Medic Bag

[Cobra]

Dad grabbed me an old medic bag from the PD, told me to put stuff in it for the post.

What all should I insert in there as far as medical supplies?

[darrell]

bad aids, bandages, cloth wrap, med tape, latex gloves CPR 2 way valve,

[Cobra]

Heres all I got in there...

Latex Gloves
Zonas Porous Tape
Gauze Sponges
Cover Sponges
CPR Microshield
Cotton Balls

[Cobra]

Sounds good, I was just going to use cotton balls to get em wet and clean out the blood to see what I was dealing with. Those shall be removed.

[Cobra]

Sounds good, thats my job when im on details. Always there before the actual medics, nice response time eh? :p

(also doesnt hurt that im within 500 feet of the person all the time though...I can brag about something, cant i?)

[Toeknee112]

Don't forget the Tenaculum Forceps, Sphincteroscope, Splanchnik Retractors, Periosteal Elevators, Pituitary Rongeurs, Nerve Separator Spatulas and the Duckbill Rongeurs! :D

[DeputyMadMax]

I keep a blood pressure cuff in mine. Not to take blood pressure with though. I keep it in there in case of a bad bleeder on an arm or lower leg where you might need to use a tourniquet to stop the bleeding. By using a blood pressure cuff you can stop the flow of blood on a larger area, causing less tissue damage, lessening the chance they will require the limb to be removed. You can only have a trurniquet on for a very short time before it destroys the tissue. Also if it's a wound like a bullet hole, you can use the cuff to cover the wound and keep pressure on it.

All this and I'll probably never use it. But I'm rural, so you never know.

I also keep an Ambue (sp?) bag so I don't have to breath on them.

[Cobra]

I have what your talking about (Ambue), its a nice tool to have.

[Oldbillplod]

Put in one of those magic sponges that our English footballers have, they can go down with allsorts of injuires but one rub with the magic sponge and they are as good as new again :rolleyes:

[Switchback]

If you can get a hold of some, get some TraumaDex. The stuff is awesome for the real bleeders you may come across.

[Strijder]

Might want to use Vinyl gloves instead of latex. Latex allergies are rare, but can be deadly. The ski patrol where I work is trying to get away from it.

Some of the things in our patrol packs that you might use: (links for clarity, not for supplier recommendation)
Vinyl gloves
CPR Mask w/ one-way valve
Kling gauze wraps
Waterproof tape
4x4 gauze pads
6x6 gauze pads
sponges
adhesive bandages (std, 1x3, 2x3)
Cravats aka Triangular bandages (for slings, support, wrapping over gauze, etc)

That said, we're trained to approximately the EMT-Basic level, so you'll want to find out from your dept how far you're allowed to go in bandaging, etc, with the training provided to you as an Explorer. You and the dept might not be covered by Good Samaritan laws if you mess something up, so don't be suprised if they limit what you're allowed to do.

If you're really interested in this sort of thing, see if the dept is willing to help your explorers become first responder certified.

[Joeyd6]

Get lost of Purell waterless soap. You wil want to wash your hands and stuff 100 times a day. I keep a large bottle in my bag with Johnson & Johnson Baby Shampoo. Why that? If your partner misses the perp and maces you....use that. It will get the stuff out a lot faster than water which will just spread it.

[ngcsubutterbar]

since switch already mentioned blood stoppage gear, there isn't much else I can tell you, except to make sure you keep it current.

[paramoron]

All you need in a "medic bag" :

- Gloves (I like Nitrile, but any kind will do, even latex in a pinch)
- 1" and 3" tape (Dermicel or some good cloth tape like that, that porous stuff is useless)
- 2" roller gauze (aka "Kling")
- trauma shears
- a bunch of 4x4s and a couple of 5x9s, maybe a 10x30 trauma dressing if you're feeling really ambitious
- a few triangular bandages
- a SAM splint if you like, though you can usually improvise something better than this with material available at the scene (like a rolled-up newspaper)
- cell phone to call for an ambulance with paramedics who know what they're doing and will just have to re-do anything else you try to do anyway.

If you're going to bother carrying around a bulky kit anyway, just bring a BVM and oral airways instead of a CPR mask. That way you don't have to get your face all goopy, because they're going to puke. If you don't know what a BVM is, just stick with the CPR mask.

As for getting sprayed with OC, the best treatment I have used is to have the patient stand with their eyes open in front of the A/C vents in the back of the ambulance.

What are you EVER going to use cotton balls for?

[corporal716]

Get some of those chemically activated cold packs. They can help control swelling.