First Aid

Rondalw1 · 03-24-2019, 10:03 AM

Wondering what type of first aid kits people keep aboard for extended cruises (Bahamas....etc...)

GFC · 03-25-2019, 12:13 PM

Ron, I looked at many different commercial first aid kits and found that none of them had all of the things I was looking for. Rather than buy several kits to get what I wanted, I bought a fishing tackle box and filled it with the things I thought I should have on board, the HOPED I'd never have to use it.

hmason · 03-25-2019, 01:11 PM

GoldenDawn · 03-25-2019, 02:09 PM

Ditto here on making up you own kit. Our kit is in a waterproof Rubermaid bin.

Probably more important, is to take a marine first aid training. I emphasis the "marine" part because there will likely be more emphasis on hypothermia and handling of hypothermic patients. Also, many other first aid courses teach how to stabilize a patient for 10-15 minutes until the ambulance arrives. In the marine world, it may be many hours before paramedics can reach the scene or a patient can be transferred to a higher level of care.

I have been fortunate to acquire Advanced Marine First Aid training through the marine search & rescue that I volunteer with.

Crusty Chief · 03-25-2019, 02:11 PM

Might be a bit of overkill, but dont tell the Admiral that! She built this bag herself! Even has IV Drips, LOL. Hope to never need that. That medical background has paid off a few times
We store it in the bathtub of the forward head along with the ditch bags.

**Larry M** · 03-25-2019, 02:42 PM

We had a Fieldtex Trans-Ocean Medical Sea Pak (soft case) for 10 years and used it. The burn and the laceration kit were worth the cost alone. They also make a coastal kit which may work for you. Lena and I had both taken advanced first aid and other classes. We also had a doctor who helped us with the prescription list which included lidocaine and pain meds. Even in the Bahamas, medical care can be a day plus away.

Fieldtex Trans-Ocean Medical Sea Pak (soft case) - OceanMedix

Rondalw1 · 03-25-2019, 04:01 PM

Thanks Folks. I have my TRAUMA KITS from my former job with the PD. But, I think I need less trauma and more specific like the OCEANMED.

**Larry M** · 03-25-2019, 05:52 PM

Here’s a reference that we’ve used. It’s a nice gut check to see if you’re on the right track or waiting for the return phone call when something’s not medically right. Here’s a downloadable pdf.

https://fas.org/irp/doddir/milmed/ships.pdf

Tom.B · 03-25-2019, 07:27 PM

Following! (been wanting to talk about this for a LONG time)

Rondalw1 · 03-25-2019, 07:30 PM

Well lets keep it going. How many of us know how to start a saline or ringers IV? Very important to know basics.

BandB · 03-25-2019, 07:56 PM

For boats we run offshore we have the Medaire Global Medkit. We have added a few extra things, such as medications we felt could be needed and a Defibrillator.

https://www.medaire.com/products-ser...kits-equipment

Medic · 07-22-2019, 05:00 PM

As an active duty critical care paramedic I put together a pretty comprehensive kit, and have a defibrillator onboard (AED). I teach Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) and Advanced Pediatric Life Support (PALS) to teachers, RN's, and occasionally an emergency room MD who missed the same class but taught by other MD's and who needs it to work in the ED. I will inventory my kit when I get a chance, although that might not be for another month or so, and make the inventory available to anyone interested. Gotta have a couple of tourniquets, for example. I have IV's but frankly you don't need to have IV equipment and it is after all a relatively complex skill. Also, the idea of fluid "boluses" for shock is falling out of favor. Turns out they probably do more harm than good in MOST instances. If a person goes into cardiac arrest on board it is helpful to have an AED, which only works in two instances, and NOT if a person is "flatline", although you won't know that. But, don't worry, the AED will know when to shock and when not to shock. And, again depending on where you are, but if after a reasonable length of time you do not achieve ROSC (return of spontaneous circulation), you basically just have to quit, unless you are in an area where medics are responding. Interesting subject.

Flybull · 07-22-2019, 05:41 PM

Sub.d

Great topic!

OldDan1943 · 07-22-2019, 05:51 PM

I have an AED onboard. Of course, I live alone so I have to be hooked up all the time, just in case. SMIRK

If one thinks about the contents of your first aid kit, dont forget a supply of aspirin. That is a very versatile over the counter drug.
I keep nitro-pills in my front left pocket, just under my wallet. Come on folks, leave the wallet alone. Dig deeper for the pills. LOL
I used to have lots of other things but, they disappeared with my LAST wife, now ex-wife.

**Shrew** · 07-23-2019, 08:21 AM

I bought a waterproof, generic Pelican case and stocked it myself. I shopped various exepedition-grade first aid kits and built a list from the contents of those kits. I then bought the items individually. It turned out to be much cheaper than buying a kit.

