Arizona Boy Scouts Aid Bag

[Team Sergeant]

A friend of mine (The Chief of Surgery at Doc T's hospital) has asked if we could advise on a medical kit for a Boy Scout troop leader here in Arizona.

I would imagine that it would be a basic kit as the bearer would not possess a medical background. With that said, is there a good book on first aid to place in the kit?

I need a pack and a contents list. I’m sure some of the aid bags we’ve discussed would work fine.

Thanks,

Team Sergeant

[SwedeGlocker]

http://www.tacticaltailor.com/products/accessories/first_responder_bag/

As for packing list:
http://www.chinookmed.com/detail.php?product_id=000079&limit_start=5
http://www.chinookmed.com/detail.php?product_id=000073&limit_start=10
http://www.chinookmed.com/detail.php?product_id=000630&limit_start=0

I recently made some custom kits. Thier contens was a lot like the above modules.
I also added a pocketmask, gloves, Petzl Zippka, Paramedioc sissor and a pocket refrence guide from WMI/Nols printet on a red fabric.

If there is ALS providers i suggest that they add ALS supplies in a separate bag. I also dont included any Feel good meds.

[Team Sergeant]

Thanks SG.

Is this it?

All you medics/PA's/MD's sleeping???

TS

(Sure, just wait till you guys need to know how to rip off one's head and shit down their lungs, then you'll be asking my advice....)

[NousDefionsDoc]

In addition to what SG put up there

1. Bee sting kits
2. Eye kits with wash
3. Benedryl and calamine for poison oivy etc
4. Some pliers for pulling splinters, etc.
5. Lots and lots of bandaids

[Sacamuelas]

From a Boy Scouts website:

Bar of soap
2-inch roller bandage
1-inch roller bandage
1-inch adhesive
3-by-3-inch sterile pads
Triangular bandage
Assorted gauze pads
Adhesive strips
Clinical oral thermometer
Scissors
Tweezers
Sunburn lotion
Lip salve
Poison-ivy lotion
Small flashlight (with extra batteries and bulb)
Absorbent cotton
Water purification tablets (iodine)
Safety pins
Needles
Paper cups
Foot powder
Instant ice packs

-add that to NDD's list

then add Saca's off the top of his head list:
empty 10cc monoject curved plastic tip syringe- for irrigating wounds, flushing eyes, etc.
Antidiarrheal meds
moleskin or some other blister treatment kit
tylenol or Ibu 200
triple AB ointment
small quantity of orthodontic wax or similar to cover a broken or chipped tooth

[DoctorDoom]

x

[Sacamuelas]

I do not have personal experience with this product, but it looks like a great idea. Written for the laymen... flash card style treatment synopsis on laminated/tear proof paper.
I followed the links and it looks like the cards alone are $28.
http://www.wildernessmedical.com/flashcards.htm

Anyone have any knowledge of this product to help the Team Sergeant out on whether its worthwhile? If so, chime in.

Will keep looking for better info Team Sergeant.... its a slow day at the office. :(

[Team Sergeant]

In addition to what SG put up there

1. Bee sting kits
2. Eye kits with wash
3. Benedryl and calamine for poison oivy etc
4. Some pliers for pulling splinters, etc.
5. Lots and lots of bandaids


We have those nasty little killer bees here.

Also rattle snakes.

Heat kills more people in AZ than anywhere in the United States.

I'll get this put together and let you guys view the list.

Thanks All.

[geronimo]

TS,
When I was a boy scout not all that long ago...
We had a bunch of the older scouts who were EMT's (two of the assistant scoutmasters were firefighter/paramedics) and pretty experienced first aid/first responders. Might be worthwhile to talk to the guy firsthand and see what he's comfortable with.

I know a troop I later transfered to had no one who would have been able to use more than a band-aid.

I'm sure you knew this stuff but It's always nice to see the boy scouts get good help since it was such a positive part of my upbringing.

[pulque]

Heat kills more people in AZ than anywhere in the United States.


not a medic, but what do you guys think about oral rehydration therapy for heat exhaustion or heat stroke (eg. packing salt and sugar to mix with water)?

[Air.177]

not a medic, but what do you guys think about oral rehydration therapy for heat exhaustion or heat stroke (eg. packing salt and sugar to mix with water)?


why not just carry a packet of gatorade powder, or a bottle of pedialyte?

[Razor]

You can buy commercially-prepared ORS at many outdoor retailers (i.e. REI) if that's what you want.

[NousDefionsDoc]

TS,
Did you get the info you need or are you still waiting for more input?

[Team Sergeant]

TS,
Did you get the info you need or are you still waiting for more input?

Like I said this is a request from the Chief of Surgery wondering what we as SF'ers would recommend to the BS.

I'll take any and all input and build a package based on our input. One thing I would add is a signal mirror to signal the Dustoff chopper with. It's not a survival piece of gear out here in AZ, it's a must to get someone's attention, especially if someone's injured.

Razor, what's an ORS package?

[pulque]

Like I said this is a request from the Chief of Surgery wondering what we as SF'ers would recommend to the BS.

I'll take any and all input and build a package based on our input. One thing I would add is a signal mirror to signal the Dustoff chopper with. It's not a survival piece of gear out here in AZ, it's a must to get someone's attention, especially if someone's injured.

Razor, what's an ORS package?

Oral Rehydration Salts. Put in water for rehydration. More salt and less sugar than gatorade.

[JMH85]

I’m an Eagle Scout so I will try to shine some light on the subject. Granted you’re in the middle of the Arizona desert, so a few things will be different, but a lot of it will be the same. I’ll start with how we deal the First Aid issue in our troop. This might turn into a long note, so bare with me.

