If you’ve ever carried a bright green Boots first aid kit in your 58 webbing then this article is for you. If you haven’t but are a soldier or outdoorsman then still go ahead, brew up and have a read.
You are looking at the first in a series of articles tackling the topic of personal medical kits, starting with the lightest and smallest: the pocket kit.
Why: because you don’t want to nag your combat life saver every time you’ve cut yourself using your new knife.
What: the kit doesn’t have to be huge: in fact buy big, carry once, only to be left in the back of your car never to be opened again. What I carry fits in the palm of my hand:
Contents consists of:
Two L shaped tick removers from a pet store: these are the best in business as they come in a large and small size (the longer a tick is left attached to you, the more it swells). With Lyme disease and untreatable co-infections on the rise everywhere, removing ticks as a ¨oner¨ is essential.
Compeed blister plasters: used to put over the top of red patches or manifesting blisters. Be sure to buy the real McCoy: Tesco’s own just don't stay in place. Compete on the other hand will protect long after the exercise has finished.
A few plasters of different sizes: buy the blue ones that are used by commercial kitchens as they tend to stick for longer. There’s no need to carry more than a few - you’ve got to be pretty stupid to cut yourself 20 times during one exercise.
Alcohol wipes to clean cuts (dual purpose, removes the felt tip ink from laminated range cards, too).
5x5 gauzes and tape to cover larger cuts.
Oral Rehydration Salts: aka electrolytes, does exactly what it says on the tin and is one of the most important things you can carry.
Tweezers to remove thorns and splinters you’ll inevitably collect whilst crawling on your belt buckle.
A small gauge needle (gives a good grip, but a safety pin may do too) to puncture blisters and penetrate nails to release blood trapped underneath .
A dressing together with a crepe bandage when an Israeli Dressing isn’t necessary.
In addition to all this, I have a CPR mask, space blanket and an Israeli Dressing in the “fag pocket” of my Dutch combat pants.
How: all this is wrapped in a waterproof zip bag which has the corners lined with sniper tape. This plastic bag, in turn, is protected using a standard issue DPM sewing kit pouch.
Where: in a pants pocket on the first line.
When: always. This is my most used kit, and because it is so small I even have it with me during civvy trips. Any bigger or heavier and it would probably become an annoyance and ultimately get left behind.
Now you'll be wondering where are the Ibuprofen and 200mg tabs of Paracetamol: this I carry in a tiny plastic box with separators, purchased from a fishing shop.
About the author: Ryan graduated as a human physiologist before qualifying as a Medic Special Forces and serving in the Royal Netherlands Brigade Reconnaissance Force. Post Army career he gained his Masters in Crisis & Disaster Management, works in the security industry and an African Park Ranger Charity. To find out more about this please visit: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/poachingstopshere
This Kit Pest Article was written by Ryan. Hopefully you enjoyed it and if you have any thoughts or comments related to this article then leave a comment!
If you'd like to visit Cooper's Kit Corner, you can find it here.
Tax Reclaims - https://forces-money.co.uk/military-kit-insurance/
Tax Reclaims - https://forces-money.co.uk/military-kit-insurance/
If you'd like to visit Gen Kit Exchange, you can find it here.
No comments:
Post a Comment