School me on a fully loaded EMT kit ?

[henni]

Am being trained (almost done) in a safety/security/emergency role, volunteering my skills, not paid and not pursuing professional license, just lending a hand.

On my own dime, would like to purchase a "fully loaded" EMT kit but not sure I would know what that is or what I would need. Suspect it would become evident, given a real emergency and my volunteer work does not cover training for the "tools in the bag".

Of note, the kit is not required by my volunteer gig, it just seems to be a logical just-in-case, like a toolkit we all have for those rare but inevitable car breakdowns. This one, of course, for humans needing some "repairs".

Prices on Amazon range from $100 to $400+

Any suggestions from this search result ?

 

[SubieRubyRoo]

Www.mymedic.com

Owners are combat vets. Only thing I dislike about their kits are the RATS tourniquets, I recommend the CAT style as this is the gold standard. I have the mini kit with TQ on every backpack I own, along with the larger MyFAK Pro in my truck.

The MyFAK Pro with some QuickClot gauze helped me to save an older lady’s life in a WM parking lot in late 2020. She was diabetic and on Eliquis, and she fell and her shin hit the curb, splitting her skin open from the head of the tibia nearly to the ankle and open so wide I could see thru the fat layer to the muscle, bleeding like a gutted animal. The QuickClot went on first and then packed about a half-dozen 4x4 gauze, and then wrapped with an Israeli bandage I added to the kit.

After waiting 14 minutes for the ambulance that was 1.3 miles away, the early-20s EMTs proceeded to cut off my dressing and then wrap with plain gauze. When they stood the lady up, blood was streaming down her leg as they put her on the stretcher. Funny in a sad way; the first rule I’ve always been taught for trauma control is that you NEVER remove an already applied dressing, you go over the top and continue to apply more pressure.

IOW, MyMedic is top quality and will also give 15% discount via GovX.com first responder codes. Good stuff.

 

[Oro_O]

This is effectively what I carry in my car, my old ski patrol belt pack:

This is kitted out about exactly how I/we stocked them 20 years ago, nothing really different now:

https://medicresponse.com/product/conterra-patrol-iii-packs-stocked-ready-to-go/

I used that for about four years as an EMT-b ski patroller. It served well, with the only back-up gear to call for being oxygen or a traction splint. It will stabilize someone except for those items to get them into an ambulance or a helicopter; have done it quite a few times. I’ve been trained to vastly higher emergency medical standards since then, but this still serves very well.

I’m not advocating buying that in particular, just pointing out an example of the Conterra packs we generally used and stocked how we found efficient/necessary to stock them. Another point is to not carry some item of equipment you are not well-trained in how to use - e.g., airways, etc.

 

[Furious]

Www.mymedic.com

Owners are combat vets. Only thing I dislike about their kits are the RATS tourniquets, I recommend the CAT style as this is the gold standard. I have the mini kit with TQ on every backpack I own, along with the larger MyFAK Pro in my truck.

The MyFAK Pro with some QuickClot gauze helped me to save an older lady’s life in a WM parking lot in late 2020. She was diabetic and on Eliquis, and she fell and her shin hit the curb, splitting her skin open from the head of the tibia nearly to the ankle and open so wide I could see thru the fat layer to the muscle, bleeding like a gutted animal. The QuickClot went on first and then packed about a half-dozen 4x4 gauze, and then wrapped with an Israeli bandage I added to the kit.

After waiting 14 minutes for the ambulance that was 1.3 miles away, the early-20s EMTs proceeded to cut off my dressing and then wrap with plain gauze. When they stood the lady up, blood was streaming down her leg as they put her on the stretcher. Funny in a sad way; the first rule I’ve always been taught for trauma control is that you NEVER remove an already applied dressing, you go over the top and continue to apply more pressure.

IOW, MyMedic is top quality and will also give 15% discount via GovX.com first responder codes. Good stuff.

Nothing wrong with the RATS tourniquet and is arguably a better option for children and pets compared to CAT.

CAT and SOFT are widely proven and I absolutely recommend everyone research and get one or the other but RATS is a great backup option that barely takes up any space, SWAT is another good backup option. Obviously be very careful about counterfeits, there is many.

I personally would love to see more testing and real world scenarios of the STAT Tourniquet, great idea if proven to work.

 

[SubieRubyRoo]

Nothing wrong with the RATS tourniquet and is arguably a better option for children and pets compared to CAT.

CAT and SOFT are widely proven and I absolutely recommend everyone research and get one or the other but RATS is a great backup option that barely takes up any space, SWAT is another good backup option. Obviously be very careful about counterfeits, there is many.

I personally would love to see more testing and real world scenarios of the STAT Tourniquet, great idea if proven to work.

Was just saying there are some situations (especially if you’re the one the needs the TQ and a rookie is applying it) that the RATS is not quite as robust or straightforward.

The CAT can be done well with a single hand with some practice; there was a video of an ATL cop IIRC who got shot in the thigh and had his own TQ on on about 8 seconds.

But I agree with what seems like your jist: the specific medical equipment is not quite as important in time of need as it is to be intimately familiar with how the gear you do have is best used.

 

[methusaleh]

Congrats on asking the question in conjunction with training— all too often I see the opposite, people asking what to buy and then being frustrated when the answer is “whatever your training makes you feel comfortable using”.

That being said, I’d recommend buying the same kit/setup your agency will be using. Speaking from experience, “train as you fight”. If you’re used to knowing where everything is in your bag in a classroom, it makes it that much easier to use the kit when you’re on a call in a roadside ditch, ankle-deep in mud, in heavy rain and wind.

 

[LDB]

+1 for MyMedic being good quality and having a kit for almost any need.

 

[spasm3]

I think having a tourniquet of some type is important. Nowadays i think a more important item to have on hand, as long as you know how to use it, its a ambu-bag.

Years ago i would have been willing to do mouth to mouth resus on a stranger, but not anymore. Due to the number of fentanyl overdoses, and the overpowering numbers of un know doses. you could do mouth to mouth and end up in respiratory arrest yourself from fentanyl contact.

I keep an ambu- bag in my camper. I may add it to the trunk of each car.

 

[Hillbilly Deluxe]

I read half of this thread thinking “EMP”….