First Aid kits....

[Rob]

What are you carrying in yours? Does the inventory vary with the length of the Hike or number of people in your party?

I usually carry the same inventory no matter what. Normally it consists of the standard stuff, bandaids, mole skin, antibiotic ointment/burn cream, ibuprofen, gause, tape, saftey pin, benedril tabs, IMMODIUM, ace wrap. Sometimes on an extended trip I'll take a prescription narcotic pain KILLER just in case.

[Nalgene Ninja]

We always carry some kind of kit even if it's a 99 cent one with bandaids, alchy wipes and tylenol. For times we take the kids though we usually take the big box $20 kit (ice packs,  gauze pads, etc.)

[PastorLarryT]

I normally take my standard first aid/emergency kit - pretty much standard stuff with items I have added like Swiss Army knife, tube tent, matches, triangular bandage, tweezers, OTC meds.  If I lead an expedition from church, I require everyone to bring their own first aid/emergency kit.  Thus far, I have not added significant weight or additional items for group hiking.

[Cuffs]

Homemade 1st Aid kit for me too.
BandAids
Blister BandAids
Gauze
Tape
several safety pins
small Neosporin (or generic equivalent)
*Vitamin I
*Pepto Bismol tablets
*Benedryl caplets (depending on season)
*Couple cough drops (depending on season)
Moleskin
spare light (Photon)
Travel sized Gold Bond powder
Travel sized Body Glide
Individually wrapped alcohol swabs
Nail Clippers (sometimes)
* I only carry several pills of each, not a whole bottle, then they are repackaged into an empty/recycled vitamin bottle.

All in a small sil-nylon stuff sack

[auwesman]

Mine is close to yours.

(in a mesh bag)
Moleskins
Duct tape (about 2 feet usually wrapped around my nalagene)
Benodryll, Immodium, Ibprofin, excedren (all in one travel bottle)
Alcohol swabs
Probably way more baisc than it needs to be but I've never needed more.
The Duct tape alone takes care of 90% of issues

The hardest part for me is trying to carry essentials and keep the weight down....

[Lesley]

I also have most of those objects, but I include super glue or needle and thread. Stitches happen, both for the pack and the packer.

[Joshua Szulecki]

I sure wish I had packed some Crazy Glue on that Borden Creek hike I did this Spring, and the sense to notice I was injured. I have a decent scar on my left leg that I didn't have before, cut my hands falling down, and in my stinging hand pain, failed to feel the deep cut I made somewhere shortly thereafter. I only noticed how deep it was when the blood got halfway to my shoe. This was around noon, and we hiked until dark, without cleaning it or anything, AND I'm a notorious scab-picker, so it healed poorly.

I DID have my First-Aid kit with me, but I lacked the sense to use it even after I noticed the damage. Of course, with a spring of bushwhacks in post Pine Beetle Sipsey, I've got a few new scars anyway.

[Joshua Szulecki]

I keep a cheapo one in my camera bag, and I think I still have a better one in the car, but now I should check. Probably about time for new ones, anyway.

[PastorLarryT]

Now that I am recently an official CERT member I have a standard kit in my day pack, a big kit in the van, a fairly well home made kit in my laptop bag and a pretty nicely stocked one in my backpack.  I realized that I probably won't ever need any of them but when I do, they will be the most important things that I have ever lugged in my life.

COOL... another CERT guy!
And you're right... you just never know when you may need that gear.  Everything was "normal" for a February Sunday afternoon until a tornado struck about 3pm.  It doesn't take but an instant for things to "go bad".

[ednotmilkman]

what is CERT ?

[Cuffs]

community emergency response team

[Graceless]

I have a fully stocked EMT bag my Paramedic brother gave me when I started* EMT classes...( yk I would like to finish that course even if I never go to work as one yk?) maybe I should add it to my things to do before 40 list hu?
 I keep the bag in the car when we go anywhere I have a small First aid bag that is about 3lbs in my pack if we are taking kids a 1.5 lb one for me and DH alone. I also added some water purification tablets to the first aid kit to be able to use water from the creek or whatever instead of the filtered drinking water. Added a different allergy instead of benadryl for some crazy reason I am allergic to it break out in hives and swell and everything! cool huh?
   
  Tell me more about CERT make a nice long post and link!

[Cuffs]

  Tell me more about CERT make a nice long post and link!

Find your local group here:  https://www.citizencorps....te&cert=&state=AL

And your local EMA office here:  http://www.ema.alabama.go...nty%20EMA%20Directory.asp

[Graceless]

Is the training as indepth as EMT training ?? does it cover all areas?

[Joshua Szulecki]

CERT training sounds likes a great idea.

I also recommend SKYWARN training, if you can find it. Now that NWS/NOAA takes reports from people without spotter numbers easily, it isn't as big a deal, but living in a tornado prone area, it might just save your life.
http://www.weather.gov/skywarn/

Here is the Birmingham page:
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/bmx/skywarn/index.php

Some of the SKYWARN stuff is online now, and it seems like they are slowly fading away SKYWARN.
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/tae/severe/online.htm

[PastorLarryT]

Is the training as indepth as EMT training ?? does it cover all areas?

No.  CERT training is specific to responding to disasters and similar mass-casualty situations.  For example, CERT does not provide CPR training, because in a mass casualty situation CPR would not be performed.  Instead CERT training is aimed at doing the most good for the largest number of people.  Triage is stressed, along with Incident Command System, etc.  Techniques of rescue and extrication are involved as well as first aid for shock and trauma.  CERT is aimed at providing a reinforcement to community first responders in a disaster situation.

Our church has a CERT.  We were trained by the Prattville Fire Dept.  The Prattville/Autauga County EMA has now taken over management of all CERT's.  There are about 5 in the Prattville area now, I think.

[Graceless]

I just talked to the EMT / Para Instructor at the local community college here and he says tat this would be something like I would want  http://www.nols.edu  and that if I went to let him know that there may be firefighters and forest rescue personnel that may want to join in and go as a group.