Blow Out kits

This, in my humble opinion, is the bare minimum that a first aid kit should have. It should be on, or near you at all times. (By that I mean no more than 1 reach away from you). It is not meant to be a comprehensive kit, but rather something to hold the blood while you try to remember where your main first aid kit is. It consists of:

-Field trauma dressing x 1
-Band Aids x 5 (3 small, 2 large)
-Neosporin (I have individual packets, but a small tube will work)
-latex gloves x 1 pair

Place everything but the field dressing in a small ziplock to keep it dry. Place the ziplock and the field dressing into a small pouch (I use a USGI compass pouch) or pocket. Make sure that where ever you place this kit is accessible in a hurry. If you are with another person or in a group, make sure that they each have a blow out kit also, and that you know where there kit is. General rule is that if you are treating someone else, use their kit first, not yours.

Personal thoughts on treatment with this kit. One, this is my opinion, use it at your own risk. Two, get some training, its better than my opinions. Three, if it is a small, shallow cut that can be covered with a band aid, use pressure to stop the bleed, flush it with some TREATED water, cover it with some Neosporin and then a band aid, and go about your day. Check it daily, clean it daily, and recover with Neosporin and Band Aidat least once a day, more if it becomes dirty. Clean and dry are good things. Four, if its bigger than a Band Aid, or deep, cover it with a field dressing and start moving towards your main first aid kit. You are going to want to stop the bleeding with pressure before or as you move. It also needs to be cleaned, but not in the field. Get to a spot where you can set up a mini treatment center. With your main kit you will be better suited to cleaning the wound and dealing with closing it. Remember, the kit listed above is only to see you thru to the point where you can recieve/provide better medical care.

Phishi

 

Good points on each person haveing a basic minimal kit and useing thiers first. I was wondering tough were you mentioned about not cleaning it in the field. The way I have delt with it has alwayse been to flush it well with water or peroxide if available imidiately along with letting it bleed out for a few minutes before attempting to stop the flow, assumeing there have not been any artories or major veins hit (easy to tell by the pouring blood from a vein or spurting from any artery) so that the blood and water can flush any debris out prior to coagulation holding it in. An example on this is like when the back of my arm got laid open by a chain saw about 6" long and 1/4-3/8" deep, we ran about 5 gallons of water from the water cooler over it to flush it then most of a bottle of peroxide to semi-sterilize it. I had planed to have it sewed at home as we had all suplys since I had no insurance or workers comp but girl friend made me go to hospitol for a tetnus shot. Also my kit is a bit more basic but I feel covers more of a range, I carry around 10-15 feet of duct tape wrapped on a piece of plastic, a few 4x4s, 2 feminen pads, 1 needle, 1 razor blade, a couple packets of antibiotic cream. This way I can cut 4x4s as needed for bandaids and the duct tape seems to stick better than band aids when the area is wet or bloody, and if it is bad the pads will cover very large wounds, a needle for removeing splinters or lanceing when needed. Just what I have found to work best for me.

 

....Oh, also a bandana that can secure pads , be used as a turnicut if escential, and be used as a rag to help clean the area.

 

Monkey man:

Remember, the kit listed above is only to see you thru to the point where you can recieve/provide better medical care.

Think of this kit as a handgun. You use it to fight your way back to your rifle (larger med kit). It is not meant to do anything but cover a hole, hence my comment about not cleaning in the field. (I wasn't very clear with that I guess. )

I would not clean the wound until I had reached the larger med kit (that is where the supplies will be) and I had a spot to work. I suggest this for two reasons; one, it gives you a few seconds to gather yourself for the task at hand. Two, the area that you pick to make a mini work station needs to be as clean as possible. If dust is blowing about for instance, it needs to have the maximum protection available.

I like your version of my kit, especially the needle, good choice for removing particles. I use a set of tweezers to fill a similar role. You did the right thing with flushing out the wound with water, especially with the amount that you used. In my larger med kit, I have a 30cc syringe that I use for irrigation. It is the same thing that we use in the ER. The theory behind irrigation is that its the pressure, not the fluid itself, that blasts the bad stuff out of the wound. A similar item can be improvised with a camelback bladder, or a ziploc with a pin hole in the corner. Just fill and squeeze. Be sure to use clean (boiled?) water and watch that the spray does not go in your eyes.

Side note: For years we have been taught to clean a wound with iodine, hydrogen peroxide, or alcohol. That has been changes to clean water. (Soap is also acceptable, but not in the wound.) The idea behind the change is that anything but H2O is not selective in what it kills. That means that both the bad stuff, as well as healthy tissue, take a hit. What is left is this pristine valley that other bad germs can move into unchallenged. This greatly improves the odds of getting an infection. (Take it or leave it, but if you take it, save your hydrogen peroxide, its good for something I just can't recall it right now.)

Bandanna was on the list when it was originally posted at WR. Unforunately that post was lost, and with the new one, I must have left it off. Thanks for bringing it up. It is good for all the points that you listed, plus others!

phishi

 

Gentalman you have a very good discussion going here and some very good points !!
I like what I see ,as an old soldier from long ago. I would say bravo ,triple antibiotic is some of the best and I like the idea of kotex or even the smaller pads they will stop alot!! flushing the wound is a must . A shave stick is also very good at stoping the bleeding on it own or shaved to a powder !!
I don't know were ya all live but around here we can get antibiotics at southern states stores for horses and it is the same as the ones in the hospital ,FDA won't let the quality change just because it's for animals and they have either penicillin or titracycline and the needles to go with it also a chart that gives dose in pounds !!
To make normal saline you can use distilled water and 3 tablespoons of salt this can be used to flush wounds or eyes with little danger !! Superglue is alwaysgood for small cuts that may need a stich or two it may burn alittle but it works well !!


