Thread: Must haves in the Medical Kit

Not a comprehensive list, but some of the vitals...


I keep some in my pack and the majority in the car or house.

Crepe Bandages - about 5 in varying widths. Good for twisted ankles, cuts, keeping dressings in place, and a host of other things. A couple of self adhesive bandages too.
Saline. At least 4 ampuoles.
An eye cup and patch.
Electricians tape.
Gauze. Lots of it.
Small LED torch - useful for looking at pupiliary dilation - a symptom of concussion, among other things.
Scalpel and blades... Useful for heaps of stuff...
Hand steriliser and nitrite disposable gloves
Betadine
CPR faceshield
3 emergency blankets
Roll of adhesive plaster /box of fabric strips
A few butterfly sutures.
Scissors
Roll of strapping plaster (non-stretch)
Pack of tissues (doubles as toilet paper)
Medicine includes paracetamol, ibuprofen, aspirin and Imodium.

Originally Posted by tanqueray

Would keep you warmer than one of those tinfoil emergency blankets

and thin the blood nicely so that you freeze to death faster

But I guess you die happy

The value of whisky in a shit-hits-the-fan scenario is having one last toast to yourself when you realise you've really screwed up.

Originally Posted by Pengy

and thin the blood nicely so that you freeze to death faster

only freeze in winter, at least in the North anyway

No. 15 wound dressings are an important requirement for all forestry operations and are an essential item for hunters.
They are an excellent first aid treatment for cuts and lacerations.

Originally Posted by Paddy79

Hip flask of aged scotch

It's valuable to bribe your hunting buddies to patch you up when you get injured!

Someone mentioned tampons....yes really good for stopping blood flow....a couple of CONDOMS [non lubed please] they make a great water carrier inside a sock ....[as well as...!!!]

superglue works for cuts too
To be honest I carry 2 kits every day
a big one in the ute
the other on my belt, joys of forestry, never used them and no idea whats actually in them
Guess ill find out when some one fucks up aye

Originally Posted by Paddy79

superglue works for cuts too
To be honest I carry 2 kits every day
a big one in the ute
the other on my belt, joys of forestry, never used them and no idea whats actually in them
Guess ill find out when some one fucks up aye

So long as it’s not the loctite brand of superglue, it burns. One of my kids had a cut glued up on Saturday, didn’t take long to bust it open again though, too rough.

I will be looking into these Israeli dressings and superglue for my FAK.

Maybe some good scotch in 'medicinal' quantities too.

I believe that the key is to ensure that your first aid kit is FIT FOR PURPOSE and that you HAVE IT ON HAND WHEN YOU NEED IT.

Its a bit like rifles, you have a .22LR for shooting rabbits around the house, you don't use your 7mm REM MAG. But if you go hunting reds in the hills, you take the bigger calibre.
The first aid kit that should sit on your belt or in your day pack while hunting needs to be different to the one in you car, since the likely emergency you will be faced with will be different.

For your hunting FAK, keep in as compact as possible, with just the essentials to get you though an emergency situation. That way you wont be tempted to leave it behind because its too big or because you are just going for a 2 hour walk from camp.

Like my situation in the post below that prompted this discussion, if I hadn't had my first aid kit ON HAND, it would have made the situation much more difficult to manage.
https://www.nzhuntingandshooting.co....98/index3.html

My advice is don't try and put everything into one kit in an attempt to make it fit all situations. Build a base kit with the essentials in it that is small and is ALWAYS WITH YOU when hunting (on your belt or in your day pack). Then build a stage two kit, the one that stays in camp on a multi day hunt that has additional supplies for dealing to the injury once you are back at camp. This is also the kit that typically stays on the quad bike, or the ute when you are not on a multi day hunt. Then build your stage three kit that normally stays in your vehicle where size and weight is not so important, and where you are likely to encounter a situation with multiple injuries like a road accident.

Your personal FAK (stage 1) is designed to get you back to camp/quad bike, your stage 2 FAK is designed to get you back to your transport or civilisation, your stage 3 kit for when SHTF.
At all times while hunting, carry an EPIRB for when the situation is unmanageable for the resources you have at hand. When not hunting, keep your EPIRB in your daily drive vehicle. If you are in rural NZ and come across an accident its far faster to trigger the EPIRB, call 111 and tell them you've triggered it and get on with helping injured rather than trying to explain to the 111 call centre exactly where you are as you may not know with enough precision to be useful. There are also plenty of areas in rural NZ where there is no cell coverage and an EPIRB will be the only means of triggering the emergency response needed.

