On board medical kit items

[Delezynski]

Two new items that may fin there way into our on board medical kit.

Celox, looks like the military is using it and it might be handy to have a couple of the small packets on board. Take a look at: Millcreek Medical Products

And the other is a type of bandage, “CMB™ Antimicrobial Wound Dressing with PROSIT™”.

A very interesting idea. The PROSIT™ activates and generates a voltage at the surface when moistened. When active, PROSIT™ prevents microbial penetration.
Information and case studies are shown at: Products

Something new all the time!


Greg

[Roy M]

Cool! Thanks!

[GordMay]

Other than corporate promotional propaganda (er, “literature”), have you any information suggesting that the "CMB Antimicrobial Dressing" is substantially better (or different) than existing bandages, or even safe and effective?
Apparently, this is nothing more than a regular dressing with a little zinc and silver added.

[Pblais]

PROSIT is not approved by FDA for general use but only professional use.

Celox might a good item if you are someone that does not clot blood normally. The shelf life is 3 years and something you need to deal with. Many items expire before you need them and rotation of your medical kit is maybe more important than you flares.

Since it applies directly to a wound it may slow large blood loss but it would seem that you then are faced with more medical assitance to get beyond that. For your garden variety cuts bigger than a single bandaid it could be handy stuff. If you sustain a big open wound stopping the bleeding is only a beginning although a major step 1.

[CanQua]

My .02
For information about the benefits of silver in a bandage look up medical silver or colloidal silver. Extremely well proven topically and is even being vaporised and inhaled for absorbtion(No real studies completed last time i checked, but individuals seemed to react well). As far as the zinc, no idea, possibly more of a perceived benifit as the reaction warms the area. I could be totally off base.

[GordMay]

Maybe we should all carry these too?

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by CanQua

My .02
For information about the benefits of silver in a bandage look up medical silver or colloidal silver...

While Colloidal Silver has been touted as universal panacea for dozens of illnesses as diverse as acne, stomach flu, malaria, HIV, scarlet fever, and warts, the FDA declared in a Final Rule August 17, 1999 that “all over-the-counter drug products containing colloidal silver or silver salts are not recognized as safe and effective and are misbranded”.
Furthermore, the sale of any nonprescription colloidal silver or silver salt product claiming to be effective in preventing or treating any disease was banned, effective September 16, 1999.
Silver products can only be sold legally as “dietary supplements”, provided that no health claims are made for them.
Goto:
FDA TALK PAPER

Reviews in the scientific literature on colloidal silver products have concluded that:
* Silver has no known function in the body.
* Silver is not an essential mineral supplement or a cure-all and should not be promoted as such.
* Claims that there can be a "deficiency" of silver in the body and that such a deficiency can lead to disease are unfounded.
* Claims made about the effectiveness of colloidal silver products for numerous diseases are unsupported scientifically.
* Colloidal silver products can have serious side effects (argyria).
* Laboratory analysis has shown that the amounts of silver in supplements vary greatly, which can pose risks to the consumer.

[Pblais]

Taking the belt and suspenders route by bringing a rabbits foot, lucky penny, 4 leaf clover, and a horseshoe works quite well. The wide versatility makes up for the total lack of efficacy. Maximizing ones luck is the very least you can do in the "less is more" approach to cruising.

[hellosailor]

Silver products are recognized as safe and effective, i.e. Silvadene, Thermadyne, and other brands of burn dressings use silver compounds as the anti-bacterial agent and are preferred to antibiotics in many cases. Of course there's also a lot of new-age-hookum about silver these days too, and one man ingested so much of it that's he's literally turned blue (a problem documented for millenia) and been on TV to warn others about this.

Celox is just one of several products, QuikClot has been out for at least 3-4 years but they are all hard to find. Mainly a spin-off of battlefield medicine. For dive rescue medicine--presuming we'd be offshore and without aid for some time--before that stuff existed we were taught to use plain granulated sugar. It is readily available, relatively sterile, causes no damage, and in the absence of anything better, forms a "sugar scab" on the wound to protect it.

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by hellosailor

Silver products are recognized as safe and effective, i.e. Silvadene, Thermadyne, and other brands of burn dressings use silver compounds as the anti-bacterial agent and are preferred to antibiotics in many cases. Of course there's also a lot of new-age-hookum about silver these days too ...

Silvadene & Thermazene are both brands of Silver Sulfadiazine, which is a sulfa derivative topical antibacterial used primarily as a topical burn cream on second- and third-degree burns.

