What do you have in your first aid kit?

[pll]

Last Sunday, someone fell in front of me. I was lucky enough to escape with a bruised knee and a sore shoulder, no road rash (yay!). It has me thinking that I should have the supplies needed to take care of road rash at home, just in case. I am looking into buying some Tegaderm (not sure what size, so maybe 3 different ones?) and Shur-Clens. I have some Brave Soldier ointment.

What do you have at home, for road rash situations? Any suggestions from experienced/expert people on the board? [knock on wood!!]

[marni]

neosporin antibiotic salve, gauze pads, adhesive tape,- to keep the skin rash moist, disinfected and covered to keep it from sticking to things. Do away with the gauze pad as soon as scabs form and let air dry, but keep up with the neosporin or other moistening/disifecting salve until healed. I don't carry a kit on my bike but I do have clean water and several bandanas along with a couple of light day pads and duct tape as temporary first aid until I get home.

[OakLeaf]

At home, for road rash and other wounds, raw honey and Tegaderm. If you've never tried raw honey on a wound, give it a try next time you get a scratch or whatever, I can almost guarantee you'll be amazed.

I don't carry a first aid kit on the bike - I figure that injuries fall into two categories: the kind I can wash off with my drinking water and grit my teeth and deal with until I get home (or until someone comes to get me, if I'm unable to ride), and the kind that require a 911 call.

It might be different if I were riding in a SUPER remote area. Then you'd want to think about things like splints, Betadine and suturing supplies (and some training in how to use them). Maybe one of those instant chemical ice packs. The kind of things that would allow you to drag yourself into phone range, and not to bleed out before the EMTs arrived.

Other than that, my "first aid kit" is my phone. I do have an emergency blanket jammed into my seat pack in case of shock and/or incapacitating injury (or even mechanical breakdown!) in cool weather. And if I were riding in remote areas, I'd borrow DH's SPOT device, or get one of my own.

[pll]

A question on Tegaderm, since I have never used it but had it recommended by a friend: is is something you can cut to size or I should buy and stock different sizes?

I've heard about raw honey. There were studies on it in the 1970s and it was proven to be very effective helping cells repair. Never thought about keeping a small jar in the bathroom, but I will try.

[By the way, sugar works very well to stop bleeding -- just pile it on the wound. Back at home, they make quick use of it for injured lips and head cuts in toddlers (on a toddler lip, the sweet also has a calming effect!).]

[ehirsch83]

Hydrogen Peroxide(I know many people are anti it b/c it kills good and bad, but when you get all that nasty road debris in there you need to kill everything you can)

Betadine

Tegaderm

anti bacterial ointment

Non Stick gauze pads

tape

the netted sleeve material to go over elbow, arms, legs, etc. to keep non stick pads on(if the area is too big for tegaderm)

pretty much- in shower, scrub out road rash with anti bacterial soap and hydrogen peroxide areas

after shower air dry and then coat area with betadine solution

apply tegaderm or non stick pads

as it heals use anti bacterial ointment throughout dressing changes

[ehirsch83]

You can cut tegaderm to size!

[pumpkinpony]

I have a fair amount of stuff in my car, as I tend to go to fairly remote locations to start some of my mountain bike rides. On one of my rides I did an endo and got some 'trail' rash, had nothing to cover it up with or adequately clean it out, and an hour back to the car, another hour back home at which point it was already dried out and crusty. Ended up with an infection and an iodine scrub by a nurse... Which is why I have my car stocked. :) I have a pack with most of the stuff people have mentioned, gauze, tegaderm, large band aids, non stick pads, sports wrap (or vet wrap, cheaper), those wet antibiotic wipes you can clean with, some ibuprofen, duct tape, scissors, etc. Also a CPR face mask which I hope I never need!

[pll]

You can cut tegaderm to size!

Thanks!!

The thought of needing this stuff makes me cringe. But I should have all of it and hope I don't ever need it.

[pll]

For the reference of others, a friend pointed me to the following article, which I found extremely helpful:

http://velonews.competitor.com/2003/05/coaches-panel/ask-the-doctor-with-dawn-richardson_3909

I went with Duoderm instead of Tegaderm, and I found it discounted on Amazon... knocking on wood that I don't have to use this stuff.