Went climbing a multipitch route this weekend. Beautiful day, great climb. Then at the very end, there was an accident while belaying and the climber dropped the last 15-20 ft into the bush and rocks.

Massive edema in the forehead, cut eyebrow swelling right eye shut, large gash to ankle. Lacerations on other parts of the body. Probable concussion.

So what did I learn while patching him up?

1) I need god damned scissors. I usually have my pocket knife, but left it at home that day for some bewildering reason. But I need damn scissors to cut the bandage.
2) Tape. I shouldn't have substituted out tape with a bandage roll. Some areas are much better with medical tape (eyebrow).
3) More alcohol wipes. Either that, or have a large syringe or something to irrigate out the wounds.
4) More gauze. I had 6 4x4 sheets of gauze, I needed more.
5) I need to place the pair of gloves front and center. Because they were hidden in the back, I started dressing/cleaning before donning on the gloves. Fortunately he was clean.

Less random stuff like burn/itch creams and more basics. Keep the basic booboo patches separated from the misc stuff like moleskin/ace bandages/thermal blankets so I waste less time digging through my pouch.

It was a gorgeous rock to climb though...

I have never needed my kit thankfully for anything serious.  You comments mirror everything I have ever read though -- lots of gauze and tape is a must have.

Kudos to you for having a thought-out kit and the knowledge to help!

Trauma shears are a must in my opinion. I've had good luck irrigating with with contact saline solution. Also, I carry multiple alcohol pads as well as BZK towelettes.

In addition to the 2x2 and 4x4 gauze, I also carry a trauma dressing, z-fold gauze and a roll of kerlix for large injuries.

You can use any potable water for flushing wounds; poke a hole in the cap of a water bottle and have at it.  You won't get the pressure that a syringe will but you can kinda substitute volume for pressure; flush a lot.  Most first aid kits I've seen, among non-EMS/emergency types anyways, are always low on bandages.  In my experience, I'd rather drop some of the less common stuff for more bandages, especially 4x4s and ABD pads.  Stuff some gloves in a Ziploc and put them at the very top/opening so that you remember to put them on when you open your kit.  Put your trauma dressings in another Ziploc bag under the gloves- if you have a trauma then they are handy right there but it also means you aren't digging through your bag with bloody hands and getting the rest of your contents nasty (saves you money).  If you don’t need them then you can put them to the side and they stay together and clean in their bag.  Obviously I'm a big fan of Ziplocs.  Either secure your trauma sheers on the outside of the kit or put them on top of your stuff.  If you think you might need them stick them in your boot/waistband/whatever so you don’t have to go rooting around for them.  

In my experience, it’s handy to have at least two first aid kits in your vehicle, a nice general purpose kit is great but thankfully more often than not we only need a Band-Aid, some ibuprofen or Tums or something else minor.  For that I have one of the little first aid kits that Toyota put in the FJ Cruisers.  Any handy little bag will work, I just happen to have been given that one.  I modified the contents a little including some of the packs of meds like you get at the convenience store (more expensive but no need to open a whole bottle of something you won't end up using all of), adding more Band-Aids, knuckle bandages and a tube of pain relieving triple antibiotic ointment (great for when you rip a nail or something that’s minor but annoyingly painful) and stuck some Velcro strips to the back and stuck it to part of the sleeping setup in the back of my truck.  Before that it just rode behind the driver’s seat.  It’s easy to grab when I slip while cooking on the tailgate, hooking up a three point hitch on a tractor or any of the other myriad other little task where we just don’t want to bleed on stuff or get more dirt in it or you just need some headache meds.  It’s also easier to replace stuff out of and keeps me from raiding my other bag.  


JMHO


ETA- WOW! I just looked up the Toyota kits out of curiosity and Toyota wants like $40 for them - insane, especially given the little bit of stuff that comes in them.  Almost any bag will work.

Very informative post.  Thank you.

Excellent post OP.

I like AARs.

I wish there was a tacked thread in the survival forum.

Can BZK towelettes replace alcohol wipes? Or do I still need to have both. Looks like BZKs do a better job disinfecting without the sting?

And I yeah, I'm a convert to the cult of ziplocks. Very useful for collecting all the bloody scraps afterwards and I'm guessing you can use it to seal off a wounded area in a pinch.

If your going to the ER, I wouldn't worry about wound irrigation or disinfection. Use what limited supplies you have to stop any bleeding, stabilize and make the patient comfortable.