MichaelW

Do you carry one ? What is in it? Have you ever used it in anger?
Have you got any first aid training?
Any experience of serious self-administered first aid?

I carry a pretty minimal one, some antiseptics wipes, plasters, dressings, wound closures and mild painkillers, basically a road-rash kit. Ive used it for very minor grazing.

wmcmiii

I'm about to go on a 4 month tour in Patagonia and I'm taking everything you mentioned as well as antibiotics, major pain relievers, nausea medication, diarrhea medication, and a few other things that I can't remember.

I used to be a licensed EMT so I have that training under my belt.

Once while backpacking a friend and I gave a third friend stitches with a sewing needle and fishing line. The friend doing the actual stitching was a med student with some experience, but it was still a pretty extreme experience!

DavidARayJaxNC

Ive been in the marines for 5 years and have a lot of first aid training. I think any first aid kit would do, but you need some additions, in my opinion, extra gause, iodine, extra ace badages, and quick-clot. It is something that can clot open sore quickly, for us when someone rips their leg open and you can not stop the bleeding. It saves lives. It is a must have,

Bekologist

I've never used one in 'anger' but have put my first aid kit to plenty of use.

I find most used items are:

pain killers, antidiarrheals, salt tabs, decongestants, and moleskin. For fixing up wounds, i find Coban and Steristrips to be one of the best ways to go. Much superior to butterflys, gauze and tape.


I don't believe the quikclot used by the military is available over the counter; side effects from and misuse of a quickclot dressings are issues.

to be prepared to contain and self treat for more serious injuries, add irrigation syringes, Coban, Steristrips, and a lot more trauma dressings, i.e. lots of gauze, or a maxipad or two. Sam splint. eye pad. dental packing.

wmcmiii

+1 for the coban. After the above poster mentioned the quick clot I looked it up and I found a few places where you can buy it online. About $22.

vik 

I carry a very minimal kit unless I plan to be somewhere really remote. If I am touring anywhere that I can flag down a car in a reasonable period of time I would use that as my back up plan if there was a more serious emergency.

If I was going somewhere that I would have no contact with anyone for days at a time I would bring a more comprehensive FA kit. I think the best protection you can take into remote areas is the attitude that you cannot afford to have a serious accident and behaving appropriately.

Losligato

The book "Where There is No Doctor" is a wonderful book for those considering traveling beyond the HMO covered world. It tells you all the things those other travel medical books will not (or can not) tell you because of liability as it is written by a non profit foundation. While it is far too heavy to carry on tour, it has a good section on first-aid kits and makes fascinating reading.

We took it on our VW trip through Latin America and Africa and it saved us several times.

wmcmiii

Thanks for that link, Losligato. I poked around on their website and you can actually view that entire book (as well several others) on their website here: https://www.hesperian.org/publications_download.php#wtnd

jibi

I second the fishing line as a useful addition, very strong and can be used to repair clothes and tents too.

In Patagonia the roads leave a lot to be desired and coming off can lead to serious road rash, I used :-

https://murl.se/16979

and find the TravelPharm site a good place for loads of info.

OT
wmcmiii
Say hello to the folks at Erraticrock hostel in Puerto Natales for me.

george

bccycleguy

What kind of First Aid kits do the more experienced Bike Tourists carry?

I can think of a few items that I would change from my regular backpacking first aid kit, such as take out the blister-related supplies and add some large, non-adherent patches that would be appropriate for a road rash if you were to wipe out. Maybe also an eye wash cup (~10 grams).

From my own Touring experience, something for diarrhea like imodium (loperamide) for that bad hamburger at a greasy-spoon.

Any suggestions, and how much does your first aid kit weight?

NoReg

I really don't carry much except seat related stuff like Peneten light cream. Other than that I carry some stuff to stop bleeding, anti septics, less than a pack of cigarettes in total. I think the basic issue beyond any medication a person carries for particular conditions, is to ask yourself what kinds of thing you would be able to treat, how likely they are, whether they are likely to happen to you or someone else (Trauma is more likely to happen to me than the driver who hit me, so he better be carrying something for me!), and what are the external sources of First Aid. I'm not a big believer in generic kits.

