First Aid Bag

[dolabriform]

Hi all

What do you keep your first aid kit in? We have been through several standard bags and the zips last no time at all.

Ideally I'd like a rugged, waterproof bag with all the relevant pockets etc, any ideas?

Thanks

 

[Stingo]

I had Tupperware boxes
1: Bandages, plasters, cottonwool, tweezers and so on
2: Seasickness pills, headache pills, burn cream, eye drops and so on

 

[Sandy]

A large tupperware box.

 

[LittleSister]

I've bought quite a few different 'First Aid 'Kits' over the years. Maybe I just wasn't looking in the right sort of market, and not paying enough money, but I can't recall any of their bags or boxes being satisfactory over time. Neither big enough (even for the original contents, unless packed by robot), nor were any of the closing mechanisms reliablle.

As other have said, a large Tupperware type box (or two or three) is the answer. (There is a particular brand that has a better locking mechanism than either Tupperware itself or most of its imitators, but the name escapes me just now. )

Drifting Fred a little -
The other thing with the various cheap first aid kits I'd bought over the years (or any of the additions I'd previously made to them) is that none of the bandages and dressings are big enough for many of the potential injuries. This was brought home to me (all too forcefully, one might say!) when I fell and smacked and gashed my head on the edge of a chart table, and needed a bandage wrapped round my head to hold the dressing in place. Luckily (not the fall!) I was on someone else's boat at the time, and they were much better equipped (and skilled) than I for that kind of eventuality.

Which reminds me that the other thing that came in handy on that occasion was an electric razor to trim the hair around the wound and also to try (unsuccessfully) to get to something firm to apply sticking plaster to. A 'proper' manual safety razor might do the job (and be better in some circumstances), but in a boat jumping and rolling around around an electric razor/trimmer was handy. Ideally have both.

 

[dolabriform]

Thanks all
I was wondering if the tried and tested tupperware box would be mentioned. It's something I was trying to avoid TBH.

 

[Stemar]

We have several of something like this from Ikea for other purposes

The four clips are a bit of a pain to open, especially if you're dripping blood, as they take a fair bit of force, but they do keep the lid on and sealed while rattling around in a locker.

 

[colind3782]

Whatever you choose, get something where the lid fully opens and you can see the contents at a glance, ideally separated with spacers or in plastic bags. It's a pain if you have to root around and pull out half the contents to find a plaster, covering everything in blood while you're doing it!

 

[Bav32]

I have a first aid box with a hinged lid as colindale 3782 suggests. Usual stuff but suggest you add steri strips or microphone tape. Some disposable gloves, for any serious blood injuries, and scissors and tweezers.
One tip from a mountain rescue friend is too cut a roll of cling film I to a length of about 100 mm and use this for lots of it injuries,burns cuts etc all the way through to big bandages and securingg splints. Good pointare that it is basically clean, you can see through it and even x ray through it.

 

[awol]

As with many things on a boat that I hope never to need but carry in case - flares, EPIRB, lifejacket activators and lights, etc. - a lot of the first-aid box contents have an expiry date. It may seem unlikely that an unopened sterile dressing inside a Tupperware (yes, that's what I have) box is suddenly going to resemble a petri dish on a particular date but ..........
My collection of remedies and body repair bits add up to the best part of £200 if I was to replace the lot. Luckily the Italian sticky plasters - he sold the boat in 1993 - still stick though a bit of kitchen towel and masking tape does the job. Thank goodness salt water clears the blood so well!

 

[colind3782]

I have a first aid box with a hinged lid as colindale 3782 suggests. Usual stuff but suggest you add steri strips or microphone tape. Some disposable gloves, for any serious blood injuries, and scissors and tweezers.
One tip from a mountain rescue friend is too cut a roll of cling film I to a length of about 100 mm and use this for lots of it injuries,burns cuts etc all the way through to big bandages and securingg splints. Good pointare that it is basically clean, you can see through it and even x ray through it.

All good stuff but I would mention that, if you're using clingfilm on a limb burn, don't wrap it all the way around as any swelling could cause problems.

 

[LittleSister]

As other have said, a large Tupperware type box (or two or three) is the answer. (There is a particular brand that has a better locking mechanism than either Tupperware itself or most of its imitators, but the name escapes me just now. )

I've just checked one of the superior boxes I have and it appears to branded 'Lock & Lock'. It looks similar to the Ikea ones pictured by Stemar above, but is not at all difficult to open - just right. I'd thought the brand name was something, er, snappier, but there you go.

The ones that just latch over a lip on the perimeter are often either difficult to seal and release, or don't stay on reliably, particularly as the material ages.

 

[Sandy]

I've added a couple of Hemostatic Bandages also know as an Israel Bandage to deal with major bleeds.

Having done the RYA First Aid course for the nth time it occurred to me that the author had been nowhere near a boat and the concept of an ambulance drawing alongside in 15 minutes was not considered.

 

[Fr J Hackett]

I used a Pelican case

 

[LittleSister]

Thanks all
I was wondering if the tried and tested tupperware box would be mentioned. It's something I was trying to avoid TBH.

Why?

 

[coopec]

I have had a similar experience to LittleSister above, (I dropped an angle grinder onto my foot and couldn't find the bandages to stop bleeding). If ever it happened again I'd use a singlet or shirt to stem the flow.

I now have an ABS cabinet mounted on the bulkhead near the chart table. I down loaded suitable stickers and printed them on glossy self adhesive paper. From memory the ABS cabinet (with two shelves) on;y cost around $A30 on eBay.

 

[William_H]

One really useful thing I found for the little boat is a towel. Good for stemming blood. (blood nose) or just drying and warming crew who get wet. Not a thing that will fit in a FA kit.
Yes I have done many first aid courses (certainly not boat related) Main advice is call for help. Plus of course CPR and stopping blood. Presenters were very adverse to any advice beyond the course curriculum.
Sadly my experience at club level of rescue boat crews is that all they want to do is to get the injured to some one else to help them. (despite having training and a FA kit) One poor fellow had a fight with a boom and had nasty gash on forehead with lots of blood. He arrived back on rescue boat clutching his sailing glove to the wound. My wife a retired nurse dressed it properly before going to hospital. (compliments came back re dressing) ol'will

 

[dolabriform]

Why?

Ideally I want a waterproof bag that can be thrown in the dinghy if needs be, and is compartmentalised and organised sensibly.

I was thinking of something like this:

Elite Bags Jumble Red First Aid Bag EB159

 

[coopec]

Ideally I want a waterproof bag that can be thrown in the dinghy if needs be, and is compartmentalised and organised sensibly.

I was thinking of something like this:

Elite Bags Jumble Red First Aid Bag EB159

Good idea but I think you'd need to put items in snap-lock resealable plastic bags to keep items dry and hygienic

 

[Sandy]

Elite Bags Jumble Red First Aid Bag EB159

Good lord are you performing major surgery?

 

[dolabriform]

Good lord are you performing major surgery?

Only if you ask nicely, what do you need doing?

note: I said something “like this”