First Aid Kits

Gday
If you have kids , you need Wiggles band aids , stingo, and betadine .

Adam, G'day, I have two kits, one for medicinal stuff, head aches, burns etc etc, the other for major trauma, broken bones, major cuts etc. What you put together will suit your self, but triangular bandages are good, as are crepe. Non stick dressings ands well as pads. If you haven't already, suggest you do a first aid course and then for your major trauma you will know what to pack. Minor stuff can be endless, depends on how many going, kids etc etc. Hope this helps? John

Avva squizz here my friend for ideas...Link for kit contents etc


Grrr!!!

See your Doc and get a script for Cortival. It can be used for wounds but more importantly for burns. Apply cream immediatly and wrap in gladrwrap, instant healing and no scars. Was told this by a dermatologist and it works. Medi Pulv powder is also a must as it dries up both wounds and scratched bite sites. A few of those self sticking bandages are also handy, the sort of stretching kind.
Cheers
Margie

The main reason they are expensive is because the are!

If you think a first aid kit has a lot of stuff you don't need that's fine until you need it.

First aid kits are designed to cater for most basic injuries and some more serious injuries.

I would suggest don't ask for help re: what you need in a first aid kit...... it sound like you have a good idea if the commercial ones are over priced and are full of stuff you wouldn't need.

Sounds like all you need is a packet of bandaids (And as said above get the kiddy ones), some headache tablets and some Dettol ..... and one or two cheap bandages.

Mate do a first aid course and learn what you need.

Our first aid kit is around the $800 mark...... you don't need to spend that much but a couple of $$$ will see you in a good kit.

There are specific kits for different applications like 4x4ing.

http://www.parasolemt.com.au/products/first-aid-kits/remote-outdoor/off-road-first-aid-kit/

And add to suit your needs.

Hi Adam,

Firstly the Disclaimer - The following is based on my personal experience only, and should not be taken as qualified medical advice [I am not a doctor] so if you use it, you do so at your own risk.

Some of these are a bit unorthodox, however I have used them all to good effect at various times :

1/ Peroxide - Great in the tropics for fungal ear infections and general disinfecting. There has been a long and in-depth post on peroxide a little while back.

2/ Super Glue - [preferably medical grade]- a quick way to close cuts, wounds, broken or lifted nails and cracks in feet. Be warned, it does sting a bit ! Once the cut has been glued and held together, apply water on it the make it set faster and stronger.

3/ Styp Wool - a coagulant that stops bleeding quickly by causing the blood to clot, put a little on the bleeding surface and cover with a bandage. I've had to use it a few times at work and once to successfully staunch arterial blood flow until proper medical help was sort. Make sure you don't have a blood condition that may be affected by coagulants. It's hard to find now, but it used to come in car first aid kits back in the 1970,s.

4/ Venice Turpentine - a highly effective drawing agent used for extracting splinters and other foreign bodies from under the skin. Place a little on a bandaid, over the entry point of the splinter and leave the bandaid on for as long as possible, when the bandaid eventually falls off, the splinter should be stuck to it and the wound healed. Venice turpentine should be available from any good vetenary supplier that deals with horses.

5/ Honey - Good for disinfecting and healing wounds, ulcers and burns. Make sure the honey used is either medicinal grade or un-heat treated raw honey [Manuka , Jarrah and Tea-tree are good varieties]. Can double up as a high energy food in an emergency!

6/ Aspirin

I have all these items in my first aid kits along with the usual bandages, disinfectants, saline, etc.
Hope this helps and you never have to use them in anger.

Cheers
Welldone

The most important thing is knowledge. You will also learn to improvise. However for travelling I do make up a kit in a cosmetic case, which goes with us between car to caravan. The basics of what you need in it are discussed here: First Aid

Motherhen

I purchased a kit from St Johns. Was very expensive but I think my family is worth more.
Had a few wise cracks from other 4wd's when I pull it out and go for the splinter kit. At Christmas time whilst on the beach the family next to me had to deal with a 4yr old with both eyes full of sand due to her brother with a well placed sand ball. They had nothing. Out comes the kit eye bath and sailene job done. They tried to give me 5o$ for what I used of the kit. There words "That kit is priceless".
I asked them to put the $$ towards there own.

Used it many times and would not go out with less.

Damn straight commercial first aid kits are overpriced, and often they have things inn them that are pointless or simply have no..business being there....then there are things that are essential that are missing.

Find yourself a good competitive specilaist industrial first aid supplier and you will find you get far better value for money.

Form my supplier, I get bamdages for 30 to 40 cents that would cost me $1.50 to $2.00 from a retail source, like a pharmacy.

The place to start with any first aid kit is three, four inch heavy crepe bandages like you would strap a sprain with..........they can save a life, treating a snake bite...... or be used for a number of other things, and realy cant be substituted.

cheers

Compression bandages.....

OK theres a proper 1st aid kit and a mdical thingo

in a medical thingo youd have things like bandaids, stingone betadine etc

in a 1st aid kit youd have wahts needed to save a life

face mask, and plenty of BIG com pression bandages

I am no expert but i reckon most kits ive had for work miss the mark waaay to much stuff

KISS i reckon have a medical thingo with the sort of things you would use for ailments

and a 1st aid kit as i said mostly for use to stop bleeding and for mouth to mouth

those wound dressings are preety good too

Adam.

Some good advice earlier so can I add some as well. This comes from 14 years in an army recon unit in the NT/WA bush and my wife's 3 years in emergency at UCLA hospital.

A medical kit us useless if, you cannot reach it or you do not have it with you. So mine is under the drivers seat.It is just a plastic fishing box with a handle. If the vehicle rolls over and I am trapped, I can still reach it. It also has a "going for a short walk" medical kit inside it. So if you and the family are heading for a short walk to look at something, inside the lid there is a small kit to take for just this distance.

The top tray covers immediate survival items and communication gear. Signal flares and whistle, matches and a compass. You all the time hear stories of people run off the road and are trapped in a vehicle that cannot be seen from the road.

For the bottom draw I would have a chat to the local ambo guys. They know in detail what you need and if in a small town, might put one together for you. For a few beers they might also give you a but of training as well. They will also be very upto date on the newest products as well. Spray on bandages, breath through pain relievers etc.

From my time in the army the single biggest worry is centipede bites. This comes from digging fox holes / toilet holes in the bush in the middle of the night in the dark. LOL

Picture says a 1000 words so here is my kit. Hope this has been helpful and not animals were hurt in the writing of this post.