I should clarify that I'm not engaged in a "mine is bigger than yours" first-aid kit contest. This is the kit that I personally like to take, but there are other valid approaches -- including not taking any first-aid kit, especially for shorter / less committing trips.
nearlywhite said:
You only need to stab someone with a tension pneumothorax - and unless you have a large guage cannula you're better off with a cheese caving knife and the BCA card with duct tape.
I do have a large-gauge cannula for exactly that reason; I checked the current protocol before buying them. And stabbing someone with a
knife does not sound like a good idea; certainly that was not an option on my training course (WMT AMRFT).
Swabbing the area is simply to reduce the risk of infection. It's hardly essential, but an alcohol wipe does not take up much space.
Out of interest do you carry a defibrillator with you? Or aspirin? I don't know the incidence of tension pnemothoracies underground but I'm willing to bet it's pretty damn low and a lot lower than myocardial infarctions.
Aspirin is a good suggestion, I'd forgotten that -- thanks! Defibrillators are much too large, obviously. :
My first aid kit is small and useful, unlike many kits which are bulky and full of a million plasters.
Tension pneumothorax can happen following broken ribs, which are a common trauma injury. Okay, I expect it's still rare, but the cannula does not take much space.
I can also use the cannula to establish IV access, which is relevant when someone has a lot of internal bleeding -- by the time fluids arrive, it may be difficult to get it in a vein, unless you have an anaesthetist in the group. I can even cannulate
myself one-handed, which is quite the party trick. 8)
You can take half the world in first aid supplies but what the OP takes is more than sufficient but as has been said already: prepare for the trip in front of you.
Like I said, this all fits in a very small box. About the size of 4 Kitkat Chunkys. Is that "half the world"?
With the exception of the cannula (which is only really useful in trained hands), my first-aid kit is based on the kits I made for OUCC expeditions in the years when I was Medical Officer, and some years when I had no official role but was still doing some of that work. People told me they were the best first-aid kits they'd ever had.
I have made a few additions over the years, notably the bin bag and Just Enough bog roll. Experience is a good teacher.
PS How do the chlorine tablets help?
If you're somewhere with dodgy water, they can purify it. Rarely matters, but again they take up almost no space.
