflex (antibiotics)
Chlorsig Drops (eye infections)
Chlorsig Ointment (eyes and burns)
small Dettol
plastic amps of saline
Sofradex Eardrops (ear infections)
Melolin dressings (many sizes)
Fixomull (burns and grazes)
Leukostrips (like a butterfly closure for cuts)
Triangular bandages (for slings)
1% Cortisone cream
Splinter probe and Emla cream (anaesthetic)
Spare whistle and compass
razor blades
Alcohol swabs (for cleaning disinfection)
Cotton buds
Soov cream (bites and stings and cuts)
Shock blanket
First Aid instruction book (for someone else...)
Safety Pins
CPR/resus mask (put over a face so you can do mouth-to-mouth)
Betadine antiseptic
small cable ties
Asstd tapes (Micropor and strapping)
Heaps of BandAids
disposable gloves
Ear plugs (some for noise and some for swimming)
Opsite dressings
assted crepe bandages (for holding on dressings)
compression bandages (snakebites and sprains)

I also have a small bum bag with a basic kit that we take on bushwalks, daytrips away from the car.

And remember, any First Aid kit is only as good as the person who opens the lid.........

It's a while since I got one and I am not sure if they still include the list but the first SA Desert Parks Pass I got included a list of the equipment carried by their Desert Parks Ranger.

The guy I was travelling with went to his local first aid kit supplier and bought one off the shelf that had most of the gear on that list.

I took the list to the local Chemist and asked him to quote on supplying everything on it. I bought a suitably sized tackle box from one of the cheaper variety stores. It cost me about half what it did my mate and I ended up with more gear.

As others have said the knowledge gained from a First Aid Course is invaluable. So is practice. Use that knowledge by offering assistance at every opportunity and if there is someone there more qualified than you, watch.

That knowledge will not only help you stock your first aid kit with suitable equipment but also it will help you improvise when all the good gear is not available.

Finally, and I say this from experience and pray it doesn't ever happen to you, if you find yourself caring for someone with life threatening injuries....... do something. Stop the bleeding, blow down their throat, hold them and scream for help but do something. If you don't they will die, and then you will go and do a course that hopefully you will never use.

Duncs

Hi Wlliam,

As a massage therapist I am required by law to do SNR 1st every 3 yrs and a CPR course every 12mths - I agree with others when they say you need to know what to do.

I would suggest St John Ambulance as well, I do all my courses through them, they are great and value for $$$, We are currently travelling Oz with the 2 kids we have a fairly big kit - cost around $145.00

Cheers
Caroline

I always have a small pump bottle of alcohol based hand wash. Its great to slap on any place that is scratched to avoid infections, also use before and after digging out a splinter. Alcohol wipes are good but these new pump bottles can also be used before meals to avoid getting an upset tummy etc. I recently got nipped by a farmers playful terrier dog, slap on some alcohol hand wash gel and hope I don't get an infected leg - so far so good :-)) From the supermarket.

A cream such as Resolve Plus is good for Tinea or similar itchy fungus in sweaty areas - not uncommon in tropical areas. The packet says good for athletes foot, jock itch, nappy rash, thrush, dermatitis etc. - see your pharmacy.

.

One thing that is extremely useful that you will never get in a first aid kit is a packet / bottle of antibiotics. Next trip to the doc, tell him you want some for your first aid kit.

For bad cuts that won't heal and are dirty, flu, infections, etc.

Ask him how and when to dispense though.

G'day William H
As I usually work mostly in the tropics, where the moisture doesn't allow scratches to dry properly, I carry the following ..

On top of a good St John first aid kit, extras I carry are, BFI powder which is a dry anti septic powder, betadine, peroxide, super glue, salt tablets, liquid staminade concentrate, additional wide elastic bandages, tea tree oil and cream for mozzie bites and the home made insect repellent and advil.... oh and one of those electric zapper thingo's that you place on an itchy bite.

Thats all I can think of for the moment.

Cheers
Lotzi

All good advice above. I have added half round surgical needles
for stitching if necessary, with string, courtesy of my GP. The other thing we always travel with is half a litre of Metho. Great
for cleaning & healing wounds,scratches etc. Yes it stings, but is
very effective antiseptic. Useful for cleaning just about anything
really, & if all else fails you could drink it..tastes bloody awful...
......oldbaz.

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Just need a decent first aid kit and a first aid course so you can use all the stuff.

