Medical kit

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by shorebird

I saw only one mention of a laxative on this subject, and no mention of Imodium. Stool softener, a laxative, and an anti-diarrea med would be most wise for any cruising kit. Any of the pain meds mentioned which are opiate-based can lead to very severe constipation, and should normally be combined with some form of laxative. (subject to proper medical advice regarding the possession and use of opiate based meds and management of possible side effects.)

Prunes.... hard boiled eggs...

[Astrid]

Back in the old days, many docs took out the appendix when taking out a gal bladder or even a uterus. I remember those days. That is not considered good medicine anymore.

Indeed. It was the same with tonsils and such which were routinely removed.

[DeepFrz]

Originally Posted by jgbrown View Post
True but care must be taken. Some are ok. Some become useless. Some become toxic and dangerous...

I don't think I remember reading that in the study. Could you provide a reference?

[KelleyG]

In our preparations to set out on a long term/liveaboard sail my doctor (who is a sailor) recommended we just get one of those basic first aid kits and then wrote me a few prescriptions. One for an epipen, antibiotics and sea sickness patches. The kit my vet made for us was much more involved.

[MarkJ]

When we looked at EpiPens in Australia they were $236 per pen.
Ummm too high and I thingk they only were valid for 1 year.

But now there's a different drug and a different method... A lollipop. But I have forgotten the drug. Do we have a quack on board (yes, plenty!) who can tell us about eh lollipop thingy and is it cheaper?


The idea with the EpiPen or lollipop is when someone is really badly injured you get 15 minutes of pain free while you drag them down the companionway to bed... Or drag them up to the liferaft... Anyway it's a short term pain relief for big hurties.


Mark

[DeepFrz]

I always thought the EpiPen was for allergic type reactions from bee stings, etc.

From EpiPen.com:

EpiPen® and EpiPen Jr (0.3 and 0.15 mg epinephrine) Auto-Injectors are for the emergency treatment of life-threatening allergic reactions (anaphylaxis) caused by allergens, exercise, or unknown triggers; and for people who are at increased risk for these reactions. EpiPen and EpiPen Jr are intended for immediate self administration as emergency supportive therapy only. Seek immediate emergency medical treatment after u

[KelleyG]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

When we looked at EpiPens in Australia they were $236 per pen.
Ummm too high and I thingk they only were valid for 1 year.
Mark

Ours were pricey - $80 for 2. I got them just before I quit my job while I still had health insurance. Otherwise I would have nixed that idea. I recently had an allergic reaction to something and I thought it would just be safer to have one on board.

[Livia]

One point in favor of having a little extra basic meds is that you have the option to give some away when you see a need. I have given away 4 or 5 tubes of antibiotic cream to families with kids with big scrapes who didn't have any.

We keep a few kinds of oral antibiotics, a few kinds of allergic reaction stuff (benedryl and prednisone), a few kinds of pain killers, a lot of antibiotic cream/iodine/peroxide/bandages which we use most often, and prescription burn cream. With galley burns being a common boating injury and with us doing a long passage and then spending some time in remote atolls we currently have a fair amount.

http://thegiddyupplan.blogspot.com/2...dical-kit.html

When we made our initial list we waited on some things that we didn't know how to use (sutures, etc) and I'm really glad we did because now I know that for most of the things that we would have dropped money on, we could use a substitute rather than the medical item. For example, I imagine you can suture in an emergency with a lot of things.

[jgbrown]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

When we looked at EpiPens in Australia they were $236 per pen.
Ummm too high and I thingk they only were valid for 1 year.

But now there's a different drug and a different method... A lollipop. But I have forgotten the drug. Do we have a quack on board (yes, plenty!) who can tell us about eh lollipop thingy and is it cheaper?

The idea with the EpiPen or lollipop is when someone is really badly injured you get 15 minutes of pain free while you drag them down the companionway to bed... Or drag them up to the liferaft... Anyway it's a short term pain relief for big hurties.

Mark

I hope you're joking... I've not seen that before. Epipens are painful. They buy you time for dealing with dangerous allergic reactions. That is all. Administering them to an injured person would be awful and possibly very dangerous to them.