I'm not starting IV drips, however, over the years we've needed stitches 3 times while at anchor. That's about where my kit ends (broken bones and stitches).

Imp · 07-23-2019, 10:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rondalw1

Wondering what type of first aid kits people keep aboard for extended cruises (Bahamas....etc...)

Prior to going cruising my late skipper & I took a 2 semester Medicine at Sea class from Dr. McGillis (the actress Kelly McGillis' dad) in Newport Beach. We carried a complete EMT kit + a burn kit + an emergency dental kit + snakebite & suture kits. We practiced suturing on raw chicken parts as class homework. (A cruising friend, who was luckily an EMT himself once had to suture his own artery when his inflatible flipped him into his outboard prop.) In addition to extra-long prescriptions (we made special arrangements w/prescription insurance carrier, which was then Medco, now Express Scripts), we had special prescriptions for likely emergencies. We carried a couple of relevant books, including one on emergency dentistry. (I did break a crown off the coast of Nicaragua & had to wait until Costa Rica for a real dentist. The burn kit wasn't needed, but I considered it important because offshore burns can quickly turn deadly from infection (which is why when I taught provisioning I emphasized that cooking naked is extremely dangerous--don't laugh unless you've cruised in the tropics). I also had certain supplies, including prescriptions & extra contact lenses packed in our liferaft, + special items in the floating abandon ship bag. There was a pair of crutches in a forward locker, just in case. Remember, over-preparation is not a problem.

Fly Boy, who once in his years in the jungles of SE Asia had to perform an emergency appendectomy on one of his men with just a Swiss Army knife & a doc on the other end of the radio, came into the room while I was typing the above, & when I told him the topic he responded, "Be sure to carry an ace bandage & a bottle of rum." It was a bottle of whiskey in the helicopter that got him to medical care in a happy state when a bullet at close range from an AK47 nearly cost him a leg. (Yes, I do know that alcohol is contraindicated in some medical situations.) Bahamas-bound we will now plan backup refrigeration for insulin. We live on the mid-Atlantic coast, so have a whole-house generator for just that reason; last fall we were several days without power when we got hit by back-to-back hurricanes.

Medic · 07-23-2019, 12:54 PM

You mentioned that "...we will now plan backup refrigeration for insulin." Is one of your crew, or you, diabetic? If so, that is a good idea. But I wouldn't want others thinking it should be part of their medical kit if there were no diabetics aboard, because it should not be.

Imp · 07-23-2019, 01:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rondalw1

Wondering what type of first aid kits people keep aboard for extended cruises (Bahamas....etc...)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Medic

You mentioned that "...we will now plan backup refrigeration for insulin." Is one of your crew, or you, diabetic? If so, that is a good idea. But I wouldn't want others thinking it should be part of their medical kit if there were no diabetics aboard, because it should not be.

Yes, one of us is diabetic. Forgot to mention that I carry Epipens. Yes, I have allergies, but they are also useful when one steps on a ray (happened to 2 different friends + had a diving companion stupid enough to try to pick up one). Also useful in an encounter with killer bees, as friends discovered when the mast on their sailing dinghy took out a hive when they were literally up a creek in southern Mexico. They had to jump in the water to escape. It may sound silly, but the bees were enough of a problem for sailors on the Pacific Coast of Central/South America at the time that I stowed hats with head screens for the crew on my boat.

Medic · 07-23-2019, 07:27 PM

I have epinephrine in ampoules, but EpiPens are best for most people because they have the correct dose. An ampoule could kill a person, you need to draw up the correct amount. ONE PROBLEM...Unfortunately, many, even most anaphylactic reactions outlast the epi in one or even two EpiPens. I would start an epi drip after using intramuscular (IM) epi, but that is a pretty advanced procedure with the drug dosages, drip rates, etc being critical. Epinephrine is an incredibly potent drug.

Good luck in your travels.

k9medic · 08-05-2019, 01:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Medic

I have epinephrine in ampoules, but EpiPens are best for most people because they have the correct dose. An ampoule could kill a person, you need to draw up the correct amount. ONE PROBLEM...Unfortunately, many, even most anaphylactic reactions outlast the epi in one or even two EpiPens. I would start an epi drip after using intramuscular (IM) epi, but that is a pretty advanced procedure with the drug dosages, drip rates, etc being critical. Epinephrine is an incredibly potent drug.

Good luck in your travels.

Just curious who you administer these drugs? Standing orders? Protocols which cover you working off duty? I get that you know what you are doing and it will no doubt help but It's going to be a stretch to call it good under Good Samaritan.