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Sportsman's Guide lists a "Field Surgical Kit" that contains: penlight tweezers wound probe bandage scissors suture scissors forceps Kelly forceps sterile suture scalpel antibiotic ointment 4 alcohol prep pads and it comes in an OD green pounch. what else would I need to keep in an emergency medical kit in the bottom of the Get The Hell OUT of Dodge Bag.

Depends on what sort of "surgery" you wish to be prepared to carry out (and feel qualified to do without doing more harm than good); the items listed above are a rather bizarrely mismatched assortment.

Hi, well I don't know what "kelley forceps" are for start...I'm a 60s/70s person...they're all "hemostats" man. ;-> and I don't feel _I_ am qualified to stitch someone up so the sterile suture, suture scissors, and some spikes might be better for the cache medical kit (for someone else...say a vet or lpn to use)... I can give injections (IM and IV) though. and yea I -HAVE- been stiched up by a large animal vet. but it's amazing what you can do...I've slashed into a hand with a gurkha knife, and appropriate (or semi appropriate) bandages, some clean water from the canteen, iodine (used whole bottle, wasn't very co-ordinated bandaging my own hand) I did get the wound closed and the bleeding stoped...then walked out. and thanks to 500mg of amoxicillin 4 times a day for a week it healed without serious infection...though yea there is a scar. didn't feel a need to go to a doctor, the would was closed and the bleeding stopped, and I already had the antibiotics (it's amazing what you can get at the farm co-op). I've cut a small cyst out of my leg with an sharp boker switchblade, needlenose pliers, some alcohol, and a bandaid...looks like an acne scar. and I've been shot with an arrow, pulled it out, cleaned it up, iodine, bandage...and no it wasn't a broadhead...healed ok...I've got a dimple in my left leg now. now that I think about it...my left leg has taken some abuse...and it's my GOOD leg!

> first read some of the "how to practice medicine without being a union member" the fact is that the human organism will try to heal....we've made it millions of years this way... that said...in a serious survival situation I need more medical information just like 99% of the population. I think I'd add 2 weeks of cipro and/or keflex (if an infection gets out of hand before I can get to the stash) and 3 weeks of amoxicillin...(more antibiotics etc in medical cache)...Bandages...from 1" to LARGE including some butterflys...but you can stretch most plastic bandages and make the wound close...plus 2 tubes of a tripple antibiotic ointment...iodine (who cares if it stains...tincture of and provodone) and some alcohol...91%...maybe PGA instead so that it could be used for sedation if needed...but I've observed that alcohol can help slow/halt the bleeding so you can work (when applied topically). others have recommended the OTC pain killers and anti-inflamatories (ie aspirin, motrin) and these are good, and would have to be used in all but the most serious cases, but I'd add some codeine and maybe some sedatives (valium or other benzo)...I'd LIKE a morphine injector (not just a syringe and a bottle, the pre-packaged single use jobs) just in case...you can't neccessarily get a #3 codeine down. other stuff.... what about vitamin K...that helps clotting as I recall. and some one-a-day type vitamins...a 7 day sample pack in the kit...and several 365 pill bottles in the cache (sealed for long term use...on of the things I noticed on The Farm was that during the winter when the diet is a LOT more limited you're a lot sicker" ...sniffles, colds, flu, general malaise...and a 1-a-day every other day all winter can really help tide you over until spring or until you can get the greenhouse going).