Originally Posted by
alpinist
Okay, I'm a n00b here, just bought my bike a few weeks ago, just started commuting, and recently read this entire thread. Lots of helpful stuff.
One thing I'm curious about... I only noticed first-aid kits mentioned 3 or 4 times in over 400 posts. Maybe it's a carryover from years as a climber and a mountaineering first aid instructor (I'm sure it is, actually), but do all commuters ride without thinking about this, or do they just rely on the cell phone for accidents? I suppose most riding is done in a city, 10-40 minutes from an EMT, and the EMT is 10-40 minutes from and emergency room, but...
I always have a first-aid kit when I climb, and have one in my car, and they even have one where I work. In my trunk bag I put just a couple of compresses (sanitary napkins work, too) and a half-dozen huge (road-rash sized) band-aids in a heavy zip lock, along with a couple of pairs of latex gloves and a disposable camera. (I know cell phones have cameras, but I don't always carry mine. Document, document, document - license plates, locations, people... Don't need to write stuff down. No dispute. Yes, I am a geek. I've used the disposable cameras in car accidents a couple of times - keep one in my glove compartment - why not keep one with my bike, too?) I just zipped this stuff up in a side pocket in my trunk bag and I will now forget about it. When I get panniers, I will throw the same set of stuff into a stuff sack and do the same. Just leave them there, and hope I never need them.
-climber and ski patroller here. There isn't much you can do or carry that will save a life, just like wemt and wilderness environments/scenarios, so I don't think carrying a med kit is really necessary.
In an outer pocket I have an accident kit which contains, a disposable 35mm camera, sharpie pen, and ziplock-sized first aid kit. I carry some 4x4s, a gauze roll, and quickclot (
www.zmedica.com). Quikclot is about the only life saving thing you can carry in a small kit. EMS is less than 10mins away. If I have an injury that could kill me in 8mins, nothing I carry will be able to fix it (again minus the quick clot).
For those that aren't familiar with it, in its testing quikclot had a 100% success rate in severed femoral arteries in cows. The control subjects obviously died in minutes. It can stop big arterial level bleeds in short order. It's expensive, but it literally can save lives and it's over the counter, available to anyone. It's also inert so you don't have to worry about allergic reactions.
...and you should trade your latex gloves for nitrile given the prevalence of latex allergies.