Meduim Med Kit

Rigged, I have some Celox, which has to be removed from the wound. The WoundSeal forms an instant scab that falls off when the wound heals. Either one will work. The QuikClot is good too. I have some in with our main first aid supplies. I picked the WoundSeal for this kit because the packets are small and I only had so much room.

I always have some paracord around. I keep a sleeping bag in the car and the compression straps would make good tourniquets too. I'm not that worried about a tourniquet. I do have 4" and 6" Israeli bandages, but no room for them. I can more or less do the same thing with gauze pads and tape or self-adherent wraps.

I always have some duct tape around too, but it's not part of the medical kit. Same goes for a flashlight. Both are good to have on hand.

As far as the sucking chest wound... in a pinch, I would use the inside (sterile) part of a dressing wrapper to seal it and tape it in place with the surgical tape. After that, it's either a race to an actual doctor or a sad, "I'll miss you buddy" speech. I have no idea how to really treat one beyond that. I'll have to learn how, thanks for the heads up!

MsInor, yes, that's all that fits. This kit is really meant to be replenished when needed. If I ever needed to use gloves to like pop out a spleen or whatever, I guess I could only do 2 a day, come back tomorrow.

Now the main reason I carry a small tube of triple antibiotic is that it also contains a topical analgesic. I know, pain is weakness leaving the body, and wouldn't think of using it myself, but some of the softer folk might appreciate it.

If this kit was for a bug out bag, I would have less stuff. How much less depends on the situation.

If, on the other hand, it was for an INCH bag, I would take more stuff and shift the focus a little more towards longer term sustainability. This is where the antibiotics are worth adding, along with multivitamins, B Complex, Vitamin C, Probiotics, and whatever serious stuff you may have laying around.

So OK, let's just call this a "group bag" and assume everyone in the group will also be carrying an individual kit geared more towards the tactical side. Since this individual kit doesn't exist yet, we'll have to create it.

DESIGN CHALLENGE !!!
What would you carry as an individual if you needed it to fit into a double mag pouch and weigh about a pound? Should everyone else just carry a tourniquet and an Israeli bandage and be done with it, or what? What do you think?

Inor, it's not about prepping to me, it's about self sufficiency. My entire knowledge of medical stuff can be summed up with, "clear the airway, stop the bleeding, treat for shock." I will never be a doctor, but I would like to be able to do a little more than that. I had decided not to accumulate more stuff because we are looking to move. Finding the right property is taking a lot longer than we expected, so I'm feeling the urge to do a little now just in case. I would admit to being crazy, but most of the voices in my skull tell me I'm not. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

What I am trying to do is switch my thinking to more of a "tasked based" approach and develop self-contained modules which would each contain everything I need to do a specific task. For example, my "sprain kit" consists of An ACE Bandage, cold pack, triangular bandages, and self-adherent gauze wraps, and gives me everything I need to handle most minor sprains. I'm working on a "breaks" module (SAM splints and more wraps) that will extend my capabilities there.

In an emergency, you might not have time to sort through all those supplies to find what you need. Having at least some of your stuff pre-sorted into task kits gives you instant "grab and go" capabilities that might save valuable time. This lets me quickly and easily customize my medical capabilities to suit the "mission" while ensuring that I don't forget something needed for a particular job.

As I develop these kits for my own use, I'm becoming aware of shortcomings in my training. This is a good thing because it kinda forces me to learn things that I may need some day. So when I put together the items I need to deal with a sucking chest wound, I'll be learning how to treat this wound too. I won't have experience, but at least I'll have the tools and a working knowledge of their use.

Because of this thread, I now see I should have a "Gunshot Initial Response" module. Ultimately, it doesn't really matter how much it weighs or how big it is, but it should be as small and light as possible while containing everything you need to treat 1 or 2 gunshot wounds until help arrives.

The idea is to stop the bleeding and get them ready to hand off to someone with actual medical training. I'll probably make an add-on kit that would have longer-term supplies to keep the wound clean and covered if there aren't gonna be any doctors around. If the catheters are for drains, maybe they would go into this add-on. If I knew anything about catheters, I would probably know this!

Here's my first shot at this kit...

GSW IR
2 - Exam gloves
2 - Antiseptic hand wipes
1 - EMT scissors
4 - Providone Prep Pads
1 - SOF Tactical Tourniquet or equiv
2 - 4" Israeli Bandage/Battle Dressing
1 - 6" Israeli Bandage/Battle Dressing
2 - HALO Chest seals
4 - Blood stopper (QuikClot or equiv)
4 - 4X4 Gauze pads
8 - 2X2 Gauze pads
2 rolls - 2" Self-adherent gauze wrap
1 roll - 3" Elastic Bandage
1 roll - 1" Surgical tape
sm roll - 2" Duct tape

Would that do it?

Small version for individual use...

GSW IND
2 - Antiseptic wipes
1 - SOF Tactical Tourniquet or equiv
1 - 4" Israeli Bandage/Battle Dressing
1 - HALO Chest seal
2 - Blood stopper (QuikClot or equiv)
4 - 3X3 Gauze pads
4 - 2X2 Gauze pads
1 roll - 2" Self-adherent gauze wrap
1 roll - 3" Elastic Bandage
1 roll - 1/2" Waterproof tape