Trauma kit

[John A]

I carry a first aid kit on my bike and have been thinking of adding a tourniquet and some splints. I probably will just add the items rather than spend the big bucks on an already made up kit with them so if you have some advice or experience I’d like to hear it. Thanks

[kingoffleece]

I carry a full kit and have attended several first aid classes specific for motorcycle crashes/injuries. Be sure to include several pair of medical grade disposable gloves and some blood stop powder.

[egschade]

Make sure you have a decent pair of trauma shears. I initially bought a cheap pair and they broke when I tested them on a heavy towel I was cutting into rags.

[RinkRat II]

   

      Something to consider is an air splint kit, comes with arm, leg, foot/ankle, wrist splints and inflator pump. 25-30 bucks.

        Paul B

[Cam3512]

All that’s well and good if you’re working on someone else.  I keep a tourniquet in my saddle bag, but if for yourself in a crash will it be accessible?  I’m a former EMT,  and carried that stuff on my belt at work. But if isn’t accessible for self care?  Chances are you will be separated from your bike.  If you’re mobile.  Stopping the bleed is numero uno.

[John A]

All that’s well and good if you’re working on someone else.  I keep a tourniquet in my saddle bag, but if for yourself in a crash will it be accessible?  I’m a former EMT,  and carried that stuff on my belt at work. But if isn’t accessible for self care?  Chances are you will be separated from your bike.  If you’re mobile.  Stopping the bleed is numero uno.

Good points, I like these but they sell out quickly so I’ve not got one yet https://www.readyman.com/collections/rats-tourniquets

[Cam3512]

I’ve got a bunch of these.  Works on arms or legs.  Gotta know how to use them.  “Put up high or die”.  As far up as you can get on arm or leg, regardless of where the wound is.  Crank down till the bleeding stops.  It WILL hurt.

https://www.amazon.com/Tactical-Tourniquet-Military-Emergency-Application/dp/B06ZZQPRQ8/ref=asc_df_B06ZZQPRQ8/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312039782397&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=10868797154431385012&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9003810&hvtargid=pla-760193851152&psc=1&tag=&ref=&adgrpid=62138614996&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvadid=312039782397&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=10868797154431385012&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9003810&hvtargid=pla-760193851152

[yogidozer]

I carry a first aid kit in my MV, day pack, and overnight pack.
1st, tourniquet. Ace bandages are very handy for many things
Can be tightened down to stop bleeding, for a sprain, or as assist to use with a splint.
Now splint, use the saw on your Leatherman to cut the appropriate size stick for your injury,
lock it down with the ace bandage.
I've made a crutch, using a Y shaped branch (custom sized for your height) using your Leatherman saw again.
Blew my knee out, used hiking miles into the AT.
Willow bark tea is an excellent pain killer for back/joint pain. NSAID will hurt your stomach.
Opioids.....well you know what they will do to you.
Needle and thread to close up cuts.
The American Indians knew a lot about natural meds

[80CX100]

Leatherman tool or a swiss army knife with all the attachments, tweezers etc,not to add to the kit, but along the line of self rescue; I always have extra water with me. keep my cell phone in my jacket, if you end up immobilized down at the bottom of a ditch, your phone is useless if it's in your tank bag out of reach, force of habit from wilderness travel, a bic lighter can be handy, flashlight for trouble after dark.

[yogidozer]

Leatherman tool or a swiss army knife with all the attachments, tweezers etc,not to add to the kit, but along the line of self rescue; I always have extra water with me. keep my cell phone in my jacket, if you end up immobilized down at the bottom of a ditch, your phone is useless if it's in your tank bag out of reach, force of habit from wilderness travel, a bic lighter can be handy, flashlight for trouble after dark.

Yes 80, a bic lighter can be handy, I keep one in an old pill container, after having one bleed out the butane accidentally.
Never get dressed without your Leatherman. Water is absolutely necessary,  Sawyer water filter for hikers/campers.

[John A]

I keep a whistle in my mc jacket from the old days b4 cell fones. It’s hard to yell laying in a ditch with a couple busted ribs. Never had to use it .

[John A]

I’ve got a bunch of these.  Works on arms or legs.  Gotta know how to use them.  “Put up high or die”.  As far up as you can get on arm or leg, regardless of where the wound is.  Crank down till the bleeding stops.  It WILL hurt.

https://www.amazon.com/Tactical-Tourniquet-Military-Emergency-Application/dp/B06ZZQPRQ8/ref=asc_df_B06ZZQPRQ8/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312039782397&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=10868797154431385012&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9003810&hvtargid=pla-760193851152&psc=1&tag=&ref=&adgrpid=62138614996&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvadid=312039782397&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=10868797154431385012&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9003810&hvtargid=pla-760193851152

I ordered one, hope I never have to use it. Got any recommendations on splints?