I don't think anyone ever died of road rash, though I carry a lot of water. Also I don't move that fast on a touring bike, it's mostly in a straight line, I wear trousers most of the time though I'm the exception in that regard, etc... So I just work it out for myself, everyone is different. Your idea of an eyewash cup is a good one. Those lightweight medicine cups would be good for that. I haven't ever hurt an eye, but it could happen and a quick rinse at the right point might be a good thing.

Cave

Think about what you will commonly need, and what you hope you won't need - but will really need if you need it!

I take a slightly larger kit - fits in a lunch-sized ziploc - but then again I'm a doctor and usually am a designated first aider in groups.

My aim is to be able to treat the common stuff, and to stay alive until help arrives if the problem is a big one.

Common problems:
- Saddle rash
- Knee/ankle/back/neck/wrist/elbow pain
- Sunburn
- Hypothermia
- Hyperthermia
- Cuts, scrapes, road rash, splinters
- Diarrhoea/gastroenteritis after not washing your hands at that greasy-spoon
- Dehydration
- Blisters - eg. riding in the rain, your usually comfortable gloves soak through and start rubbing away at your rain-softened palms
- Dust/other foreign bodies in the eye
- Allergic rhinitis / hay fever
- Insect bites

Important stuff, less common:
- Snake or spider bites
- Sprained ankle
- Major trauma
- Infections from any of the above
- Anaphylactic reaction to bites or other allergens
- Asthma, heart problems, diabetes may play up with physical exercise - but sounds like you don't have any of these.

My list: (sometimes supplemented with a few emergency drugs)
- Paracetamol (acetaminofen): General painkiller.
- Ibuprofen: Painkiller/antiinflammatory. Nb. not safe if you are dehydrated.
- Gastrostop: Emergency antidiarrhoeal. Nb. for temporary use only, it only treats symptoms and can be dangerous in some cases.
- Cephalexin: maybe not for your kit unless you have medical training. One of the safer antibiotics and useful for skin/soft tissue infections.
- Antihistamine: I take zyrtec 'cause the tablets are tiny and easy to swallow. Expensive. Lots of alternatives.
- Strapping tape: a non-elastic tape used by physiotherapists for strapping knees/ankles etc. Also good for blisters, for immobilizing sprained ankles and for holding dressings in place. Nb. skin reactions to this are not uncommon.
- Band aids / self adherent dressings: cuts/scrapes etc.
- Hypafix/mefix/fixamul: a non-woven broad tape that is used to hold other dressings in place. Also very good for blisters, road rash, severe sunburn (or superficial blistering burns in general), etc. etc. This stuff is great.
- Non-adherent sterile dressings - to cover large wounds
- Antiseptic - I take chlorhexidine/cetrimide aqueous solution; iodine (Betadine) is also good
- Sterile saline for washing wounds and eyes
- 2 ACE elastic bandages for snake bites and immobilizing fractured limbs
- Needle for removing splinters
- Super glue (I use a medical grade called Dermabond) for emergency "sutures" for wounds or cracked heels
- Aluminised mylar emergency blanket
- Sunscreen
- Lots of water
- Sugar sweets
- Zinc oxide cream - for sun or wind protection, emergency saddle cream (it works but there are better options).

Most of the above is very compact, but the wound dressings and the ACE bandages are bulky, and the strapping tape is somewhat bulky. You can get very compact synthetic gauze bandages that are almost as good but perhaps 1/3 the bulk, I would recommend these for most people (not cotton crepe bandages).

Some of the above overlaps with the rest of my kit eg. super glue, sunscreen, zinc cream, emergency blanket, water, gatorade powder, sweets.

If going light you can get by with duct tape, super glue, a few bandaids and thin dressings, savlon cream as both antiseptic and chamois cream (or ditch the heavy cream and use chlorine or iodine water tablets in water to wash wounds), 2 ultralight bandages, emergency blanket and some ibuprofen.

jwa

Agree!

