We used to carry a first aid kit when we biked. I don't know why we stopped. After Thom's mishap, we decided to put one together again.
So if you have one, what's in yours?
V.
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We used to carry a first aid kit when we biked. I don't know why we stopped. After Thom's mishap, we decided to put one together again.
So if you have one, what's in yours?
V.
I keep mine in a zip lock.
a small roll of tape, gauze squares ( 4x4 & 2x2) , sample packs of antibiotic. A couple of bandaids, a set of gloves, sample packs of advil, antiseptic wipes, TP.
The first aid tape came in really handy last night when I busted off my cateye mount. :D
the rubber gloves - absolutely! I always end up helping someone who is bleeding, so they are good for that. They are also good for keeping dirt off your hands while you change a flat :D
I started with one of the little Atwater Carey 1st Aid pouches. I like the red color so anyone can find it in my pack (particularly important if I am the unconscious one :p ).
Roll of gauze
Rubber gloves
tweezers
Vitamin I
1/2" tape
Antiseptic wipes
Alcohol wipes
Safety pins (there should be a bandana in my pack always)
Sting relief pad
Povodine-Iodine oitment
Antibiotic oitment (now down one :) )
Gauze pads in a variety of sizes(down one also)
Cotton tipped applicators
moleskin
Benzoin tincture swab stick
Bandaids in all shapes and sizes
Contact lens rewetting drops
Chamois Butt'r
Somehow all this gets jammed into that little bag.
Bottom of my pack gets the duct tape, a space blanket and a roll of Coban
On my road bike, I carry only the contact lens drops, Vitamin I and Chamois Butt'r.
I just bought a smallish commercial kit at Scheels. It seems complete enough. Tape, various potions and pills, some covering wounds type stuff in various sizes, even (I just checked) gloves - and an instruction sheet. As I recall, it wasn't terribly expensive, either. It even keeps my rule of not hauling anything I don't know how to use. Good stuff.
the most important ingredient of any first aid kit is the knowledge of what to do in the event of a first aid emergecncy. All the bandaids in the world do not make up for training.
irulan
I carry a fanny pack with pretty much the same stuff as Sadie, but I also carry a suture set in case anybody gets a deep cut and I have an inflatable splint should something get the look of broke. The fanny pack gets to be a drag around my waist but when I get sick of it my DH takes it for a short time!
karen
I have an REI kit that I added some stuff to (pain meds, antibiotics). It's generally in my gear bag in my jeep... no where to put it on the bike. I may improvise something though.
Great point!!! I took the Red Cross basic first aid / CPR course. I hope I never have to use it, but I feel better having taken the class.Quote:
Originally Posted by Irulan
Here's another tip that's slightly on point for this thread. I keep a few of those chemical ice packs in my bike bag in the trunk of my car. I don't want to carry them on my bike, but they're sometimes nice to have when you finish your ride. Getting ice on an injury quickly can really help.
Wow! That's about the opposite of my philosophy. I carry tons of tools and figure that *someone* will know how to use them. So far that's held true, and I've been able to help many riders out of nasty jams just by having the right tools along.Quote:
Originally Posted by MomOnBike
I've only got vitamin I and sunscreen in my seat bag. The Suby has a nicely stocked first aid kit, including space blanket. The big band-aids came in handy when I was attacked by the defective Shebeest chamois.
bounceswoosh sez:
Ah, that's the difference. I ride alone a lot. Very often there is no *someone* but me. On organized rides, having a complete kit could make a difference.Quote:
I carry tons of tools and figure that *someone* will know how to use them.
I took a CPR course when I worked for heart docs (office rule - all employees were to know CPR). What I learned was that you don't want me working on you, or anyone you care about. I kept "killing" my "patients". :eek: It's much better if I keep out of the way and get the paperwork together.
Wow - you're all very organised. I never take anything first aidy when I go out. Admittedly I don't ride on my own all that often, but even when I do I don't take anything. Neither do my riding friends ( as far as I know).
The only thing I always take with me that might just sneek in under 'first aid' is plain water, even if I've got energy drink as I figure it could come in handy for squirty grazes, rinsing eyes, that kind of thing.