Silver Sulfadiazine (Topical Route) - MayoClinic.com

SILVADENE CREAM 1%: C10H9AgN4O2S
Contains about* 0.3% Silver (Ag)
3,025 parts of Silver
6,975 parts of the "C10 H9 N4 O2 S"
990,000 parts of the cream base

[cal40john]

Originally Posted by Pblais

PROSIT is not approved by FDA for general use but only professional use.

Celox might a good item if you are someone that does not clot blood normally. The shelf life is 3 years and something you need to deal with. Many items expire before you need them and rotation of your medical kit is maybe more important than you flares.

Since it applies directly to a wound it may slow large blood loss but it would seem that you then are faced with more medical assitance to get beyond that. For your garden variety cuts bigger than a single bandaid it could be handy stuff. If you sustain a big open wound stopping the bleeding is only a beginning although a major step 1.

I consider not bleeding out through an arterial wound before professional help that might be hours in coming a very good first major step, even for people with normal clotting. I believe the aspirin and other drugs in my first aid kit expires more frequently than 3 years, so I have to maintain my kit more often than every 3 years anyway. Not that I've ever had to deal with a major medical problem yet, the older I get, the more paranoid I get thinking that it's going to happen someday.


John

[Delezynski]

We have a doctor here who is cruising also. He has often given aid to other cruisers and lectures at a number of the cruisers get-together.

He is taking a look at both items I talked about in the original note. When he has anything to say about them, good or bad, I will try to post it.

In the mean time

I read about the first item, Celox, and thought it might be a handy item for our kit.
From our own personal history, we have had to replace almost ALL of our meds that are time limited. Adding one more to the list is no big deal. And, it looks like the cost for a couple of small packs is very reasonable.

The above doctor (and a few of us) talked about Celox and other wound management over a beer last night. Some interesting things came out regarding stitches, or not, cleaning the area and other related items.

The second item, the CMB™ Antimicrobial Wound Dressing looked interesting to me.
When we have a wound, we bandage it. If the cost of this type of bandage is not huge, why not give it a try? It looks like a no loose situation. The worst that could happen is no difference from an ordinary bandage. Or am I messing something? Could it do damage?

As to the talk about Colloidal Silver, Colloidal silver - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia , as I talked about before. It is the main ingredient in a product here in Mexico called BacDyn. It is used extensively for cleaning fruits and vegetables before eating. Dosage is also given for treating drinking water. It's much less harsh than bleach. Cruisers are NOT the only ones to use it. It's mostly the Mexicans. And it IS approved AND recommended by the doctors here, a LOT of which were trained in the USA.

One of the great tings about cruising, we ALL get to make up our own minds and chart our own courses And we know we live by those decisions.


Greg

[Roy M]

Silvadene is a significant tool in my medical kit. I carry the 1 pint size of it, prescribed by my physician. The possible scenario: You are boiling a pot of pasta, while draining it, something bad happens and it splashes all over your belly and beyond (ouch!). Since you are several days out, enroute to Hawaii, it may be as much as a week before your caregivers (because you are probably useless at this stage) can reach medical aid for second degree burns to the abdomen and ??. Besides treatment for shock and pain management, keeping infection at bay is going to be critical. Silvadene is considered an excellent product for helping to keep topical infection under control in burn cases, and may even eliminate possible scarring. I worked for several years in the UCLA Emergency Room, have taken numerous advanced first aid courses, received EMT certification, and know how to ask questions of physicians, nurse-practicioners, and pharmacists. They helped me to develop my medical and pharmacological kit for cruising. I deeply appreciate the input of fellow forum members who come across products that may not have appeared on our local radar screens. Something that can reduce bleeding in acute trauma would be a lifesaver.

[Hud3]

I carry Silvadene, too. But I also wear my weather gear">foul weather gear bibs when boiling water in rough conditions. A good preventative!

[bobfnbw]

Silver is showing up more in antimicrobials.
In my hospital we have been using it for some time in wound dressings, and of course burns.
Hospitals will use the cheapest items they can and frequently do, but letght of stay is important when your funding is based on how quick you can get someone out the door. And these new products are showing promise.
I have several in my kit, and will continue to evaluate and s tock what looks promising.
They are more expensive, but when your hours or days away from help, it is worth the extra cost for me as I have my family on board.
And I try not to boil water offshore. Why tempt fate?