There is a good post going on site safety and while you can work hard to prevent the major accident the little nicks and cuts and some not so little still happen. How Do you guys purchase your first aid supplies, on your own or do you use a service? As part of my job I buy thousands of dollars worth of first aid supplies every year and I am shocked at what the service companies such as Zee charge. On top of selling you things you will most likely never use.
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Replies
I used to manage a night shift at a candy company. Our manager hired one of those first aid kit services. About floored me when I saw the bill. Restocked cabinet $40. Yeah, I think they put a few packets of neosporin and a dozen bandaids in it. After that we just had the lady who picked up office supplies pick up what we needed at KMart or stop at a medical supply store. If you buy large packages at the supply stores, store them and assign someone to keep the kits stocked, the costs are pretty reasonable.
As a side note. I'd recommend that people look at a military surplus store. Pick up some field dressings, and keep at least one in your car & shop first aid kit. They come in a heavy plastic wrapper. About 1.5x2.5x3/4". Vacumn packed or something, they unfold to a thick big square gause pad with long tails you can tie around a limb or even a body. Wonderful for big serious wounds. Last ones I bought cost $1 each. Hopefully you never need them, but..... Oh, you can sometimes pick up the military triangular bandages cheap there too.
i bought an off the shelf first aid kit the first time and it was useless.
all triangular bandages and 10 bandaids.
so now i just buy what i need.
lots of micropore tape mainly.
aleks
Come on, guys-- everyone knows that the main part of a worksite first-aid kit is duct tape! It can be used with paper towels or pieces of cloth for a bandage, to fasten a splint, and many other uses. Its just not a lot of fun when its time to take it off!<G>
i did recently discover super glue
Company provided a basic kit, was decently stocked but I went to the drug store and supplemented it with:
Bought another 2 of those super absorbing clot forming bandages, figure the one that came with the kit might not be enough in a real bad accident
bought Band-Aid that will actually cover something
Finger condoms, don't know what they are really called, but they look like miniature rubbers, Help keep the Band-Aid from slipping of or in a worse cut to cover the gauze
More gauze and tape
Bottle or aspirin, and allergy med
Never be afraid to try something new. Remember, amateurs built the ark, Professional build the Titanic.
Put 911 or your local emergency number if you live in an area that doesn't have 911 ON THE FIRST QUICK DIAL POSITION AVAILABLE ON THAT DAMNED CELULAR PHONE THAT'S CLIPPED TO YOUR BELT ALL DAY LONG.
With regards to the kits themselves.....I always dump the bandaids that come with the kits and buy REAL QUALITY BANDAIDS, all sizes.
Gabe
I have to hope someones around if it's ever real bad, I leave the phone in the jeep usually, or at the very least off in a corner somewhere, I don't like being bothered, or having that thing start vibrating or ringing when I'm in the middle of cuttingNever be afraid to try something new. Remember, amateurs built the ark, Professional build the Titanic.
> Bottle or aspirin, and allergy med
One thing to remember about aspirin and all other headache pills: Never take them if you have any kind of bleeding injury, internal or external. They thin the blood and inhibit clotting.
-- J.S.
I know, but there are many days that little bottle comes in handy, automatically gets taken out if the plumbers are coming lolNever be afraid to try something new. Remember, amateurs built the ark, Professional build the Titanic.
I can see two options: Either get different plumbers, or backcharge them for the aspirin.... ;-)
-- J.S.
I buy an inexpensive first aid kit and add to it, things like tweezers etc. I prefer 3M's Nexcare line of bandages as they seem to stay on a lot longer. I carry a card listing the meds I'm taking and my primary care physician, a good idea if you wind up in the hospital as it could well affect your course of treatment.
Can't believe no one has mentioned "SAF-T-TAPE". Just about the handiest thing for small cuts on the planet. It is a gauze like product coated with a Post-it like adhesive. Sold to prevent cuts in the first place. Works way better than a band-aid, or to cover one as it is not sterile. It's available in widths of 3/4" to 2" and comes as a "pre sliced 12" long roll. Just snap each off as you need it. It does however dry out if not kept in an air tight bag.
Jon
Edited 5/8/2003 12:08:30 PM ET by WorkshopJon
I have noticed that the first aid kits that are sold in serious outdoor stores (i.e. outdoor stores that cater to climbers, serious canoers, etc.) are far better than the "meet the requirements" kits you find in the safety supply houses. Generally comes in a weather-friendly, takes all the hard knocks, container too.
I added a couple of inflatable splints (arms and ankle/leg) to my kit years ago and they've come in handy several times, including at a couple of car accident scenes.
PS, I was embarassed the other day when my son borrowed the kit to take to a Scout first-aid class and discovered that alcohol swabs and bottles of disinfectant had dried up, the aspirin was stale-dated, and the hot and cold packs had deteriorated - must remember to maintain the kit regularly; ESPECIALLY, if you leave the kit in your truck in the hot sun. .
Phill Giles
The Unionville Woodwright
Unionville, Ontario
How can you backcharge the aspirin to the plumber? He is not the one who takes the aspirin.
Tom
ah but he creates the need for it lolNever be afraid to try something new. Remember, amateurs built the ark, Professional build the Titanic.
"Finger condoms", they are called finger cots. What do you use them for?
Tom
My DW is a nurse at the local hospital and she takes care of the first-aid stuff. She got a large AMA first aid station designed to service 50 employees from a company rep and stuck it in the back of my truck (my son is my only employee, and only then when I need his back.) Gotta admit, the only thing I've used is the occaisional bandaid, but then, a first aid kit is more preparing for potential disaster than the present splinter.
