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Re: [at-l] first-aid kit
In considering a first aid kit for long hauls on the AT, you might
consider the following:
1) Preparing for the AT is not quite the same as preparing for a long
distance trek in the remote wilderness. If you are hiking "in season" (as
opposed to winter hiking) you can consider the fact that you will
normally not be isolated from other hikers for more than a few hours, or
from a town and emergency treatment for more than a day or two.
2) When hiking, you want to keep weight down. The trade off is weight
versus readiness for a larger scope of contingencies; or how much
discomfort due to additional weight versus how much discomfort if you
have from incomplete treatment of injury or illness (or the need to go
slower and take more time due to injury or illness).
3) the less well-conditioned you are and the faster/harder you hike, the
more likely you are to be impacted by injury (such as blisters, knee
problems, or injury from falling, etc.) and perhaps the less tolerant you
might be of physical discomfort.
4) You can carry some stuff, you can have some other stuff in mail
drops, and you can buy stuff in visits to town.
For your pack, you might want to carry:
1) blister kit (mole skin; neosporin; needle; miniature Bic lighter or
matches for sterilizing needle -- and which you should already be
carrying; tape -- which can be duct tape; and if you are REALLY worried
about blisters, add a SPENCO second skin kit) -- this blister kit
should be adequate to handle your needs on the trail, -- you probably
don't really need anything else for blisters, including gauze or band
aids, and you can always resupply in some trail town.
2) minor wound kit, for cuts and abrasions (neosporin, which you already
have in the blister kit, a few sterile gauze pads, and duct tape, which
you already will have, you could add 3-4 band aids to this kit, and a
small amount of anti-bacterial soap or a couple of sterilizing swabs to
clean cuts and abrasions
3) antihistamine capsules for sinus congestion ( 6 capsules should be
enough to last several days, and you can always buy more in a trail town)
4) ibuprofen tablets for joint inflammation and muscle soreness/pain,
toothache, etc.
5) ace bandage with butterfly clamps for sprain (and possibly to help
secure bandage for a major wound, which is highly unlikely to occur)
6) neoprene knee brace (Tru-Fit has an adjustable one with 3 straps that
retails for about $10) -- this is particularly worthwhile if you have any
previous history of knee problems, and it can become part of your
sleeping "pillow" (along with some clothes, such as a polartec jacket
placed in a stuff sack). An adjustable one has the advantage of being
able to fit under or over any pants, as well as being used on different
size persons.
7) small tweezers for splinters, ticks, etc.
This whole first aid kit would be packable into something no bigger than
a 16 oz container.
That's all that you may need to carry, but of course consider any special
personal medical conditions. You might also want to consider poison ivy
treatment -- but that is something you could buy in town or bounce in
mail drops. However, you MIGHT want to consider carrying some tecnu
oak-n-ivy skin cleanser, which can actually neutralize and remove the
oils that cause rash and itching. Most people can put up with minor
outbreaks of poison ivy/oak/sumac for awhile without any treatment,
though you would want to get some treatment once you got to town.
Some people carry ointment or powder for skin rashes, but I've found that
unnecessary since if you promptly remove the source of friction, wash and
air the rash, the rashes go away with 24-48 hours - especially if action
is taken at the first sign -- and if it persists you can get treatment
stuff in a trail town.
I don't think one needs to carry anti-diarrheal medication, antibiotics,
snake-bite kits, or much of anything else that is solely for first aid.
I've lived and hiked in Texas and Arizona and have never personally known
anyone who got bit by a poisonous snake. Also the advice on treatment
for snake bite varies, but one line of advice is that you should not
attempt any treatment other than to send someone for help, or if that is
not an option, then calmly walk to help yourself. Even if it takes a
couple of days your changes of surviving are probably better than 99%.
Very few adult healthy people die of snake bites (even if untreated)--
and I believe the number that do die is far fewer than die from
lightning.
You probably will want to carry some bug-repellant, and some water
purification tablets (in case your water filter pump fails, or if you
don't have a filter system) -- but most people probably would not
consider these to be "first aid" kit items. Also you probably will be
carrying a bandanna, a couple of safety pins, emergency space blanket,
etc. that can be pressed into first aid service should need so dictate.
Finally consider First Aid PREVENTION which includes having the proper
gear, clothing, water, and staying within your physical limitations. For
example, I now am a strong believer in using a PAIR of hiking sticks to
reduce the likelihood of knee injury, reduce the number of falls, and
generally make hiking safer and easier when not on relatively flat
terrain.
Finally it probably is a better investment in your time and money to bone
up on first aid treatment techniques, rather than simply adding stuff to
a first aid kit. For example do you know how to bandage a sprained foot?
Or recognize the symptoms of heat exhaustion (and treat them), or how to
perform mouth to mouth resuscitation, heart massage, stop bleeding, treat
for shock? Acquiring/maintaining those skills are probably more
important than putting together a more extensive first aid kit.
A final consideration might be to list all the injuries or illness that
you consider to be a possibility on the AT, and how you would handle
each. Then decide how much more stuff you would need and it that
risk/benefit outweighs (pun intended) the cost in your pack load.
---terry---
On Fri, 22 May 1998 10:04:17 PDT "Rhymi girl" <rhymi@hotmail.com> writes:
>Greetings all,
> We are slowly stocking up the supplies we need for our '99
>thruhike.
>The next purchase- a first-aid kit. We have seen many, from the very
>basic, to the excessive. I was wondering what you guys feel is
>necessary
>to have, what certain things are a more 'lightweight' version of
>necessities, etc. We are on a slight budget also, so if you have any
>alternatives that are cheeper, that would also be appreciated. TIA,
>~Rhymi/Willowhaven~
>rhymi@hotmail.com
>willowhaven@hotmail.com
>GA > ME 00 = 2000 in '99
>
>
>
>
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