To the people getting after me re: expired drugs. I forget but will figure it out tommorow. Need my old notes.
The best doctor I ever met cautioned me. Considering his training, the things he spotted or fixed for me that were missed and where he worked when young I believe him.

He was not opposed to use of expired stuff generally as a better than nothing approach. His caution was specific.



I will write more on both topics when off my phone. My good keyboard for the phone is off and this is too slow.

[Zanshin]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

When we looked at EpiPens in Australia they were $236 per pen.

Mark, I got 2 Epipens in Marigot for something like €15 each. When I went back this year to the same pharmacy they wanted a prescription and gave me a doctor's address, stating it would be a formality and cheap. I bet I could have tried on the Dutch side and gotten them, but I didn't do it, as my supply wasn't cloudy (yet). The BVI has them for about $100US but once you get down island they get cheaper. While I've got no allergies that I know of, they are good emergency items. I gather that they've now got inhalator epiphedrine units, but haven't seen them yet.

[David_Old_Jersey]

Although probably not a great concern for the countries folks on boats usually visit, perhaps worth mentioning that no universal standards for OTC medicines. Some things available at home may be prescription only elsewhere (and vice verce), not simply the products but also the content. Likely more of an inconveniance than ever a legal problem with stuff that has no dual (fun!) use. Likely .

[GordMay]

The drug expiration date, required by law in the United States, beginning in 1979, specifies only the date the manufacturer guarantees the full potency and safety of the drug. It does not mean how long the drug is actually "good" or safe to use.

A few drugs don’t age well, for example; epinephrine, nitroglycerin, insulin, liquid antibiotics, and perhaps tetracycline - none of which should be used beyond their listed expiration date.

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by DeepFrz

I always thought the EpiPen was for allergic type reactions from bee stings, etc.

From EpiPen.com:

Oooops, yes, you are right, I got a bit forgetful....
I was thinking of the Penthrane Inhaler "Green Whistle"
It's a very strong pain killer taut in our First Aid course. You give the patient this thing to suck and it self administers immediately.

Used when you need to do something very painful to the paitent for a few minutes.

But I have also heard theres something else that's similar but a different drug that you suck like a lollipop.

. Methoxyflurane has been extensively used since the 1970s in Australia as an emergency analgesic for short-term use, mostly by the Australian and New Zealand Defence Forces,[3] and the Australian ambulance services.....It is self-administered to children and adults using the Penthrox inhaler, a hand-held inhaler device.[3][4][7][8] A non-opioid alternative to morphine, .... As of 2010, methoxyflurane was listed under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme for the initial management of pain due to acute trauma, as well as for brief painful procedures such as changing of wound dressings or for patient transport.[9] A portable, disposable, single-use inhaler device (the Penthrox inhaler), along with a single 3 milliliter brown glass vial of methoxyflurane is provided in doctor's kits that allows conscious hemodynamically stable patients (including children over the age of 5 years) to self-administer the drug, under supervision.[9] The device is often referred to as the "green whistle", due to its appearance.[10]
Each 3 milliliter dose lasts approximately 30 minutes.[11] Pain relief begins after 6–8 breaths and continues for several minutes after stopping inhalation.

It was hugely expensive but I see its now on the PBS so Aussies can get a prescription for it and pay just $30!

[Chalker]

Like many on this thread I have an extensive medical kit, including prescription meds from my GP, taken with us on an Atlantic Circuit. Only thing that we used was some wide spectrum antibiotic

We are getting ready to set off again and i've started to think about how we should declare the med kit on arrival in each country.
The medicines available OTC, pharmacist only and prescription only seem to vary widely. Sudafed (pseudoephedrine) is pharmacist/prescription in NZ and Aus but freely available OTC in the UK. That's apart from medications that are prescription only around much of the world.
I think that all of mine are covered in the UK MCA MSN 1768 (M+F), but that is a requrement document for professionsl craft and specifically excludes private pleasure craft.

What do others do about declaring their medical kit? Isthare an acceptable form of words?

[Livia]

We've only cleared into the US, Mexico, French Polynesia and the Cook Islands so we don't have further experience with that but....

In each case I wrote "ships medical kit" (or premier soin in French) and no one asked any further. All of the medicines have their prescription labels still on (in my name) and we kept the paper prescriptions with them in a ziploc in case the labels fade.