Big or small?

[ParamedicPrepper]

After looking at loads of different options for my med kit, I'm looking for ideas/advice on how people keep their med kit?

A big kit bag with all you need in it or smaller kits depending on what's needed

I think problem is the more you know the more you can use/carry but some stuff will only be used if it's all going wrong

Any suggestions?

Thanks

[Deeps]

I'm guessing a lot of us will be intimidated by a professional asking the question but I've got 3 FAK's, 1 hoofing big one and 2 smaller ones. The big one is my ultimate back up I suppose and has more than the wee ones. I'm out of date as a first aider but that's my level. I'll have a proper look tomorrow at the one I've got with me (I'm staying over at my mum's because of bad news) and a widdle bit tipsy but mine really is a FAK, I don't have the knowledge to do serious stuff, the meatiest I go is field dressings.

[Brambles]

Hmmm depends what you're doing I suppose. I have several FAK's. The main one is in a box stored in the house. This one has everything I store and also replenishes the others. I have a simple one in my work bag and a beefed up one heavy on wound management and pain relief for fishing. The one I take camping is similar to the fishing one but also has burns treatment and tick tools. Because they are both stored with that particular activities gear I keep them in watertight lock and lock boxes. The only ones I keep in a bag are the little ones in my work bag and HOB and like Deeps my first aid training is OOD so I'm not interested in having anything too complicated, it makes my brain hurt.
I don't drive a car so I'm unlikely to require an Andy Sized trauma kit, hence my kits are more for personal use and as such I prefer to keep them in boxes rather than bags. But I've saved the day many a time with forceps and scalpel blades to remove hooks from unlikely places on careless fishermen.

[shocker]

Double post, sorry

[shocker]

Interesting subject - I recently put my three FAKs (house, car, caravan) on the kitchen table and split all the contents up equally between them. I figured that at any one time I would have access to a small amount of whats needed for most circumstances and then, if TSHTF, I can sling them together in a laptop sized backpack that I have as a spare.

The kits themselves started life as Lidl car FAKs but have many additions that I have been able to source as a farmer that maybe would not be available easily by most. The little nylon cases are bursting at the seams now.

After someone suggested that in a breakdown aquarium suppliers would be a good source of antibiotics I went ahead and bought some to see if they were usable - my bad I took one and found they were a salt based tablet and they acted as a rapid emetic

[ParamedicPrepper]

I'm guessing a lot of us will be intimidated by a professional asking the question but I've got 3 FAK's, 1 hoofing big one and 2 smaller ones. The big one is my ultimate back up I suppose and has more than the wee ones.

I try not to intimidate lol my first aid kit probably has the same in it as yours lol but wondered more how it was stored. I have my big ALS bag with all the groovy stuff in but hope not to use most of that as that would mean stuff got really bad. By nature if I need 3 of something I will pack 5 so that doesn't help. At work everything is very modular in separate bags but we usually have a rough idea of what we are going into so can grab the 'Maternity' module or 'Burns' module if needed but i'm struggling to pack it down. I have a small kit for in a rucksack for walks and the like but my list of 'important' stuff is so big the FAK becomes a rucksack lol thats where I let myself down as so used to having all the kit that I fail to improvise with less.

Boxes protect the kit more i guess so not a bad idea especially as stuff is rarely used and more likely to expire than be used. I think separate kits may be the way.

[jaffab]

God - I did a mental inventory and I think I win the prize for most kits. I have....

1 x Tiny set which I carry around in my day to day work briefcase/laptop bag (plasters, headache tablets, Imodium and one wrap bandage)
2 x Car FAKs that came with the cars (BMW and Audi) - topped up with plasters, headache tablets, Imodium
1 x House *MAIN* FAK - in kitchen - no drugs, but the usual assortment of plasters, bandages etc
1 x Holiday FAK (a childs pencil case) - Kept also in kitchen next to main FAK - with plasters, drugs (every kind you can imagine from malaria, antibiotics, cold and flu, immodium, etc) - grabbed whenever we go on holiday as part of our packing process and stuffed in our suitcase
1 x BOB FAK - Never touched - in my BOB. Has plasters, bandages, and a small bottle of mixed drugs which I added (antibiotics, pain kills, vitamin pills, immidiums, etc) - a label on the bottle indicates the different tablets by size/shape/colour
1 x BOB Trauma FAK - Never Touched - in wifes BOB. Has emergency pack of bandages, scissors, stitches kit, compression bandages, scalpel, etc

In my defence, the car ones came with the cars (most modern cars now come with something hidden in the boot), the Holiday one does double duty, and the work one is the hardest working in that most people know I have it and its amazing how many people 'borrow' headache tablets from me.

[ParamedicPrepper]

God - I did a mental inventory and I think I win the prize for most kits. I have....

1 x Tiny set which I carry around in my day to day work briefcase/laptop bag (plasters, headache tablets, Imodium and one wrap bandage)
2 x Car FAKs that came with the cars (BMW and Audi) - topped up with plasters, headache tablets, Imodium
1 x House *MAIN* FAK - in kitchen - no drugs, but the usual assortment of plasters, bandages etc
1 x Holiday FAK (a childs pencil case) - Kept also in kitchen next to main FAK - with plasters, drugs (every kind you can imagine from malaria, antibiotics, cold and flu, immodium, etc) - grabbed whenever we go on holiday as part of our packing process and stuffed in our suitcase
1 x BOB FAK - Never touched - in my BOB. Has plasters, bandages, and a small bottle of mixed drugs which I added (antibiotics, pain kills, vitamin pills, immidiums, etc) - a label on the bottle indicates the different tablets by size/shape/colour
1 x BOB Trauma FAK - Never Touched - in wife's BOB. Has emergency pack of bandages, scissors, stitches kit, compression bandages, scalpel, etc

In my defence, the car ones came with the cars (most modern cars now come with something hidden in the boot), the Holiday one does double duty, and the work one is the hardest working in that most people know I have it and its amazing how many people 'borrow' headache tablets from me.

Sounds well kitted lol Not sure about the bottle of mixed meds though They will almost definitely interact and the buffers in the meds will absorb moisture making them useless over time. Keep in the blister, cut a few off and label that much better. When we used to make up dossette boxes/blister packs it would have an expiry of a month and some meds (quite a list) could not be taken from their blisters and be stored as they would absorb moisture and be useless some even dangerous.

[jaffab]

The tablets are in small groups, inside cling film, inside a air tight plastic bottle.

[ParamedicPrepper]

The tablets are in small groups, inside cling film, inside a air tight plastic bottle.

Fair enough. Wasn't a criticism by the way just not an ideal way of storing them