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----- Original Message -----
From: "Chris Gregory" sail-dive@cox.net
To: c27-list@sailnet.net
Sent: Sunday, March 30, 2003 1:42 PM
Subject: Sherrie's first aid kit
editors note: This list of materials was put together by Chris' sailing partner Sherrie. Chris says he is just the boat driver.
Here, in no particular order, is a nearly complete list of what we carried offshore:
The usual, 4x4s, 2x2s (sterile and unsterile), gloves, tape, band aids, rolled gauze (kerlix), non-occlusive dressings, Ace bandages, scissors, betadine, peroxide, alcohol, triple antibiotic cream, hydrocortisone cream, sterile water for irrigation and cleaning of wounds, Blood pressure cuff, stethoscope, plus the heavier-duty stuff: sutures, hemostats, xylocaine injection, four liters of lactated ringers, two of normal saline, two of D5 1/2 ns, IV catheters, midline catheters, IV tubing, IV start kits & sterile dressing change kits, IV extension sets, flow meters, syringes in multiple sizes from 1cc to 60cc, needles in multiple sizes, the following medications in IV and pill form: Augmentin, Valium, Benadryl, Phenergan, Anzemet, Droperidol, Epinephrine,
Potassium, Prednisone, Hydrocodone, Heparin, Toradol, Scopolamine patches, splints, and a Foley catheter. Cat's medication: Acepromazine for nausea. Good supply of personal medications you're currently on.
Sherrie Lawhorn, RN
Different Drummer III
1995 C 36 Mk II, #1415
Smith Mountain Lake, VA
-----Original Message-----
From: kosmikbubbles@yahoo.com
Sent: Tuesday, September 09, 2003 11:52 AM
To: catalina-list@sailnet.net
Subject: Re: [catalina-list] Fw: Sherrie's first aid kit
For IV's I would have what we call 'butterfly's. They are fairly easy to insert.. yep.. the trick is not in the not fainting, but in the inserting. If anyone really wants a how to.. i can do it back channel.. But they go in a lot easier for a novice than the ones we use in the hospital.
I carry Ibuprofen on board.. my dentist even used it when I had an abscees, some surgeons are using it in preference to morhphine or other pain killers.
If you take blood pressure meds.. do NOT go to walgreens/eckerds and buy one of thos electronic wrist cuffs.. go to a real uniform store.. get the bp cuff that runs around $30 or so.. and has a real gauge on it. It will last you forever. A decent stethoscope [two lumen model please] .. you can use it for lots of things besides checking your bp.
A bottle of kids pedialyte is good for rehydration.
do not drink gatorade [or is ilk] straight mix it half and half with water. it tastes nasty but you wil not get an electrolyte imbalance. meat tenderizer for jelly fish stings or if you can stand it just have someone pee on your foot or try ammonia.. all work..
Instead of thread for stitching wounds... steri strips.. best for aging skin that is fragile and places that bend. In a pinch you can use packing strapping tape..
When it comes to tape.. get paper, silk and the tearable plastic kind.. buy a box of each... all three can beat the hell out of duct tape. esp the silk stuff.. the plastic will stick to most anything and bond with fiberglass and never come off.. I know, i used it in an emergency and had to sand it off my coach roof yesterday to prime it.
Get your supplies at a surgical supply house will b much much cheaper than the local drugstore. Yes they sell to the public.
If you get a wound that requires a steri strip.. or anything of any size... do NOT cover it with a bandage if you can help it. 99% of all bacteria dies within 30 seconds of contact with air. If you want an infection cover it up, let it stay moist and give it a good medium to grow in.. you wil heal must faster with less side effects with air.. perhaps a thin, note that word THIN film of bacitracin or triple antibiotic.
Best books you can find are for those who are survivalists not sailors.
Oh yeah.. Vet Wrap not ace bandages.. and you can get a lot of things at the feed n seed store that are used for Vetinary purposs that are the exact same stuff that requires a script for humans.. like say big vials of
penicilin.. or you can order it online thru the Vet supply sites.. all you
need is the generic name.. aka chemical name.
Great product is called Bag Balm windburn, diaper rash. you name it.. it is great for it.. and try not to laugh to hard when you read the instructions.
There is no such thing as sterile..once you open the package it becomes 'clean'.. try to keep whatever you are doing when it comes to wounds as clean as possible and you will do okay.
I have contacts.. the 'renu' or opti clean for my contacts is better, much better than visine..I have more than once used it to wash out my BF's eye when he got something in it. But date the bottle when you open it and toss it after 30 days. They do grow 'stuff'.
FYI.. Anything you get from a physician that has to have a prescriptoin must remain in its original container that it was dispensed in... federal law. Put the bottle in a small plastic bag, if it gets broken the contents will still be in the bag and not all over the bottom of the first aid kit.
If you can find them.. individucal packets of hydrocortisone and triple
antibiotic seem to work better than the tubes. i have both. Sterile saline
or water can be bought at the supply house in small squishable pink containers.. not only does it keep longer it when opened it provides a stream to wash a wound.
Tincture of Benzion, while a poison if ingested .. on a wound that stays wet, will provide 'bandage'...like a mouth sore Kanka is a commercial product that is worth having.
Box of super plus kotex is cheaper than ABD pads for wounds, it can also absorb oil spils and other things that need quick absorbtion. Try to find the old fashioned kind that still have the tabs on the end. i came back in one day with one tied around a leaking oil line. My husband was not amused,..but it worked, and got us home.
Let me also add... epsom salts soaked towel with a saran wrap is excellent for arthritius or muscle strain. heat the water before soaking towel - warm moist heat
was rummaging in my first aid box.. thought to add this stuff.. both i swear by... tape call medipore... expensive but worth every penny... and bordered guaze.. it is like a bandaid with tape all around the edges.. it just simply fantastic stuf.. lots of commercial names for it..but if you describe it at the supply house they can help.
Opsite is like saran wrap with sticky on one side.. it takes some used to putting it on.. we use it for skin tears or as a clear cover in iv dressings it works for all sorts of non med uses if you needs, so does medipore.
I am sure there is lots more i have forgotten.. if i can be of help.. email me and I will try.
‘bella (anne / bella), rn
s'v annies song, 1973 Ericson 27
Palemtto, FL
kosmikbubbles@yahoo.com
You can write and ask.. i won't answer medical questions as that is called practicing med without a license.. but i can help with med kits and the like. Home remedies.. there are a lot of good books on that subject on the market.. many aimed at those who want to live on land and be self sufficent. which is what cruisers have to be..
If can help anyone please let me know...
I had a fit when I saw the prices they asked for 'cruising medical kits.' one can make their own from those lists a lot cheaper.
Also check out this valuable service: StarMD from Sea Tow Services International
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