New item for the first aid kit?

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andrewspens

andrewspens

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Okay, how many of you would consider using this on yourself or your cutting partner? Suture kits have their place, but you have to hold still for a while while somebody sews you up. At least with this, you could repair yourself.

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/t.../search-box.jsp.form23&_dyncharset=ISO-8859-1

If the link does not work right, go to cabelas.com and put "stapler" in the search window (top right on page) this should be the only item that comes up on the search.
 
best recomendation

I forgot who posted it, but the best idea that I saw, and the one I adopted is a box of kotex and a roll of duct tape. When I thought about it, if you hurt yourself with a chainsaw odds are that you are going to need something beyond what a normal first aid kit contains. JR
 
You do not want to sew or staple foreign matter into a wound! You are much better or using a compression bandage and maybe Celox or QwickClot. Smaller cuts should be rinsed for several minutes in clean plain water, no soap, then bandaged. Medical help should always be sought as soon as possible. Keep your vacinations up too.

A small pocket or belt first aid kit should be with you at all times and a larger kit should be in the truck. There are many suppliers, my choice is Chinook Medical for supplies and Countycomm.com for a pocket kit.

http://countycomm.com/
http://www.chinookmed.com/
 
andrewspens said:
Okay, how many of you would consider using this on yourself or your cutting partner? Suture kits have their place, but you have to hold still for a while while somebody sews you up. At least with this, you could repair yourself.
Click to expand...

I would use it on my partner -- human or K-9! :) Not sure I would want either one stapling me, though!

Then again, most of what this accomplishes could be done with butterfly strips, and they certainly aren't nearly as invasive.

Not all injuries in the woods involve chainsaws. There's always those punji sticks hiding in wait for your shin just on the other side of that log you're stepping over. Or the widowmaker that misses your helmet and gets you on the shoulder... Lots of ways to get hurt out there.
 
I've kept super glue in my kit since the late 80's. The number of slashes and gashes I've closed up...way to many.

Even if only to close a wound while I'm finishing a job, then heading to the hospital. Flush the crap out of it, close it up in a few spots, bandage...then see a Doc. ASAP.

Staple gun? Not sure I'd go there.
 
I really like the idea!

i515247sn02.jpg

The first thing a Game Warden will ask a hunter in the field (here Colo.) is if there carrying there Game Licenses, the first thing they will ask a Big Game Guide is if he is carrying a currant First Aid Card.

If I could beg one thing from everyone reading this, it would be to get some wilderness first aid training.
 
Amateurs, all you really need with you is a needle and thread just like Rambo. In case of a real emergency, just pull out your husqvarna sewing machine!
 
Not a bad idea but I like sutures better. I keep some in the kit and have used them in the past (not for chainsaw cuts). Quick clot works well along with tampons. Never tried duct tape! I have read that instant potatos work in the place of quick clot, but have never seen it with my own eyes.
 
Celox and a compression bandage are the only way to go. Lots of reasons to not staple yourself up. You could easily do more harm than good. Celox will stop the bleeding and can easily be cleaned out by the medical folks.
 
lcso10 said:
Never tried duct tape! I have read that instant potatos work in the place of quick clot, but have never seen it with my own eyes.
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And you have something to snack on while you're waiting for evac! :hmm3grin2orange:

Duct tape. I've been an EMT for 25 years, and when I was riding with my local volunteer EMS service we got a call to take an old timer to the hospital. He had been to the hospital a couple of weeks before for a sore on his ankle. The nurse told him to "...keep it dry and keep the bandage on..." so he took it literally. He never changed the bandage. As one soaked through, he put another one on top. Finally couldn't get the tape to stick, so he duct-taped up his whole foot.
When I got him into the ambulance I gently cut off the tape to see what we were dealing with. Got overwhelmed by that awful smell of gangrene. Never did follow up on that one, but I wouldn't be surprised if he ended up losing his lower leg.
 
jra1100 said:
I forgot who posted it, but the best idea that I saw, and the one I adopted is a box of kotex and a roll of duct tape. When I thought about it, if you hurt yourself with a chainsaw odds are that you are going to need something beyond what a normal first aid kit contains. JR
Click to expand...

:agree2: :agree2:
Search and ye shall find: it was I ( begging for rep ). BUTT, then, as usual, the thread went downhill with the cognoscenti here elaborating on "sanitary napkins", and "tampons" and the difference thereof.

The combo of Kotex ( Super ) and duct tape is all you need, all you could really do for yourself to stop bleeding out. One problem I had before using PPE after CPL and GOL training: the duct tape over a deep cut say on your left thigh, is difficult to remove in the ER. Your wife and nurses seem to get a kick out of the man pain: "would you like it pulled off fast or slow ? " :(
Unless, like some here, you shave your legs.
 
