[Closed] Small first aid kit for the trails?

Don't bother with items for small injuries, think big and serious.
I carry in my small kit:
Rescusci aid.
Army/Big wound dressings x4
Zinc tape.
Crepe bandage.
A few alcohol wipes.
Mini permanent marker.
Stored in two pairs of latex gloves.

Everything else I make up or bodge.

Don’t bother with items for small injuries, think big and serious.
I carry in my small kit:
Rescusci aid.
Army/Big wound dressings x4
Zinc tape.
Crepe bandage.
A few alcohol wipes.
Mini permanent marker.
Stored in two pairs of latex gloves.

Everything else I make up or bodge.

All sounds good, but if they are the army first field dressings I'm thinking of, that's quite a bulky package?

What FA training do you have? Are you a fully qualified paramedic?

Alcohol wipes, a few plasters and steristrips and some safety pins. With a bit of improvisation that will deal with most of what I'm capable of. Once you get to serious injuries like a broken leg or spine then it's on the phone and 999.

And yes, it's a bum bag.

Painkillers eg a couple of ibuprofen, plus a 300mg aspirin tablet (in case of suspected heart attack).

What is the pen for Matt?

I'll get flamed for this, but if its something that needs an ibuprofen or a plaster, it's something that doesn't need anything...

Basically, what Matt said.

Rescusci aid.
Army/Big wound dressings x4
Zinc tape.
Crepe bandage.
A few alcohol wipes.
Mini permanent marker.
Stored in two pairs of latex gloves

is almost exactly my kit - I've used spare tubes as collarbone slings on 4 occasions in the past though so I consider that part of the kit too!

What FA training do you have? Are you a fully qualified paramedic?

Alcohol wipes, a few plasters and steristrips and some safety pins. With a bit of improvisation that will deal with most of what I’m capable of. Once you get to serious injuries like a broken leg or spine then it’s on the phone and 999.

Certainly not a paramedic! I did a full career in the military with all the FA training and practical application which goes with that, although that was a good few years ago. I have done a fair few civy workplace FA courses since. I know my limitations though and certainly don't envisage performing surgery at the trail side! I think your example of a broken leg is quite a likely scenario. I'd like to think I'd at least have a go at imobilising/splinting, stopping any bleeding and maybe treating for shock. Of course ringing 999 is a priority but in a lot of places where I ride there is a very patchy or none existant phone signal.

And yes, it’s a bum bag.

Rude!! 😄

Pen - write info or times on clothing or casualty.

then it’s on the phone and 999

I've saved a friend's life by carrying the above, halfway down Helvellyn. We should have been an hour from first MRT and help. My friend would have been dead by then.

I've also not called 999 and got our sorry arses off the hill by being able to strap up a dicky ankle or cover a big graze from getting dirty, for over an hour.

I was taught as ML and outdoor instructor to be prepared to be self sufficient, including incidents, to drag yourself off the hill by your teeth if needed. But also to be prepared to save or preserve life as best you could while waiting for help.

Edit: army dressing is fairly big, plus 3 flat big square things.
It all still fits in the gloves and a wee drybag.

Pen – write info or times on clothing or casualty.

Good idea that, I might use it. Sharpie cant weigh much.

lightfighter - you use of a tourniquet really worries me as from all the first aid I have been taught you MUST NOT ever use a tourniquet. What is your training? Seems you have some knowledge.

As to the OP - knowledge is the key thing. Spend your money on some training rather than a fancy kit. Gaffa tape can do an awful lot and improvisation is the key.

I rarely carry a kit but do on group rides.
Then its some dressings of various sorts ( hydrocoilloids and films) Kalto stat which is a heamostat ie helps clot blood ( altho this is now disputed in the literature. Stristrips, sterile needle, painkillers. abour 60 g and fits in a small pouch

There is really only one type of instance IME where a first aid kit can make a difference - a marginal injury ie cut if you can make a decent repair then then the ride can continue rather than be cut short

Major incidents - what you need is knowledge unless you carry stuff like airways etc.

LIke Matt I was taught to be self sufficient and not to call out rescue - and have taken casualties off the hill few times or repaired them in place

Do an assessment of your activities, location/terrain, weather conditions and distance from help then build your kit around those answers.

Type of injuries you'd expect -
sprains, strains and broken bones - most likely given fast riding and rough terrain?
heavy bleeding - possibility although maybe rare?
minor cuts and bruises - is it even worth treating?
head injury - you're not going to treat this as such but do you need to keep casualty stationary, warm and dry and send someone for help?

For me, my combined hillwalking and biking first aid kit contains a strip of plaster that can be cut to size, couple blister plasters, a pair of vinyl gloves, face shield, some cleaning wipes, a crepe bandage, some tape, a few sterile gauze swab/patch. Also carried at all times is an Adventure Medical Kits bivy bag, Leatherman Micra (with scissors), notepad and pen, whistle, map and compass.

The issue with tourniquets is you need knowledge. IIRC its release every 3 mins? You risk losing a limb if not. Just something to be very wary off unless you have training.