As per my original post, my personal FAK (stage 1) is as follows:

1x Celox Rapid Z Fold Gauze https://pharmacoemergencycare.co.nz/...-z-fold-gauze/
3x Celox 2g granule sachets https://www.top-gear.co.nz/shop/SHOP...+-+2-Pack.html
1x Israeli bandage https://pharmacoemergencycare.co.nz/...gency-bandage/
1x SWAT-T multifunction 'stretch-wrap-and-tuck' tourniquet https://www.top-gear.co.nz/shop/SURV...+-+SWATTB.html
1x roll of medical tape
A bunch of antiseptic wipes
Betadine sachets
1x compeed assorted size blister plaster pack (good for minor burns as well as blisters) Compeed Blister Medium 5's - Great for Heels
2x steri-strip sachets
3x gauze pads (individually sealed)
Assortment of plasters
Morphine tablets

The non vacuum sealed items that are water sensitive I put in a zip lock bag, and it all fits into a zip top Game Gear NZ made belt pouch which is 130W x 100H x 70D.

I don't personally put things like torches, scalpels, etc, etc. etc into this kit since the goal is to keep it small and ALWAYS ON HAND. Don't discourage yourself from taking it with you at all times while hunting by making it unnecessarily bulky or heavy. If I am going for a hunt that might turn into a return after dark, I will throw a torch into my pack with some extra food etc. Why put that into the first aid kit?

Post incident (refer to my post above) what would I change in my stage 1 kit?
I would probably squeeze in a second Israeli bandage if my pouch would take it, if not then not, and for lesser wounds, some Celox gauze pads as they are cheaper than opening up a z-fold https://pharmacoemergencycare.co.nz/...pad--civilian/
I think I might also throw a couple of light sticks into my day pack (but not into the personal FAK …… keep it small and essential only!)

Once you get back to camp/quad/ute you will have access to your stage 2 or stage 3 kit. At that point you can choose what action to take, either shoring up your field dressing with additional product to get you home, or going for a re-dressing where you want to wash the wound with saline, apply antiseptic, steri-stip, gauze, bandage, etc, etc.
In my situation, once I was back at base camp (woolshed) I had access to not only my stage 3 kit in my ute, but also my hunting buddy's ute kit. We chose to clean and redress the wound to get me through that night and the 6 hour self drive home to visit the A+E.

Interestingly, on the drive home post my incident, I was second on scene to a SUV roll over. Fortunately everyone was ok, and I only had to assist by rolling there vehicle back onto its wheels with my recovery gear, but if people were hurt, I knew I had my personal FAK in the top pocket of my day pack, my stage 2 kit on the quad which was on the trailer behind my ute, and I had a stage 3 kit in my ute, "FIT FOR PURPOSE and ON HAND WHEN YOU NEED IT". As it turned out, there was also no cell coverage, but I knew that if it had been needed, my EPIRB was also in my day pack next to my personal FAK.

Originally Posted by BruceY

Someone mentioned tampons....yes really good for stopping blood flow....a couple of CONDOMS [non lubed please] they make a great water carrier inside a sock ....[as well as...!!!]

If I had a dollar for every time I saw this dangerous misconception on here:
Hemorrhage Control – What Aunt Flow Didn’t Know | Private Bloggins

Some good things in people kits. I just have a horse wrap bandage and some tramadol. I would use clothing as swabs and apply direct pressure and elevation to control bleeding. I can apply an effective tourniquet with a belt and a fist on the femoral or brachial artery if need be. (Release every 40mins for 5 mins)
horse bandage for sprains and breaks with wooden splints. Also good for strapping arm to torso in shoulder dislocation or strapping chest up in flail chest injury.
Speaking of chest injuries, they can be problematic in the field. Needle decompression is easy for pneumo or tension pneumothorax if you have one. Can do it with your knife if you make a small enough hole (not so easy) can lead to air escaping into chest wall tissues and causing another problem or if hole is too big then you get a sucking chest wound. Sucking chest wounds will keep your lung collapsed and need a proper drain. Someone on the thread mentioned a chest seal kit which I think have a one way valve in them...I haven't seen one but they sound cool and are suitable for all chest decompression...in the case of the sucking wound, you can close it up after said drain/seal insertion.
I might try to get a couple of those things.
As far as antiseptic is concerned it will help with the bacteria count but I plan on being out before infection becomes an issue.

Voltaren is good for a bad back or knee to get you off the hill.