My First-Aid Kit Contents

guy72277

It's super-minimal, weighs next-to-nothing, has no perishable items and best of all is cheap as chips.

1 Space Blanket
1 Heavy Flow Pantie Liner (wings optional)
1 5m Strip of Duct Tape
1 Old Credit Card

The thinking....
Broken Bones? Splint with a stick and Duct tape
Gashes? Cover with a Panty Liner and Duct tape (It's designed to soak up blood)
Punctured Lung? Cover bubbling hole with a credit card and Duct tape
Shock? Cover with Space Blanket

All this triangular bandage, safety pin, gauze, disinfectant malarkey is for nurses in triage, not for the side of a trail in the wind and rain. This kit is designed to tide you over until the ambulance gets there.
Don't worry too much about it all being absolutely sterile. If it's nasty enough you'll get a shot of antibiotics anyway. Plus you'll gave grit 'n shit in wounds that will have to be cleaned out.
Painkillers - Nope, just a mug of MTFU thanks. Plus, if they need to operate, it's prehaps preferable not to have taken painkillers. (not sure about that last bit.)


Haven't had to use anything yet, but have you had any nasty injuries that this kit couldn't handle?

Thanks to Craig Scott from Cyclewise in Cumbria for the tips.

Guy72277

miss notax

I completely see the sense in this and don't doubt the logic, but personally I would rather stick pins in my eyes than trundle into A&E with a sanitary towel taped to my arm / leg :shock:

Think i'll stick to the usual sterile pads in first aid kits!

Raymondavalon

guy72277 wrote:

Punctured Lung? Cover bubbling hole with a credit card and Duct tape

Really? That's if the puncture was caused by an external object.
As an ex military medic I assure you most punctured lungs cause by impacts don't have an external wound

Other things I do recommend are: Superglue, great short term solution to hold torn flesh together. It's hygroscopic and will bind flesh with ease.
Some IPO swabs, always handy for cleaning the muck out of a wound.. and if possible a very small bottle of Hydrogen Peroxide (5%) to cauterise bleeding and clean deep wounds.

apreading

Spary on plaster is good - I have some of that. Much better than plasters/gaffer tape etc if the problem is in the area of a joint or on fingers etc because movement is not affected and sealing the wound is alot easier. Small can, weighs next to nothing. Caution though: CAN STING LIKE HELL http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/spray-on-plaster

My son had a big graze on his leg where he came off on gravel. washed with water from my bottle, used an antiseptic wipe and sprayed plaster on. He said it stung for about 20 mins, but not quite as bad as the guys on SingleTrackWorld seem to be finding...

Was really effective and just dissolves over a couple of days, so no need to peel off and risk damaging skin while it is still repairing like you would with a normal plaster or pantie liner!

guy72277

Raymondavalon wrote:

guy72277 wrote:

Punctured Lung? Cover bubbling hole with a credit card and Duct tape

Puncture cause
Superglue
IPO swabs
Hydrogen Peroxide.

For the puncture wounds, I thought they were most likely from an external object in a mountain biking context - branch or handlebar ends. Do punctured lungs without an external wounds not come from explosives shock (ie your military background)?
Can imagine the superglue would be fiddly in a torn, bleeding wound, but have heard elsewhere that it is effective.
Not sure about "IPO" part of the swabs, but was once in the woods with a friend who fell and got a branch stuck 2 inches into his shin, We wiped as much as possible, but at the hospital they "raked" out the wound.
Also the cauterising effect of the hydrogen peroxide solution sounds good. May look into that...

guy72277

miss notax wrote:

I completely see the sense in this and don't doubt the logic, but personally I would rather stick pins in my eyes than trundle into A&E with a sanitary towel taped to my arm / leg :shock:

Hehe! I understand, but luckily, I have no shame...!

guy72277

apreading wrote:

Spray on plaster is good

Yep, sounds good, very 21st century too. I guess it would be OK for a graze, but it would struggle with a full-on gash and you would have to be certain that the wound really is clean before sealing it off.

