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vgabndo
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3461
Registered: 12-8-2003
Location: Mt. Shasta, CA
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Mood: Checking-off my bucket list.
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I suppose If you get right down to it. CPR doesn't have a very good record of success even when done right. Without a barrier between yours and a
mouth reeking of vomit, it is unlikely most folks are going to stay with it. And, there is always the possibility that after heroic work the effect
will be to keep alive a brain damaged body that would have thanked you to let it die.
My best barrier/one-way-valve lives in the console of my truck
and I hope I never have to take it out!
My friend and personal doctor recently told me of hearing "is there a Dr. in the house", and with a defib. machine which was present he and my
previous doc got a 70 something year old heart attack victim pumping and breathing again. His joy was NOT in sending him away alive in the ambulance,
but later in learning that the man had suffered no brain damage while he wasn't breathing!!!!
Undoubtedly, there are people who cannot afford to give the anchor of sanity even the slightest tug. Sam Harris
"The situation is far too dire for pessimism."
Bill Kauth
Carl Sagan said, "We are a way for the cosmos to know itself."
PEACE, LOVE AND FISH TACOS
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DianaT
Select Nomad
Posts: 10020
Registered: 12-17-2004
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| Quote: | Originally posted by vgabndo
I suppose If you get right down to it. CPR doesn't have a very good record of success even when done right. Without a barrier between yours and a
mouth reeking of vomit, it is unlikely most folks are going to stay with it. And, there is always the possibility that after heroic work the effect
will be to keep alive a brain damaged body that would have thanked you to let it die.
My best barrier/one-way-valve lives in the console of my truck
and I hope I never have to take it out!
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From what I hear today, it is suggested that with an adult that one should not do the mouth to mouth and just concentrate on doing the chest
compressions. But mouth to mouth should be done with a child???? What have others heard?
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Terry28
Senior Nomad
Posts: 825
Registered: 8-25-2007
Location: S.Calif mtns.
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Mood: Thirsty
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Vgabondo,
As a firefighter for 3o years I can say with confidence you are wrong, wrong, wrong. CPR saves lifes....period....
Mexico!! Where two can live as cheaply as one.....but it costs twice as much.....
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redhilltown
Super Nomad
Posts: 1130
Registered: 1-24-2009
Location: Long Beach, CA
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My first and foremost thought upon seeing the photographs was: can a tackle box really be THAT clean????? 
A great thread and post to make people think about the subject and maybe do some work on their own kit.
I would also add a few points. Some of the items in this (and most ) kits have expiration dates so it is wise to check them now and then...you won't
die if your ointment is a year past date but you might as well have the best of the best in remote areas like Baja. These items would include eye
wash, ointments, peroxide,antiseptic wipes (the "pad" type wipes can get old and be completely dry and useless.) Eye wash makes an excellent
irrigation solution for cuts and is sterile..good to have two bottles or some smaller 1 oz sizes. The last I read peroxide is NOT good for serious,
deeper cuts. The "ace" bandages are nice to have but what is really really great are the self adhering wraps. Gloves as mentioned are essential and I
put them right on top of my kits where I literally have to move them to get to the other items forcing me to think about it. A really good pair of
virtus forceps is a life saver for cactus spines (ok..yes, and for taking bones out of fish....just clean em....oh...right....have two pair.) There
are tons and tons of ways to get good (bad) burns while camping or cooking or car repair. Water Jel makes a good line of products for minor to serious
burns.
Great post and thanks!
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DavidE
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3814
Registered: 12-1-2003
Location: Baja California México
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Mood: 'At home we demand facts and get them. In Mexico one subsists on rumor and never demands anything.' Charles Flandrau,
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The holding of breath maneuver for atrial or ventricular fibrillation is called the "Valsalva Maneuver" and it only works on some people some of the
time. It worked on my afib for about two seconds in several hundred attempts during a dozen afib episodes.
