First Aid Kit?

[Matt Meiser]

I bought a first aid kit for my shop when I first moved into it about 4 years ago. Many band-aid and tweezer trips later the plastic box is broken and I figure it would probably be a good idea to get a new one anyway for fresh supplies. I'd like something with a decent box like you'd see in an office but everything I've seen at the big box stores comes in a cheap plastic box. Where could I find something like this?

[Karl Brogger]

www.labsafety.com (http://www.labsafety.com)

[Greg Hines, MD]

I got one a while back that is in a metal case, and hangs on the wall. It has plenty of bandaids in it, as well as eye wash and a cravat bandage. I looked, but cannot find a specific name on it, but it does say it meets OSHA standards.

Doc

[Don Abele]

Matt, I went out and shot a couple of pics of the one hanging on my wall. It's from Johnson & Johnson, though stocked from my office with stuff I'd use out there. It's a steel case that swings open but can easily be removed from the wall. I've had it for about 10 years and was unable to find anything comparable available online. I know this doesn't help you much...but, look for a metal case and stock it with stuff that you use (know how to and feel comfortable using).

Some basics I think need to be in there:

Tweezers, band-aids (various sizes), alcohol swabs for small stuff.
Eye wash bottle (I have a separate one on the other side of the door above the fire extinguisher).
Trauma dressings (small and large) - hope you never need to use these!

Be well,

Doc

[tim mathis]

hi, www.readykor.com (http://www.readykor.com) has some nice metal ones and some are made in the u.s.a.

[Terry Sparks]

I've been a fire fighter/paramedic for 27 years and what I have in my home shop first aid kit I stocked myself (and put into an old fishing tackle box),with assorted small band aids, trauma sissors (from HF for $2.00), transpore tape, 3x3 and 4x4 gauze pads, a roll of Kerlix brand gauze, a roll of self sticking gauze and a small bottle of 0.9% sodium chloride irrigation solution. I have my tweezers hanging from a nail & string next to the back door for convience and they don't get misplaced.

After looking at those "kits" being sold in the stores and online for anywhere from $35.00 - $75.00, I thought that was just a rip off. I spent less than $20.00 stocking it myself and have everything I would ever need for a wood shop accident.

[David DeCristoforo]

I'm with Terry on this one. Those "kits" are amazingly overpriced for what you get. Also, the things like scissors and tweezers that come with them are useless. If you can't live without the wall mounted metal box, just buy that and get the rest of the stuff at the drug store.

YM

[Greg Peterson]

Terry, I appreciate your down to earth approach to first aid. I have looked at the kits and found them overpriced and not really having what I would want in a first aid kit. Nothing like buying a first aid kit then having to add more things to it.

I plan on building a little wood medicine cabinet and recess it in the wall. Out of the way, put what I want in it, easy to open and can't be 'borrowed' and left somewhere else at a critical moment.

[Judy Kingery]

Matt, absolutely I echo what Terry said. I was a paramedic for 12 years and simply put together my own first aid kit not only for the shop, but just our house (shop's about 3 steps from inside the house - no kidding) in general. Exactly what Terry mentioned I've got readily available, in addition to latex gloves for situations that don't involve us (we unfortunately live on a real busy street and up at the corner, on Friday night someone t-boned another car at the intersection., flipped it on it's side, but the good thing was the kids were ok).

Anyway, I'd sure second Terry's advice for you. Build your own first aid kit as the commercial ones are very overpriced and it's simply ridiculous. I carry a few things in the car as does my husband. Odd to say as well, individually wrapped and sealed kotex are good for trauma bandages. Best to you!

Jude

[glenn bradley]

I've posted this before but one of the more important features of my first aid kit is that it can be quickly opened with one finger and is low to the ground (in case I've fallen and can't get up [ha-ha]). It is essentially a plastic shoe box-sized container. I keep it where, in a real pinch, I can just flip it over and spill out the contents:

tourniquet
peroxide
gauze
tape
strip, knuckle and finger tip band-aids
loupe and tweezers
towel (goes with the tourniquet if things get really messy)It lives near the TS where it can be reached in a heartbeat and nothing is in packaging that requires both hands to open.

[John W. Willis]

I was a Paramedic for several years and my kit is in a small tackle box with many of the above mentioned items and a few oral airways and a cpr mask.

Don't think strictly trauma but don't get carried away either and try to cover every possibility.

