Emergency preparedness

[GreenLake]

What was a beautiful night out on the lake ended up with a trip to the emergency room. In the process I discovered I was not as prepared as I would have liked.

As it was getting dark, I wanted to put on my navigation lights. in leaning forward, I jammed my hand into the horn cleat on the foredeck with enough force to break skin (between 2 fingers). Suddenly, ther I was out on the water, bleeding all over things, and only band aids and electrical tape with me.

I was near a stopped motor boat with fenders hanging of their side. They let me come alongside, had a proper bandage in their kit and towed me off the water.

Luckily, at the ramp, I caught up with two friends who had been out in their boat, and who helped me de-rig the boat an put it on the trailer. Later that night I got 12 stitches, with the PMA telling me about the TransPac exploits of one of her uncles, and the nurse telling me of his years learning to sail off the CA COAST.

The seamanship part is about what to carry. I usually have bandaids stashed in my PFD, and use them for myself and others not infrequently. I have a small 1st aid pouch, but that isn't dedicated to the boat, so that night it wasn't on board.

[Alan]

Good point, GL. My crew insists that we carry a big first aid kit, just for the boat, in a bright red dry bag so we can find it in a hurry.

[GreenLake]

Also, forgot to say, I took my boat out of storage just or the day - it had been put away early, because I had to miss a good part of the season due to other reasons, but then the weather turned unexpectedly nice.

[jeadstx]

Hope your hand is OK. On the Tx200 when I first tried it in 2010 it was recommended to bring super glue with the first aid kit in case of an injury requiring stitches. The skin can be glued together until appropriate medical attention can be made. I've carried some every year I've done the trip. I also carry a roll of vet wrap. Having had horses for many years, I became familiar with vet wrap for bandages on horses legs. The wrap adheres to itself when wrapped around a wound to form a good bandage. It's also porus enough to allow the the skin to "breath". I'm sur that there is a "people" equivalent to vet wrap, but it probably cost more and does the same job. I also carry peroxide. I have vinegar with me while sailing on the coast for stingrays or jellyfish.

John

[K.C. Walker]

Green Lake,

I'm glad you made it back without getting everything bloody. I should definitely get a first aid kit, it's something that never occurred to me.

John, +1 on the superglue, I use that stuff all the time to glue up cuts. I asked a primary care physician friend of mine about it, and like horse rap, they sell it in a medical version but it costs quite a bit more.

[UCanoe_2]

GreenLake, I hope you are making a good recovery. 12 stitches is a big wound!

I was just having an e-mail discussion with a friend about using super glue as a surgical adhesive. He mentioned that the solvent would get it unstuck if you glued your skin in the wrong place. IIRC the solvent is acetone, which I would avoid putting in an open wound. Besides being highly toxic, it will hurt a lot.

[TIM WEBB]

Wow, hope your hand will be OK GL! 12 stitches is more than what Monty Python would describe as "only a flesh wound" ... ;-P

I've always kept a well-stocked first aid kit aboard, that includes super glue, because I am a klutz and always seem to be bashing my knuckles against something or another! Just curious: do you wear sailing gloves? I do, from rig up to rig down, for that very reason ...

I also keep a roll of this in the kit:

http://www.safety-products.com/itemdisp ... ductid=192

The tape you guys mention might be something like this. The guys in the metal shop at work swear by it, both for protection and "damage control" ...

[GreenLake]

In a pinch lots of stuff can be used. Great ideas. 12 because tricky and deepish. Single handed typing is a challenge.

Gloves are part of my kit but forgot to put on because warm night and not been sailing for some weeks so out of habit.

[TIM WEBB]

I knew a guy in college who managed to disregard all the warning signs and put his thumb into a jointer (joiner? Dunno - takes away stuff 1/1000 of an inch at a time) machine. Took his thumbnail off first, then little bits of his thumb bone that looked like LifeSavers in the dust bin. Got him to the OR, and they managed to sew his thumb back together, but they sewed the bottom part of his thumb around and over the top part, and the nerves were still intact, so after it all healed up, when he would touch the top of his thumb it felt like the bottom! Ewwwwww - weird!

Oh, and the best part? The EMT's got ahold of his son, and told him to go see if there was anything left worth salvaging in the dust bin. He got there just as the dog was finishing up what was left! Man's best friend, huh?

I'm serious - true story! You think I could make this stuff up?!?!

[jeadstx]

Tim, vet wrap is similar to what you listed, but a lot cheaper. http://www.shop3m.com/3m-vetrap-bandaging-tape.html

A friend of mine many years ago work at a pharmacutical company. One time he asked me if I knew the main difference between stuff for people and those for animals. I told him no. He said it was the "Y" in the conveyor belt.

I've also used some stuff called "Cut-N-Heal" on small wounds. Bought it for the horses, but the guy that taught me to ride said it worked good on people too. Putting it on a cut (not deeper than a quarter inch) it would heal within a couple days. It healed the wound from the inside out leaving no scar. Of coarse it smelled a little odd.

John

[kokko]

The people equivalent to 3M Vetrap is called Coban. It is more expensive and comes only in the Crayola "flesh" color, which Crayola calls something else now. The Vetrap comes in fun colors.

[jeadstx]

I just found that link to show an example of vet rap. I usually get it from Tractor Supply or a feed store. Cost is about the same. Never even paid attention to the brand.

John

[Thomasjbrothersjr]

Seriously... Products made for animals vs made for humans? Are you guys really having this discussion? Of all the things you want to save money on, skimping on this seems silly. Of course this is only my opinion. I have put my body together with electrical tape more often than not. Now a 12 stitch lac may take a bit more tape than usual.

I have been in the emergency medicine field for quite some time now. One of the best classes I have taken had to be my Wilderness EMT. They had us thinking outside of the box, using what you had in your backpack and what you may have hanging around. We built traction splints out of belts, cans and rope, learned how to treat dislocated shoulders by actually getting them back into place and all kinds of other last ditch stuff. You do what you have to do o get a handle on the injury. I would treat being out othe boat the same way.

Now what this post has brought to light was my total lack of a 1st aid kit. I will be putting one together over the next few days. Here's a quick list of what I will have in it...

10 good band aids
3 rolls of medical tape different sizes up to 2"
2 rolls of gauze 2"
4x4 & 5x9 sterile pads 5 each
4" cling
Cravats at least 4
Stile water 500cc
Nitrite gloves 4 pairs
Space blanket
Alcohol swabs
SAM splint
1 trauma dressing
3 ice packs
Ibuprofen
Diarrhea medication
Benadryl
Pen lite
Trauma sheers
Pocket mask
Hand sanitizer

It sounds like a lot of stuff, and I guess it is. It won't be cheap either. I think you will find that band aids will be used the most. Keeping all the stuff together will be up to you but I will be keeping it all in a heavy duty freezer bag with smaller bags inside.

Now I hope I never have to use any of this.

TBone

[GreenLake]

The people equivalent to 3M Vetrap is called Coban. It is more expensive and comes only in the Crayola "flesh" color, which Crayola calls something else now. The Vetrap comes in fun colors.

Yeah fun colors!

[GreenLake]

1st wound follow up today. Had to teach the nurse how the ER people had put the immobilizing bandage together.