May I suggest while performing the Valsalva Maneuver, walk to the medicine chest, extract two 325 mg. aspirin (Tylenol is useless for this purpose)
and swallow them. If you are Rx'd for a CPAP or Bi-PAP machine, use it. You need O2 and at 15 cm any assist is good assist. If you or someone have
medical oxygen in your house, use it! Lack of oxygen kills heart tissue!
I am an old tired broken-down EMT-2. Stan and I chat regularly -- a nice guy and certainly glad to have him around.
Take a CPR course! No book on the face of the earth will teach you 1% of what an approved course will do. Heimlich Maneuver training is essential and
try to work out for yourself if your airway gets clogged and you are home alone. It is scary and I had one gosh darnned steep learning curve I can
tell you!
Try to learn the technique of communicating and performing the Heimlich maneuver on young children.
I have assisted several people in staying alive and I can tell you that it one soul-satisfying achievement. Very personal reward.
So skip a few episodes of American Idol and learn things that can save lives, Please, I beg you!
A Lot To See And A Lot To Do
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Islandbuilder
Senior Nomad
Posts: 555
Registered: 11-9-2011
Location: nob
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Mood: bewildered
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CPR training no longer includes breaths. Even so I carry a pocket guard with a one-way valve, and gloves all over the place. A glove with a hole in it
can serve as an emergency mouth guard, but one with a valve is much better. Aspirin for heart atttack ASAP.
We have a full medi kit on the boat, including splints, suture kit and a back board. We can be several hours from getting even a CG helo to us
(including the seemingly endless debate with the flight surgeon about the patient's condition and symptoms) And, a really nice affordable AED. If
you've had heart issues, or are in an at risk group, buying an AED is an affordable way to extend your tether a bit.
[Edited on 4-26-2012 by Islandbuilder]
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DianaT
Select Nomad
Posts: 10020
Registered: 12-17-2004
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Some really good discussion and ideas--- especially the reminder about expiration dates --- for personal meds, I might put a note in as to when they
expire. Also, I really like the water gel idea. I am going to made of list of some of the things I think my sister might like to include.
I think of this kit more as having about the BA home some things that are difficult to find in BA. ---even things like adhesive tape, bandaids,
bandages, etc. While these things are available there, the quality is not as good. And for me, having everything in ONE place is a good thing.
Other than that, I don't worry much while in Bahia Asuncion as we do have the clinic and doctors and for professional medical help, that is where we
would go. It is limited, but it is there and fortunately, we have had to use it only once.
And we like to go out into the back country and travel around, this kit, with a couple more things added thanks to the suggestions, will be with us.
Thanks for all the input --- tis a good thing.
BTW--A couple of dog first-aid ideas---just can't ignore the pups. We carry individually antiseptic wipes as they don't dry out for cleaning us just
a mess or a wound. Hemostats are great for sticker and thorn removal, and peroxide is a good emetic for dogs.
For a good paw bandage, this is what we came up with a few months back--- and it worked. Tom had an injury on the bottom of his paw that was quite
painful. We have Bamitol from the Vet in GN that we keep with us and it works quite well. So, we cleaned the wound and applied the ointment along
with Triple Antibiotic gel.
It needed a bandage. Anyone who has been in the hospital for anything has come home with those little ankle socks with the non-skid pads on the
bottom---perfect for dog on tile floors. We put cotton balls over the salve but we could not find any large and thick gauze pads in town, so we
bought a small package of sanitary pads --- we didn't tell Tom that was what we were using.  We put a couple of pads in different directions, tape around that, then the sock and lots more tape!
It gave the wound a chance to begin to heal and all the padding made it more comfortable for him to walk. And of course, all of this had to have a
dog picture attached. 
Hope to keep hearing more ideas.
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vgabndo
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3461
Registered: 12-8-2003
Location: Mt. Shasta, CA
Member Is Offline
Mood: Checking-off my bucket list.
