Cotton ball for puncture wounds. Or on the outside of a bandage where continuous pressure needs to be applied. Or wet ones for polishing boots. The in store ones often have acrylic to help scratch off fingernail polish. The pure cotton ones are good for smoothing soft polished surfaces when they're wet. Jumbo sized so there's enough surface left when you pinch it to move it about.
In my younger life I was an ocean lifeguard and served in the Air Force as a Pararescueman(PJ), and it looks like your first aid kits are packed out right well. You can also use those "Cold Packs" on people that are suffering "Heat exhaustion" and "Heat Stroke""(To put in the armpits and on the neck). And you might think about getting some epi pens, to counter act the effects of those allergic to insect stings...such as bee and wasp, should you or someone you encounter exhibit the allergic reaction that leads to shock. Another useful bandage to have in your first aid kits, would be that of an "Occlusive bandage"...these bandages are for puncture wounds and more so for puncture wounds to the chest(Pneumothorax). Also think about getting "Splint Ladders" and or "Air Splints" for twisted ankles...minor bone fractures and dislocated joints. "Finger and toe cots" are easy to carry along too, as they don't take up much room in your kits.
But doctors won’t prescribe epi pens in the Uk unless u have a previous anaphylaxis emergency to what I gather I could be wrong in the Uk that u won’t get one unless u had an attack , but please do correct me if I’m wrong , as my dad has just got an epi pen and he would not of got one if he didn’t say that he had one before as he’s been allergic to bee stings since the day he was first stung years ago!
Vet wrap here is available at horse supply places. Self sticky over- bandage wrap and much cheaper than Kling or other First Aid supplies. Here it comes in all sorts of odd colors but that's okay. It also holds pressure on much better in case of bleeding.
I think the EU guidelines are more to do with the minimum that needs to be in a kit in order for it to qualify as a first aid kit, this is important because some european countries require cars by law to have one. Your first aid kit certainly looks well stocked and pretty comprehensive. :)
As far as hyperglycemic, not sure where you live but here in the States we can purchase small tubes of nonsugary paste. easier to carry, won't melt, an little to no choking hazard. Also good idea to ask person if they have/ use epi-pen. They may not be able to administer it.
Don't get this treatment unless you are trained to administer it. The 'paste' referred to in this comment is better known as "D50W" or DGlucose!...only TRAINED "First Responders" should administer this. Never put anything in the mouth of a "Victim"/"Patient", unless you know the "Indications" and "Contraindications"! btw Hyperglycemia has nothing to do with an "epi-pen"...and for that matter, any other diabetic condition.
You should also carry anti allergy dressings (some people are allergic to some dressings) Cotton wool can be used after a sterile dressing is applied if the wound is bleeding a lot (never remove a dressing to apply another in this case) Never give anyone pain killers, even if they say they've used them before Never move a casualty after an accident, keep them as still as possible, you don't know what internal injuries they have (including spinal) I would encourage EVERYONE to take a basic first aid course, having to look up a booklet when your dealing with someone else is not great for giving confidence to that person, many companies offer a 'first aid at work' course I have done first aid at work courses, plus a couple of advanced courses with paramedics.
I loved seeing this. My husband was an Emergency Medical Tech. and your kit is pretty great for someone that isn't in the medical field. Only one correction. Change the gloves to one of the other two you showed. Many are allergic to Latex, and the reactions are very bad, if they are. I believe the Nitrile is the common one used today. (check that though) It's been a while since I have kept up with the Emergency Med. Kit. Bless, Sheila
Hey Rick, a few suggestions for additions you may be interested in - aspirin? Think that's still good for someone having a stroke to chew one of those. Anti-histamines in case of any allergic reaction or bite, good old fashioned painkillers, and something for a dicky tummy? Not that I like using those but great if you're out of the house and you need to put the slow down on things! Love the new camera.
Medicines should NEVER be included in a First Aid Kit. Not knowing your first aid patient's MEDICINAL needs or intolerance could have devastating effects or even death if you administer something wrongly !
Thanks Rick. You shud check out leukoplast (Very strong plaster tape.). Can you make a similar video about microphones? I know you have an old one but that was several years ago.
Very useful i will be making some of these kits myself, i no where your coming from about not wasting a doctors time for a small cut etc, I was at the GWH hospital a few weeks ago as my daughter fractured her collar bone we waited 5 hours before we was seen buy a doctor, not the doctors fault just not enough of them for the size of our town, anyway moaning over enjoy your day lets hope we see the sun today.
