[bloomer]

I am talking about people first aid not animal in this instance!!!


And before we start, electrical tape and purple spray doesn't count.




How many of you have a first aid kit? How many of you take it out on the land with you? Do you and those around you know how to use it?


This thread is a spin off from the articles for TAS thread and a result of 2 spectacular head injuries that occurred recently...


I spent 20 years learning first aid, i have been a work place first aider, I have dealt with numerous incidents for others, I also spent 20 years as a scout, motto "be prepared", this is the story of my failure to be prepared... and how it has now been rectified.


Recently whilst working on a fellow TASers land with yet another TASers other half we both in the space of 3 days decided to knock ourselves stupid and bleed spectacularly from head wounds, the culprit was every bodies friend the post rammer... i'll spare you the details but suffice is to say we both know how to use the tool we both did nothing really wrong and we both ended up in A&E.


What it did highlight to me is my work first aid kit sucks, I had one in the car i got a few years ago but as time has gone by bits have been used and not replaced,and then the whole kit got moved and i couldn't find it in a hurry.


I have rectified this now with 2 new kits correctly equipped for the kind of injuries we are all likely to sustain and have to deal with on a smallholding, there is a larger kit that lives in the car permanently attached with quick grab straps for bigger emergencies and a smaller one that will either thread on my belt or hang on a fence post near where i'm doing anything vaguely hazardous in future. The one for taking into the fields has had hi viz tape added to it so i don't lose it too quickly.


What do you need?


As a minimum I would suggest as a main kit the small workplace first aid kit requirements (they sell these for small companies with 25 people low risk or 5 people high risk) smallholding is towards the high risk end i would argue.


They contain


1 Burns Dressing 10cm x 10cm
2 Eye Pad Dressings
2 Finger Dressings with Adhesive Fixing
4 Medium HSE Dressings
1 Large HSE Dressing
40 Assorted Washproof Plasters
1 Conforming Bandage 7.5cm x 4m
2 Triangular Bandages
1 Foil Survival Blanket
1 Microporous Tape 2.5cm x 10m
20 Moist Cleansing Wipes
6 Pairs Nitrile Gloves
1 Resuscitation Face Shield
6 Safety Pins
1 Pair Shears (Small)
1 Guidance Leaflet


I supplemented mine with some steri strips and some specific finger tip and knuckle plasters as they are always getting cut/split.


The personal kit is just some plasters and a couple of medium HSE dressings (for anyone who doesn't know these are sterile pads with a length of bandage attached and are great for more serious cuts to apply pressure until professional help can be reached) and some sterile wipes for cleaning wounds.


Do you know how to use it?

If not look at getting a short course St Johns, Red-cross etc often offer really good half day or 1 day courses in basic first aid.


Think about if your the one hurt who would help you?


Certainly in our house all the kids at least know where the big kit is and to go get it if asked...






Now being honest having the knowledge and a proper first aid kit wouldn't have prevented either of the A&E visits from the incident at the top of the topic, but we'd have both arrived there dripping less blood and feeling more human.


So what else do people think is essential on the small holding?


For anyone this has spurred to think about upgrading their first aid supplies have a look here


http://shop.edsfat.org.uk/index.php/cPath/37/osCsid/omo597pcg3ijtp4o4thn763d16


I have nothing to do with them, but they are a scouting charity that supports all the large national events with first aid cover and sells first aid supplies at good prices to cover their costs.


You can also find them on ebay user name Edsfat.

[benkt]

My solution was to marry a doctor! She maintains a good first aid kit in the farm 'clubhouse' and we  try to  ensure that when she isn't here on a workday we have another first aider present. As we have so many members coming out to work on the farm its something we take pretty seriously. I think we've done fairly well on avoiding serious injury so far, I think the worst to date was a teenager sticking a fork through his foot!

The only thing we use a lot of that's not on the list is antihistamine cream as kids get stung by nettles/bees/wasps with depressing regularity!

[bloomer]

antihistamine is a good thought and i will add it as i react to all sorts of things.


your set up is a bit different to most with all your volunteer/members, marrying a doctor was probably a very sensible plan...

[midtown]

If working remotely, included as an essential part of a personal kit should be the means to raise the alarm in case of an emergency arising.

As far as personal kit goes, yes - a few plasters but if possible, try and get hold of NATO Field Dressings (ask any serviceman). Far better and far more substantial than a 'stock' first aid dressing.
Plus additional user medication as required.

[Q]

Thanks for this post bloomer.   

 Just by coincidence I was checking the work first aid box today which needs replenishment. Although its a work 'kit' it is definitely not up to standard.
When I replenish that one I will buy two more - one for home and one for the car as a direct result of your post.
Some things shouldnt be taken for granted.

Do they have a specific plaster for when you put a garden fork through your boots?  The last time i did it, the fork luckily went neatly between my toes.   I know it wont be long before I do it again..... 

[hughesy]

Good advice. Accidents never happen when you're expecting them and even a small incident can cause a lot of inconvenience. Of course the best idea is to take sensible precauitions so as not to have an accident in the first place but we all do that, don't we.

