Bike First Aid Supplies

[Artista]

Do you carry first aid supplies on your bike? If so, what do you carry?

[KnottedYet]

Yup.

In a ziplock bag: 1 pr gloves, antibacterial wipes, a few sizes of bandaids, gauze, tape, glucose. I need to get a Laerdal mask and some steri-strips one of these days, and I'd really like one of those instant coagulant pads.

I always ride with a pannier or bar bag, so I've got the room for a kit.

The most important thing is my cell phone. I'd rather call in the professionals for anything more than a minor boo-boo... they have really good kits!

[Aggie_Ama]

On my mountain bike. Just a store bought first aid kit but it is pretty big so anything you might have in a home kit. I always carry my cell phone even when racing. DH doesn't and it drives me crazy! I should get a small kit for my road bike. They sell ones that are small, I have seen them in the LBS.

[azfiddle]

I keep some band-aids in my bag... I'd be in trouble if there was a real first-aid incident..But the band-aids have been useful a few times

[OakLeaf]

Nope.

Anything serious means 911 (or hopefully surviving to kick myself for not carrying a SPOT, if I'm out of cell range). Anything minor means it can wait until I get to a convenient store to wash, bandage, or ice it.

As far as lubricating blisters, I do carry a 1/4 oz jar of shea butter that I use as for chamois cream, and it works on blisters too if I should need it. There's a couple of nitrile gloves in my seat pack, that are mostly there for fixing rear tire flats or anything else that means I have to touch the chain - but they could come in handy if I have to touch someone else's blood. I always wear a bra, so if I need a piece of cloth to put pressure on someone's wound, there's always my jersey. I think it would be very unusual for a bici accident to result in life-threatening external bleeding though - I don't think I've ever heard of that happening.

[tzvia]

Learned my lesson after having to assist an MTB'er who had a compound fracture just above the ankle. Luckily I had a tampon that he used to stuff in the wound (I almost barfed right there), but I did not have any gauze bandage. Now I do.

Johnson & Johnson makes a mini 'kit' in a small plastic box with band-aids and wipes and such. I added gauze, aspirins (for heart attacks and strokes), two tampons, small vial of iodine and two large 2"x3" band-aids. Too much to fit in the little box, so put the box and the extras in a zip-lock and put it in an under-seat bag. Made one for each MTB and the commuter. The ziplock can also be cut open and used to keep dirt out of a bad wound like an open fracture.

On the road bike, I just don't have much room as I don't have a back pack to put the phone and repair stuff in. So I made a small kit. 3 alcohol wipes, 3 regular band-aids, 2 large band-aids, small vial of iodine and a few aspirins. I'm thinking If I need more, I am on the street and can get to a mini mart for more. Worse than that, I can call for help. It's when I am on the MTB that I need to be more self sufficient.

[ny biker]

I keep band-aids in my seat bag. Also a tiny bottle of hand sanitizer. That's all I have room for.

[PamNY]

I'd really like one of those instant coagulant pads.

Are those readily available to the general public? I'm not out of 911 range on my bike, but I am when camping/hiking.

[OakLeaf]

http://www.amazon.com/CELOX-Temporar...ref=pd_cp_hi_1
http://www.amazon.com/Quikclot-Advan...ref=pd_cp_hi_2

[Becky]

I do carry a first aid kid on my mountain bike, but not on my road bike.

I looked at commercially-available kits, and decided that they didn't have what I thought I might need, so I made my own in a ziploc bag.

[Bike Chick]

I used to carry one of those Johnson & Johnson kits on my road bike when I first started riding but it seems that with every bag change, I kept going smaller. Now I just have room for 3 bandaids and some alcohol wipes. I always have a handkerchief in my jersey pocket that I have used for just about everything.

[PscyclePath]

Carry the first-aid items that you are most likely to need, and are trained to use. I do a lot of volunteer work as an LCI and National Mountain Bike Patroller, so what I carry may be a little over the top for most, but over the years I've found there's a use for each item.

Here's a wonderful little resource to get you started thinking: http://www.utahmountainbiking.com/firstaid/ What I carry on a normal "just-riding-around" ride is pretty much the same as what they're calling the "biking boo-boo" kit, in a zip-loc baggie. Brave Soldier also markets a very nice, compact little kit that they call the "Crash Kit," focusing mostly on treating road rash & similar abrasions. Both fit very nicely in the center jersey pocket; you'd never really know they're there, but they are there when you need it. When teaching classes and leading group rides for beginners, I carry a little larger kit that has a few more bandaging items, some basic OTC meds -- such as aspirin -- and a CPR kit.

Probably the most important thing you can do is get some basic first aid training so that you can recognize problems, and take the appropriate steps to deal with them. The LAB "strongly recommends" that LCIs get some sort of first aid certification, and the NMBP requires it, so my teaching buddy and I both went to the Red Cross' Community First Aid course... probably one of the best uses of $65 I've done in a while. My annual recertifiation is coming up in May, and what the most cost-effective deal is looking like now is to go ahead and take the RC's instructor course... they're really looking for volunteers right now...

A cell phone is always a good thing to have (the response sequence is Check the situation, Call for help, then Care for the victim).

[Miranda]

From working at the gyms as a fitness instructor, I have the basic training of First Aid and CPR/AED through the American Red Cross.

I own kits I carry on my gym bag that are cpr barrier mask, and basic first aid. Kinda interesting to see what they select to put in both. I purchased mine independently thru the Red Cross. But, the training does show you how to make do with common items you might not think of vs traditional medical items.

I carry my cell phone. Which also is a smart phone with GPS. Plus, my bici pc is a Garmin w/GPS. Handy to know where the closest land mark is, or gas station that might have supplies etc. Besides call for help.

I used to carry supplies in my road bag. Now I don't. My crash on the road bike was a much needed trip to the ER. Thus, the cell phone covered that one.

I carry steri-strips in my mtb gear. That I've crashed and used before I got outta the woods.

Also, I have asthma. I carry my inhailer with me always. I own / wear a RoadID bracelet which also notes this medical condition. In the event I didn't have enough wind to speak it out for myself.

[Karma007]

Motrin, Tylenol, a couple Wet Wipes, an extra hair band, and my cell phone. Always. I also let someone know my route, especially if I'm riding solo.

[soprano]

The only first aid item that I carry 100% of the time is After-Bite. I seem to run into fire ants about once a summer, and that stuff is amazing. (Although I *have* gotten myself home with 40 fire ant bites on one foot, it really wasn't fun.) Other than my cell phone and RoadID, I don't have room for anything else. I agree with OakLeaf that anything serious is going to mean a phone call, and from experience I know that I can tough out minor stuff. My normal riding patterns never take me out of cell phone range.

When touring, I carry a purchased first aid kit similar to this, some chemical ice packs, a snakebite kit and some water purification tablets. Since I'll be touring in colder climes this year, I'll probably add one of those reflective blankets.