Marine First Aid- Kits and Q & A's

[Pcola190]

I may be new to boating but there is one thing that I will admit I am very picky about. My job has required it and with the job came the training and know how. What i am talking about in this post is First Aid kits or just general first aid on the water. I have been on boats that dont have any kind of medical anything on the vessel. When you are 10 miles out on a 30ft floating piece of fiber glass, it seems to me that common sense would say...."I probably should have brought some band-aids or something."

I have a medical kit on my boat that I feel could tackle most anything I could encounter. Below I have listed some things that make up a good medical kit. You can get the basics or more than basic, depending on your know how or how prepared you want to be....

• Non-prescription drugs such as pain reliever, anti-diarrhoea medication, antacid, laxative
• Antibiotic Ointment or powder-Neosporin
• Antihistamine tablets or liquid
• Antiseptic solution or Betadine individually wrapped swabs - Swabs are great space savers.
• Antiseptic wipes or gel (the no need for water type)- for cleaning your hands before touching open wounds.
• Antiseptic swabs - for wiping over bites and stings.
• Burn cream
• Hydro-cortisone cream - reduces skin inflammation and itching caused by dermatitis. Some "sailors" find they get dermatitis on their hands and feet when they otherwise would not on land. This is triggered by having a lot of skin contact with salt water.
• Sea sickness tablets
• Cold sore cream
• Stings and Bites Cream

• Band Aids
• Thermometer.
• Triangular Bandage - For slings, padding, strapping limbs to splints when fractures are suspected.
• Steri-strips (Butter-fly sutures, Adhesive Sutures, Adhesive Closures) - used to pull a small gaping cut together.
• Tweezers
• Vinyl based (non-allergic) gloves
• Elastic (compression) and crepe bandages - a few different widths.
• Gauze squares - for either applying cream, gels or antiseptic or for putting pressure on and absorbing blood from bleeding wounds. We prefer not to use cotton balls as the fibres can get left behind in the wound and may cause trouble later but if that is all you have go ahead and use them as they are better then nothing.
• Gauze and non-adhesive dressing pads
• Normal saline - stock small vials and use them to wash over wound and cuts or even use them as a single vial eye wash.
• Adhesive Tape
• CPR Mask - learn how to perform CPR
• Aluminium/Foam Splints - for possible fractured leg.
• Finger splints - Two tongue depressors or ice block sticks are an excellent size for the job.
• Instant Cold Pack/s - These are so useful with bruising, swelling and sprains. They are single use, so if you have space grab a couple for your kit.
• Eye Wash - stock the single use vials or even use normal saline vials as you can use these to wash over wounds and cuts as well.
• Petroleum jelly tube/pot - helps prevent wind burn, moisturises chapped lips, locks in moisture with older burns to aid in healing process. DO NOT use on fresh burns as it will hold in the heat.
• Safety Pins - We use tape to do most of the jobs that safety pins do - although tape fails if your pants zipper breaks, tape just does not hold it together. Safety pins win here. So it is a good idea to pack a few.
• Curved Scissors - Scissors come in handy in many ways. Curved medical ones are great as they don't have sharp points. In an emergency you might need to cut clothes away from an injury. With sharp edges it is easy to poke through something and cause further injury when you are in a hurry or under stress.
• Insect repellent,
• Sunscreen - prevention of sunburn and long term skin damage.
• Waterproof or Duck Tape - many uses not just for first aid.
• Mobile phone - charged. You will also need to check whether mobile service will be available in the area you are going to be in.
• Marine band radio.
• Emergency flares.
• Extra pair of prescription glasses - These are not first aid equipment, but if you need them, an extra pair is very useful to put in the marine first aid kit in case your first pair go into the drink.

^^^^List from a website I like a lot

I am looking online for pre-made kits that are good, I will post when I find one. I made my own kit that I keep on my boat and some times its better to build your own. If any one has any question, tips, advise or anything post away!!

Just remember......Its better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it.

 

[rcon]

great post, thanks.

looking forward to your links collection.

 

[fwebster]

In the NW Fla area, you need to add white vinegar and ammonia for jellyfish stings and Superglue for cuts too much to handle with a bandaid. Broken shells and barnacles cut like razor blades and I've glued more than one toe/heel closed with it.

Actually, I keep Superglue around all the time for those times when I do something dumb and am too cheap to get a doc to sew it up.