[cliffrod]

Leatherman, wrap your water bottle (especially if reusable) with several layers of duct tape, gloves and pack a number of maxi pads.  Fresh Krazy glue is worth considering, as is a reusable water bottle as the container for your 100% waterproof first aid kit.

A physical therapist friend dropped off her opossum for us to babysit last week (yup…). On the way home through Greenville a few minutes later, a motorcyclist hit the wall & vehicles on I-85.  Rider was spinal trauma & later died, but she used the maxi pads in her kit and the freezer packs from her possum cooler for one of the other motorists with numerous bleeding head wounds.

[paul in rochester]

The best thing in a trauma kit is knowledge.
Many EMS and fire agencies  host Stop the Bleed courses, and some make tourniquets and Israeli dressings available relatively inexpensively.
A serious arterial bleed can have you dead or in a downward spiral of shock and organ failure in minutes. Obstructed airway-same.
If you live in an area that sees EMS respond on scene in 10-15 minutes, then really all you need is immediate stuff-a tourniquet, and maybe something for a pressure dressing. If you're going to be out on the back of nowhere, then more stuff makes sense. Unless you find yourself in a position where you're going to have to move injured people yourself, splints and the like take up too much room. Any transport agency responding will (or should) have that stuff.
The way to treat injuries is fix what'll kill them fast; the other stuff, though nasty, can likely wait.

[Bulldog9]

The best thing in a trauma kit is knowledge.
Many EMS and fire agencies  host Stop the Bleed courses, and some make tourniquets and Israeli dressings available relatively inexpensively.
A serious arterial bleed can have you dead or in a downward spiral of shock and organ failure in minutes. Obstructed airway-same.
If you live in an area that sees EMS respond on scene in 10-15 minutes, then really all you need is immediate stuff-a tourniquet, and maybe something for a pressure dressing. If you're going to be out on the back of nowhere, then more stuff makes sense. Unless you find yourself in a position where you're going to have to move injured people yourself, splints and the like take up too much room. Any transport agency responding will (or should) have that stuff.
The way to treat injuries is fix what'll kill them fast; the other stuff, though nasty, can likely wait.

I carry the Israeli tourniquet and Hemostatic bandages as well as their easy ice packs and compression wraps. +1 on the comment on the trauma shears.

[John A]

I’ll probly get something like this https://www.amazon.com/dp/B091C93DDP/ref=sspa_dk_detail_0?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B091C93DDP&pd_rd_w=6LDUc&content-id=amzn1.sym.999c0877-3704-4f0f-9726-eebf80846a35&pf_rd_p=999c0877-3704-4f0f-9726-eebf80846a35&pf_rd_r=HABPJVQ11XC38Z1K53TV&pd_rd_wg=NKUqB&pd_rd_r=2ab8d018-139c-41b4-aeef-f4ea2412de3d&s=hpc&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9kZXRhaWw&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUExTEJWNkRUT0NUMTQwJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwODg5MDI4MkFXQUxXOU9UWjlZWSZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwNTU1NDU1MVJCQ0oyUThINFBQOCZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2RldGFpbCZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

[kirby1923]

Leatherman, wrap your water bottle (especially if reusable) with several layers of duct tape, gloves and pack a number of maxi pads. Fresh Krazy glue is worth considering, as is a reusable water bottle as the container for your 100% waterproof first aid kit.

A physical therapist friend dropped off her opossum for us to babysit last week (yup…). On the way home through Greenville a few minutes later, a motorcyclist hit the wall & vehicles on I-85.  Rider was spinal trauma & later died, but she used the maxi pads in her kit and the freezer packs from her possum cooler for one of the other motorists with numerous bleeding head wounds.

Second the super glue. We used to carry small first aid kits on the aircraft with medical gradr super glue.

Over the years I have used the common hardware/truck stop sourced stuff w/no problems.

It will seal-up and stop bleeding on minor (or worse) cuts that are bleeders and is not effected by the wet blood.

I carry a four pack in my kit, that are small tubes which use use and discard the rest. Cut you hand and try and wear gloves,even over a band aid/bandage is usually a losing effort.

Some medical folks here might disagree, but has worked for me many times with success.

:-)

[izzuG]

i concur with Paul, the best kit is useless if you aren't trained & proficient with it. A tourniquet is a must, i carry 2. Again, if you are not proficient with it, it's useless.

[kirby1923]

Are you suggesting that if we aren't trained we should just do nothing?

Most of us "old guys" have been around long enough to know a bit about first aid and sometimes time is critical.

To me doing nothing is not an option in a bad situation.

:-(

[slowmover]

Maybe a heart defibrillator?