Not very well prepared I s'pose but then I mostly road ride, and England is so little. I live in the south which is very densly populated and it's pretty much impossible to ride anywhere deserted. There's always a passer by or a house near by - even on the quieter lanes.
Well, I mountain bike (no road bike as yet), and when I ride alone, I choose popular trails. That way, if something happens, I have a good chance of getting help.Quote:
Originally Posted by MomOnBike
please tell me you at least know how to fix a flat.Quote:
Originally Posted by bounceswoosh
In addition to some of the things mentioned, when mountain biking I also carry a Sam Splint and an elastic bandage. A Sam Splint is a folded formable splint, not sure what it's made out of, but figured it would be handy if I was somewhere with no convenient sticks (my mtb bike pump is too short to be pressed into use).
Oh, and my cell phone. Even if it doesn't work on the trails, if the group is big enough someone can get sent out to the road or to somewhere it works to call for help and direct any Search and Rescue people should it be that bad of a situation.
A handy thing to take if you're doing a first aid course is to get a transportation endorsement (not sure if it's called the same thing in the US). That teaches you how to stabilize someone to transport if you need to pack them out of somewhere yourself.
I still haven't come up with a first-aid kit for the bike, but I really need to do it. I keep one at home and in my truck, plus the race car and whatever service vehicle we're using has one too.
One thing I do add, generally, is a one way CPR valve. This helps in preventing the transmission of pathogens, just like a glove does. What's nice is that you can get them the size of little itty bitty keychains. :)
I also agree with Irulan. :) Having the knowledge and thus being able to use all of these tools is important. I'm also a ham (and routinely carry a radio with me too while riding) and I'm involved in emergency service stuff. :) I'm trained in first-aid, CPR, and even certified to use the AED.
Now if only I can get my husband trained. :rolleyes:
Mel
I've got a first aid kid in my pack when I commute, and I've stopped to help others out. But I don't have one on the road bike, where I probably need it most. I've thought about it, but I'm already carrying so much junk, and I can't really imagine what would be most helpful and what would be not helpful at all. There are a few places we ride that are out of cell range, where there aren't many passers by, that would be very bad places to have a medical emergency and no first aid equipment.
I do always have extra food and water, because the most likely medical emergency we would experience would be heat exhaustion/stroke. But I really should think about a first aid kit for my seat pack. It would need to be small. If I have a first aid kit in my car, house, and backpack, I should certainly have one on the bike.
Hi, I ride 95% of the time with co-workers,all nurses, so between us we have a little of everything..band-aids, bacitracin ointment, guaze, kling..and most important, each has a cell phone. Not sure if there will always be reception, but if the spill is that bad, all the bandages and ointment aren't worth a darn. I do like SadieKate's suggestion of coban. That would be better than any roll of kling thought of being..suprised none of us have thought to take that along. Maxi Pads, they have more than one use.. We also have one of those betadyne scrub brushes (in the vehicle though)..We all have sunscreen and lip screen in our vehicles, sunscreen does expire which is something I learned last year. So update regularly! We will be adding more to our stash, as we just all purchased bigger "packs" for under our seats. Looking forward to reading for more ideas as what to add to the first aid supplies. Thanks for the ideas already..shelly
Took a spill and whanged my elbow once. Wrapped it up with coban and kept the swelling at bay.Quote:
Originally Posted by shellyj
[QUOTE=shellyj] sunscreen does expire which is something I learned last year. So update regularly!
My son and I learned this the hard way! We had two types, used the older one on our backs (and his stomach) and the new one on our faces and limbs. WOW did we get burned! Funny spothces were it worked in some spots but not others. We didn't burn at all where we used the new stuff :rolleyes:
On my bike I carry a "BRAVE SOLDIER ROAD RASH KIT". It has a little of everything that I know how to use. I also just swapped out the sun screen AND chapstick!
Yeah. Well, not patch, but I carry spare tubes and spent a whole day last summer practicing changing tires.Quote:
Originally Posted by Irulan
But there are plenty of mechanical problems I might need help with. Last year I had trouble with my disc brakes. I believe I'd have been able to fix them today, but at the time I couldn't. Someone on the trail helped me adjust them ... he honestly didn't know all that much about what he was doing, either, but between the two of us at least I could brake.
Coban is great stuff!!!!