I take your point about damagin the skin when taking the plaster/panty liner off. However, if you're bleeding heavily, It's not going to stick much anyway. I think i'm happy leaving grazes open to the elements - dries up and heals quicker (just like the ones on my elbow hip and knee I got yesterday from a greasy tarmac slip....!)

moster

For the puncture wounds, I thought they were most likely from an external object in a mountain biking context - branch or handlebar ends. Do punctured lungs without an external wounds not come from explosives shock (ie your military background)?
Can imagine the superglue would be fiddly in a torn, bleeding wound, but have heard elsewhere that it is effective.
Not sure about "IPO" part of the swabs, but was once in the woods with a friend who fell and got a branch stuck 2 inches into his shin, We wiped as much as possible, but at the hospital they "raked" out the wound.
Also the cauterising effect of the hydrogen peroxide solution sounds good. May look into that...[/quote]

I would have thought broken ribs would be the most likely cause of a punctured lung...being impaled by a tree branch whilst distinctly possible isn't that likely and your bars doing so even less likely...IMO obviously!

Raymondavalon

Punctured lungs are usually caused by broken ribs, you can get them from a fall, a good kicking or impact (into a tree with the trunk of your body for example)
I've seen some big MTB spills over the years, but have never seen anyone spear themselves on a tree branch as they tend to be cut back on most trails.

guy72277

Raymondavalon wrote:

Punctured lungs are usually caused by broken ribs, you can get them from a fall, a good kicking or impact (into a tree with the trunk of your body for example)
I've seen some big MTB spills over the years, but have never seen anyone spear themselves on a tree branch as they tend to be cut back on most trails.

Ah yes, broken ribs puncturing the lung.. Hadn't thought of that.... Credit card woud indeed be of no help there.

Ive seen quite a few pine trees with the branches hacked off or snapped, leaving a 6 inch spike. Bad luck might cause you to lung puncture on that.

Maybe it would be useful for a puncture wound to a major blood vessel?

jablunt

The superglue would be a pain in the arse to remove if you went to A&E with it and you don't want to seal a wound up unless you're sure it's clean. If you wet your gauze (or panty liner) before you put it on the wound it's less likely to have stuck to the wound when you come to take it off = less pain and less trauma to the wound edges. Agree that fractured ribs are the most likely cause of pneumothorax as a open injury caused by a branch is likely to cause a haemothorax or both. If you do have to use the credit card only tape it on three sides to allow any air pressure to escape.Spare inner tube and pump can make a very effective tourniquet (useful as help is unlikely to reach you in time without one).I Always have some tweezers as I seem to be drawn to thorn bushes.

supafly1982

but superglue was designed for holding cuts together originally, you have Vietnam to thank for that one

RevellRider

supafly1982 wrote:

but superglue was designed for holding cuts together originally, you have Dog Soldiers to thank for that one

Fixed that for you

sharky1029

I like the inginuity .
I gennerally have pasters, a bit of bandage like stuff and some antiseptic wipes (for cleaning the bike mid ride of course).

Punctured lung I generally use a spoke to pierce the lung and to reinflate or remove liquid from it. It works every time.

Raymondavalon

I carry a dedicated first aid backpack, a freebie compliments of Silicon Graphics Inc.
It contains:

1 x Cleaning Towelette
1 sachet hand sanitiser
1 sachet of Blistex
2 z IPO swabs
3 x Benzalkonium antiseptic swabs
2 x sachets of Povidone Iodine ointment
1 x Sting Relief / Pain Reliever towelette
1 x 2" x 2" gauze pad
5 x sticking plasters

Photos below next to my phone for size comparison



Sheer convenience and it will sort most minor issues out. I do carry 2M of duct tape and a spare tube in the HydraPak backpack too..

guy72277

sharky1029 wrote:

I like the inginuity .
....and some antiseptic wipes (for cleaning the bike mid ride of course).

Nothing like a nice sterilised MTB!

sharky1029 wrote:

Punctured lung I generally use a spoke to pierce the lung and to reinflate or remove liquid from it. It works every time.

