First Aid Kit
Haluska Ed (edh@MAILS.IMED.COM)
Tue, 28 Jun 1994 09:13:46 CST
What should go into a personal first aid kit? First decide whether you
want a personal first aid kit or a wilderness survival kit.
A personal first aid kit is most likely to be used on camp-outs. What
are the most common minor first aid problems at camp-outs? Small cuts,
splinters, small burns, insect bites, poison ivy, heat rash (in very
private places), blisters. Choose which ones you want to be able to
treat and pack accordingly.
Packing a quarter is borderline obsolete. The purpose was to be able to
use a pay phone to summons help. Most pay phones (at least here in the
U.S.A.) can now be used for this purpose without a coin.
What should go into the canister for a wilderness survival kit? Given
the present BSA emasculated program policy of "sit tight, do nothing,
wait to be rescued," the answer is _nothing_. (This policy, although
technically correct, has removed from the program most of the things
that previously attracted boys to Scouting in general and Wilderness
Survival in particular. But this is another soap box and another
thread.)
As a _strictly_personal_opinion_, I think film-canister first aid kits
make very ugly woggles (kerchief slides). I prefer to epoxy a small
beaded chain or other strap to the side and wear it on a belt loop, a
shoulder epelet, or trapped under a pocket flap. Unless your troop is
very good at having their uniforms "uniformly uniform," I would opt for
the least conspicuous place, the belt loop. Also, a hole can be punched
through the top and bottom of the film canister and a chain can be then
threaded through both peices. This has the further advantage that it
keeps the cap secured, but it makes the kit not water-proof.
Scout on,
_____________________________________________________________________
| | |
| Edward A. Haluska | To make fine, hard steel, first the smith |
| 6105 Deer Run | heats the metal red hot, then he pounds |
| Angleton, Texas 77515 | on it with a heavy hammer. |
| U.S.A. | God doesn't make any junk, but sometimes, |
| edh@mails.imed.com | He needs to make some fine, hard steel. |
|________________________|____________________________________________|
Terry Howerton Sakima Group, Inc. SCOUTER Magazine Kansas City |
