Bug-out-bag: Medical items?

[mfree]

I'd have a bottle of potassium iodide pills in the bag as well.

[Manedwolf]

All of the suggestions above are great.  Training is better than a bag full of stuff you don't know how to use, and it is hard to carry a complete drugstore in a 3-day bag with all your other 3-day bag stuff.

Consider one more addition to your minimalist list of supplies, if you are not really good at improvising - an Asherman Chest Seal

http://www.firstrespondersupplies.com/acs.htm 

http://www.brooksidepress.org/Products/OperationalMedicine/DATA/operationalmed/MOLLEBag/ChestSeal.htm

Sucking chest wounds are not commonly encountered outside of gunfights, auto accidents, falls, tripping over coffee tables or rollerskates, or bar fights involving the use of broken bottles.  If you encounter one you need to deal with it ASAP.  It can be improvised by using the cellophane from a cigarette pack, but the reduction in the number of smokers makes that less of an option.  You can use your zip-lock baggie from your 3-day bag (What?  You don't have a few in there?  ) but that reduces your ability to use it for other things like carrying water.

Those of you that have old whoopie cushions around the house can cut them to make an effective chest seal, but you lose your entertainment factor.

stay safe.

skidmark

You have to be careful with that, though. If someone has a pneumothorax as a result of fluid in their chest cavity from the injury, you could make things worse to the point that they can't breathe at all.

That's something EMT training is really needed to judge.

[wmenorr67]

More than likely not going to have a pneumothorax with an open chest wound.  Those are usually associated with a closed chest trauma.

[lupinus]

Maned-

I'm no doctor or even emt or anything (our training doesn't go quiet that far, stops at AED, CPR, and somewhat advanced first aid) but if I remember correctly most chest seals don't seal completely.  They either have a one way valve or are configured so that a corner is left unsealed working in the same fashion, this will keep air from entering but will allow air out in the even the lung is releasing air.

Ziplock bags may seem odd in a kit but they are extremely useful.  From a medical perspective they can create the seal noted above, hold amputated parts, depending on size (both bag and wound, something like a trash bag might be better) are part of the correct procedure in the event of disembowelment (cover it, don't push it back in).  For a three day pack type thing they also make nifty water carriers.

Super glue is basically the same exact thing used as an alternative to stitches.  You do need to be careful though, it should only be used in places that don't bend.

[RevDisk]

Small bottle of contact lense solution (sterile, can be used to irrigate)

I would go ahead and spring for the $2 bottle of eye/skin rinse.  Contact lens saline is obviously better than muddy water if you've got nothing else, but I wouldn't try to "rough it" when putting together medical supplies.

Eh, the main reason why I have it in my bag is because I wear contacts.  Yes, I keep a spare set of glasses handy.  Actually, my old Army BCG's.  Ugly as sin, but as dependable as a rock.  But I vastly prefer contacts.  So I prefer the dual use over specialized eye/skin rinse for a bag to toss in my car.  If you don't wear contacts, yep, I'd agree with the eye/skin rinse. 

Just remember to throw it out every 6-12 months and put in a new one.  They're supposed to last considerably longer, but I always err on the safe side when it comes to my eyes.  Either are cheap enough to be considered disposible. 

You have to be careful with that, though. If someone has a pneumothorax as a result of fluid in their chest cavity from the injury, you could make things worse to the point that they can't breathe at all.

Army field first aid taught us to put some airproof (usually flexible plastic) material over a sucking chest wound and tape it in place, but leave one corner untaped to allow any liquids to drain.  No clue how effective it is.