First Aid Kit

This is what is considered necessary for the larger first aid kit carried on your web gear. This is the minimum that you should carry. When you are deciding what to have in your kit remember- what’s in your kit is what will be used to treat you
•    1-c.a.t. tourniquet
•    3-battle dressings (if unavailable maxi-pads will work)
•    4-pr. surgical gloves
•    1-roll athletic tape
•    6- 4x4 gaze pads
•    1-dozen betadine swabs
•    1-cravate bandage
•    1-space blanket
•    1-smal bottle of pain reliever
•    1-snake bite kit


First Aid

This page is dedicated to first aid and medical issues. It will be updated frequently with current and interesting articles.

Got Water?
August 2008

Prior to the Six Day War in 1967 the Israeli army supplied each soldier with 1 quart of water per day.  One quart per day!  After testing water consumption and performance levels during and after long marches, the army found that a well watered soldier was a better soldier.  The result was a change in SOPs to increase water consumption to 1 quart per hour.  One quart per hour!  Water consumption was one significant factor contributing to the success of the Israeli army during that engagement.

Since the militia suffers from a severe lack of organized re-supply and is not “well-regulated”, it is critical that the modern militia man do all he can to maintain proper hydration on his own.  This article will outline some steps that can be taken to keep one-self hydrated in the field, especially in extended engagements.

The first thing to do is not to skimp on how much water you try to pack from the start.  In the summer, plan on taking AT LEAST two quarts.  I’ve seen guys cheat before, only packing one quart or only filling one quart for a one day FTX.  You fight like you train boys and girls, don’t forget it.  Get used to the weight, space, and logistics of two quarts somewhere on your LBV or LBE.  Don’t think you’ll figure it out later, incorporate it now into all your gear. 

Next, plan on packing a couple gallons or a case of bottled water in your truck or car at all times.  It may come in handy in other ways or other situations, but you might be glad you had this water if your truck is parked at the ‘base’ or field operations center during a call-up.  Remember, we’re not well-regulated (yet?).  This may be your only source of re-supply for a while if you are called-up away from your local AO.

Third, if you’ve got some money to spend on yourself or have set up a militia budget like you should, put a QUALITY water filter on your list.  First, if you forgot to pack water in your car/truck, you’ll have a way to at least filter water you find.  Second, it will serve as backup to the truck water, if you are stuck in the field for longer than expected.  There are a few kinds to check out, all will have to pass your ease of use, likeability test.  Plan on a hundred bucks for a good filter.  Ceramic filters like the MSR version are easy to use, slightly bulky, but filter thousands of gallons.  Katydn makes several varieties suitable for field use as well.  One I have been experimenting with is a UV light purifier.  Requires batteries, but is very compact and easy to use.  Whatever you decide on, decide on something and get familiar with how to use it quickly.  There may not be a lot of time to suck up the water you need and keep on the move.

Fourth, know where the water sources are in your AO.  Is it the city lake, is the branch feeding the Missouri River, is it a neighbor’s pond?  Make a mental note where to get water all over your county.  If the call-up is in your AO, your unit commander will need to know this for future re-supply efforts if no bottled or tap water is available.

Next time we’ll talk about where all this water goes and what to do about it.
Bottoms up!



Got Water Pt. 2

September 2008

Ok, so you’ve sucked down that quart per hour all day and now you’re dancing like a 4 year old, trying to get the XO’s attention.  But at the end of the day, your not as sore as you would have been or as tired; if you’ve been eating properly too, you won’t get any cramps either.  Good job militia man!

Water was our friend here.  Could it ever be our enemy?  Yes it can and this article will tell you how.

As you shoot, move and communicate in the field, your muscles use energy and that creates heat.  The natural response is for the body to start perspiring (sweating).  When the body perspires, it is trying to get heat out of the body to keep the organs, notably the brain, from getting fried.  Water on the skin is evaporated into the air when it comes to the surface and takes heat with it.

Now all this is fine and dandy on a hot day (assuming you have good personal hygiene), but what about when it’s cold outside?  All that water coming off your skin is doing a great job of getting the heat out of the body, but with the moisture not getting picked up by hot air, it sits in your clothes and continues to siphon off heat when your body is done sweating.  BAD.  Hypothermia is the condition we are describing here.  When the temperature of the body drops just a few degrees, the body will start showing signs quickly.

Beyond reddend and cold extremities, things we all get every winter when outdoors, some things to be on the lookout for in the field (when exposure time is longer) are loss of dexterity in the hands, loss of muscle movement, uncontrollable shivering and altered mental status.  These conditions make for poor shooting, moving, and communicating.