ShoerFast said:
I really like the idea!
i515247sn02.jpg
The first thing a Game Warden will ask a hunter in the field (here Colo.) is if there carrying there Game Licenses, the first thing they will ask a Big Game Guide is if he is carrying a currant First Aid Card.
If I could beg one thing from everyone reading this, it would be to get some wilderness first aid training.
Click to expand...

I'm taking the Wilderness First Responder program certification in a couple of weeks here in Maine given by Wilderness Medical Associates. Been awhile since I renewed Emergency Care, and methods have changed drastically. CPR is a whole new technique. The emphasis is on in the field assessment and life care away from professional help.
There are programs all over the country now.
 
For smooth cuts, like knife and axe. Super Glue. It works instantly, not permanent of course but will do in a pinch.
 
A good medical kit (not a $20 band aid kit) is always in each of my vehicles. That presupposes the wounded can get to the vehicle. I view first aid kits as for minor injuries that make like inconvenient or possibly infectious. The equipment to clean and cover and seal things up is in those kits.

For crisis care, auto accident, or life threatening injuries, all that really matters first is to stop leaking out blood fast. What was recommended to me for saw work is to carry a maxipad and a tourniquet made from narrow bicycle inner tube with fastex snap buckle pre threaded on the ends. In a small pouch on the belt of my chaps.
His theory was if you take a serious wound, there is not much time to get things bound and fastened before possibly blacking out. No time for tape, or two handed applications or knots, etc. The fastex snaps with one hand, in messy slippery situations, and stays latched.

Haven't used, hope to never use, but the other person has. I've seen a coworker die in front of me (car accident), and seen enough serious industrial injuries first hand to know the small things don't matter, but being overly cautious about the big things that can kill me is just about right for me.

kcj
 
Great post, Kevin.

There will be no time for sewing or stapling when the blood's gushing.

Rep to you.
 
kevin j said:
A good medical kit (not a $20 band aid kit) is always in each of my vehicles. That presupposes the wounded can get to the vehicle. I view first aid kits as for minor injuries that make like inconvenient or possibly infectious. The equipment to clean and cover and seal things up is in those kits.

For crisis care, auto accident, or life threatening injuries, all that really matters first is to stop leaking out blood fast. What was recommended to me for saw work is to carry a maxipad and a tourniquet made from narrow bicycle inner tube with fastex snap buckle pre threaded on the ends. In a small pouch on the belt of my chaps.
His theory was if you take a serious wound, there is not much time to get things bound and fastened before possibly blacking out. No time for tape, or two handed applications or knots, etc. The fastex snaps with one hand, in messy slippery situations, and stays latched.

Haven't used, hope to never use, but the other person has. I've seen a coworker die in front of me (car accident), and seen enough serious industrial injuries first hand to know the small things don't matter, but being overly cautious about the big things that can kill me is just about right for me.

kcj
Click to expand...

Kevin, agreed.

Couple of years back I was first on scene of a nasty T-Bone crash. Passenger in the S-10 took the impact, head went out the busted window.
Nothing in my first aid Kit would cover the neck wound,Cut off his shirt and jacket sleeves and whatever else I could grab to apply. The guy bled out on me.
He'd have been dead anyhow from other injurys, but it got me to thinking and asking questions.

I now keep three white hand towels, three Maxi pads,an old uniform belt, and a roll of duct tape in a ready bag with a space blanket.

The first aid kit is basicly for Booboo's that aren't immediately life threatening and allow for keeping crud out on the way to the doc, or to get back to going about your business.
I am not an EMT so there is no call for the big bag of stuff I dunno how to use.

You can splint with just about anything and duct tape.

Towels and Maxi-pads will cover just about any survivable wound while applying pressure and cussing minuites that take hours while waiting/transporting to professional care.

CPR/ first aid class knowledge would seem to cover just about everything else.

With saw accidents, you're either gonna dance around cussing, or need to stop some serious blood fast. There really isn't an inbetween.

Stay safe!
Dingeryote
 
kevin j said:
there is not much time to get things bound and fastened before possibly blacking out. No time for tape, or two handed applications or knots

kcj
Click to expand...

Yep! That is why the military comperssion bandage works so well. Instant application. A tourniquet should accompany it along with a clotting agent.

Staples and sutures don't work in the field esp when only the sawyer is there. Forget about being Rambo and go with what the military is currently using for trauma care. Don't staple crud into yourself.
 
usually super glue will do the job, it keeps out things that could get in it later and it will bond and hold instantly, plus its painless. The stuff they use in the hospitals now is pretty similar to superglue, it is liquid and it hardens up and then deteriorates like stitches, but doesn't require actually puncturing skin, holds stronger too. Although for a chainsaw wound forget it, dont bother trying to sew yourself up or waiting around with staples, get yourself wadded up with blood stoppers and get to the ER, best thing to do.
 

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