Med kit for family

My wife and I are about to have our 3rd and last child. ThT means there are 3 adults (mother in law) and 3 kids.
I’m looking to put together a kit for the 6 of us God forbid there was ever a bad situation and any or a few of us ever got hurt. Trips together, highway accidents or collapse of society yada yada

I was thinking of grabbing 3 Activity Group RMT ratchet TQ and 3 for kids. After that chest seals and packing gauze and gloves etc.

I’m curious what components and how much of each component would be a good amount to have us covered in this kit and what’s a good bag to carry it In without getting into silly pricing.

This is far from comprehensive, but off of the top of my head:

BAG:
Tactical Tailor First Responder Bag

HEMCON:
CAT TQs (4)
ACE wraps (2 x 2", 3 x 3")
Combat Gauze (4) *if someone is on a prescribed blood thinner or has a clotting disorder, Chito Gauze should be considered
4"x4" Gauze (sold as loose pack; you want enough to keep around for minor wound dressing)
Rolled gauze ("kerlex" or "kling"; 4 rolls)

MISC. TRAUMA
SAM splints (2 x 36", rolled)
Triangle bandages (2)
Rigid eye shield (2)
Assorted Band Aids

MISC. MEDICAL
OTC meds (Tylenol, Ibuprofen, Aspirin, Benadryl, Claritin, Imodium, Pepto)
LiquidIV (or similar electrolyte powder)
30-day supply of any necessary Rx'd meds

SUPPLIES
Headlamp with spare batteries
Emergency blankets (2)
Shears (no need to go crazy...they all work fine)
Grease pen (never dry out, write on anything...including bloody dressings and skin)
Cloth tape (2" 3M Durapore is the best)
Alcohol prep wipes
Tweezers
Moleskin
Sunscreen
Bug spray
Petroleum-soaked cotton balls
Bic lighter
Nitrile gloves (add in a couple of pairs that are one size larger than normal)


Chest seals can be easily improvised. No need for exotic stuff like NPAs, decompression needles, pocket BVMs, etc. If you have the training to know how to use them, throw them in if you feel the need.

I'm sure I'm forgetting some important basic stuff, but that's a solid "do it all" type of bag you could slap together and store easily enough. You can make some waterproof/tearproof bags to store stuff in by wrapping gallon ziploc bags with duct tape (Ranger purse).

I'm a really big fan of the CAT and SOFT-TW tourniquets. I've used them quite a lot and have used a CAT on a kindergarten age child (boating accident), so anecdotally, the concerns regarding TQ application on children and not fitting kind of goes out the window by grade school. A SOFT-TW will work if you're planning for the wee one.


*EDIT: The stuff in bold above is to highlight what I feel you should get first if you're putting a kit together around a budget.

Unaware of your background medical knowledge, but I'd recommend some tac med/basic EMT/red cross basic first aid/ youtube videos :-) training on how to use basic items properly.
Unless you are already in the health professions and getting additional suggestions.

Experience is very little. Couple shooting classes that thought a few things and learning online.

Remember the probability of use. Yeah, have 'some' trauma stuff, but most things are boo-boo kits things (band aids, ice packs, ace wraps) or medical (tylenol, benadryl, etc.).

I like Adventure Medical Kits, supplemented with a couple TQs and a couple hemostatic gauze.

Some things you will not be able to use on kids, especially small kids (NPA airways, some TQs, etc.). Peds needs peds-specific stuff for the most part.

Edited to add, it's academic unless you have some training. Basic first aid, CPR, and stop the bleed. That's what you need.

GTF425's kit is pretty good.

Anyone know what tq are good for infants?

Was thinking of these for my 4 and 7 year olds. Too big for infant iD suspect

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Originally Posted by newyork

Anyone know what tq are good for infants?

Was thinking of these for my 4 and 7 year olds. Too big for infant iD suspect

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ACE wrap will do it. Not kidding.

Is the SWAT T a good kid wrap choice too?

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Originally Posted by newyork

Is the SWAT T a good kid wrap choice too?

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Yes. With how small their extremities are, very narrow blood vessels, and lower normal blood pressure, you can effectively tourniquet an infant extremity with a well applied compression bandage. It's similar to a dog extremity in that regard.

Thank you so much! I’ll be ordering stuff up this weekend.


I tried hosting a Dark Angel class a few years ago in my area. Would’ve been a great intro but they cancelled due to super low sign ups. I guess the cost was too high or interest too low.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by newyork

Thank you so much! I’ll be ordering stuff up this weekend.


I tried hosting a Dark Angel class a few years ago in my area. Would’ve been a great intro but they cancelled due to super low sign ups. I guess the cost was too high or interest too low.

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Dark Angel is good, but expensive. A lot of equally good companies out there that are less expensive.

I agree re: SWATT and/or ace.

Anyone have any doubts or issue with the activity group ratcheting RMT?

From what I understand they’re gtg. I think they’re accepted by the mil but not 100% positive. I own a few.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by newyork

Anyone have any doubts or issue with the activity group ratcheting RMT?

From what I understand they’re gtg. I think they’re accepted by the mil but not 100% positive. I own a few.

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The RMT is CoTCCC-approved.

I thought so. Thank you

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Originally Posted by GTF425

... Combat Gauze (4) *if someone is on a prescribed blood thinner or has a clotting disorder, Chito Gauze should be considered

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I am on a prescribed blood thinner, along with low dose aspirin, taken every day. What is the reason for the above? Will Combat Gauze not work, or will it cause unintended serious consequences? How does Chito Gauze differ?