Can imagine it would be the perfect tool. Thanks for the tip! javascript:emoticon(':roll:')

guy72277

Raymondavalon wrote:

1 x Cleaning Towelette
1 sachet hand sanitiser
1 sachet of Blistex
2 z IPO swabs
3 x Benzalkonium antiseptic swabs
2 x sachets of Povidone Iodine ointment
1 x Sting Relief / Pain Reliever towelette
1 x 2" x 2" gauze pad
5 x sticking plasters

Thanks for taking the time to take a photo. My pack is about the same size, but I think the difference is that its geared towards dealing with major issues. My MTB philosophy is basically that I think I can handle the minor issues until the end of the ride, so plasters, antiseptic wipes, towelettes and ointments can wait till i'm home. Broken bones, gashes and skinnings need to be dealt with asap before your trip to the casualty ward...

jablunt

supafly1982 wrote:

but superglue was designed for holding cuts together originally, you have Vietnam to thank for that one

Yes that's fine if you are self treating but don't go into A&E expecting that they will remove the superglue in order to clean the dirty wound that you've sealed up. You'll just be shown to a sink with hot water and soap and told to get on with it

diy

be careful with superglue - quite a few will burn the skin you are sealing up and give you a bigger scar than if you left it open. But its handy to stick a plaster on a sweaty arm and close the wound up without gluing it.

And of course if there is dirt in there it will go all pussy and you'll get a bigger scar.

Pain killers (both kinds) are the smallest addition and very handy.

Antiseptic wipes and a strip of Elastoplast is the minimum, plus if you intend to treat someone else, some plastic gloves. Then a bandage and dressing pad.

The most important thing to make sure is you keep your healing scar out of the sun as this makes a huge difference to the scar.

jablunt

guy72277 wrote:

Painkillers - Nope, just a mug of MTFU thanks. Plus, if they need to operate, it's prehaps preferable not to have taken painkillers. (not sure about that last bit.)
Guy72277

I'm always suprised by the amount of times I've heard someone coming into A&E and saying I haven't taken any pain killers because I thought you'd better look at it first The only difference taking analgesia makes is that the patient will be more comfortable. There are no over the counter pain killers that will stop a pain assessment as A&E doctors and nurses are experts in knowing where to press to test for pain :twisted:

sharky1029

I don't carry painkillers as the 'over the counter' ones do not work on me so I have learned to MTFU.
However manly I am though does not stop a fly following me around the house and pissing me of :evil:

diy

MTFU is fine if you are out for a 20-30K ride with your mates, but If you are unlucky enough to take a tumble early on a big 100-160k enduro, then you will be grateful for any relief you can get after the adrenalin has worn off. Particularly if you have some tough climbs to do, where pulled and twisted body parts will complain the most.

If you find they don't work just take both types.

guy72277

sharky1029 wrote:

I don't carry painkillers as the 'over the counter' ones do not work on me so I have learned to MTFU.

Things like Neuophen never seemed to work for me either until I had major tooth ache a few months ago, then when I took one, within an hour the pain went. - came back after a couple of hours but for the first time in my life it actually made a difference.

guy72277

diy wrote:

....on a big 100-160k enduro.....

I read that there are some people who take ibuprofen before they do enduro events (well, marathion running) apparently not to reduce pain whilst competing but to reduce the post event pain and speed up recovery. Do you know anyone that does this in the mtb enduro world?

diy

I know plenty who take Arnica tablets for the same benefit.

Personally I think the stiffness/soreness is part of the trophy of the ride. But I am less keen on the hypothermia caused by exhaustion at the end.

The last 160K ride I did, I ended up wearing several cups of tea, because I couldn't hold the cup still. It hits you really quickly, your body has been busy converting fat to energy all day and suddenly you stop and cool down really quickly.

tsenior

hipflask.

ddraver

guy72277 wrote:

diy wrote:

....on a big 100-160k enduro.....

I read that there are some people who take ibuprofen before they do enduro events (well, marathion running) apparently not to reduce pain whilst competing but to reduce the post event pain and speed up recovery. Do you know anyone that does this in the mtb enduro world?

I ve certainly dosed up on them before a rugby match, not sure it made the slightest bit of difference but the Placebo was quite useful for the first few hits...

I take on of the little Lifesystems ones and a space blanket with me on long rides. I have the opposite problem to you lot, I can help with little cuts and bangs but if someone was really hurt I'd be to nervous to touch anything...

diy

If you have no first aid skills and are faced with someone seriously injured, apart from getting a rescue sorted the most important thing to do is keep them talking. Ruptured internal can take someone from walking around getting their breath back to passed out on the floor in minutes.

blablablacksheep

tbh the main thing you going to need with most cycle problems is a dressing to stick over the wound to control the bleeding, other than that water from your bottle or camelbak will surfice to clean it with.

singlespeedexplosif

aye, water, inner tubes and Park instant patches will sort the huge majority of stuff out. Any more than that and you're usually looking at getting mountain rescue out.