What’s in your FAK?

[Herman]

Knowledge. Can’t emphasize this enough.

Few Tylenol 500mg

Few Ibuprofen 200 mg and 800 mg

Couple Pepcid and TUMS

couple benadryl

Couple zofran

bandaids

tweezers

Tourniquet, trauma dressing, quicklot (bear attack)

kerlex gauze

ace wrap

triangular bandage

safety pins

sterile q-tip (eye foreign body removal)

bacitracin

few 4×4 guaze

leukotape

duct tape (survival kit)

[David Thomas]

Rex, I like that you’ve added indications and dosages to your pill zip-locks.  I like to think I’ve got all that memorized, but 1) my memory isn’t getting any better with age, 2) it might be someone else using the kits, and 3) none of us are as sharp at 12,000 feet, while hypothermic, or under stress.

[Rex Sanders]

David: I try to set things up so they are “Rex-proof,” when mental and physical functions have declined, at least temporarily. Been there, suffered from that too many times over the decades, and for a wide variety of reasons.

The NOLS guide plus custom cheat sheets are reminders and checklists more than “OMG what do I do for a broken ankle?” WFR refresher courses help keep the brain- and muscle-memory fresh, too.

Same principals apply to a lot of other gear.

— Rex

[Rex Sanders]

I’ve gone through a bunch of worthless pill pouches, that split open or magically come unzipped if you look at them sideways.

Happy with these, enough room for useful Brother labels, seen in my kit photo a few posts back. Available in several sizes:

https://tinyurl.com/56pf9hzy

Minimum quantity 100, now have enough for a few lifetimes. Extras might appear at the next GGG.

— Rex

First posted a direct Amazon link. Something really strange happened involving a Kindle error message (?!?), so used TinyURL instead.

[Roger Caffin]

“OMG what do I do for a broken ankle?”
Remove victim from immediate danger.
Shelter and reassure.
Press the big red button.

Do NOT try any repair work in the field.

If you cannot fix it with Bandaids and micropore tape, don’t try. Get professional help.

Cheers

[Daryl and Daryl]

Rex,

Thanks for the link to my lifetime supply of small bags.

Ordered today.

[Bruce Tolley]

@ Rex why the low baby aspirin? Is this to inhibit blood clots?

And why the low dose baby Zyrtec. You have benadryl already included.

[Rex Sanders]

Often what I carry in my kit, and how it’s carried, is to reassure other people that I know what I’m doing, and that they’ve seen or used this med before.

Prefer brand-name meds for that reason. Small extra cost in the grand scheme of things.

And yes, as a certified-but-not-professional Wilderness First Responder I can do a lot of important stuff for a person with a suspected broken ankle, while waiting for help to arrive.

YMMV.

— Rex

[Rex Sanders]

@btolley Baby aspirin is enteric-coated, and lasts much longer in my pack before the dreaded vinegar smell that indicates expired regular aspirin pills. Originally started carrying baby aspirin years ago when that dose was the standard of care for suspected cardiac events. The standards changed, so it’s “chew 4” instead of 1. And it still works for people who don’t want Tylenol, Aleve, or Excedrin (tylenol + aspirin + caffeine.)

Baby Zyrtec because my wife can’t handle full-strength Zyrtec, or Benadryl for anything, and she’s probably not the only one in the world. One of the few generics I carry since Zyrtec brand only in 10 mg tablets, but labelled with the brand name because most people don’t grok “Cetirizine hydrochloride tablets USP, 5 mg.” And Baby Zyrtec fits on the bag label.

— Rex

[bradmacmt]

Could have missed it, but I don’t think I saw anywhere on this thread that anyone is carrying a small tube of Super Glue?

It’s something that is always in my minimalist FAK.

[Bruce Tolley]

@ Rex

Thanks.  it all makes sense.

[Dave @ Oware]

Charcoal works too. Either tabs or from the campfire.

[Dave @ Oware]

For indigestion, food poisoning.

[Rex Sanders]

Super Glue and similar are good for closing tiny wounds, like dried out and cracked feet & hands from hiking or scrambling in deserts. The real medical stuff is slightly different, crazy expensive, and often hard to find.

I was the “glue master” on a couple of Grand Canyon whitewater raft trips, with a line at my tent most mornings. Wouldn’t go rafting without it.

I would use tape on larger wounds, not glue.

For backpacking – it depends on your trip and conditions. Generally, I’m backpacking in high-humidity, low-friction settings where Super Glue wouldn’t help.

— Rex

Remember – you can always trust medical advice from strangers on the Internet. Or not.

[bradmacmt]

Super Glue was developed for suturing wounds in the Vietnam era, and it’s use was widespread there. I’ve heard it might be humid in Vietnam. There is now a “medical” version, but the original stuff works fine like it did then.

That’s not  “internet medicine.”

[Dave @ Oware]

Don’t use standard super glue for replacing a chip in a tooth, cyanoacrylate can kill the root.

[lisa r]

I’ve typically gone on the perhaps misguided theory that if the problem can be dealt with by whatever I’m carrying in a small first aid kit then it can probably be dealt with without that first aid kit as well. I’m not going to carry splints, giant bandages, etc. Figure if I need things like that I’ll have to rely on other things I’m carrying. I am curious about the coagulant though so may look into that. Here’s basically what I carry, which is more about dealing with things that might make me uncomfortable (and many double as gear repair items):

duct tape
leukotape
tiny container of benzoin tincture
safety pins in a few sizes
needle and thread
a few butterfly bandages (the small ones that hold wounds closed)
sunscreen
tylenol pm
melatonin
advil
gingko biloba (for high altitude trips)
hand sanitizer
tiny but mighty scissors
tiny tweezers from my Swiss army knife

[Author]

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