The best treatment is prevention!  The best prevention in our situation is to maintain layers with the appropriate types of material.  Avoid cotton as the layer next to the skin.  Use man-made fibers that will not hold the water next to your skin instead.  Or if you have no nerve endings, use wool, nature’s best fiber insulator.

After an appropriate selection of materials next to the skin, use layers of most any type to stay warm and finish it off with something waterproof.  Layers serve two purposes: 1) they trap air more effectively adding insulation and 2) layers can come off at the appropriate times to help regulate your sweating and reduce it down as much as possible.  By consciously monitoring your sweating in the cold temps, you can reduce your chances of going into even mild hypothermia.

Let’s say you forgot to listen to the medic and wore a cotton t-shirt with cotton pants.  You’re going to get hypothermia when you get wet and it won’t take long for you to be hating life.  The things your medic will do include getting you out of wet clothes as soon as possible, covering you with a blanket, and letting you warm up slowly and naturally.  He will not (read: you should not) put a hot pack on your cold parts, rub your cold parts, or put hot water on you.  All of these are dangerous and could lead to death in some cases.  The goal will be to get you dry and layer you up until core temperature has returned to normal.

To summarize:  Select appropriate clothing for the cold environment, stay away from cotton. Then layer up and keep the sweating to a minimum.  Be on the lookout for hypothermia symptoms and alert your medic if you notice any conditions mentioned above.


1.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypothermia


Just a few tips from Doc:
October 2008
 
This is the time to start preparing for the up coming cold weather. . You have no idea what could be ahead. You could be stuck on the side of the road and it might not be due to anything you caused.
In our vehicles we should keep certain supplies besides the first aid kit. Let us face the facts, if you are prepared an emergency can be down graded to a mere in convenyence.
 
A list of things to consider carrying for the up coming winter:
 
1. Blanket or something similar to keep you warm
2. Food to sustain you for 2 to 3 days
3. At least one thermos your choice of warm beverage (coffee, hot                                                           chocolate, tea). NO ALCOHOL!!!
4. Change of clothing (hypothermia dose not take long to set in if you are wet)

 Remember take care of your self, you maybe the only one you can count on


MEDICS CORNER
NOVEMBER 2008

Greetings to all.  We are moving into fall, changing weather,
changing politics, and falling stock markets worldwide. There isn’t much we can do about any of that, but we can take care of ourselves. I’ll give a few bullet points, and flavor with some of my ramblings.  The world is over due for a major flu pandemic. Here is what we can do to be ready. Get your flu shot, get your flu shot, get your flu shot. This will protect against the known strains. In a pandemic, a strain will mutate so rapidly that no vaccine will be available in time to help. Get meds for flu symptoms in your bag now, eat good food, and take a good vitamin. Just a mild case of flu will take you out for about 3 days.  For some of us that are outside a lot you may notice snakes out sunning themselves on south facing slopes to warm themselves, and maybe get a last meal before brumation during winter. I have raised reptiles and will give some info on them. First of all, not every reddish brown snake is a copperhead. The northern water snake, also sometimes called the fox snake is what you will usually encounter, and if caught in the open with no easy escape route, will defend itself vigoursly. It is not attacking you.  Look on the Mo Conservation site and see the difference in the copperhead, and other snakes. If you can tell the difference in a Ford and Chevy, this is no different. If you don’t have a snakebite kit, save your money and by insect repellent instead. While a copperhead bite is not good, no one in Mo has ever died from their bite. If bitten, go to a hospital for antivenin.  For numbers, about 10 people in the U S will die from snakebite a yr, and about half of those will be the snake’s owner. Cobras and even the tiny eyelash vipers don’t make very cuddly pets.  12 or 15 people will die from dog attacks 25 from horse related accidents or attacks, 120 from bee stings, and 45000 or so from auto accidents. So why are most people terrified of snakes, and not cars?                                                          Hypothermia?  That’s Latin for low temperature. It’s a big killer in the fall and winter. Every year we hear about a child that wanders outside in cold weather, and isn’t immediately found. Little old people, and little, little people, seem the most susceptible. Check on the elders and make sure they have the furnace on. Some of these folks will freeze to death trying to save on the gas bill.   If out side, dress appropriately, and stay DRY. If raining, get inside, or put on your Gore-Tex. If going across a stream that is over the top of your boots, you may want to consider taking them off and putting them on, after crossing. Seal skinz are good here. Stay DRY. If exertion is making you sweat, rest, remove or vent, to stay DRY. Carry several heat packs, for emergency, not comfort. If you’re injured out in the cold and can’t be evac’d for awhile, these might save your butt, and other parts of your anatomy ,that are more appealing.         Stay DRY.              In Liberty    Randy S.