What do you have in your first aid kit?

[KeithFarrell]

As the title asks, what do you keep in your club's first aid kit?

We tend to have a very basic kit at all of our meetings and events:
- plasters
- bandages
- medical scissors
- aspirin
- wipes / tissues

I want to develop a better and more comprehensive first aid kit for our organisation, especially for the bigger events that we run. In any case, a search for "first aid kit" on this forum revealed no previous discussions, so it might not be a bad thing in any case to share what we all have in our clubs.

[Phil C]

Standard first aid kit as provided by our venues, with a school-owneed Data Protection Compliant Accident Book.

Comfort box- having plasters and aspirin in a separate container avoids needing to use the DPC Accident book

[KeithFarrell]

Comfort box- having plasters and aspirin in a separate container avoids needing to use the DPC Accident book

Very good idea, I like that!

[Magnus Hagelberg]

As the title asks, what do you keep in your club's first aid kit?

We tend to have a very basic kit at all of our meetings and events:
- plasters
- bandages
- medical scissors
- aspirin
- wipes / tissues

I want to develop a better and more comprehensive first aid kit for our organisation, especially for the bigger events that we run. In any case, a search for "first aid kit" on this forum revealed no previous discussions, so it might not be a bad thing in any case to share what we all have in our clubs.

I would add 85% alcogel for cleaning your own hands when dealing with wounds.
perhapps some surgical glowes?
have some Ipren + Panodil handy.
Medical Pincers.
Nedle point plier -handy for plucking out splinters and such.

[Phil C]

If armour is present you need to add tin ships, bolt crops and eye protection for the snipper, snippee and anyone else who is holding them down as you cut through their pride and joy to release them.

[Angantyr]

I bought a standard first aid kit meant for sports as a base and then I pimped it up with some small items.
- Medical scissor (that "blunt" one they use at hospitals to open up clothing)
- Tons of ice packs
- Rubber gloves
- Tourniquet (Yes, that hated thing. I was taught how to use one, and the day a major artery goes at training I will be happy that it's there.)

I am in need for a needle point plier, but its all coming out of my already exhausted student economy.

btw: Worth to mention is that the kit included a small "what to do folder" with nice clear pictures. Nice to have.

[Claudia]

The one thing that I found most frequently lacking were a good amount of ice/cooling packs. That's probably the stuff that is most useful for the common injuries (apart from plasters).

[Dave B]

the thing I always add are the squeezy bottles of eyewash, but then we also play with blackpowder - usefull in lots of other eye injuries though.

[Mark T]

SAM Splints are handy to have on hand in case of broken bones.

[Joeli]

With sprains and wounds, I try to go for convenient means for cold and compression.
For the former, instant cold pouches are very inexpensive. You just squeeze and shake the bag and you have ice flakes.
For the latter, I've grown very fond of self adherent wraps, usually made from polypropene or spandex. Few wraps of it on the injury creates a sort of rubbery cast with fair amount of compression and support. In case of large amount of bleeding, put some wound pads underneath. It's also ace for a quick knee or ankle support in case of a sprain. The unhealthy part is, that it should be changed often as it does not breathe, but as first aid I find it pretty foolproof. I like that it does not come off by itself, you actually have to cut it open with scissors.

On smaller nicks that you just want to keep clean and get back training, I don't bother with actual plaster bandages as they tend to come off while fencing and sweating. Instead, I use several layers of fiber tape, the skin coloured papery stuff used for securing bandages. The glue of the tape shuts the wound and holds it together like a butterfly tape, and the porous material of the tape can suck some of the seeping while letting the skin breathe. Again, it's not the best bandage in regular use, but it gets you back fighting faster and with less mucking about. Three layers of it becomes pretty tough and its not going to rip or come off by accident. And if you really need a proper plaster, a small sterile wound pad on the injury taped with liberal amounts of fiber tape is hands down better than plaster. On the other hand it will take the hair of the skin with it when you take it off...

[Thallian]

I would keep the aspirin but be very reluctant to hand it out. It's not the best thing to use when you are bruised or bleeding as it thins the blood and potentially worsens the situation.

Personally I like Ibuprofen gel for local pain and swelling relief. Ibuprofen in capsule and tablet form are also fine but MUST be taken with food as it's rather hard on the stomach lining. A drink of milk will be fine for this purpose also. Be aware that not everyone can tolerate it.

Admittedly, a first aider should not hand out medication. I carry a few assorted drugs in my first aid kit anyhow as I know my sparring partners and am therefore aware what they can and can't take. It's more a case of having some painkillers if someone asks for them.

I also like to carry sealed bandaged that come with a sterile pad attached. These are very expensive over the counter top but quick and easy to use, which is useful if someone received a cut and is bleeding heavily.

I would also suggest you stock up on sterile wipes. They are very useful as you don't want to seal metal, dirt or shreds of fabric into the wound.

Generally I don't think you need much in your first aid kit, unless you are somewhere an ambulance can't reach you easily.

If I am out in the middle of nowhere for some reason I like to carry a couple of rescue blankets (the heat insulating foil type) - one for my casualty to lie on and one to drape over him, in case the casualty can't be moved. That is especially the case with broken bones or dislocations as any attempt to move them could cause serious ligament or cartilage damage. Best to leave them well alone until help arrives.

[Steven H]

I'll add my voice to the importance of ice packs. They address the most common kind of problem. They provide the most useful and immediate benefit to keep fighting/competing.
Also, ibuprofen for pain and swelling is gonna be better than aspirin or acetaminophen.

For Longpoint I brought a 5 lb. bag of ice and a box of ziploc bags. It was well used and well appreciated. As was the 500 ct. bottle of ibuprofen.

Cheers,
Steven

P.S. Other things, like bandage supplies are gonna be used as well but not as much.