Rate my Travel First Aid Kit

It's interesting how you conveniently avoided answering my question (although you do have a limited point regarding clotting agents). Then again, we both know that the answer is "use the emergency dressing". Anyone that says anything else is either a liar or have absolutely no knowledge of, well pretty much anything.

So why should one use a maxi pad instead of a proper bandage setup? Cost is the only thing that springs to mind, but that's about it.

 

We are talking about something to use in your car as a good Samaritan. Not a hospital or ems service. If your buying quick clot for everyone on the forum I'm sure we will all use it.

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Again, the discussion is not about clotting agents vs maxi pads. It is about your recommendation of maxi pads as an effective bleeding control tool. If anything it's a matter of maxi pads vs modern wound dressings. Quikclot, Celox and similar haemostatic agents that actively promote clotting through clotting factor activation or adhesive mechanism are something different completely.

 

I'm exhausted... You win and perfect.

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The fact that you believe this is a contest is a bit worrying.

Nothing changes the fact that you recommended maxi pads as an effective bleeding control tool, when faced with criticism you move the goal posts by bringing up clotting agents. I don't really see the relevance here.

If you could just explain why the OP should choose maxi pads for a "trauma situation" (which was your original recommendation) I'm sure we could have a decent discussion on the subject. The only reason I can think of is the cost/availability, but with the relatively cheap and available emergency bandages on the market today I fail to see how that can be a major concern.

 

Did you know you can get plenty of sterile compressed gauze for the same price as a pack of maxi-pads? Which would be a great low-cost alternative to combat gauze. Combat gauze is for packing a wound cavity to create internal pressure and promote clotting, try that with a maxipad. Why plan to fail. I dont get it.

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Why worry about messes in the controlled OR with near unlimited staff and resources?

 

Sutures?

 

Only thing I can think to add would be ibuprofen for muscle aches and more gauze. You need some to use to apply pressure and stop bleeding and then clean gauze to dress it. You can never have enough gauze.

Plus gauze is so cheap you don't need to use maxi pads to stop bleeding.

 

It's always a good thing to be ready.

 

I'm a bit 'iffy' on the aloe vera for sunburn. Sure, it is a refreshingly cool gel, but there does not seem to be a lot of actual clinical research that it helps promote or speed sunburn healing. I am similarly iffy about the rehydration salts and tubes of NaCl. It seems like having sufficient clean water available would take care of most of this.

Personally, I've always considered this size of kit to be a bit awkward. I want it to be smaller and more pocketable for portability, or a bit larger and more complete for trauma, groups, etc.

Again, this is just me sharing ideas- I would drop out most of the 2nd photo stuff, the NaCl bottles, and the nail clippers (or substitute a folding travel version) and move the flashlight to my keychain. Get or make some individual dose-size packets for the pain reliever and other meds (I'd suggest something for upset stomachs and diarrhea, and maybe motion sickness), and move the whole shebang to a nice, flat, easily pocketable pouch.

Mine is built on the Adventure Medical Kit 1.0 and has enough room for some survival or repair gear, like foil, tape, wire, floss, a flat or tubular whistle, etc.

 

motion sickness pills - you're going on cruise.

 

Always preferred 4" kerlix. Pack a wound and wrap it. Done it many times. And in my day clotting bandages didnt exist.
For the FAK for the trip definitely add 4" kerlix rolls. Makes a great pressure dressing. Place an unrolled kerlix on the major wound and wrap it with another kerlix . just dont stretch it too tight. Have used it to pack abd wounds then covered with 5 x 9 and 8 x 10 abd pads.

 

"In my day" as a paramedic, you were considered a fool in practice of quackery to use a tourniquet. How times change.

If someone has the money to buy clotting material, support it. How many of us pay for insurances we never use? I feel like a geek with an IFAK in my EDC bag, but active shooters (and stabbers) are a way of life now, and technology allows us to carry some great gear that's small in size. You'd probably have to cram 10 feet of Kerlix into a home that Celox or QuikClot would only require inches of (unsubstantiated statement). It's hard to EDC Kerlix. An over achiever could throw QuikClot in his wallet.

*Note: tourniquets and clotting agents may not arrest the bleed(s). They're tools not miracles.*

 

I never mentioned tourniquets. Just speaking from my experience in my day.

 

I did throw away some clotting material, z fold and rolls as they expired. Not trusted after that. I may replace them with one.

 

I was commenting on the advances in technology and evidence based practice that now discuss utilizing hemostatic agents and tourniquets while just 15 years ago that was faux pas. I'm not in EMS or emergency medicine now. Rather, I've grown up and am now in psychiatry and really enjoy not having to deal with "somatic medicine."

 

I am envious of the equipment and packs that medics have today. I worked with stone knives and tools in comparison and half of that worked in -65 degree weather. Improvise. So the kit the OP has would have been at lightspeed. I had one kit in a .30 cal ammo can painted white with a red cross on it. I still have one of those cans.