First aid

[baseballmike1124]

What should I put into my home first aid kit? Bandages, gauze, some kind of cream.... what else???

THX

[riverwalk]

Gee whilikers there mike, you have a great question! I hope you get input from many people here, as these Scouts and Scouters will have a variety of ideas. There are so many possibilities, but I'll try and confine myself to your request (Home). If I mention things you already have as emergency supplies, sorry, I just think of them all at the same time.

Sterile pads, flexible gauze ("roller"), scissors, tweezers, antiseptic wipes (most think of alcohol, but can be other types too), lights/batteries (Aid may be needed when things aren't going well), water (burns or other washing needs), and maybe some tools. Some will say some type of board splints. I think this is fine for a larger kit (School; Patrol; Troop...). If you have room at the home kit's location, fine, otherwise you might be able to improvise. The most important thing in your personal Plan, is doing your planning ahead of time. And for anyone that buys a kit, remember the most important thing about doing that

There is more to consider, for the Home/Family readiness thing, and that's what we're all promoting now in all the new Awards. For more input, check local officials, Red Cross, FEMA, Ready.gov, and so on, haha.

[ASM-142]

What should I put into my home first aid kit? Bandages, gauze, some kind of cream.... what else???

THX

Have you looked in your Scout Handbook of the MB book?

[Lynda J]

For a personal kit go by what the handbook or the First Aid Merit Badge work book tells you. As for the kit I carry in my car, our SM is an EMT and he laughs at my car kit. Said it looks like the ones they carry on the units. He is pretty close to right and I have carried one like it in my car for over 30 years. It simply goes everywhere I go. Soccer games and all. If a kid gets hurt the call is simply "LYNDA"

[riverwalk]

Yeah, my car kits are used often on the DFW battle lanes, haha.

[ynotquilt]

Last winter, we were heading home from a merit badge day at a local college with 5 boys another leader and I in my Expedition. Found out my son had gotten a pencil lead in the palm of his hand. PUlled over to take care of it. Other leader though I was getting out the first aid kit. All I got was my purse - hand sanitizer, small tweezers, triple antibiotic and band aids! He still laughs about it.

[Lynda J]

Ok guys don't get grossed out. But several years ago I came upon a bad car wreck. The passanger in one had hit his head on the windshield and was bleeding like a stuck hog. This was before the days of cell phones and this was out on a long stretch of highway between Greenville and Sulpher Springs Texas about midnight. I uses several sanitary napkins and an ace bandage as pressure bandages. When the ambulance got there they looked at me and said. "GIRL SCOUT" I said yes. He commented that it was the only group that taught using sanitary napkins as pressure bandages. I still carry them in my first aid kit. I mean they were designed for what? And they come in sealed packages

[DadScout]

Lynda - I think I'll stick with the standard first aid stuff. All I'd need is for one of those things to pop outta my bag. All the reindeer would laugh at me and wouldn't let me play in their reindeer games

However, you do deserve a nomination for a MacGyver award. If you'd made a sling from electrical wire and radiator hoses you'd be a sure fire winner. It goes to show what a little training and improvisation can do - save a life sometimes. Good job.

[ynotquilt]

Oh Lynda! You just made my day! I can see that happening. I lughed so hard here. Good timing for a lunch break

[JazerNorth]

To Each His/Her Own on their First Aid Kit. Here are a few links that give different suggestions, reasons, etc for the contents of a first aid kit (in no particular order):

http://kidshealth.org/parent/firstaid_safe/home/firstaid_kit.html
http://www.nyc.gov/html/fdny/html/safety/healthsafety_first_aid_kit.shtml
http://www.survival-center.com/firstaid/kit.htm
http://www.redcross.org/services/hss/lifeline/fakit.html
http://www.parasolemt.com.au/Manual/firstaidkits.asp

One great thing to remember is that your location will vary some of the contents in the kit. For example, in my area, we need items for frost bite, yet in Florida, they don't need items for frost bite.

