First Aid Stuff
 

For either group rides or solo rides, are there first aid kits that would be ideal for the type of boo-boos that could occur on a bike ... or is it best to create a kit out of recommended medical supplies?

Are there medical items you would carry if riding solo for several hours ... and perhaps very minimal medical items you would carry on group rides ... or do you always carry the same stuff for solo rides and group rides?

I just carry some 'bandaids' and some cream to put on scrapes, have not used any of it though...
peace

+1
I picked up a small first aid kit at Wal-mart for a few bucks located in the camping/hiking supplies. I also added some of those small alcohol wipes used by diabetics to wipe the skin just before injecting insulin. They're good not only for cleaning the skin there also great for cleaning a tube just before you apply glue and patch. Professionals should look at injuries larger than what a small first aid kit could handle. I carry an old Cell phone that’s good for calling 911 and don’t pay for service for it so all it's good for is calling 911. You can normally purchase them in thrift stores for $1. This allows you to simply hand that old cell phone to the injured person and keep going if there scared to talk to you or refuse help for the same reason. I've given several of them away over the past several years. I always leave my address on the phone and have had a couple of them mailed back with thank you letters.

Hmm. Thinking as a minimalist here:

1. Antiseptic wipes for cleaning off road rash and cuts.

2. Duct tape, which can be used to fashion slings and dressings, and on the trail you use it anyway.

3. Some sort of bandage material.

That's it.

It would be up to the individual to carry his own epi-pen if he had bad bee allergies and such.

Coban would be nice to have if you had room for it. You can get the same at a feeder supply store sold as "vet-wrap".

What's an epi-pen and can you use it to sign for coban, whatever that is?

Defibrillator

My Red Cross training shows here - I carry a little kit sold in the camping supply section (sticky bandages, blister stuff, antiseptic), plus a clean cotton bandanna and a couple of maxi-pads. Bandanna can be used as a sling, or soaked in water to cool someone off who's heat-sick, and the pads make the best pressure bandages out there. It's all very well to call 911, but you can't leave someone bleeding from the femoral artery until the pros get there!

I strongly encourage everyone to do a first-aid and CPR course. You never know who you might help one day.

I have a small first-aid kit in my bag and I've used it several times. I haven't had the need for it but I've passed out supplies to riders who have had a fall and need to clean the wound. I always carry the cell phone and have had two occasions where I needed to call 911 for help with riders needing medical attention.

When riding with the park volunteer program we have waist packs with quite a few first aid supplies, extra tubes and tools. The park provides CPR and First-aid training each year.

I carry a small first aid kit made by Johnson and Johnson- it has bandaids, antiseptic wipes, antibiotic cream, ,tape, and non-stick bandages. I like buglady's kit, though- I think a maxi-pad and a bandana make great additions. Thanks for suggesting!

I carry my insurance card.

Best thing I've always carried is a bandana. Got to use it as a tourniquet on someone who had crashed, at full speed going into a curve, into and over a guard rail.
Great on a hot day . . . soak it in water and use as neck/forehead cover. Use it as a rag if need be. Water in waterbottle can be used to clean up cuts/roadrash. Also carry couple ibuprofen/aspirin.
Make up your own mini-kit and always carry it.
Better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it.

Instead of duct tape, I have a roll of 3M Nexcare Transpore tape, the plastic kind. It is used in hospitals to bandage hard to bandage areas, like knees & elbows. And it tears easily.

I figured it would allow me to tape up scrapes, turned ankles, hold things together on my bike, and I even used it once to tape my long pants leg when I forgot my Fred strap.

This tape combined with a little first aid cream and a tissue makes for a good bandage.

I found a good bag (notch above ziplock bag for $0.50) that could work as a first aid bag, when looking around for headsweat gear. So far, all first aid stuff recommended by the gang could fit into this bag. Okay, everything but the defibrillator, but my 220 volt power chord is too short to make the defibrillator practical.

The Do Wrap company also makes a slightly smaller bag, that comes in silver, which would be easier to see in the dark.

http://www.dowrap.com/Merchant2/grap...-wallet-tn.jpg6.5" x 4.5"
http://www.dowrap.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=DWMWC&Category_Code=WP

I carry a 3" x 3" bandage, a banaid or two, some gauze and alcohol wipes, all things that would have come in handy after my crash last summer. The maxipad reminded me of the military battle field dressing, basically a maxipad with really long cloth strips on either end. I suppose one of these could be used as a sling as well. It's been a while, but as I recall, they might be a bit bulky. I may look into one of these at the local surplus place.

It's used by people with an allergy to bee sting. If you are allergic, when stung, blood pressure may drop beyond the danger point. Use of an epipen without the allergy can raise bp to the point where stroke is a possibility.

My first aid kit, as someone already mentioned, is a couple of alcohol wipes for cleaning a tube before patching. I guess it's for first aid, too.

I don't have any bandaids, but I carry a bottle of Brave Soldier antiseptic.

Whiskey

Yikes! :eek:

Too many John Wayne movies there, big feller.

If someone gets an injury to an extremity and starts bleeding, apply direct pressure to the artery rather than use a tourniquet. Ya use a tournequet when you think you have to sacrifice a limb in order to save a life.

but the bandana would help you to apply the compression....

I'll follow the clues from the B-Girls (Buglady & Beverly) and carry a small kit. I used to always carry one when my transport was a motorcycle for twenty years. I only had to use it a few times in twenty years, but like zonatandem said, it's better to have one and not use it, than drip blood on new bike leather because you don't have a medkit.

Are there some good online locations we can go to, to look at medkits and medstuff that would be practical for cyclists? I would want to also look at ankle wraps like Tom mentioned, that would be good to have when cycling if you've had a recent turned ankle (avulsion, distal tip, fibula), because I think I've been given a weak right ankle for my 50th birthday.