[FiB]

Great thread!  I usually have a little 'bum bag' with me with my phone and the basics ... The basics for me are a couple of cheap sanitary towels (not the silly thin mondern ones in extra packaging). They are everything you need for blood (clothing can always be used to improvise tie on if needed) first aid kit dressings are not always big enough.  I nearly sliced all the fingers of one hand off last year whilst sheep wrestling (she knocked my off my feet, I grabbed the nearest thing a metal bin, slice ouch.....) and a pad covered all.  Steri strips are my most used, but I wouldn't use them without cleaning so they are in the house.  Thinking about, and talking through the what ifs are important... My son knows what to do and who to call, but I'd like to get him on a proper course too. I'm long time first aid  with my job (canoe coaching, forest school etc), but being on your own is different. My cardinal sin is not always having bum bag/mobile on me..... Timely reminder thanks.

[in the hills]

No mobile signal where I am. Often say that if I fell I could be there all day. Often here on my own and it does worry me a bit.

Neighbours wife fell and broke her hip some years ago. She was there 4 hours in the snow! Another neighbour has MS. She managed to fall in the brook recently and was also there for a couple of hours. Saved in the end by the mobile library van!

One neighbour has suggested we wear whistles of some kind.  We are so spread out though they'd have to be loud ones. Maybe flares would be better   

[Ina]

When I worked on a farm, we had that same problem with no signal. In the end, we persuaded the manager that it was a good idea to have radios (there were also a lot of "outsiders" on a farm on a regular basis - research farm). He was the one who benefited most - broke his leg when he did something stupid he shouldn't have done in the first place...

And as to first aid: only one of the men was prepared to do a first aid course, and he was reluctant to renew it. The attitude seemed to be - real men don't need first aid.

[Fleecewife]

Even better than sanni pads are baby's disposable nappies,  For me, all the plasters, steristrips and so on are for the walking wounded, so they can get to the clean environment of the house (unless your land is away from where you live of course), where they have a chance of reducing the possible sources of infection before covering the wound.  For a more major injury, you really need something big to apply pressure to the bleeding site, and to mop up the blood.  This is where nappies are great,

The other thing I think should always be available is an eyewash - we get so much in our eyes that it's an essential bit of kit (note to self - what have we run out of?  Ah yes, eyewash  )


Triangular bandages bug me as they're not all that much use in a first aid situation, but I suppose they could double up to keep a head dressing in place if you need the conforming bandage somewhere else.

My kit is not a bought one as I find lots of the little bits are not going to be much use in a major event, but I prefer my kit to have in it the things I would use here, in this specific location.

For us the most likely emergency is cardiac related for me.  My husband knows how to perform CPR but if he's not around I think I've probably had it.  Self help is difficult if you've just dropped down dead.


Thank you for writing this Bloomer    Just what's needed.


ps in the hills, the whistle is a great idea 

[Bramblecot]

Very timely Bloomer - OH is in the Minor Injuries Unit having his hand x-rayed and dressed.  And the offending weapon?  A post rammer. Again .

We have both been first aiders since childhood (Scouts and Guides) and it was compulsory training in our work for many years, but I am shocked at how many people never learn basic first aid - especially parents.

We have simple kits in the cars, barn, tack room and even field shelter.  I keep a clean dry hand towel in a sealed bag next to the barn kit .  Very handy when I sliced through my hand with the  shears.  And field dressings are great too .  And we carry radios as no mobile signal.

My pet hate is folk who use something from a communal kit and fail to replace it

[bloomer]

The other thing I think should always be available is an eyewash - we get so much in our eyes that it's an essential bit of kit (note to self - what have we run out of?  Ah yes, eyewash  )

good point my personal kit has eye wash

Triangular bandages bug me as they're not all that much use in a first aid situation, but I suppose they could double up to keep a head dressing in place if you need the conforming bandage somewhere else.


now i love a triangular bandage, i think its the scout in me, we were literally taught in an emergency a triangle bandage/scout scarf can be use for anything.

For us the most likely emergency is cardiac related for me.  My husband knows how to perform CPR but if he's not around I think I've probably had it.  Self help is difficult if you've just dropped down dead.

cpr is no use for self help but really good for whoever needs it, i have spent literally hundreds of hours learning it and never needed it but its knowledge i wouldn't be without...

[Louise Gaunt]

Not sure everyone would be confident in its use, but a tourniquet to slow major bleeding following a traumatic amputation etc, and a clean bag to cover the severed limb? Possibly a bit over the top, but if you are out in a field and bleeding a lot, help may get to you too late. It is also useful to know where major pulse points are to apply pressure to stop bleeding downstream. As an ex radiologist, I often had to apply pressure to the femoral artery to stop bleeding after vascular intervention procedures. With regard to post driving head injuries etc, how many of you wear head protection? Chain saw protection? Ear defenders? I now have Kevlar gloves having sliced my finger with a sickle last year!

[bloomer]

we have 2 threads over lapping now, but i now use a hardhat with a post rammer, always have with chainsaw etc, always use ear defenders as my hearing is sensitive to a lot of the frequencies the petrol power tools emit...


gloves are a maybe depends on the task, but for power tools they are a must...

[FiB]

Oh I forgot about that one , scythe sharpening.... .  I am anal about ppe when chain sawing, but wouldn't think of using helmet otherwise... Should do though - the head flew off the maul when we were post bashing last year - missed my head by inches.