Personally I would follow my training which is a pad and pressure. I suppose a femoral artery maybe improvise one ( inner tube?) but even then i'd be wary. Rather a long way from the OP tho 🙂

20m of Paracord for trussing up victims casualties and making stretcher/shelter, 2* foil blankets and plastic ponchos

You would only use a tourniquet if it was hosing out blood though. For anything less then direct pressure would be better. Removing the tourniquet every 3 minutes would surely risk sending a clot through the circulation?

TJ raises a great point - the training is more important than the kit.

I've done outdoor first aid every 2-3 years for the last 25 years. The original Mountain First Aid (5 days, for mountain rescue), peadaeatric first aid, first aid at work, BASI, ITC you name it, I've done it...! I'm still a rank amateur, but the few times I've needed it, I've pulled out the hat and strapped someone up, or once been a key element of saving a life by carrying the right kit and knowing how to get information to the help that was coming (MRT and RAF).

In all my years outdoors I've never really needed a first aid kit, but spare clothes and a foil blanket to keep people warm have often been used. And I should add I am extremely accident prone too!!
I did cpr on someone once...they died 🙁

My view is that injuries fall into two categories: ones that mean the end of the ride and ones that if patched up you can continue.

Ride stoppers; you need to patch the injured rider up to get back to the car park or keep him alive till the paramedics arrive. Bandages, painkillers and tape. Even gaffer tape. Maybe a space blanket. If you've gashed your knee, you're not doing any more riding today.

The other sort, like you've gashed your cheek or arm, well, a couple of steri strips should hold everything together so you can carry on with what you've planned.

Forestry First aid now teaches you to use tourniquets. You don't usually nick yourself with a chainsaw.

I just renewed my Outdoor first aid, for work (and biking etc) - Tourniquets are back on the agenda.
Last time I did the course, they weren't, but after all the experiences in the middle east/afghanistan/IED's etc there is a lot more experience and knowledge of treating severe bleeding/trauma/limb loss. It would appear that a tourniquet can be used for longer than previously considered 'safe'. However, as has been pointed out, they are for extreme bloodloss situations ie the casualty is otherwise going to bleed out and die. Once on they should only be undone by a medical professional.

Direct pressure is still the primary 'first aid' unless it is clearly not going to work.

Rescusci aid (just in case, CPR is horrible to do, let alone on someone you don't know)
A few large sterile dressings.
Plenty of nitrile gloves.
A couple of saline eyewash vials.
A couple of cheap foil blankets. (These are lifesavers, I speak from experience)

Knowledge of how to use it.

Anything more than walking wounded and then you are going to need expert help, 999 and let the professionals deal with it. You certainly don't need a tourniquet.

I carry gloves as well - I forget them. always a pair in my wallet and another in my kit when carried

you use of a tourniquet really worries me as from all the first aid I have been taught you MUST NOT ever use a tourniquet. What is your training? Seems you have some knowledge.

That was the old FAW syllabus that used to shy away from the use of TQs, the newer syllabus I believe now teaches it again.

I carry a similar kit to what was mentioned above really including some saline, if it just needs a plaster then you can ride until you get somewhere with a plaster. If it's a life and death or survive until the pro's arrive i'd rather be prepared.

Always worth having a sharpie style pen as well not a normal one so you can write on the TQ what time it was applied.

At work annual FA training always covers tourniquets for arterial bleeds, put it on high and tight, leave it on, no need to release it or anything, it will be good for hours. Hurts like hell when on correctly. I have one in Ireland near where I keep the chainsaw as we are out in the wilds but don't bother with one biking in UK

A couple of saline eyewash vials.

Liking that.  Used to only put water in my water bottles just in case something needed to be cleaned out but that is a much better idea

I carry a small pre-made kit - if I'm honest I'm not even sure whats in it.

I do make sure to carry a foil blanket too - a friend had a crash while we were out in the middle of nowhere and we waited a few hours for the ambulance to find us, luckily a passing rider had one and gave it to us. I now carry one by default in my bag.

really interesting post. I have just had a look in my small pack that goes on all rides - a few assorted bandages and plasters, an eye wash, tick twisters, gaffa tape, small scissors and tweezers, gloves and some wipes, also a foil blanket and on my mobile I have the St Johns 'First Aid for Cyclists' app, which is very good.

I have a larger kit that comes with me when coaching or leading a ride - a lot more in way of dressings, wipes, eyewashes etc, plus more gloves, extra foil blankets and some pain relief and aspirin.

Trained Outdoor First Aider, thankfully not had to use it often..

Half roll of cling film will bodge everything for day trips.

Antibite spray, small iodine spray, steristrips and larger dressings than standard. And training.

I too have administered cpr to a club mate. Sadly he died of a neck fracture. The out of hospital success rate for cpr is 5%, and only 10% in hospital. You can’t do harm with those odds. Breathing for the casualty is no longer recommending. Just keep pumping 600 times.