Offshore First Aid Kit??

[Nath]

Hi,

I'm looking to buy a decent, well stocked first aid kit.
Something suitable for remote parts of the Tropics with two young kids onboard... I have trawled the web but they all seem to be very expensive but full of a lot of useless items...

I don't mind paying decent money, I just want a decent kit..

Can anyone recommend a particular kit and where to buy, either online or direct?

BTW I'm frequently in Malaysia/Thialand/Western Australia

[knottygurl]

I bought mine from an army surplus store and then topped it off with items that I wanted to have like neck braces, disposable scalpels, tranch kit, sports wrap, good stethoscope, a blood pressure kit, from the hobby store i picked up plaster.
I bought a nice medic bag that foldsout like paramedics use and then set it up.
Then I bought a couple good medical field manuals and a surgical manual and homeopathic herbal medicine manual.
I sat with my doctor and got suggestions from him as well and then asked him to prescribe me pain killers, antibiotics a powerful steroid rash cream and i keep adding and replacing each year as needed.
hope this helps, total cost was around 150.00

[Nath]

Thanks Knottygurl,

Yes I did suspect like most thing if you want a good product you can trust you have to do it yourself... I was just hoping to buy something that was 80% of the way there...

Thanks for the tips though...

[Teknav]

Hi! Just be extremely careful when you decide to purchase opiate-based analgesics (pain killers); hydrocodone, percocet and Darvon. Their possession are prohibited in some countries. US physicians are not going to prescribe you any amount without the immediate need for them, and if they do, it will only be for just a few weeks usage.

Mauritz

[cfarrar]

Nath, you can get "80% of the way there" with a quick trip to your local drug store, and your kit will be not only cheaper but better. For traumu: vinyl gloves, a healthy supply of feminine napkins, a bottle of povidone-iodine solution, duct tape, and pastic food wrap.

[familycruisers]

My sister being a vet, not sure where to get them, but she gave me a staple gun kit. It's sealed has sterile staples in it. When needed just open the bag, close the wound, apply gun and squeeze. Would also recommend some super glue for facial lacerations.

[MarkJ]

My circumnavigating first aid kit consists of Bandaids. I have just upgraded to Disney character bandaids because they make me feel better when i bark my F'ing shins again.

I wouldnt waste money of a nautical first aid kit. Take what you have used in the last two years at home.

[vtsailguy]

I just saw these staple guns n eBay

[JDs Sailing]

Nath, we carry a large selection of marine first aid kits with various configurations. I've spent a bit of time in Pacific Islands and would highly recommend some malaria medication such as doxycycline if you will be staying in the area for an extended amount of time!

If you check our medical kits here you will see we have a few various sizes and configurations. Cfarrar does bring up a good point though that the best medical kit is one you customize. Start off with a baseline kit to cover the essentials and then add your area specific materials as needed.

I personally run around with an Adventure Marine Medical 1000 kit aboard my boat.

[Dave852]

I purchased an adventure medical kit (I want to say it cost around $700) then took the inventory list to my local doctor to look over. He said pretty good but it's missing a few things, come back in a week. When I showed up he had a cardboard box larger than the kit itself filled with what he felt was missing. He would not take any payment, just asked me to bring him a mask back for his collection. I was able to get antibiotics and pain killers between him and my dentist, kept the scripts just in case.

[ridingdog]

I think the kit sold by JD's Sailing Supply (Adventure Medical Marine 1000) looks to be an excellent off-shore kit (I am an emergency room physician, BTW). In my experience offshore though, sea sickness is the top three most likely cause of disability, so scopolamine patches (Transderm Scop), Dramamine, etc are essential for prevention and IV fluids could be a life saver if someone failed to prevent severe sea sickness. Zofran ODT 4mg might be an option to control vomiting and allow for oral rehydration, if no IV skills are on-board. For small wounds, Superglue works great (if you can get Dermabond from your doctor that is the expensive, improved medical stuff). If you can sew sails then sewing wounds (ones that can't be closed with Superglue because they are large, gaping or will open under tension) is not any more difficult but some form of anesthesia is a good idea. Ask your doctor for a 5cc syringe and some lidocaine with epinephrine and to show you how to infiltrate a wound. The most important part of wound closure is cleaning it; for this plain tap water irrigation right from the faucet is adequate. Narcotic pain medicines are problematic not only from a legal stand point but they are likely to cause nausea and vomiting. However, taken with an antinausea medicine they might a blessing if someone has a serious fracture. However, a 1000mg or acetaminophen and 800mg of ibuprofen every 8 hours might be just as good. Wilderness first responder experience is an excellent skill set for crew members to have if they are going to be days or hours from a skilled medical facility.

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, ridingdog.

Thanks for your expert advice!

[Paul Elliott]

Make sure you get some good antibiotics. Small cuts in the tropics (on coral, rocks, etc) can quickly result in a very nasty infection. I know one boat where two of the crew got what turned out to be MRSA infections, and after they ran out of antibiotics they required an on-the-water transfer of additional pills. When they reached shore one of the crew needed hospitalization, surgery, and I.V. antibiotics. Different antibiotics work for different infections -- ask a doctor to prescribe an appropriate assortment, and learn what to use and when.

That said, I've sailed over 25,000 miles with crews of four to six, and we've never needed to break into our med kit.

[ridingdog]

I agree, Paul, that antibiotics might be very valuable. I have thrown away all that I have ever brought because they were long outdated and there was never a need. But if that need should arise it might be worth all you have ever spent. Be aware of crew members allergies, medical conditions and medicines they are on before starting a voyage. If one was going to buy antibiotics for most scenarios then Batrim DS (sulfa/trimethoprim) (skin infections with MRSA, urinary tract infections, bacterial dysentary), ciprofloxin (bladder, skin, dysentary), cephalexin or amoxicillin (skin, dental), and azithromycin (pneumonia). Then one has to consider country specific issues (e.g.: malaria, dysentary). One would have to reconfigure their kit for the type and destination of the journey.

[boatman61]

Don't waste your money on a store bought kit.. visit your GP and give him the areas you are frequenting and ask for a list of stuff (Meds/antiseptics/etc) then make up the rest from common sense.. slings, bandages, splints etc.. cheaper and better
Also you'll find in those areas.. barring OZ.. you'll get a lot of stuff over the counter whereas you'll need a scrip elsewhere..