After that it needs to be taylored to your situation. We usually have Ventolin (asthma), Imodium (runs), some sort of thoat lozenge, neutophen plus or similar and over the counter antihistamine. Plus for particular issues broad spectrum antibiotics and prednisolone. The last two are for particular problems where early treatment is essential and are not likely to be required in general. I have included them as an indication of personalising your kit. You need to be careful using new drugs for the first time if you are remote. Reactions can be sever. If you have heart disease an automated defib may be for you though at ~$3,000 last time I looked pretty steep price wise. You also need to be able to use it.

Steve

Hi All,
a good addition is some hydralyte or gastrolyte for the tummy wobbles. You can get it premixed in plastic tubes to put in the freezer. Some Dramamine car sickness tabs (adults and children) strength is sometimes good to have too. Some soothing ear drops such as Auralgen (you can buy this over the counter) for swimmer's ear or can even be used to help float out stray moths or bugs from the ear canal. A torch, pen and paper is also good. Also if anyone travelling in the car has any medical condition a list of their meds and dose is handy in case of a nasty accident where they are unable to inform ambos or others of their condition. We also have an ankle and knee support bandage in case of strains. Our first aid box is one of those double drawer arrangements. One for meds and liquids and one for bandages, sling, bandaids etc. Maybe its a bit over the top but you never know.
Sally.

I also carry a 36" Sam Splint (available from the Exploroz Store) which is handy for breaks and sprains on limbs and could also be used as a neck brace if needed.

I have much the same as most others here, including a course of antibiotics. Your doctor will give you a script if you let him know why you want it.

Jack

Evening Willam H,
we recently did the St Johns remote area first aid course,(3 days) great course and great fun. One thing to make sure is that all items are in date, I was surprised by how many things had gone out of date. Burn dressing are one thing that I also added to my kit after course.
Cheers
Graeme

William,
Dont know if you have a female in your party but I always carry a course of cannestein for thrush as it is a bugger to get caught out in the bush and nowhere to get any sorry to you blokes for bringing up a delicate subject but you asked.
Also one of the top paramedics in the state advised us to include sanitary napkins as they make great trauma dressings, usually come in a plastic cover thing then I put a couple in a cliplock bag.
hope this helps
barb

http://www.freney.com.au/index.html

I have done industrial OFA Training with these guys. They are ex special forces medics. They know their bleep .

We did real life simulations during the training and what suprised me is how useless the standard St Johns kits would be in a motor vehicle accident.

The priorities are to stabilise the casualty in situ, ie bleeding and breathing. To stop major bleeding you need heaps of wound dressings and rollers. They do a kit, not cheap, but it is a double kit in a back pack that would allow you to treat 3 severly injured people and then have enough gear to repaet that exercise. This is very useful for outback travel as you may happen on a major acciedent and before you have a chance to restock the kit you are called on to need it again.

These guys also run a remote area First Aid course.

The other highly recommended thing I will have in my kit is Penthrane. It is a high strength short lived analgesia that is breathed in via a 'whistle' to help control severe pain. It is a S4 class drug and can only be possesed through a script. If you request a script from you GP as you are travelling into a remote area you should be able to then purchase it from a Pharmacy. It lasts only 40 minutes and max dose is 3 vials in24 hours but it maybe what is required to make some comfortable till help arrives.

As said.
I bought a fairly large Red Cross kit a few years ago and was suprised it didn't have a mouth to mouth mask which I added.
Also worth checking use by dates for the older kits and replacing any out of date stuff as well.

Apart from all the stuff already mentioned:

Some good pain relief (panadeine forte, or if you can get hold of it by script some digesic or oxycodene for longer lasting releif)

A BP cuff and some nouse on how to atleast take a systolic BP and the knowledge of blood pressure basics i.e. what is low, what is normal and what is high and some basic problems that could arise if any such reading arises such as in shock..

Cophenylcane forte. Comes in a spray pack, Im pretty sure it is over the counter. It is a surface analgesic and vasoconstrictor, meaning that it will stop minor bleeds. great for persistant blood noses, abrasions (to stop bleed and offer pain releif), burns (pain), mozzie bites, sandfly bites, march fly bites etc. Safe to use on kids, however do not exceed the maximum recomended doses as can make its way to the heart and cause all sorts of strange and awe inspiring arrythmia.

Lots of dressings, fixomul (great for cuts, abrasions, blisters etc), ice packs, burnaid packs to name a few.

Good luck with it

A roll of "Gladrap" film. In the event of a punture wound to chest with possible lung damage, place gladrap over punture and tape top and sides leaving bottom open. When patient breaths in, the film is sucked against wound, when patient breaths out any rubish is expelled.