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Terry28, I'm sure your experience is accurate, but 5% to 10% STILL isn't very effective. Most of the time, CPR is abuse of a corpse. That doesn't mean
I won't some day be found guilty of just that. I hope I never have to make that decision.
Undoubtedly, there are people who cannot afford to give the anchor of sanity even the slightest tug. Sam Harris
"The situation is far too dire for pessimism."
Bill Kauth
Carl Sagan said, "We are a way for the cosmos to know itself."
PEACE, LOVE AND FISH TACOS
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Ateo
Elite Nomad
Posts: 5917
Registered: 7-18-2011
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I have got to learn first aid and CPR.....I was the first person to arrive on scene 2 weeks ago at a horrific accident just pass the turnoff to Julian
on interstate 8. It took 20 minutes for fire and ambulance. All I could do was tell the man help was on the way, comfort him and tell him he was
gonna be OK. I felt helpless and basically worthless.
Baja is even more desolate....it could be a long wait on the side of the road for help to arrive.
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redhilltown
Super Nomad
Posts: 1130
Registered: 1-24-2009
Location: Long Beach, CA
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Diana: cute pup pics!! The coflex/co-wrap self adherent wrap is great for animals too...i think vets use it all the time. But with anything like
that you have to be careful not to bandage too tightly.
And I still can't believe a tackle box can be so clean..........
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DianaT
Select Nomad
Posts: 10020
Registered: 12-17-2004
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| Quote: | Originally posted by redhilltown
Diana: cute pup pics!! The coflex/co-wrap self adherent wrap is great for animals too...i think vets use it all the time. But with anything like
that you have to be careful not to bandage too tightly.
And I still can't believe a tackle box can be so clean.......... |
Thanks. I guess one danger of all of this being in a tackle box is that some fisherperson might make a mistake and either start fishing with some
gauze, or start throwing things into the box and make it as smelly as the other tackle boxes.
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Maderita
Senior Nomad
Posts: 688
Registered: 12-14-2008
Location: San Diego
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QuikClot for controlling bleeding of serious injuries. It stops bleeding almost instantly, including arterial bleeding. Amazing stuff.
http://www.quikclot.com/home.aspx
If you have the stomach for it, this video shows just how effective it is. If you can't handle the sight of blood, don't say I didn't warn you!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9xvIbKBJn4
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Islandbuilder
Senior Nomad
Posts: 555
Registered: 11-9-2011
Location: nob
Member Is Offline
Mood: bewildered
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Ateo, you weren't worthless; providing comfort is critically important. It keeps the victim calm, and gives him a connection that he desperately
needs.
That said, get the training, the person you're most likely to encounter having a bad day in Baja is whoever is sitting with you in your rig. To have
the training, and some tools (like DianaT's most excellent tackle box) can go a long ways toward mitigating a disaster.
My last two careers have required me to keep current CPR/First Aid cards, and last year I took it a bit further and got my Wilderness First Responder
training. And, I still feel like a useless idiot when things go bad. So I do what I can to administer first aid, and offer comfort and tell them
they're going to be OK.............
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Ateo
Elite Nomad
Posts: 5917
Registered: 7-18-2011
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Islandbuilder,
I'm looking for training classes as we speak. Think I may even take the rest of the family (wife and kids) with me to get everyone some training.
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woody with a view
PITA Nomad
Posts: 15939
Registered: 11-8-2004
Location: Looking at the Coronado Islands
Member Is Offline
Mood: Everchangin'
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a little online reading will do the same in a pinch.
ABC's
Airway, is it open?
Breathing, are they breathing?
Circulation, is there a pulse?
obviously formal training is best but it takes all day to mostly anecdotal stories by the instructor. try looking online for something. CPR is pretty
easy to do after the adrenaline mellows out. if not for a stranger, at least do it for your family. if you aren't breaking ribs you aren't pushing
hard enuf!
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