Obviously if you have wider responsibilities / are dealing with kids / are going out into the wilds then a different take on things is not unreasonable.

however for most of us riding with friends not far from civilisation then there really is little that a first aid kit makes a significant difference. Minor injuries carry on, major injuries call in the experts / self evacuate.

In between that is a small amount of injuries where having the kit and the skills to use it could make a difference between continuing the ride and not or significantly alter outcomes/ comfort for the more serious injury.

Significant gravel rash say – can be much more comfortable under the right sort of dressing or being able to steristrip a cut up. Having the kit might mean you could carry on rather than cut the ride short. Once or twice I have done this sort of thing. However I don’t often carry a first aid kit although when I do its fairly comprehensive.

The only time I regret not having the kit is when a mate broke his shoulder – and then only because I could have offered him some of the very strong painkillers I have in it when we were on the hours drive back to Edinburgh with him.

It is interesting that those with skills in the medical world are the ones who don’t carry much first aid kit.

Crikey – Agree with you completely on that! We’d done it in training for a multi-day remote kayaking trip abroad, where not only was there no closer medical support, there was naff-all chance of medical extraction. Shoulder dislocation is quite common in kayaking, so it was an assumed risk. Still wouldn’t fancy doing it for real, though!

Reducing shoulders is quite hard work; I used to do it when I worked in theatre, under direct supervision of which ever consultant Orthopod was on call.

If it’s that hard on sedated patients, I suspect it will be more so on awake, in pain, well muscled, kayakers…

Takes a very long time, a helmet full of rocks and a roll of gaffer tape. Very little physical effort apart from restraining the pillock who dislocated their shoulder. Basically, slow application of traction. As I say, I wouldn’t particularly want to do it, and I’d rather leave it to someone more qualified, but should push come to “alright you idiot, lie here and hold on while I tape this to your bad arm”, i’d do it if I absolutely had to.

Just to add, if you do get head injuries it is a good idea to get some proper medical attention as im sure many who are professionals will agree.

By this i mean if you hit head hard enough to warrent DIY first aid, it worth getting it checked out….id rather smash my head and spend time cycling into A&E rather than spending time attaching a bandage and taking some drugs to null the pain of my braining swelling inside my skull 🙄

But seriously if we talking about taking all these complex medical devices and silly “self clotting agents” you really need to consider this…

Should you really be riding the way you are if you not taking part in a special event which has the proper medical care on standby

Pyro, I would imagine that in Kayaking you’re far more likely to get a dislocation without a fracture than you are compared with an impact sport like mountain biking, horse riding, motorcycles etc. On that basis it might be less unreasonable to put it back in whilst out on the river (particularly if you’re miles from civilisation). It’s a bit of a different risk/benefit equation when compared to mountain biking anyway.

Interesting choice from Google ads – I’m getting sports bras to help me post augmentation surgery 😯

In between that is a small amount of injuries where having the kit and the skills to use it could make a difference between continuing the ride and not or significantly alter outcomes/ comfort for the more serious injury.

This is the major reason I carry a first aid kit. Bandages, a couple of wound pads, tape and scissors, some melonin and some ‘spray plaster’

Mostly the things that get used to keep the ride going are the bandages – invariably on knees and elbows where movement occurs, and the the spray plaster – good for a temporary seal on flexible areas – again, mostly knees and elbows.

I had cause for a friend to use one of the bandages on my noggin the other month, but that was purely to stop the bleeding while we got off the hill and went to hospital.

If you are gonna carry a splint, then these are fab;

http://www.sammedical.com/sam_splint.html

They make a nice seat when you don’t want to get a wet arse too.

It you have a serious bleed and need compression then an Israeli bandage is very effective;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMRklQkfDLE

I use these at work fairly regularly and carry them occasionally when riding, depending on circumstances.
I usually just have assorted plasters, tape and a small dressing.