At the beginning, you said you "regularly maintain...3 first aid boxes". Just how accident prone are you?! I've not had 3 first aid boxes in my life! Nice video all the same. When I next go on holiday, I'll find out where you are, injure myself and then call out for help! Kudos to you though for being prepared. If you add in all the excellent suggestions for additional medical stuff, you'll need a trailer and rename your channel RickMedVanMan! Let me know when you get the student nurse! All the best and have a great week! Love your videos and I'm glad you sorted out the RU-vid excess workload. ;-)
Those Sterilizing Cleansing wipes are 'banned' because they contain alcohol. The Scissors are also good for cutting away clothing (ie trouser leg) to examine and treat a laceration underneath although you might consider buying as 'surgical sears' for this purpose which are designed for this very purpose.
makes me think we should have more than just bandaids at home :) we were advised to keep plastic bags at work for severed limbs and jelly beans for people who may need a sugar boost for hypoglycemia. Nice manicure by the way :)
Sounds like uni life is more dangerous than i thought Be aware that someone could be hyperglycemic too, if you give them sugar you can make them more hyper, look up the info for treatment, or get to know your friends, if they are hyper it's good to know how to use 'the pen' if they are not capable. Jelly beans are ok, though you can get glycerine soft tablets, put the sweetener between teeth and cheek and let it dissolve, never directly into the mouth as they could choke.
Just as an aside, that looks like a new camera your using. Is it a DSLR? The focus is particularly good in closeup, better than I would expect from auto focus. Great look to the video.
That looks like a lovely bit of kit. I have recently started learning DSLR photography as I am getting more interested in controlling the different aspects of photography and video. My little Sony AX33 is a great piece of kit but it is an auto everything camera with limited manual control. I am therefore interested in the options available. I am having to stop myself from doing something really stupid and getting a Black Magic Cinema Camera. I keep telling myself it is too much machine for my current skill levels. I will wait to master the entry level DSLR first before I allow myself to give into temptation. Of course Libby will also kill me :-)
Also steri strips aka wound closure strips are good for cuts where normal plasters can’t stick due to it being in a awkward place, I cut myself with a knife not so long ago and these strips came in handy! Nope your wrong with the wipes as , at my sixth form center we have these in , and kits you buy online for workplaces actually have the wipes still in. As I’ve brought refills before for first aid kits and have come with wipes, your thinking of alcohol as your not meant to but people do like me as it cleans but their is something what makes them not for wounds but i can’t remember why.
When I saw Homemade I thought you were going to be growing cultures to make penicillin and all the herbs to make ointments :-) I do know what you mean though, creating your own little kit is a good idea.
There's this book "When All Hell Breaks Loose: Stuff You Need To Survive When Disaster Strikes" that you might find interesting. I've actually used some of the info in it.
Hi Rick, Lois here. I used to suffer with IBS really badly and after removing cheese from my diet which seemed to make it worse and attempt to get enough sleep at the same time each night which a lack of also made it worse (worth keeping a dietary and lifestyle diary for a while to discover what makes it worse) it wasn't as bad but was still there. Then about 20 years ago I went organic over night and 8 months later my IBS disappered, and now I can eat cheese again :-) I would imagine that you may already be organic but if not it may be worth a try. Interestingly at the same time I got spots on my face which I thought was acne but turned out to be Rosacea and was given the antibiotic Oxytetracycline which I took for many years as it controlled the Rosacea. When I looked that up I found it was one of the main antibiotics used in farming, So I probably had Rosacea before that but the Oxytetracyline that I was getting in my non-organic diet was dealing with the symptoms! It was only then that I attributed the ease of my IBS to being organic as both these things happened at the same time.
Do you have the supermarkets ALDI in the UK? A friend of mine used to have IBS problem and it disappeared only eating organic food from that supermarket. It is expensive but, as you said, he gets full much quicker and their non-bio organic food is also pretty healthy and not expensive. You should try it :)
I'm a trained first-aider and liked most of your video (with a few exceptions) metal tweezers are a no go! They should be plastic, and then disposed of after use. But as a "personal" kit I'm not going to kick up a fuss about that. What I do take excepetion to are your latex gloves... please get rid of those! You only need to wear them when treating someone else (and you should AWAYS use gloves when you do that). BUT, people can be severley allergic to latex, so treating someone while wearing latex gloves can cause further complications you're not equiped to deal with such as difficulty breathing etc... Switch them out for powder free nitrile gloves instead, never use latex products on someone, they may not even know they have an allergy.
Glad to hear it, they tend to use latex gloves in hospitals because they are less susceptible to breaking and they are easier to put on. But in a hospital they have more information on the casualty and they are fully equipped to deal with any reaction that may occur.
Seems excessive to have multiple first aid kits around the home and I suspect your unique in domestic purposes for your first arrangements, ive yet to meet anyone who is so concerned about said arrangements within a domestic environment but good luck in your videos. Its important to add that H&S does not apply to domestic environments too, EU regulations are to ensure that all equipment is tested and generally acceptable and safe to use.
