Medical items.

[LUNCHBOX]

I know this sounds wrong in some way but does anyone ever think they have to much first aid gear....(see I told you it would sound wrong) What I mean is if you had to bug-out, obviously if you have a trunk load of first aid gear you won't be able to take it with you. Hide it? Leave it? Destroy it (that hurt just asking) I do understand you literally can't have to much but hopefully you guys know what I mean.

[cwconnertx]

I imagine that certain things will be unobtanium if there is a big crisis, so I think you have to carefully decide on the risks and ditch, leave, hide, or give away things that can be replaced or substitutes. There has to be a balance, size, weight, relative value. I would hesitate to leave behind my pain killers, antibiotics, quick clot, and other high value items. I would also keep small stuff like tubes of triple antibiotic ointment, etc.

The most likely stuff to get rid of is wraps, rolls of gauze, etc, since there are substitutes and might be more likely to be scavenged. I can't imagine not being able to take all my medical supplies in a vehicle. Perhaps that means I need more? I can't take all my ammo (you would need more than a one ton vehicle), but medical supplies yes.

[The Stig]

Too much first aid gear? Oh the humanity!

It's a fair question and one I've asked myself many times. How do you obtain balance? At what point should the resources go into other areas? But I always come back to the same answer: in the heat of an emergency, when your friend/loved one is bleeding out, can you have too few bandages?

For all of my first aid gear, it comprises of one backpack sized kit, one man-bag sized kit, and several smaller IFAK that are attached to something else (range bag, chest rig, etc). It hardly fills up a trunk let alone crowds out other gear.

Ultimately, you can go overboard by having too much first aid gear (or too much of one type of any gear) but as long as you have balance I'm a big believer in having a "little too much" med gear.

[bacpacker]

I'm sort of set up similar to Stig. I have a EMT bag, about the size of a very thick day pack, that is pretty comprehensive. I also have a old vietnam era medics bag stuffed with supplies I keep in the truck (BOV). Both BOB & GHB each have a IFAK in them. I also have a tote that holds extra and bulk supplies, gause, tape, bandages, etc.

Outside of that, there are FAK's in the basement and shop for quick easy access. I'm also considering making one up in a sealed bag and attching it to the tractor just to keep it handy when out working a distance from the house.

There are several items I entend to purchase that I've discovered thru reading the postings on here and others, that I feel will pretty much complete my set up other than consumables and expirations. I don't have the skills to use it all, but if there is a trained person around without their gear, I can hopefully fill the need.

[mitunnelrat]

I think the threshold for "too much" (of anything, really) is reached when one can no longer effectively organize, store, or protect their supplies/ equipment. We're already in the minority for stockpiling anything at all, so a set amount of "x" shouldn't concern us anywhere near as much as our ability to locate, access, and utilize (through our own skills or those of others) the materials we do have. Imo, caching allows us to multiply those abilities to a great extent, and breaks the amounts at any one location down so we can protect ourselves from "too much" loss . I can't say I'm a great practitioner of this yet, but I have worked it to some degree, and will expand in line with my resources over time.

[LUNCHBOX]

The answers so far are exactly what I expected....My whole point to this thread was to see how easy it is to use the extra items you acquire. When you ifak each B.O.B. and kit each vehicle/house/garage and hide, it shows you can't have to much of a good thing.

[izzyscout21]

for the situations we prep for, i can never see having too much first aid supplies. i figure they will bve used pretty extensively OR can be used as barter items

[LUNCHBOX]

Other than diabetics or other medical needs...does anyone plan to keep any type of needles? If anything, they could be barter items or something someone may need later.

[mitunnelrat]

I want to get a decompression needle for TPT into my trauma kit, and I need to ask about allergies in my household again. I used to carry epi-pens for my ex-wife after her anaphylactic shock experience, and it might be good to have again now for bee stings.

Its also been in the back of my mind that some injectable "veterinary" antibiotics are identical to those prescribed for humans, but need to be recalculated for proper dosage. Learning how to do that, and having some syringes on hand for it might not be too bad either.

[apssbc]

I keep needles in mine for med admin, and multiple other uses from irrigating wounds, to trade like was mentioned. Remember any liquid drugs last less time. Meds are much more stable in the pill form. Look up fish meds as they are great and work for humans in the same doses.