 

[MonacoMike]

I used a Zee Medical "First Responder Kit" as my base and added the everyday type things to it as well as a few major items not in the kit such as scalpel, casts and moleskin.

http://www.zeemedical.com/us/1_02-kits/6626.html

MM

 

[Capt. Rusty Higgins]

As a licensed captain, I will carry such things in my bag but you will never see me hand some one a pill or ointment. I will be more the happy to tell you I have some relief pills on board or in my bag but I will not hand one to you. If you need me to explain, I will.

Beer will work for jellyfish stings but it has to be processed first and the victim desperate enough.

Good thread

Capt. R

 

[IanBat]

As a licensed captain, I will carry such things in my bag but you will never see me hand some one a pill or ointment. I will be more the happy to tell you I have some relief pills on board or in my bag but I will not hand one to you. If you need me to explain, I will.

Beer will work for jellyfish stings but it has to be processed first and the victim desperate enough.

Good thread

Capt. R

Probably don't need to explain, I understand.

As a business owner, I do not keep painkillers, headache pills in our First Aid cabinet.

But I do in my desk drawer, and if my staff ask ......... Same answer and I presume same reason


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[Westie]

In the NW Fla area, you need to add white vinegar and ammonia for jellyfish stings and Superglue for cuts too much to handle with a bandaid. Broken shells and barnacles cut like razor blades and I've glued more than one toe/heel closed with it.

Actually, I keep Superglue around all the time for those times when I do something dumb and am too cheap to get a doc to sew it up.

Doesn't 3M 5200 work for cuts too :grin:

To the original poster, you forgot the most important item. The knowledge of how to use all the stuff in your kit. Anyone who has not taken a first aid course should.

 

[fwebster]

Superglue works better......it is actually something like only one molecule different from surgical adhesive, or so a local doc told me.....he also told me not to glue my cuts back together with it but never had a valid reason.

5200 is not a good choice...it is white or black, not clear; although it might be cool it if were red. It burns like crazy and takes too long to dry and it is more like gorilla snot than surgical adhesive when it is time to remove it.

 

[Westie]

Superglue works better......it is actually something like only one molecule different from surgical adhesive, or so a local doc told me.....he also told me not to glue my cuts back together with it but never had a valid reason.

5200 is not a good choice...it is white or black, not clear; although it might be cool it if were red. It burns like crazy and takes too long to dry and it is more like gorilla snot than surgical adhesive when it is time to remove it.

It was a joke Frank, see the smily face behind it.

 

[moparlvr4406]

As a licensed captain, I will carry such things in my bag but you will never see me hand some one a pill or ointment. I will be more the happy to tell you I have some relief pills on board or in my bag but I will not hand one to you. If you need me to explain, I will.

Beer will work for jellyfish stings but it has to be processed first and the victim desperate enough.

Good thread

Capt. R

ENOUGH beer will work for head wounds and broken bones :wink:

or cause them :lol:

 

[HUMPH]

Great thread. How many of us truly review our first aide kits own a regular basis? Replace used items, toss and replace items that are out of date, etc. where do you stow your kit? Do your guests know where it is stowed? Do you really have everything you need? A list as in the first post is a very good idea as you can use it as a check list or replacement list if your bag comes up missing. Our club was at a public dock with about 27 boats filling the dock and someone got on the boat carrying our first aide kit and stole it. They must have thought it was something else as it was not identified as first aide on the carry bag. We had just updated the bag which included items as elaborate as epi pens! The City has taken responsibility since they had a security company that was supposed to monitor the dock go to the wrong docks.

Whoever is in charge of a particular cruise-out flies a first aide flag and leaves the kit in their cockpit for easy access. Our replacement bag will show clearly that it is first aide. We also carry a defibrillator in a separate bag. One of our members is a doctor and another a nurse so we usually have someone that is qualified to perform first aide and the doctor also gave us an updated first aide review and ran through the entire kit with all members and also created a multiple page first aide flyer to keep in our boats for a reference guide. Boating can open all of us up to injuries from big toe issues to bug bomb injuries or even massive trauma from falling off off the boat onto the dock then into the water. Be careful out there and mostly, be prepared.

 

[moparlvr4406]

might one want to have something like Benedryl or some sort of antihystamine for a bee string reaction too ??

 

[fwebster]

It was a joke Frank, see the smily face behind it.

I know......most of my 5200 answer was in jest as well......I just haven't figured out the smily face thing.

Besides, humor sometimes doesn't translate well in writing so its fun to omit the smileys and see who picks up the humor in my posts and who thinks I am a serious, grumpy old guy all the time.