rethinking my cycling FAK

[jehan60188]

so, had my first good wipeout on my bike while riding home from work. I was 3 miles from home (but exhausted, since I had ridden 12 miles already)
fortunately, I was wearing my helmet, so I kept my noggin safe.

my current cycling FAK was just a few bandaids, a gauze pad and some neosporin. I didn't think things through, and just decided to throw in the same stuff as my edc fak (actually, less, since I didn't add burn gel, medicines, etc)

unfortunately, it wasn't enough!

I had three major scrape areas (3 on the right hand, 2 on left elbow, 2 on the left knee) that I had to irrigate with my water bottle (which i'm not sure was the smartest course of action)- so that's the first thing I'll be adding to my FAK (a small bottle of hydrogen peroxide)
combine water and sweat, and you've got a great anti-sticking material. the bandaids wouldn't stay on!
so, I need some more gauze pads, and probably some tape to keep the pads in place.

when I got home, I irrigated with hydrogen peroxide, dried (ah, add a towel!) and put some proper bandages on my scrapes. I've got some tender spots, and there's some bruising/swelling (so I do in fact need to add in ibuprofen), but otherwise I came out all right.

any other cyclists? what do you carry?
the thing about cycling- there are two kinds of accidents, falls that lead to scrapes, and catastrophes. the second one, I can only hope I'm ok enough to call 911, but the first one, I can definitely prepare for.

hope this helped someone else!
and always wear your helmet!

[Ajax]

I'm sure the Doc will chime in but I'm totally re-thinking automatic neosporin use.
We casually throw around antibiotics to the point that they are totally ineffective. Just wash with soap until the need for anti-biotics presents itself.

I've also read that hydrogen peroxide actually inhibits clotting and wound closure, maybe the Doc can clarify.
I would just use water or an anti-septic wipe to clean, use clean gauze or pad to sop up blood and dry a wound, apply quality cloth-style band-aid(they stick better).
Maybe add a few Motrin or Tylenol pills for pain management.

[shrap]

How about:

Duct tape
Antiseptic wipes to clean the wound
Alcohol wipes to clean around the wound, and for hands
Elastic fishnet/stocking to hold gauze

I wouldn't use hydrogen peroxide, I've read it tends to destroy the new skin as well as kill germs.

[houdini28]

I carry gauze, duct tape, tylenol, alcohol wipes, and nitrile gloves. When I ride I always have a pocket knife with me, so I can use that to cut the gauze to length. The duct tape is wrapped around an old gift card. The tylenol is kept in a small baggie. Everything is kept inside a Johnson and Johnson First Aid To Go box. They can be found at any drug store and most general stores for a dollar or so. Their contents are nothing more than bandaids, but the case was cheap enough and it fits nicely in a jersey pocket or an under-the-seat bag.

As you stated, cycling injuries usually come to road rash or more serious injuries involving 911. I have used this kit and it has served me well. In regards to irrigating a wound I would not use hydrogen peroxide. I have irrigated wounds with a water bottle which is not the best option, but there was a lot of debris and I wanted to make sure it was not going to cause additional irritation or damage. I wrapped it lightly with gauze and then when I was home I was able to give the wound proper cleaning and dressing. As always, stay current with CPR/FA and any other training and use common sense. Glad to see your cycling injury was not bad enough to take you from the sport. Stay on two.

[Rob72]

Pick up a 250mL bottle of normal saline- most appropriate irrigation solution. No H2O2, alcohol, or betadine, barring some extreme situations you won't have. 4x4s or a prepackaged "trauma dressing" that can be cut to fit. Couple of 2" Ace wraps for pressure dressing or flexible dressings that will hold until you get home. A SAM splint isn't a bad idea, and can be used with the Ace wrap.

[LUW]

I'm really amazed at the wide spread use of neosporin . If you get a scrap or road rash, just WASH IT - yeah, water and soap. If the water in your water bottle is good enough for you to drink, it's good enough to wash your wound. Clean it and DON'T put anything on the wound. DO NOT close the wound, only use a bandage if you are 100% sure that you were able to thoroughly clean it before hand or if it's bleeding and you need to have a compressive bandage on the wound. If it's just a scrap, wash it and leave it be. A bandaid at the most.

I never carried any kind of topic antibiotic and never will. And the use of topical antibiotics as a first aid measure is not recommended by any medical association that I know of. Truth be told, I have been away from the ICU scene for quite some time now, so things may have changed. However, I doubt it, since human physiology and general pharmacology has not changed.

[GRIFFINHAWKS]

Super glue, Gorilla tape, Bag balm, folded paper towels and cell phone if I break bones (haven't yet but ya never know) ..

BE WELL .. GH

[shrap]

I'm really amazed at the wide spread use of neosporin . If you get a scrap or road rash, just WASH IT - yeah, water and soap. If the water in your water bottle is good enough for you to drink, it's good enough to wash your wound. Clean it and DON'T put anything on the wound. DO NOT close the wound, only use a bandage if you are 100% sure that you were able to thoroughly clean it before hand or if it's bleeding and you need to have a compressive bandage on the wound. If it's just a scrap, wash it and leave it be. A bandaid at the most.

I never carried any kind of topic antibiotic and never will. And the use of topical antibiotics as a first aid measure is not recommended by any medical association that I know of. Truth be told, I have been away from the ICU scene for quite some time now, so things may have changed. However, I doubt it, since human physiology and general pharmacology has not changed.

A lot of this is true. Most road rash is superficial damage and you don't need to put a bandage on it immediately. You're not going to die of blood loss.

I've crashed in the middle of 60+ mile rides and rode home with blood dripping down my leg. Other than the sting of air, it's not a big deal. If you get home and wash all the debris out of it, infection is unlikely. I don't really know what you plan to do with a SAM splint or trauma dressings. Even if you break some ribs, there's little you can do. If you break your collarbone (done it), you're not riding home anyway and that's when you need to make a phone call (or start walking).

The human body is pretty good at taking care of itself.

[edd666666]

Hi, I am a mountain biker and I certainly have my share of falls. For sure scrapes are the biggies, but cuts are right up there, so make sure you have some butterfly bandages. You mentioned having a knife, but I find scissors more useful for the type of thing you are doing. I don't know about you but I always get some swelling from bangs incurred as part of the fall, do you have room for anything to help with that. I am assuming you have a way to contact someone for help so I won't go into that. I am kind of "out of it" for awhile after a fall in terms of kind of being in shock and it helps if you have someone with you that can kind of Shepard you around till you get your head back, but that would be hard to put in a first aid kit. Good luck with this, Ed.

[weeneldo]

Here in the UK we can't even buy antibiotic cream over the counter. There's good reason for this as well, antibiotic resistance has led to conditions such as MRSA and made others even more dangerous such as C. Difficile. For minor injuries we would just usually irrigate it with saline/antiseptic solution or use an antiseptic wipe, apply a dressing and advise the patient to keep the would clean. Anything that can't be handled in this manner will probably need more advanced care. We would never usually apply adhesive strips ourselves, working on the basis that anything that is too big to heal by itself needs to go to hospital. I'm not sure what the practicalities of this would be though in a country that pays for healthcare.

Also, the guy above mentioned the possibility of swelling after a fall. Over here, and so I'm guessing in the US, you can buy instant ice packs that you squeeze to activate and will easily fit in a small kit.