Also, where are you touring? If you pass through towns a couple of times daily, you could purchase whatever non-emergent supplies you need - ace wrap, etc - assuming you can make do with "standard" touring supplies in the meantime (duct tape in place of ace wrap, for instance).

Like you, I pack my backpacking kit for cycle tours without major modifications. Actually, I carry less medical stuff cycling (I don't bring SAM splint, venom sucker device, etc) than backpacking - but I've only toured eastern & midwestern US, with civilization within reach. Probably change my mind touring the Australian outback, Central America, etc - maybe western Canada, too!

The few medicines I carry are similar to Cave's (I'm a doctor too) but in place of Zyrtec (antihistamine) I bring a couple tabs of Alavert (a brand of orally-dissolvable loratidine) because I fall for the marketing pitch that the dissolvable tabs might work faster for allergic reactions to beestings, etc.

Cave

What do people take? Here's more-or-less what's in mine (changes a bit depending on whether I'm a nominated medico on an organised tour, or just travelling by myself).

- Small roll of mefix / hypafix / fixamul tape
Best thing I know for road rash / superficial burns / blisters. Lasts for several days before it gets too grimy. Sometimes you need a bit of vegetable oil to loosen the adhesive if you want to take it off.

- Leucoplast or similar non-elastic strapping tape. 1-inch wide.
Good for strapping knees / ankles, general purpose tape (you can tear it easily if it has a serrated edge), also good for putting over areas that rub to stop blisters.

- 2 x bandages. Either elastic bandage (eg. ACE) if I don't mind carrying the weight (eg. I'm a nominated medical volunteer on a ride, or I think I'll need them); or ultralight mesh bandages if I'm on my own. Used in case I need to immobilize a limb for snake bite, or a fracture, or in addition to the leucoplast for supporting a sprained ankle.
I recommend the light mesh bandages, they work OK and are really compact.

- A couple of non-adherent dressing pads and some plain cotton gauze. For covering wounds that I can't just cover with mefix.

- Superglue (I use the medical stuff) for wounds I'd otherwise have to suture. Never used it on the road, I've always just put a dressing over it and gotten the person evaced, but I carry it anyway in case I get a cut myself and need to deal with it.

- Antiseptic solution. I like cetrimide (savlon) or Betadine (povidone iodine). Dettol needs to be diluted so I don't like it. I also sometimes take along a dressing pack (sterile dish, gauze, cotton, plastic drape) but they're a little bulky.

- Couple of band aids.

- Barley sugars (or other sugar snack), emergency blanket, spare water on the bike. Very definitely used!

- Paracetamol, ibuprofen - pain killers/antiinflammatory. Also a couple of soluble aspirin tablets.
- Zinc cream. Works as sun block and also as barrier cream or chamois cream.
- Zertec / clarityne or similar non-sedating antihistamine - for hayfever, or as part of treatment of allergies
- Gastrostop - in case I really need to travel and the gastro won't stop
- Couple of tablets of antacid
- Stingoze or some vinegar - stops itching from mosquito bites

Some more exotic stuff:
- Antibiotic tablets. Usually some cephalexin for skin wounds. Sometimes also ciprofloxacin or tinidazole if I'm worried about dodgy food or water-borne infections.
- I might carry a minijet of adrenaline. Not 1st-aid territory, but every so often there's a Pulp Fiction moment.
- I also take a small needle, a scalpel blade and a big intravenous cannula, not sure why as I can't imagine too many circumstances where I could safely manage anything that needs them on the roadside. Oh, actually, I've removed some splinters with the needle a couple of times!
- Maybe some ventolin, in case some kid on their 1st big bike ride has an asthma attack. Never used.
- Maybe some anginine spray, in case some guy has a heart attack on his 1st big bike ride. Only ever used back at base, never on the road so far.

KLW2

Wow!
Are you a doctor? I just carry some standard stuff but then I'm not touring outside the US yet..then it will be more comprehensive.

neilfein

That's quite the extensive list. I'd add:

• I have bad knees, so I take along an elastic knee brace.
• Neosporin for cuts
• Ibuprofen

reiffert

Basic FirstAid / CPR courses...... More important to know how to react, clean and dress or treat an emergency than to assume the 'directions' in the kit will suffice when the time comes. And if you have a steady touring partner, they should be trained likewise in case it is you on the ground.

