Tag Archives: first aid kit

Momma Bear: Getting Out of Dodge B.Y.O.B.O.B.

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Bring Your Own Bug Out Bag – How Our Family Did It
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For most preppers, the first baby step we take is to create a bug out bag (BOB). For our family, living outside of Washington DC and very close to the interstate (which is sure to be packed instantly); with the potential bug-out being done without my active-duty husband, we took this step very seriously. Although my husband likes to travel light in the field (with the military), the BOB has to encompass a plethora of unknowns; with a 72-hour usage as the goal for packing. How much water should we take and how much water purification? How much gear should we plan for sleeping rough? How much food do we want to carry? What if it’s cold? What might we need along the route? The list pretty much goes on and on. And with everything, as we practice our drills, we tweak and adjust the items in the BOBs.

But once you accumulate all that STUFF, how do you divide it up between your family members? How do you ensure that each pack is sufficient should you become separated from the rest of the family? With my husband included, we have two men in the family. But us girls… we are kind of wimpy backpackers. Our daughter may be 5’7” tall, but she only weighs 100 pounds on a good day. So we have had to keep the girls’ gear lighter, packs smaller, but still able to meet our needs. We opted not to carry sleeping bags, but instead have military poncho liners and also the foil emergency bevy sack. The heavier items, that were not quite as essential, were distributed between my husband and my son. For instance, do we need a tent on the go? Not really, but life is a heck of a lot nicer in a rainstorm when you have more than a poncho for cover. And my husband can certainly shoulder that extra weight a lot easier than one of us girls can.

Other things that we customized in our bags were the first aid kits, the food items (curse those picky eaters who refuse to eat tuna!), and the quanity of fire making materials for each family member. For instance, our daughter suffers terrible migraines so her kit has special meds in it, plus sunglasses. Our son is allergic to insect bites so he has insect repellent, Benadryl, and cortisone cream. With the meds, I broke them down into tiny little baggies and wrote the directions on the outside with sharpie marker, including how often they should take the meds. And because our kids have only recently begun practicing fire making, they both carry lots of matches, lighters, a magnesium starter, as well as a ton of lint and other light-weight combustibles.

Having a Marine for a husband has assuredly made the BOBs an easier task. Some things I had never considered, or would not have considered as a huge necessity, such as laminating our maps. In case the SHTF, we are looking to move south, away from D.C. We have maps of both Virginia and North Carolina, that we got for free at the visitor centers on the main interstate, and each of us has one in their BOB (kids included). The other thing that the military training helped with was packing the packs. The military utilizes packs with lots of pockets and my husband was positively insistent that certain things go in those easy access pockets: first aid, water, food, weapons/tools. Other things, especially stuff you have multiples of, is removed from the BOB and carried on your person: identification, weapon, fire making items, any item that you could not do without (like migraine meds). Our family utilizes three different types of packs, so when we loaded them up everyone was responsible for their own; that way everyone knows where there things are. And, of course, we regularly break them down and repack them to keep familiar with the gear.

Our household also has pets, which we have not been taking into consideration for bugging out. Unless we are driving out, the cats will pretty much be left to their own devices, but the dogs will go. It is pretty unrealistic to think that we can carry enough food and water for them too, so we are looking to put them to work for us. All of our dogs are pretty good walkers (we have Jack Russells and Weimaraners), and we are looking to train the big dogs in both pack carrying and carting. But I will post about that another time.

Like all our prepping, creating your BOB. requires good planning. Again, a good BOB is designed for 72 hours of mobile usage – getting you away from a SHTF scenario. Focus on who, what and why. Who is the bag for? What do they need? And why do they need that particular item? Last of all, practice walking with your pack and readjust your items/bag as necessary. You want to be well prepared to survive, but you don’t want to break your back because you brought the kitchen sink with you. Happy prepping!

