AMK medical kit .5 - a quick look...

[Martyn]

Id like to say fell asleep but it was awake one minute with a headache in a restaurant talking then next sliding down a chair, I blacked out for want of a better term. I didnt feel sleepy or tired, I just went out like a light. Its very odd. The warning should not say "may cause drowsiness" but more "Dont make any plans!"

It may be that it has a more profound effect on you because of your previous neurological problems. Probably one for you to avoid. I'd also be wary of taking any other drug which contains doxylamine.

[benp1]

I agree with Noddy in that kits I make up are better for me as I remember whats in them!

I have made up a 'spares kit' which I lob in my daysack when i'm out for a wonder. Its got a mini FAK in, plus duct tape on a credit card, floss and a needle, head torch etc. Its pretty small and fits in any pack easily. Just means I don't really have to think about it.

I should do a review of it at some point

The only thing I always carry with me are plasters, as I lob in them in my wallet. They are the most useful thing I could carry, and they're used surprisingly often, on someone else typically. I carry duct tape and a safety pin on my keys

[cave_dweller]

Looks ideal, thanks for the review - I started with a small kit that was very similar to this, which I put together myself. Somehow it seems to have grown!

I agree about burn dressings, though I'm never really sure what works - I've got a couple of sachets of Waterjel in my kit, but I've no idea if it's any good. Any recommendations?

[Manofkent]

That looks like a nice bit of kit. I was going to put something like this together but it might work out cheaper to buy this.
It is very strange to be missing a triangular bandage.
I tend to only take triangular bandages with me as you can use them just like any other bandage as well as slings and improvised carriers.

I agree with the need for tape. But I dont see tick removal and drugs as first aid, so i'd rather keep them elsewhere.
My first aid kit is a torch, scissors, gloves, small knife and as many triangle bandages as will fit. The rest is all secondary if someone has an injury. But this look slike a great little pack for the price.
Thanks for the review.

[zatoichijones]

Great thread, its made me think about what I really need. I currently carry a Lifesystems pocket kit with a few added extras. I'm going to replace the bandages with more useful items and one thing I suffer from are horse fly bites, any advice on the best thing to put in the kit for when the Jungle Formula just dosen't work.

Thanks.

[Martyn]

That looks like a nice bit of kit. I was going to put something like this together but it might work out cheaper to buy this.
It is very strange to be missing a triangular bandage.

As I said, this kit impresses me by what has been left out as much as what has been included. If you carry a shemagh, bandanna, space blanket, disposable poncho, microfibre towel etc then why carry a triangualr bandage? It's just dead weight as any of the other items can easily be put into service in that role. Your FAK doesn't need to be comprehensive in isolation unless it's for public use. If it's your personal FAK, then it's part of your general kit. There is no need for a torch, because I always carry a torch, there is no need for a knife, because I always carry a knife. Why carry a bloodstopper if you have a shemagh/bandanna/t-shirt/microfibre towel etc? It's supposed to be a lightweight kit and part of that is looking at things and asking if you have something else that will cover that role? Removing redundancy, rather than adding it.

Everyone is different, but for me, I like to look at what I'm realistically going to need. Doing a sort of risk assessment of the activity and then tailoring the kit to suit. Foot care is my main priority. If your feet are knackered, you lose the ability to move and it's game over. All it takes is a bit of trench foot and a few blisters and it's time to go home. I'm most likely to need blister management kit first and foremost. So the Benzoin (or Betadine), moleskin, safety pin, duct tape and anti-bacterial wipes are are things I cant easily replicate or do without. So they earn a place in the kit. In fact for me, there could be more blister products. I will probably add a sheet of uncut moleskin and another 2 or 3 Benzoin ampoules if I can find them and probably a couple of strips of Kinesiology tape. Others may not have this problem, but I know if I dont use foot powder, I will get athletes foot sooner or later, so that gets added.

Next is hand care. General grazes cuts and scrapes are almost guaranteed. I could get away with using the duct tape, but as the likelihood of getting these types of minor injuries is so high and the weight penalty of carrying a few plasters is so low, it's worth it to me to carry some. I'm already carrying antibacterial wipes for clean-up. I will almost always be using a knife for something or other, probably when I'm tired and probably in a situation outside of my normal comfort zone, so I have to consider the possibility of a self-inflicted knife injury to be fairly high. There are other realistic dangers too from barbed wire, old nails in bits of wood and so on. So antibacterial wipes, betadine or some kind of antibiotic ointment, gauze pads, non-adhereant dressing, steristrips, tape and a small bandage earn a place. Enough to close and protect a fairly minor, but potentially serious sharps wound and prevent infection of the same, that would otherwise ruin your day. I'm always messing with stoves or fire, so a minor burn is a very real possibility. In fact a decent gel-type burns dressing is one thing that is missing from this kit - probably for cost reasons, but I will be adding one. A brand type burn from a hot stove part is nasty and painful with a very real risk of infection. The availability of clean, cold water is limited, so a way of cleaning the wound, cooling it and protecting it is well worth adding. Those small gel plasters are very good and I will be adding a couple to the kit.