My kit more closely resembles a bike portable version of the NASD First Aid Kits for Tractors and Home lists (https://www.cdc.gov/nasd/docs/d000801...6/d000816.html). One thing I've added is an irrigation syringe and saline packets. Fits in a rubbermaid container in front pannier.

If I were to redo it, I'd probably just go with a good kit from REI or RedCross and add some stuff for sunburn, indigestion, roadrash....

Advil, sanitizing wipes, antibiotic cream and a couple of bandaids are duplicated in the daily toiletries bag, of course.

Cave

Yeah, I'm often a designated medical volunteer on group rides, so I carry enough to deal with cuts/scrapes/breaks/sprains/whatever until the ambos arrive.

My sister asked me about first aid kits, I thought I might post on it as well.

I agree that knowledge is more important than equipment eg. treating snake bites with compression bandages and immobilization, not by cutting and sucking like in old Westerns.

Cave

BTW all the above fits in a medium ziplock bag, less if I leave out the dressing tray and use compact bandages.

staehpj1

What size do you call medium?

staehpj1

We started out with the following on the TA:

1. Ibuprofen
2. Benadryl
3. Band aids
4. Ace bandage
5. EPI Pen
6. Prescription medicine
7. Gauze pads
8. A roll of 1"gauze
9. Adhesive tape
10. Bactericide
11. Moleskin
12. Steri-strips

After living with that for a while and after an accident I decided that more and larger gauze pads were a good idea as was wider and more roller gauze.

We found it surprisingly hard to find decent width or length roller gauze in rural Montana. We quickly figured out that it was easier to find first aid type stuff for horses there. They had some really nice roller bandage for horses and came in it nice large rolls and pretty colors. It worked well for people and even matched the patient's jersey.

twodeadpoets

My wife and I are WEMTs (Wilderness Emergency Medical Techs) and don't carry much as we can improvise quite a bit (slings, traction, splints, neckbrace, et al). What we do carry is similar to staehpj1

1. Ibuprofen
2. Aspirin
3. Benadryl (an epi-pen if riding with more people)
4. Albuteral
5. triple ointment
6. Second Skin (for blisters and other heat related injuries)
7. assorted band aids
8. Coban self-adhesive wrap (cleaner and lighter than an ace and self-adhers)
9. a handful of 4x4 gauze pads
10. a roll of gauze
11. triangle bandage/sling
12. adhesive tape
13. Steri-strips
14. irrigating syringe
15. narrow tweezers and small magnifying glass
16. several pair of latex gloves sized to fit both of us (XL and Sm)

Everything fits in a small zippered first aid kit.

positron

Potentially useful in some parts of the world are needles, scalpel, sutures etc. that you KNOW to be sterile, in the case that you end up in a clinic and they are about to administer something using a reused needle or otherwise.

best to have your own, and demand it is used.

Im thinking subsaharan africa here really...

tpelle

After my first reportable injury (reportable to the wife) crash over Labor Day weekend, where I abraded all of the skin off of my left knee in an area about the size of a credit card, I think I'm going to put together a first-aid kit as well.

I think I'll carry a few 4x4 gauze pads, and a roll of that bandage that adheres to itself, as well as maybe some disinfectant wipes, some ibuprofen, and maybe a few band-aids for the minor stuff.

Anything more serious than that and I'm dialing 911 (as long as I don't land on and break my cell phone).

After my crash, by the way, with blood running down my leg and into my sock, I still rode 20 more miles - what else are you going to do when you crash 20 miles from home?

twodeadpoets

A small hijack: I once tended a guy who was riding on the island with his wife. He was coming down the main mountain road here and lost it sending him skidding across the road. Fortunately one of our firefighters was in his POV not too far behind and picked the both of them up bringing them to the fire station. While cleaning up his left knee I noticed that when moving the skin side to side you could see his tendons. I suggested stitches which I believe he was going to do after getting back to the mainland after riding another 10 miles a few hours later, his choice though.