(Friday: What We Did This Week To Prep)

What’s In Our Personal First Aid Kits

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“Quick Grab The First Aid Kit!”
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There are many pre-packaged first aid kits (FAK*) out there, but I believe you should build your own. To help you do that I’ve included what I do, and don’t, include in my own personal FAK; my choices are based on over 10 years working in emergency medicine as both an Army medic and a civilian paramedic. When it comes to first aid kits (FAK*) I definitely believe in the KISS principle of: keep it simple stupid. My primary goal, for these kits, was to be able to stop bleeding–big or small–quickly and efficiently. Almost all items in the kit are related to that purpose – this is essentially a prepper personal trauma kit.

What is in our Personal Trauma Kits

  • cravat bandages – I believe cravats are the cornerstone to any FAK. I use them as pressure dressings, tourniquets, to dress wounds, and as slings – if one isn’t long enough, tie two together (or three). I prefer white ones so you can see if blood is soaking through, the military type are green which is good for camouflage, but bad to see blood.
  • 3×3 gauze pads (it’s what I had, 4×4 would be fine too)
  • assorted size band-aids – Because common things happen commonly and it’s important to control small bleeding also.
  • Quik-Clot Combat Gauze – A lifesaving product when it comes to bleeding. Applied correctly you can stop almost any bleeding in less than three minutes. (It’s expensive though, about $15 each.)
  • Wet Ones antibacterial wipes – To clean away dirt, grime, and blood.
  • Gorilla Tape (Gorilla Glue’s version of duct tape, without the sticky residue) – We made our own rolls containing about 25 feet of tape. It costs less than medical tape and works better. Always ‘tab‘ the end of any tape to make it easy to find and unroll. (If you already have medical tape, use the two-inch variety.)
  • trauma shears – Heavy-duty scissors to cut away clothing or cut bandages.
  • rubber gloves – I don’t believe gloves are essential, especially when working on family members, but they’re nice to have. They help protect you from blood borne diseases, i.e. HIV or Hepatitis (put in a couple of pairs, they can tear).
  • pouch – I like a clear one so it’s easy to see contents, but any small pouch will work.
  • red carabiner – (This is a ‘Trace original’). You/or someone else will have to be able to quickly find your FAK while blood is flowing. The red carabiner is attached with a cord to the FAK, then it is clipped to the outside of your backpack. When the FAK is needed, find the carabiner, open the closest zipper and pull out the kit attached to the cord. (We also use this on our BOB.)
  • LED keychain flashlight (not pictured) – These things always happen in the dark. Yes you have one on your keys (EDC), but it’s good to be redundant on some things.

That’s it, pretty simple and small; if it’s too big, people won’t carry it. Sarah keeps hers in her work backpack and the kids’ are in their school packs. All our kits are the same, so any family member could easily grab any kit and know what it contains. Could it contain more? Sure. There are even some items that would be nice to have that I didn’t include because of space. There are also many other commonly included items that I didn’t include because I  don’t believe they are necessary.

What’s Not In Our Kits:

  • medications – Though some OTC meds are nice to have available, they don’t belong in here.
  • alcohol or iodine wipes – The antibacterial wet ones are much more effective at cleaning, and less caustic on the sensitive damaged skin.
  • cold or heat packs – They’re useful, but they’re not about stopping bleeding. They also take a lot of space.
  • suture kit (or steri-strips) – Even if you have the knowledge to use them, wounds shouldn’t be closed until they are thoroughly cleaned. They should never be closed in the field.
  • sterile gloves – Why? Yes you should have gloves, no they don’t need to be sterile.
  • first aid manual – When blood is flowing it is not the time to be looking things up. Learn the basic skills required and leave the books at home.
  • CPR mask – We’re focused on stopping bleeding, if they require CPR–and you choose to do it–the mouth-to-mouth method can be used.
  • medical tape – It’s more expensive and other types work just as well.
  • emergency survival blanket – Space blankets sound good in theory, but they’re not so great in practice. They also take up too much space in a small trauma kit.
  • pre-cut eye pads – Overly specific item that can be improvised if needed.
  • abdominal dressing – Too big.
  • antibiotic ointment (i.e. Neosporin) – Clean the wound as best you can with the wet ones, then dress it. Worry about a more thorough cleaning and ointments, if necessary, later.
  • burn cream – Again, nice to have, but not in this kit.
  • Israeli Battle Dressing – I love these things (and have them in my home and BOB FAKs), but they were too big for this kit. I believe a properly applied cravat bandage can achieve the same goal.
  • ACE Bandage – I also like these a lot, but again too big. If you use them, wrap carefully to avoid tourniquet-like pressure – unless that is what you’re trying to do.
  • gauze bandage roll – Nice to have to dress a wound, but takes a lot of space.