I bought a pre-packaged first aid kit, and now am beginning to wish I had put mine together. That will be my next project.

Enjoy.

JazerNorth

[wagionvigil]

I have carried sanitary Napkins as blood stoppers for about 20 years. They are in my troop first aid kit and all my personal ones.

[baseballmike1124]

Thx all, sry i havent checked this in a few days...

I should have mentioned this before. But...this is for my frist aid merit badge...I think its #3 on the requirments. I dont need it to be a bag that an EMT carries, although that would look good. I just need some things that are
1. either I can find around the house, or are cheap
2. do the job
3. arent sanitary napkins...
4. only things that are essential in this requiment

THX again...

[ASM-142]

Thx all, sry i havent checked this in a few days...

I should have mentioned this before. But...this is for my frist aid merit badge...I think its #3 on the requirments. I dont need it to be a bag that an EMT carries, although that would look good. I just need some things that are
1. either I can find around the house, or are cheap
2. do the job
3. arent sanitary napkins...
4. only things that are essential in this requiment

THX again...

Besides the requirement, have you read the MB Book? This should provide you with the detail of what you need.

[riverwalk]

Yes baseball, numbers (in your last post) 1,2, and 3 all add up to meeting number four, haha. A home kit is easily made from improvised materials. And yes, the sanitary napkins and make-up brushes have a place in kits. And don't forget your magazines and newspapers for splints. Or, in a disaster, like we teach people to "Be Prepared" for, look around the house for improvisation. The first thing you teach someone about an injury (after prevention training) is how to treat it (it took MANY years to re-educate BSA about the order of the injuries, haha). Next, teach them how to improvise in said Treatment. Need a splint? Magazines destryed by water? Tear off the easily removed moulding components around the house. Most baseboards and dorrways have plenty, haha. When we remember Scouting's STOP acronym, we remember to Think.

[hops_scout]

But... if the National Council isn't going to use STOP, why should any Scout need to do so?

Besides, it is now STOPP---
Stop
Think
Observe
Plan
Proceed with safety

Just ask wagion

[riverwalk]

Hmmm, I haven't seen anything on that added P. Thanks:)

[Chief J]

...I bought a pre-packaged first aid kit, and now am beginning to wish I had put mine together. That will be my next project.

I tell all of our Scouts to put their own kit together. This way they know what is in it and where it is at. With a prepackaged kit, they may not know either of these.

During first aid simulations, I have had Scouts bring brand new (still in the wrapper) first aid kits, and not know (1) how to find, (2) how to use, or (3) not have then needed supplies for the emergency. These are not good scenarios when you add the stress and adrenaline of dealing with a real emergency.

Chief J

[Lynda J]

Kevin earned his First Aid at Merit Badge College. The instructor ask the boys to bring their "family" first aid kit. Well Kevin brought ours. WHen the instructor got to his she ask who it belonged to. She wasn't sure if he knew what everything in it was for. But he does. We sit down every three months and go through it and check dates on everything. Make sure that if we have used anything it has been replaced and in general simply unpack, clean and repack. She was impressed. It takes us about 20 minutes and we sit on the floor and talk. Good together time.

As far as those little prepackaged kits. They are great for the boys to keep in their footlockers or backpacks so that their 10 essentials requirement is covered, but they really need to open them up and know exactly what is and isn't in there.

[riverwalk]

My home District is planning a First Aid Meet, so any input I can pass along is appreciated.

Oh yeah, I forgot this in another post....teach kids (Scouting or not) wilderness survival for any area they'll be in. This includes learning STOP. One of the biggest problems with any "lost person, is that they move (not commenting about when one SHOULD move, haha).

[hops_scout]

Well, at the Jamboree this year, of course there were some difficulties. One day several of the members on the staff were given a small dog tag-type card that had the Army Core Values on one side and the STOPP procedures on back. It was always our joke among the tower staff about how we needed to STOPP. In fact, it was even put in my AAR that wagion got to read