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[pct-l] Ultralight first aid



I tend to agree with jerry; accidents on the trail are either gonna be 
trivial, or they will require more than you can prepare for with a 
measly first aid kit.  Therefore, I tend to pack thinks in my first aid 
kit for comfort and some preventative-type stuff.  here's what I carry:

1.  four bandaids.
2.  individual serving of Neosporin or Bactroban (looks like a packet 
of mustard).
3.  8 ibuprofin pills (I do not carry these for headaches.  I carry 
these for inflamatory injuries.  Doctors recommend taking 800mg for 
such injuries, which is 4 pills, so this is two doses).
4.  4 immodium pills (diarhea is no fun and iodine pills can fail)
5.  an individual towelette soaked in Betadine
6.  1 to 2 ft of duct tape.
7.  Allergy meds, 4 to 6 pills depending on how bad my allergies are 
(if I can't sleep due to allergies, it will ruin me for hiking)  
Allergy pills may also help with poison ivy, bee stings, and other skin 
irritations.
8.  Some of the new superglue for skin that can be used to close wounds.

All of this fits into a half-size ziplock bag and weighs only a few 
ounces.  Of course, I do not carry and bottles for the pills and only 
carry them in tiny ziplocks.

I think that this will cover most injuries that you would want to treat 
in the back country, and will get you to the next trail town where you 
can treat the injuries better, if needed.  If you are unfortutate 
enough to suffer a really serious injury, then it doesn't really matter 
what's in your first aid kit and you can't plan for everything anyway.

This is all just my opinion and I am not a medical professional, so 
take it for what its worth.

Hope this helps. 

peace,
dude


> I am working on getting my pack weight down.  I have noticed that the
> one thing that I haven't reduced is my first aid kit.  Obviously, this
> is one of those items that is an exception to the "if I didn't use it
> last trip, get rid of it" rule.  I believe that a first aid kit should
> be truly an emergency item.  Not for blister treatment or other
> maintenance items.  The only time that I ever really used it was for
> someone who wasn't even hiking in my group.  And then it wasn't life
> threatening.  I have one of those prepackaged REI kits in the nifty
> fold-up zip-shut pouches.  Clearly, the pouch is the first thing that
> needs to go.  It is probably half of the weight.  Next would be the
> little first aid book.  This information is much lighter and more
> useful if carried in ones head.
> 
> My real question is; what is really important?  Do I really need such
> a big assortment of Band-Aids?  I can take care of small wounds with a
> little toilet paper and some duct tape.  Maybe my first-aid kit should
> concentrate on the big stuff.  I am thinking, maybe a wad of gauze and
> some tape, a butterfly closure or two, maybe some antiseptic.
> 
> Any advice?
> 
> Tom
> 
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