Now build your own FAK. Think about what you are preparing for; remember back to injuries you, or others, have had and think what would have helped you treat those wounds. Put in what you want, know why it’s there and know how to use it – through practice, not just in theory. Own your FAK.

(Update: Since putting this list together I have also added a Combat Application Tourniquet (CAT), it’s a true 1-handed tourniquet that can be used on both upper and lower extremities. Also a pair of heavy duty tweezers (Uncle Bill’s Sliver Gripper Tweezers).

(Friday: What We Did This Week To Prep)

*For my list of abbreviations and other information, open the above ‘Check Here…’ page tab.

 

Knowing Your First-Aid Kit & How To Use It

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“I’ll Figure It Out”

Your loved one is hurt. Blood is flowing, you can’t even tell from where. It’s too dark to see well. It’s cold. You’re alone. They’re scared. You’re scared.

We all know it’s important to have a good first aid kit (FAK*). But even more important is basic, solid first aid knowledge. It’s easy to buy a super-duper, has everything–including field surgery equipment–FAK and think that you are covered when it comes to any first-aid scenario. But buying stuff is easy, you must learn the skills–especially when it comes to first aid.

Fortunately learning basic first aid skills is pretty easy: opening the airway, stopping bleeding, protecting the injury, treating for shock, cleaning wounds, etc. Unfortunately developing the proficiency to be able to quickly react and appropriately deal with these emergencies is much harder. Medical knowledge isn’t like riding a bike, it’s perishable – if you don’t use it, you do forget. That’s why medical professionals, at all levels, are constantly taking continuing education classes, re-certifying, and teaching others. I can show you how to put on a pressure dressing and you can practice a time or two – but a year later, when blood is flowing and must be stopped, you may not remember. You must develop the basic skills needed and then regularly practice them.

Back to the pre-packaged super FAK. Do you even know what’s in that kit? By knowing, I mean, can you identify each item, explain why it’s there, and do you have experience using it? My problem with pre-packaged kits is that everything comes in a nice pretty package, neatly stored in it’s own container, perfectly fit in it’s proper spot. Most of us prepper types–whether we want to admit it or not–are a bit OCD; we like things organized, and neatly put in their proper locations. So when it comes to that pre-packaged kit we do not want to open up all the little packages and see what’s in them, or move them around; we want them left alone, neatly packaged away, for a time we might need it.

But when we do need“it” too many people have the mindset: I’ll figure it out if/when I need to. That thought process implies that you’ll very quickly–under a stress-filled, potentially life-threatening situation–figure out what equipment you have on hand (and what you don’t) and how to skillfully apply it. That’s not the way things work; we don’t rise to the occasion like that. Instead we revert to the level of training we’ve developed proficiency at.

What I recommend, when it comes to your FAK, is to build your own (I differ from some other medical people on this). There are medical people who say that FAKs aren’t like putting together a fire building kit or a BOB; that people don’t really understand what is needed in a medical kit. My response to that is if they don’t understand it, it shouldn’t be in their kits. If it is important to you to have a good FAK, then it’s important to take the time to assemble it and know what each item is and why it is in there.

Also, the side benefit of making your own kit is that you will save money. Anything that is labeled for medical purposes and/or individually packaged costs more. Once you understand what an item is you may not have to buy the medical version of it, ie. a cravat bandage and a bandana are about the same thing. And it’s always cheaper to buy items in bulk.

On Wednesday I’ll write about the FAK my family members carry on a regular basis. What we put in them and why. It’ll be sort of anticlimactic because it’s really just a simple kit. But each of them know where their FAK is, what it contains, and how to use each item in it.

(Wednesday: Quick Grab The First-Aid Kit!)

*For my list of abbreviations and other information, open the above ‘Check Here…’ page tab.