Essentials for the first aid kit

[Cruisingdad]

SD,

Yep, that is the one but it is coastal (12 hour care). Mine is a little older, and a little larger, but not the size of the next one up.

PS They are about $50 cheaper MAP on Defender. I have not checked others.

[Cruisingdad]

For offshore, which is where this thread started, I would go with the larger unit, like the 2000. Still, I bet it is just like mine: short on antibiotic cream and tylenol!!

[T34C]

CD- Negative on the offshore. He stated they were "cruising for a couple days" at a time. They are always short on the stuff you really need and long on crap you will never use.

[wind_magic]

Originally Posted by svs3

I would definitely recommend a very good and through medical reference. The ones that immediately come to mind are Where There Is No Doctor and Medicine for Mountaineering. I would strongly second the suggestion to get some training. The farther afield one ventures more comprehensive the training needs to be. For the voyager, I think, wilderness EMT training would not be excessive.

This is really interesting to me. I'll definitely order those books. I have a few wilderness emergency medical books but I haven't given them the attention they deserve ... yet. You mention wilderness EMT, can you expand on that at all ? Is that a local kind of training you can get ?

T34C, you sound like you know a lot about this, what are your recommendations along the lines of training and education ?

Thank you.

[wildcard]

Wilderness EMT is an add on to EMT Basic. Some extra back country care and evacuation. Not a bad idea. EMT B is 120-160 hours and covers the bases well but not to the invasive levels. That is No IVs thou some areas do allow Bs to start IVs, no pain control, no advanced airway and none of the "fancy stuff" that you most likely will never see a need for anyway.
http://www.aeriemed.com/wemtinfo.htm

[wildcard]

PS, while Im thinking about it, dont forget to throw a bottle of baby asprin in the FAK. Many of us are into the cardiac age and 4 baby asprin may make the difference while you await air evacuation in the event of chest pain. it's great stuff.
Everyone is worried about getting hurt but an illness is a much more likely event.

[Mick Young]

Thanks for all the good info, I will grab a bigger, waterproof bag and fill it with more of the good stuff and less of the Crap. My boss is going to send me to a first aid course for work, bless his cotton sox.

I agree with wild card as well that we all worry about an accident when an illness is most likely. Thankfully the only illness we've had recently was a bit of a headache and bad stomach, must have got some of the cork in the bottle, surely red wine wouldnt make you hungover????

[Cruisingdad]

Hey Mick,

Sorry, missread the original post and thought you were talking offshore versus coastal. I would NOT buy the large 200 for that. They are big and take up a lot of room. I will say, though, that I am ultra conservative on the medical supplies (ie, more than I will ever need) but I run with kiddos and have to be.

Take care.

- CD

[Giulietta]

Originally Posted by T34C

I buy a small (to mid) sized bag from a fishing store(I got mine at Bass Pro Shop) 12"x12"x6". Fishermen use them for holding rubber worms and associated gear. They open from the top and have "ziplock" type bags attached to three ring binder inside. The other top zipper opens a pocket on the other side that has a big compartment with little particians to hold your stuff. The bags are tuff and waterproof and pretty cheap. Inside the bag:

.

T can you show a picture of such bag. I like it, and since I will in the US soon, I'll buy one.

Will spend some time at the Westmarine in Puerto Rico, also...everything is much cheaper in the US, than in Europe with all the taxes we have, like 21% Sales tax in Portugal!!

[T34C]

My personal opinion on the training issue, you can't ever be over trained. That being said you really need to balance your investment in training with your realistic needs. If you are weekending with your family less than 20mi. from a port your needs are much different than if you were 200 mi. offshore where you will have to provide a lot of care for an extended period of time. You need to seriously look at your cruising grounds. If you had a serious injury or illness aboard how long would it take you to get into a port? When you get into a port how far away is the nearest hospital? Are their paramedic units that service the area? What is the Coast Guard response time likely to be? These are all questions that you need to consider when evaluating how much training is enough for you. I would guess for the average sailor cruising for a couple days at a time, I would recommend min. of basic first aid and cpr. Many areas offer a First Responder level of "first aid/cpr" type training that is designed to teach the basic skills to help treat and stabilize a patient until more qualified personel can arrive. While I agree with the others suggestions on EMT level training being a good idea, I'm not sure it is practical for the average "weekender". I would look into the First Responder training, and take into consideration the other issues mentioned above to determine your needs beyond that.