Personal Kit:

Lets start with the basic First Aid Kit. Each scout has a personal kit. It contains the bare necessities for one person, maybe two depending on how big of a kit they want to carry. Usually this is tossed in their backpack with everything else. We had a local medical store donate a huge heap of medical supplies so we distributed it out. Some of this might be too much, but you can’t be over prepared. I could go into what each should have in his pack, but I’ll try not and touch on that too much unless it crosses over into first aid. This is what I recommend, for us, and the deserts of Arizona.

Boy Scout Handbook*
Flashcard with emergency phone numbers on it
Pen and paper
Compass and ruler
Map
2 water bottles (non negotiable with our unit. If they don’t have two, we give them two)
3 or 4 trail bars
Personal Medication (asthma, ect.)**
Allergy Medicine**
Sunglasses
Hat of somekind (boonie to keep sun off neck works really well)
Small Sewing Kit
Emergency Blanket (we have the small fold up silver looking ones)
Camp Suds (liquid biodegradable soap)
1 Bandana (sweat, splint, sun off your neck, anything you can think of)
Assorted Band-Aids (large and small)
Antibiotic ointment
1 roll of Medical tape
1 pack of Gauze pads
1 Roll bandage (1 or 2 inch)
1 pack of Mole Skin
Ace bandage
Snakebite kit
Bee sting kit
Platypus Hydration system (IV bag type water pouch. Rolls up into your kit)
Water purification tablets
First Aid Flashcards (basic first aid treatments, what to do if...)
Pocketknife
Small Flashlight w/ spare batteries and bulbs
Signal mirror
Whistle
Lighter
Sunscreen
Lip balm
*Note: Every Scout should have his book with him someplace in his pack. If something happens, most of what they will encounter is in the book.
**Note: Depending on age of the child the Boy Scout rules/regulations do not allow them to carry medication. Check with the unit leaders/parents. On the personal medication, for asthma etc. the child should know how to take his medicine/inhaler, but double check with the parents.

Troop Kit:

Once every scout has something of his own in his pack, we keep a troop kit. I don’t have the kit sitting here, so I can’t tell you what exactly is in it, but this is really close. Really it’s your smaller kits on steroids. Different sizes of everything, larger quantities, and some more technical items.

1 bottle of Hydrogen Peroxide or Bedidine
Hand sanitizer
Alcohol wipes (small ones you get at restaurants)
1 bottle of Camp Suds
Eye wash solution
Petroleum jelly
Emergency Blanket
Burn spray
Mole skin and 2nd Skin
Leg splint
Field dressings, 11" square
Field dressings, 71/2 x 8"
Bandages, 6" x 6 yd.
Bandage gauze, 4" x 4.6 yd.
Bandage gauze, 3" x 5 yd.
Elastic bandages 6" wide
Elastic bandages 2" wide
Sterile pads, 4 x 4"
Eye pads
Triangular bands, 37 x 37 x 52"
Band Aids—All kinds (a good assortment of 50 or more))
CPR mask
Tongue depressor
Cotton tip applicators
Cotton balls
Ice pack
Stethoscope
Tweezers
EMT shears
SS hemostat
Scalpel blade
Scalpel handle with blade
Flashlight
Sutures
Dental mirror
Thermometer
First aid book
safety pins
Latex gloves
Aspirin
Irrigation syringe
Triple antibiotic, pkg.
Burn aid pkg.
Medical Tape 1/4"


I might have forgot a few items, but here is a good start. Let me know if you have any questions.

Hope this helps.

Respectfully,
John

[Team Sergeant]

Thank you JMH85 !

I'll add this to what I already have.

What type of signal mirror are you thinking about?

TS

[JMH85]

TS,

2x4 would probably work. Single or double sided. They have some user friendly ones with a "target sight" in the middle of it. If they look through the sight and line up their target, the reflection is always visible. Try and get one with a hole in the corner so they can tie a string and attach their whistle to it.


Edit: Forgot to add a small oz. or two bottle of bedidine to the personal kit and some cotton ball applicators. Also, matches couldn't hurt instead of, or with, the lighter. I have a sandwitch size plastic bag full of dryer lent. It does wonders starting fires. That stuff is flamable like non other. Lightweight too. :munchin
I'll keep adding as I think up new stuff.

John

[72_Wilderness]

I am a Boy Scout, the flash cards mentioned early on how to properly do something, the what if cases. They are a MUST. We all have good intentions but I have seen some folks that didn't know what they where doing make some simply cases a whole lot more "hurried" than before. I will try to find a link to the Boy Scout Field Book, isn't not the same as the Handbook. The field book has more information in it.
Tweezers work better to remove spliters, at least when I remove them.
I didn't think I saw latex gloves on any of the list. I know when it comes to life and death, screw the doctors gloves but sometimes they are nice to have.
If you have any questions about what we, as Boy Scouts, do for first aid, you are more than welcome to ask questions.

I hope this helps.

[Razor]

TS, I saw this guide the other day in the local REI. Plastic pages, spiral binding to lay flat when open, tabbed for quick reference, good mix of text and diagrams, pocket-sized (4.5" x 3.5"), and not all that expensive, although you could probably find it cheaper elsewhere:

http://www.rei.com/online/store/ProductDisplay?storeId=8000&catalogId=40000008000&productId=11838363&parent_category_rn=10574127&vcat=REI_SEARCH

[Sire24657]

How much different is the Personal kit he described than what a SF soldier carries on a mission? It looks pretty complete to me, but I was in Helos for most of the time.

Thanks,


Sire

[TF Kilo]

TS: How did this work out, if you've finished it yet?

My troop (12 years ago) had a significant medical focus... we had a full BLS XTRA kit from Galls for our troop aid-bag. Basically covered 90% of the bases. We also had multiple EMT's within the troop leadership...