[Matt Meiser]

Thanks for the ideas. I think it does make a lot of sense to just put my own kit together. So I just need to find the box, which I might have found at Duluth Trading (http://www.duluthtrading.com/store/andmore_home/andmore_toolsofprotection/69147.aspx?feature=Product_18). They don't really explain the mounting though so I have an email into them. I want a wall mounted kit because it will stay cleaner and won't get buried. I have it mounted on the wall by the sink, which is also right by the phone, the alarm keypad, mirror, and the door. So its where I'm likely to be headed anyway. One thing I noticed is that the commercial kits that come in a nice box tend to be really expensive because they are designed for 25-50-100 people.

[Billy Chambless]

Assemble the supplies individually as suggested, then make a nice "medical till" to put them in. ;)

[josh bjork]

Woodworkers need to find a place to buy a box? I don't know what the world has come to. Put a fire extinguisher by the thing too. I only worry about a few things but excess blood loss and fire are on that list. I personally like vetwrap for booboos

[Tom Henderson2]

McMaster sells the metal wall-mounted boxes for ~$20 IIRC if anybody wants just the box. www.mcmaster.com (http://www.mcmaster.com) and search on "first aid"

[Matt Meiser]

Uh, never thought about making a box. Would bloodwood be appropriate? :D

[Tom Walz]

I asked out WISHA rep once and there really is no officially designated list of first aid supplies. We keep bandaids, etc. on a shelf outside the lunch room.

Our first aid trainers are really big on applying pressure to a wound so I took a couple baggies and put a pair of latex bags and some big bandages in them and put them in a couple handy spots.

Also out first aid folks stress that the first thing to do is call 911. Don’t forget about getting to a phone.

Tom

[David DeCristoforo]

"Woodworkers need to find a place to buy a box? I don't know what the world has come to."

Excellent point. However, if you are in a "commercial environment" where you might be subject to OSHA inspections, the box has to "comply". Washable, with the red cross on it, etc. In a home or "private" shop...not an issue.

"Would bloodwood be appropriate?"

Perfect!

YM

[glenn bradley]

Uh, never thought about making a box. Would bloodwood be appropriate? :D

BooWhaa-ha-ha-ha :D.

[jeremy levine]

I have found both in the shop and in the kitchen 2 or 3 band aids attached to a mntal surface with a magnet saves a lot of fumbling ( keep in mind I have three kids ).

[Terre Hooks]

I bought an OSHA-approved First Aid Kit at Sam's last week for $22.

TONS of stuff in it.

[Matt Meiser]

Shoot, never thought to look at Costco.

[Steven Herbin]

My last car came with a nice first aid kit.

Tweezers, scissors, band aids, swabs (plain and tincture), gauze pads, tape, instructions (but who reads those).

All in a very nice case with Velcro on the back. I just put a piece of Velcro on the wall and it was mounted.

I also added a roll of Micropore tape (paper tape). It's great for stopping the bleeding fast.

[Gordon Harner]

This may be slightly OT but, OSHA is not an approval agency and does not "approve" anything. Be skeptical of any product that states OSHA approved. The proper wording is meets OSHA standards. That said, OSHA has in the past said that first aid requirements should be specified by a licensed medical provider.

My supplies fall into 2 categories. The minor stuff like splinters and small cuts variety, bandaids and tweezers and major injuries, trauma dressings 5x9s, 4x4s and roller bandages etc. the object of the severe injuries is to control or stop bleeding. I don't have a bottle of eyewash, all suggested 1st aid using eye flush media states flush for 15 minutes. I go to the sink.

Communications ie. 911 are critical. I also think we need to evaluate what we do when we are alone. Some injuries could be severe enough that we could not summon help ourselves.

[Bob Slater]

I bought a large Metal first aid cabinet on Ebay a few months ago. Search under first aid cabinet and you will see a few. It was quite cheap and looks good. I also bought a fantastic eye wash station there too. Filling the medicine cabinet up with first aid items cost $80.00 though. Money well spent really. I work alone in my shop and very fortunately the nearest real building is a walk in emergency clinic!!

[Ellen Benkin]

I have all my first aid stuff in the house. I have a phone in the garage in case of a real disaster.

[Ted Baca]

Duluthtrading.com has a metal box first aid kit and thru march 18th they are offering 29% off any 80.00 order use discount code T28PC1.

[Matt Meiser]

Ted, I have an email into them about how that box mounts. It just says holes in the back--no mention if it is easily removable. Its just an empty box though--unless there's another one I missed.

