As you may (or may not) remember, a few posts back I described how the first aid kit I left in my bicycle pannier turned into something less-than-optimal as a result of being left out over the winter.
The problem was that it’s a tough balancing act to have a first aid kit in a watertight/airtight container of some fashion but still be quickly accessible with one hand when youre trying to keep all the red stuff inside you. Turned out that the bicycle pannier may not have been nearly as weather resistant as I thought and as a result my first aid kit suffered a great deal of moisture damage. (Although, to be fair, the items that were wrapped in plastic or sealed in foil fared just fine.)
Okay, spring is (somewhat) here and I’m back to riding my bicycle more. Time to replace that first aid kit. On my bike, my needs are simple – I need some stuff to patch up scrapes/cuts/tears from me being suddenly introduced to the road surface by that great facilitator of ouchies – gravity.
An assortment of gauze, pads, bandaids, some tape, and some antibiotic ointment should do it. Lets see what we have:
It’s just for a bicycle accident, not a splenectomy….the skin stapler, betadine and other over-the-top stuff is in the other kit. For the most common boo-boos related to me flying over the handlebars, this’ll handle most of it. Now, to package it up so it stays clean and dry. In this case, we’ll go with a heavy mylar foil resealable bag. With a reasonable amount of care, and a modicum of force, everything fit into the pouch and left enough room to have a bit of extra material to form a seal:
Make sure the jaws of the sealer are hot enough, slide the open end of the pouch between ’em, squeeze jaws shut for a ten-count, and…voila:
I have a rather…exhaustive….supply of first-aid supplies from an episode of eBay purchasing that may have been a bit over-the-top. I’m dead serious…I’ve got something on the order of 9,600 band aids. Since I had to buy the mylar bags in quantity to get a discount, I should probably but together a dozen similar packages, label ’em appropriately, and pass ’em out as Paratus gifts this fall.
Anyway, I’ll toss this in the bag on the bike and be good to go. Should be watertight, airtight, and pretty much impervious to just about any environmental concern.
Have you tested tearing the pouch open with one hand?
Yup. Look close in the photo and theres already a tear notch up near the corner.
CZ, are you the kind of dude to make a MSWord label with appropriate font and bullet point contents list, or are you more likely to (as I would) get out the Big Ass Sharpie and write “BOO BOO KIT” in inch high block letters?
By the way I shamelessly stole your fuel can label/rotation markings. It works fantastic, and ‘encourages’ me to properly re-fill and rotate.
Appreciate you taking the time to do your blog.
Sled238
Ps- will be in big sky MT this summer: anything nearby like stores or restaurants or whatever that is a ‘don’t miss.?”
I’d do the label in PageMaker and then laserprint it out, and use wide, clear, packing tape to affix it to the packet.
In Montana, or in Big Sky, MT?
Within a hundred miles or so; general area of Big Sky.
I will be renting a car and doing a big loop from there to Idaho, running it north to south then back into MT. But I have a couple days to kill in BSMT.
Well, theres always the Custer Battlefield to go visit. And you might swing by the Sharps factory in Big Timber. If you get into the Bitterroot valley I would be much more informative since I hardly ever seem to leave this town.
I second the Custer Battlefield. Went there years ago & have never forgotten it.
Actually yes, I hope to cut across to 93. This is, I have learned, the ‘tropical’ region of MT, correct ?
Yup. Banana Belt. This valley is pretty much the warmest part of Montana in the winter.
If I were you, I would carry a roll or part of a roll of “Coban” type stretchy self adhesive wrap. It is cheaper as a wrap for animals at the Farm vet supply store.
The ‘fix yourself one-handed’ caused me to think of this. Awhile back I bought a box with something like 24 rolls of the stuff. It is sort of rubbery.
Coban style wraps can go bad after awhile and turn into a big sticky blob. You might want to check yours every now and again.
I use the stuff from the feed store. Same thing they sell pharmacy section of big box retailers, but at 1/4 the price.
not sure how the Neosporin responses to heat and cold. may reduces it effective rate. my little f’up kit has sealed RAW honey sticks. two purpose, if I need a small dose of sugar to keep my head squared after an injury and honey has more antibiotic properties than commercial chemicals. also, I would add a small brush, if you get road rash, you will want to remove the road that grinds into your wound. I always found it easier to do while the wound still hurts. also make sure those are non stick med-pads. nothing worse than removing the pad along with the first layer of healing……cheers from West MT.