Again I like the way you guys think ,Magnus has put the good word out there and I think ya may see more here in the near future !! GOOD LUCK and keep up the good work!!!!!!
Cephus

 

I like the idea of the blow kit that fits into the USGI compass. Its a nice updated version of the stanard field dressing used for buddy or self aid. I think that a blow kit like this along with a smaller first aid kit similar thats can fit in a pouch the size of a condor EMT pouch or a USGI belt first aid kit (I call them airborne kits) should be standard among one's bug-in or out group. In addition for those who advanced medical training/knowledge they should carry a larger kit on them and/or in their back. I personally am currently running with a two field dressings in a compass pouch, a airborne kit on my belt and the contents of a CLS bag in pack. In addition I have medic bag in my truck and a larger cache of medical equipment in my house. My wife only has the field dressings and first aid kit.

 

Around here we have 2 big issues other than the usual injuries that occur while working or trekking in the wilderness.
Snake bites ( fer de lance, coral, eyelash viper) and Killer Bees.
The best thing you can have for these 2 things are a Sawyer extracter kit and a small vial if intramuscular antihistamine and a syringe .
A sharp knife it the preffered method of removing stingers because tweezers may squeeze more venom from the stingers. Scrape them out instead.

 

Same here Tico,
We've got Taipans, Brown Snakes, Death Adders ad hoc around these parts.
We don't leave home without our snake bandages.

 

Hey man. Lets have some detail on what you pack. Oz is one of the few places that has more poisonous critters than th Amerikkan tropics.

 

I know that this is an old thread, but I thought I would ad my 2 cents. My blow out kit consists of Athletic tape. It has more uses than just covering up a wound, and it is more sturdy than a band aid.

The best proven way to stop bleeding is by pressure. The other alternatives would be chemical cautery, such as with silver nitrate.

Irrigating the wound with water and applying topical antibiotics is always good, but make sure to get it in all the cracks and crevasses of the wound to avoid any abscess from forming deeper in the wound.

 

I forgot to add that if you are further from help and the wound is deep it is sometimes better to let it heal by secondary intent, which means not closing the wound. In which case wet-to-dry packing is very helpful in keeping infection from forming. This is done by get some gauze damp, but not dripping, and put it in the wound. Next, put a dry gauze on top and tape it down at the edges. This creates a sort of hydrodynamic vacuum that sucks the bacteria out of the wound. The dry gauze sucks the water from the wet gauze and this action will pull on any bacteria that are potentially in the wound.

 

Perhaps a second field trauma dressing??

There are some good posts in this thread. I do understand the reasoning for a minimalist but "always available blow out kit" on one's person, but perhaps if the threat environment has a significant gunshot risk, I would suggest that each person has two field trauma dressings....one for an entry wound....and one to cover the possibility of an exit wound. Just a thought on the one is none and two is one principle.

 

I would add a Ace bandage... it has multiple uses can kep pressure on a wound even if you passout, can be used as a constriction band if necessary, as well as fixxing sprains etc...

 

I would add some things. There are much worse things than losing blood.... air comes to mind.

Add:
Nasal Phayrangyls
Chest Seals (what we seem to be doing now is completely sealing the entry/exit wound- no more one way valve BS)
Chest decompression needles

Along with an Israeli style compression bandage (the old USGI trauma dressing sucks) I would add some Quick Clot Combat Gauze. We stopped using that old powder sh*t because of it's tendency to float in air and singe your eyeballs.

Don't forget tourniquets.... more than one. They aren't just for amputations.

All the above adds up to the most survivable battlefield in modern history. Just google the Improved First Aid Kit. Keep it trauma specific. Leave the boo-boo stuff at home. This is the failure of most FAKs IMHO. People want to take their boo-boo sh*t and then the thing weighs so much no one carries it where they will need it.

Be prepared to strip it to bare minimums. When I was out on SKTs and needed more ammo and water than FAK, I would strip it down to a couple tourniquets and some combat gauze. On a small team, you need to keep fighting. If it gets that bad, you need to be breaking contact. There's no time for BSing with elaborate combat life saver procedures. Priorities. And remember what was said above- all this is just to get me to chopper where I am less than 15 away from a functioning trauma care team. If SHTF, that ain't happening, so remember your capabilities.

 

The one item we carry (in our FAKs, BOBs and vehicles) is an Israeli bandage. A very small package of a few ounces has many uses, battle dressing, tourniquet, and a tie down for the bandaging. Google "Israeli bandage". Front line troops carry them. They are a great idea. They have been around for a few years. The cost is roughly $12 which is a bargain. I get mine through:
Bandage & Dressing (TMM-BA) | www.chinookmed.com
I have no connection to Chinook Med, but am a satisfied customer. Control of bleeding is paramount in an emergency and this bandage/dressing tool is ideal for that task. It really works.
One of these combined with a small FAK will allow you to deal with many emergency situations.
GB
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I agree mostly with your ideas about field emergencies, however, I have never heard of letting a wound bleed for a few minutes before dressing it. I would think that you need all the blood you have, especially if the wound is deep. Immediatly apply pressure and a clean dressing, then clean it thoroughly when you get back to your main supplies.

 

good info here. I need to get some snakebite prep - I will need to look up the Sawyer extractor kit.