Next is insect attack. This is very location and season specific, but for me, mozzi bytes, ticks and stings are the biggest issue. I usually get one or all of the above. They are not a massive problem but the skin irritation can drive you nuts. The ammonia based bite relief wipes work well and are light weight. Given that I will almost certainly get bitten or stung by something, they earn a place. Ticks can be removed with a fingernail, but there is a good chance of leaving the head behind and squishing the guts into yourself. It's worth carrying a tick tool to avoid this.

That pretty much covers all the things that I am most likely to encounter on a routine basis. So that basic risk assessment pretty much dictates what I need to carry on a routine basis too. The frequency with which these injuries might occur, also dicates how many of a product to add. For example, antibacterial wipes are useful in most of the above, so I would make sure I had several. It's also pretty much the same kit that is included in the AMK .5 kit, which is why it's impressed me.

Obviously you can add stuff. But i would do the same risk assessment before adding anything, rather than just throw things into the kit because they look useful or because I can conceive of a remote situation where I might need it. For example, if I routinely carried or used an axe, I would consider the possibility of an axe injury to my lower limbs to be significantly increased. I would therefore consider carrying something to deal with that kind of specific injury to be sensible. Perhaps an Israeli bandage and a packet of celox gauze. But if I didn't routinely carry an axe, i wouldn't routinely carry the dressings for an axe injury.

Things like cardiac arrests, broken legs, severed arteries, gunshot wounds, decapitation etc, are always a possibility, but realistically they are fairly remote possibilities, are either impossible to deal with on an ad-hoc basis or the kit you need to deal with them is heavy and bulky. These kinds of major injuries will always end your trip. They constitute an emergency and require a different approach. Knowledge, training, common sense and improvisation are the best first aid tools for these situations - and a mobile phone (or some way of getting help).

[Manofkent]

Nice - I've ordered 2 of these. I found amazon to have the best price without a delivery charge. I'm looking forward to having a play around with it.

[Martyn]

Looks ideal, thanks for the review - I started with a small kit that was very similar to this, which I put together myself. Somehow it seems to have grown!

I agree about burn dressings, though I'm never really sure what works - I've got a couple of sachets of Waterjel in my kit, but I've no idea if it's any good. Any recommendations?

I think the hydrocolloid gel dressings are much of a muchness. One I've used in the past is GlacierGel which seemed to work OK, Spenco 2nd skin is supposed to be good too. But I think there are lots out there. They can be used on small blisters too, or hotspots to prevent them turning into blisters. If you just search for hydrocolloid gel plaster and take your pick. The waterjel dressing you mention are usually for fairly large burns - IIRC I dont think they have an adhesive or film backing and need to be secured somehow - usually with a burn film or similar. If that is the dressing you mean anyway? Good for a basecamp kit, but I think they are a bit too specific and hardcore for this kit.

[rojaz]

Good review Martyn - been threatening to get a kit for a while so I have ordered one of these. Where do we get Betadine from in smaller quantaties? Seems that it's no longer available in UK.

[cave_dweller]

The watergel dressing you mention are usually for fairly large burns - IIRC I dont think they have an adhesive or film backing and need to be secured somehow - usually with a burn film or similar. If that is the dressing you mean anyway? Good for a basecamp kit, but I think they are a bit hardcore for this kit.

The ones I have are just 4gram sachets of gel - no dressing. I think they are just intended to be poured/squeezed directly onto the burn site, then dressed separately if needed. To be honest they 'crept in' one day when I was reorganising my kit, and I've never used one.

This kind of thing makes me realise that stuff needs to earn its place in a small kit - it's kind of pointless having stuff in there that is not going to get used, and since I don't know how efficacious these things are (or indeed how to use them properly) I should either decide that they are worth keeping or take them out!

[Martyn]

Good review Martyn - been threatening to get a kit for a while so I have ordered one of these. Where do we get Betadine from in smaller quantaties? Seems that it's no longer available in UK.

I cant find it in the UK either except from Amazon in 1 pint bottles (expensive too). But you can get it on ebay in little 15ml bottles - comes from Thailand. I've had no problems. I bought about 1/2 dozen bottles in the end.

[Martyn]

The ones I have are just 4gram sachets of gel - no dressing. I think they are just intended to be poured/squeezed directly onto the burn site, then dressed separately if needed. To be honest they 'crept in' one day when I was reorganising my kit, and I've never used one.

Can be used to take the heat out of a burn in the absence of cold running water, or as a dressing but would need covering with a film - clingfilm works in a pinch. Not a bad product at all, but probably not something I'd carry in a little kit. It's all the little things that add up.

[Nice65]

EBay. I'll find a link.

Here you go.

This and micropore were absolutely the most useful items in my evolving Thailand FAK.

http://compare.ebay.co.uk/like/26069...var=sbar&cbt=y

Half a dozen bottles!! My single bottle lasted years.

[Martyn]

Half a dozen bottles!! My single bottle lasted years.

I've got half a dozen FAK's - at least.

Besides, I'm quite generous with it, every cat scratch, cut and graze gets a soaking. Not just a drop either, but a good irrigation. I used a whole pint on one dressing at work once - mind it was a substantial wound.

[Martyn]

BTW, in case you haven't, try transpore as an alternative to micropore - tons better IMO.