BTW, included is a CPR Rescue breather. It's a one-way valve that shields the person giving mouth-to-mouth from the saliva of the victim.
my first aid kit:
a small bottle of hydrogen peroxide
a roll of gauze
a tube of bacitracin ointment
a box of large stretchy sports-type band aids
a roll of quaack tape
a pair of those tiny little splinter tweezers, (for the occasions when the needle nose pliers aren't available)
a bottle of advil
a bottle of rolaids
a razor utility knife that is ALWAYS kept clean
an ace bandage in case something dislocates unexpectedly
i keep it all in an old tupperware container that bounces around the back of the cab.
safety first. rg
I prep for the minor and major bleeding problems, primarily. Band-aids, and the surplus field dressings mentioned earlier. Figure that you get one of three kinds of cuts: A) minor, a bandaid will take care of it; B) major bleeding; like a chainsaw cut, where you need one of the big field dressing until EMT arrives, or C) somewhere in between, that you can't fix yourself, the five-stitch kind of cut, where you clamp your hand over it and drive to the doctor.
So far as splints and the like, if an injury is bad enough to require spinting and demobilization in order to transfer to the hospital, most likely you need to leave the patient-victem exactly as you found them, and let trained EMS handle it. A major fracture, when moved, can rupture blood vessels that were so far intact. Plus, you can go beyond the ordinary proctections under "good samaritan" defenses, and cause damages that you can be held liable for. If Joe Carpenter falls, and gets up, and knows good and well that he is walking around with a broken arm then by all means put him in the car and head for the doc. If he is still laying there, and his arm looks like a crowbar, then think about it before you move him....also considering there may be other, hidden injuries, other than the obvious crowbar arm, such as spinal.
That said, when I go into the backcountry (not just up the local mountain on a populated trail), I try to have all the skills and equipment needed to stabilize, protect, and extricate whatever type of injury or illness. Places, where, at best, even if I had a cell phone (usually don't in the backcountry), it could be a minimum of 4-6 hours, at best before help could be on-scene, possibly nothing until EMS could helio in at daybreak the next day. Mind over equipment, because you can't carry that much, you have to think dual use....skis or pack stays for split, etc. Came on a downed cessna once, partner made a six-hour nightime descent, solo, for help, I went up the ridge for about a mile to find a clearing, it was litterally about 75' across, where I signalled and marked for the lifeflight landing. Pretty cool, propwash broke tree branches all around the perimeter of the clearing, it was that tight.
As probozo pointed out, there are 3 scenarios. Minor stuff which gets dealt with on site (cuts and nicks), slightly more serious cuts and punctures which will require attention at ER, and those which are immediately life threatening. I'm going to poke through my kit for some suggestions for 1 and 3. We have a safety supply store in our town which carries all the various supplies, and usually at least one drug store will be pretty well supplied. But besides the supplies, knowing how to use them in the scenarios you are likely to encounter is also important.
The first thing you learn in mountaineering first aid is "you *are* 911." I like the adventure medical kits and we carry the backcountry model for group trips. Even then, it has been supplemented. For a heavy bleeding emergency like one could see on a job site, kotex! Go ahead and laugh, but I have 2 "securely yours" extra large OB pads, 3x11" in the kit. Having worked extensively over the last 4 months with pampers, I may add one of them to the kit as well as they seem to be able to absorb *huge* amounts of fluid yet remian pretty dry. To hold stuff in place, we use matched 16" pieces of 1 1/2" wide velcro. Buy 4ft of both types, stick together, and cut into 3 equal sections. Fast and flexible. The elastic roll gauze is also good because it stretches and it will self adhere.
http://www.adventuremedicalkits.com/
http://www.rei.com/index.jsp?stat=header_rei
REI outlet has a pretty good kit for $30 right now.
http://www.rei.com/outlet/index.html?stat=othome
My second concern on a job site would be eye injuries. A bottle of sterile saline and a bulb irrigator would help here, as would occlusive eye dressings. If someone gets an eye injury, cover both eyes to reduce movement. Since your eyes track together, leaving one uncovered means the injured eye will move as well.
The third concern is heart attack. A cheap disposable CPR filtermask is essential so you can treat someone without also becoming their blood brother.
I have 4 of just about every OTC medication available for all those minor complaints such as gas, diarhea, allergies, cold symptoms, headache etc. A thermometer will let you know if someone is sick or has heatstroke
Also, rubber gloves, with each pair in its own baggy. The baggy can be used to put the dirty gloves into after the emergency is over. In each baggy, also put a couple of disinfectant hand wipes, one for your hands prior to gloving and the other for the outside of the gloves after you put them on. Betadine wipes are best.
If you supplement a kit, put like items into a baggy for fast retrieval. I have one baggy for all the various bandaids and another for all the various gauze pads and compresses. A pair of bandage cutting scissors is also good.
It seems that blisters might be common as well, so some spenco "second skin" or regular moleskin is called for.
Since you are likely within 15 minutes of EMT service, something like a sam-splint isn't necessary, but they are helpful to keep a broken bone from moving, even for that first 15 minutes. As Probozo cautioned, it is important to "do no harm." Know your limitations, but also try to know something. Don't move someone unless where they are is a dangerous place, i.e. 2000 lbs of roofing stuff is poised to fall on them. Similarly, don't put yourself at risk unnecessarily. The last thing anyone needs is another victim.
I almost forgot sunscreen, since that is just a given.