I went last night and bought supplies to restock--bandaids, tweezers, some antiseptic wash, 4x4 pads, tape, a roll bandage and probably 1 or 2 other things I'm forgetting. I went through my old kit and decided to pretty much throw everything away since the stuff that had expiration dates expired in 2004 :eek:

[Eugene A. Manzo III]

Yes Matt you can STAIN it yourself :D Johnson and Johnson make a nice metal kit.... and I would make sure it hangs up in a very accesable area. Making sure it has a red cross or something on it.

[Richard M. Wolfe]

I just did a search for "first aid kit" on 'The Bay' and got over 2000 hits. I scanned through the first couple pages and saw several that were said to be OSHA compliant. One that I liked was a flat metal case with mounting tabs that screwed to the wall. The case then opened by flipping a couple latches with the lid folding down to make a tray so you could put things on it, etc. Easy access and entry (like not having to dig it out of a drawer) would be a plus when you're dripping blood.

[Michael Gibbons]

Matt, McMaster-Carr, page 1766. Portable first aid kit, hangable looks like ,with two flaps that have the slot where the screw head fits into.

[Steve Mellott]

In my home shop, I keep the first aid supplies in a Tupperware container which is within easy reach on a shelf. (I think these containers have a lifetime warranty.)

[Jerome Hanby]

You could buy a cheapo medicine cabinet or recycle and old breaker box and stock it yourself. Maybe break out an old tivo-ed NYWS and build Norm's Medicine cabinet...

[Ted Jay]

I think this issue came up a few years ago here on the Creek.
Every First Aid Kit needs sanitary napkin pads, stick one to the inside of the door of the kit, and have a powder applicater bottle (talc bottle) filled with Cayenne Pepper handy.
If you have a major bleeder the Cayenne Peper will immediately stop the blood flow, sprinkle a healthy amount on the wound, slap a pad on it and call 911.

Ted

[Terry Sparks]

I think this issue came up a few years ago here on the Creek.
Every First Aid Kit needs sanitary napkin pads, stick one to the inside of the door of the kit, and have a powder applicater bottle (talc bottle) filled with Cayenne Pepper handy.
If you have a major bleeder the Cayenne Peper will immediately stop the blood flow, sprinkle a healthy amount on the wound, slap a pad on it and call 911.

Ted

The best thing you can do for bleeding is to use a large sanitary pad, 4x4 pad or even a t-shirt (if that's all you have) along with direct pressure to stop the bleeding, if that pad soaks through leave that pad in place and put another pad over the top of the first pad and then apply direct pressure again. If you still can't stop the bleeding, and if you have an arm or leg cut, if possible squeeze down on the radial artery in your arm or the femoral artery in the leg and raise the cut above the level of your heart to slow the bleeding. At a last resort, you should use a tournaquette to stop the bleeding.

Leave the cayenne pepper in the spice rack.

[Ted Jay]

The best thing you can do for bleeding is to use a large sanitary pad, 4x4 pad or even a t-shirt (if that's all you have) along with direct pressure to stop the bleeding, if that pad soaks through leave that pad in place and put another pad over the top of the first pad and then apply direct pressure again. If you still can't stop the bleeding, and if you have an arm or leg cut, if possible squeeze down on the radial artery in your arm or the femoral artery in the leg and raise the cut above the level of your heart to slow the bleeding. At a last resort, you should use a tournaquette to stop the bleeding.

Leave the cayenne pepper in the spice rack.

Terry, with all due respect.... it works, trust me, I know.
I have a friend who doubted me when he cut his finger with a box cutter, he believes now.
It's not just for cooking anymore...;)

[Matt Meiser]

After thinking about it, I ended up just taking Steve's advice and used a Tupperware container. I told LOML I needed to get something the next time we were at Big Box Mart and she said to just raid the cabinet for what I needed since there were several larger sized ones we never use in a cabinet I didn't even know we kept that kind of stuff in. :rolleyes:

[Russ Sears]

Hey Matt, if you have some scrap bloodwood around, you could probably just scab something together.........ba dump...ting!

My first aid kit in my shop has.....actually it has nothing because it doesn't exist. This thread is a wake up call. I'm visiting Costco today to see what I can find.
The situation isn't as bad as it might sound because my "shop" is my garage and LOML is almost always home when I'm working. We have all the stuff; it's just not convenient to the garage. And with a wife and 5 daughters, our Kotex supply is way more than adequate :D

[Matt Meiser]

Costco has one in a soft sided bag for about $30. The supplies for mine at Rite-Aid cost $27 (and I got to pay with our flex-spending debit card, so I didn't pay income tax on that $27.) It has a lot of things like asprin and stuff like that in it. I geared mine more towards cuts with some ice packs thrown in for the next time I sprain my ankle--because after three times, it WILL happen again :(