Combat Gauze may be the goto brand for soldiers gearing up for combat operations, but I suspect not too many soldiers are on blood thinners. Considering the overall health of the civilian population, or just your family alone, and the fact that many friends or extended family may be on blood thinners and you don't know about it (most of my relatives and the guys I train with don't know I am on a blood thinner), would the Chito Gauze be a better choice for a typical stateside IFAK or family kit?

Combat Gauze works by activating a specific clotting factor in the blood (if you're curious; Factor 12). While not specifically inhibited by common blood thinners, Combat Gauze essentially amplifies the patient's ability to clot. If someone is prescribed anti-coagulants, there are concerns regarding how effectively the gauze works based on prolonged thrombin formation with drugs such as Coumadin (warfarin) and Eliquis (apixaban).

ChitoGauze (and Celox) have a different hemostatic agent. They use a shellfish extract known as chitosan. Think of this as binding to red blood cells and promoting the formation of a clot on the dressing itself; it doesn't rely on a patient's intrinsic clotting ability as it forms clots through a process totally different than our normal clotting cascade.

Both Combat Gauze and ChitoGauze are recommended by CoTCCC and have substantial evidence supporting their use. Anecdotally, I'm fortunate to have access to both and have used both with positive expected results.

I'm phone posting from work, so I don't have links to post. If you'd like to read more, look into the mechanism of action of kaolin (Combat Gauze hemostatic) and search "hemostatic gauze blood thinners" on Google to see what comes up.

Something I've done is to segregate a Trauma kit from a Booboo and Medical Kit. The two kits are different colors and are labeled appropriately. Booboo/Medical carries bandaids, OTC meds in the appropriate doses for adults and kids, tools like magnifying glass, tweezers, etc.

OTC meds include:
tylenol,
ibuprofen,
rehydration packets,
antihistamines,
antidiarrheal,
an OTC epinephrine inhaler,
UTI meds,
eye drops,
cough drops,
and likely others.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by GTF425

BAG:
Tactical Tailor First Responder Bag

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Any thoughts on a simple booboo/medical bag (separate from above)? Been searching around for something simple, easy and budget friendly.

At this point thinking HPG Tool Roll (more organization) or GP Medium Pocket (less organization) both under $50.

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Originally Posted by fyrediver

Something I've done is to segregate a Trauma kit from a Booboo and Medical Kit. The two kits are different colors and are labeled appropriately. Booboo/Medical carries bandaids, OTC meds in the appropriate doses for adults and kids, tools like magnifying glass, tweezers, etc.

OTC meds include:
tylenol,
ibuprofen,
rehydration packets,
antihistamines,
antidiarrheal,
an OTC epinephrine inhaler,
UTI meds,
eye drops,
cough drops,
and likely others.

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Looks good, but you might want to consider adding "new skin" and a burn cream to your boo boo kit.

I wear a dark angel ifak and have a harbor freight tool bag on the table as a boo boo kit.

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Originally Posted by ndmiller

Any thoughts on a simple booboo/medical bag (separate from above)? Been searching around for something simple, easy and budget friendly.

At this point thinking HPG Tool Roll (more organization) or GP Medium Pocket (less organization) both under $50.

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Look at the tool bags at harbor freight, that is what I've used for about 5 years as a boo boo kit.

Here is a cheap one, the have others. A silver sharpie will mark this one anyway you want it.

https://www.harborfreight.com/tool-s...ets-61469.html

Any med kit today needs to have a supply of Ivermectin.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ndmiller

Any thoughts on a simple booboo/medical bag (separate from above)? Been searching around for something simple, easy and budget friendly.

At this point thinking HPG Tool Roll (more organization) or GP Medium Pocket (less organization) both under $50.

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As others have posted, tool bags work great for this purpose and are generally much higher quality than cheap bags marketed for medical purposes.

We have a few of these; keep one in the vehicles, on top of the refrigerator, etc. https://www.tramedicresponse.com/sho...s/tramedicube/

Also have a number of them in different places around our worksites. Their design makes them easy to carry around and to spot in an emergency.

The cool thing about TraMedic is that they have visual aids included in the subkits, with the subkits divided by injury. So, you pull the subkit based on the injury, and it has everything you need to treat that injury right in the subkit. The visual aids also help with remembering how to treat each injury. Not sure if they still offer them, but TraMedic used to offer really good videos for training. Even kids could watch them and remember what to do. If you are looking to coach your kids up on this stuff, might be worth taking a look.

Disclosure: I know the guy who owns the parent company, Tactical Medical Solutions (they make the SOFT-T), but I'm not employed by them nor would I get anything from this recommendation.

Look up a "stop the bleed" class. A guy locally put one on here a few years ago and it was REALLY great. Learned a lot.

I will. Thank you.

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Originally Posted by HKGuns

Any med kit today needs to have a supply of Ivermectin.

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Can you enlighten me more on the importance of this?

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Originally Posted by danieljmaunder

Can you enlighten me more on the importance of this?

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It's a great old-school anti-parasitic, and can be given for a wide range of off-shelf illnesses. Some studies show efficacy with COVID, though the data isn't super strong. I see it as "might help, can't hurt."

There are a lot of great recommendations for trauma kits. I carry one in my car, but I will also echo the importance of basic first aid supplies “boo-boo kit”. You are far more likely to experience a minor wound that does not need a TQ. So having a basic first aid kit for you and your family is a great starting point.
Things like:
- various sizes of band aids
- non adherent pads (different sizes)
- antibiotic ointment
- steri strips
- ace wraps
- basic OTC’s
I know there is a lot more items to consider. But starting with the basics and building from there is a great way to go.

Add hemostats to the list. I have one or two in all of our kits. Occasionally for tick removal but all the time for splinters and thorns which kids (and adults) seem to be magnets for. Also burn dressings and burn gel packets. Israeli bandages are also in each kit plus one or two extra in each vehicle.