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

[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 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. 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 and search on "first aid"