Show us your bag...

[HICKMAN]

Originally Posted by tuocs

I SAY MY BACK PACKS HAD BEEN OF REAL IMPORTANCE DURING THOSE TIMES!

good post

[tuocs]

May i be allowed to share a piece of sharing to you gentlemen and ladies just in case you will come to tour in a third world country like mine.

In case you decide to bring along a survival bag (for preparedness just in case you are caught in a disaster in my country like mine):

Sharing #1: Don't bring a bag with military colors. The reason is because you will get much attention. (Attention from other marooned people, evacuees, or refugees. If ever you get marooned, evacuated, or end in a refugee area of course)



Sharing #2: Don't use external bag pockets that shows the content of that pocket. Of course we all know the reason. In a calamity area, people can take advantage of others just to survive. Things/materials in plain view can be subject of theft, or even worse to the owners.


In the few number of calamities i assisted to coordinate in its operation & management, most of the problems we encountered amongst them marooned people and them evacuees is theft on properties, and quarrels on belongings.

And our purpose during times of disaster is TO SURVIVE. and by simply not getting much attention because of the color of our bag, and the contents of our bag can help for us to survive.

[HICKMAN]

Good post toucs, thank you for the insight!

[tuocs]

Originally Posted by HICKMAN

Good post toucs, thank you for the insight!

Thank you sir... God bless you Hickman

[evansvillethompsongunner]

Originally Posted by infidel

...
more medical
....


Well there you go, let me know what you guys think, I would really like some feedback so I can make this thing as good as I can.

Just a few tips.

You've already got me beat in pretty much every other area and have given me some tips on how to improve tactical/food supply storage.
Thanks.

Hopefully nothing in this list is too obvious; just making a list of things which pop out at me.

Med-Kit should be its own big bag, IMHO.

Alcohol, ethyl - many gallons of.
Disinfectant, kills virtually all bacteria by destroying their cell structures.
Having a fair amount of this could well make having a few other items on this list superfluous.

Alcohol, isopropyl - many gallons of.
Same as ethanol above, but has a few more superfluous uses. Worth keeping around. Can be used as a rough fuel for kerosene lamps, and is less valuable than burning precious ethanol.

The necessity of this next item is debatable, but I still suggest it, if you are capable of storing it safely...

Chloroform. I will NOT detail how to produce it, nor will I instruct anyone via email/PM just as a C-Y/M-A measure for this forum and myself (despite its legality) .... but if you need to perform minor surgeries in the field, your patient might appreciate a little of this anasthetic - little being the operative word in that sentence, as it is a central nervous system depressant and can cause SERIOUS ******** problems, and can be fatal even in low concentrations. However, if you're the tough-as-nails type or can afford the much more expensive nitrous oxide, or the thought of dealing with potentially toxic CNS-paralyzing agent bothers you (it only bothers me a bit, personally), or you're just not too concerned about pain, feel free to leave this out of the Med-Kit. If you DO decide to keep this anaesthetic in-kit, be SURE to store it SEALED TIGHTLY in light-resistant AMBER GLASS bottles, as on exposure to UV light, it will degrade into Phosgene, the toxic nerve gas used in WWII and by all-around bad guys such as Saddam, Hitler, and other baddies, and instead of performing field surgery with the luxury of keeping your patient anesthetized, you've then instead killed them, and probably yourself... and your comrades... and loved ones... and neighbors.... and maybe even local passersby... which is, on a scale of 1 to 10, a terrible outcome.

Gauze - bandages and tape: cloth tape, paper tape, scotch tape, duct tape, all of them. Depending on the wound, you'll wind up needing them all at some point. Thick ones are good, thin ones are worthless. The best stuff I've come across is Tegaderm, a wound dressing which is clear and mimics skin - it is about $1.50-3.50 PER PIECE depending on the size, but there's not much better.

Hydrogen peroxide - many gallons of, get it and get it now. Aside from having about a thousand and one uses, it too is a mild disinfectant. It is also a POWERFUL oxidizer. Unfortunately, unless it is stabilized, this does lose potency over time, as it gives off Oxygen and eventually seeps out of the container it's in, and evolves into water.

[2]H2O2 => [2]H20 + O2

(Not trying to be redundant here, just trying to inform - I'm not sure how many among us still remember our chemistry stoichiometry. )

Iodine, Tincture of - useful for cleaning out fresh wounds.

Needles - stitching needles with suture for making stitches.

Scalpel - for when you just HAVE to extract that round from your cousin's femur (god forbid).

Tweezers - removing splinters or shrapnel.

As to medicines, might I suggest keeping few spare pills/bottles of:

Wide-range antibiotics - for mild/generalized/unknown infections: (generic Keflex -tissue infections, great for open wounds; generic Zithromycin; generic Amoxicillin WITH clavulanic acid as an improvement upon Amoxicillin-resistant staph. and strep. infections; generic Ciprofloxacin for use in a wide variety of infection; and maybe, if you can afford some, a few pills of Vancomycin as the ultimate last resort...would NOT recommend this for any use but deathly situations, else resistance could build, and it's one of the few antibiotics in the world which has almost no resistance built to it yet, save some strains of MRSA, and the more widely-used it becomes, the less effective it is...)

Narrow-range antibiotics - in case of serious, specific infections: (generic Macrobid - kidney/bladder infections; tetracycline/doxycycline to protect against tick-borne disease; sulfamethoxazole with trimethoprim for urinary tract infection/respiratory infection)....

Coagulants - Vitamin K will help improve platelets to bind better. QuikClot is a patch which will help stop severe bleeding. Very useful.

And, in lesser need, is:

CAFFEINE - While moderately toxic, most people ingest small amounts of it daily. If on watch/guard/requiring alertness, weigh out no more than half a gram, stir into water. Tastes VERY bitter (never once in my life tasted anything so bitter), and is very cheap. Approx. 10-20 grams can be FATAL depending on tolerance. Works by doing inhibiting production of adenosine in the brain (which makes the hypothalamus think it's sleeptime) - ergo, the hypothalamus doesn't get the message that 'hey, it's sleeptime,' so the brain remains alert. While this is useful in a pinch, I know from personal experience that overdose (anything more than maybe 350, 400mg) definitely can cause irritability/hostility and/or paranoia. Still, definitely an invaluable part of survival when you're trying/needing to outlast the enemy. Also, it won't last indefinitely... but I managed to stay awake for almost 52 hours once doing this (which I do NOT recommend to ANYONE). Caffeine is legal to purchase, consume, and - requires no prescription, unlike all antibiotics/some other useful medical equipment.

I work in a pharmacy, and while I do NOT condone theft or fraud to obtain these items, if you do legitimately get an antibiotic filled, of which you feel you can safely squirrel away a couple to a few pills, do so. I of course hold myself indemnified in the event that you ingest something to which you're allergic... or, in fact, anything which might happen that might be undesirable, but in a true STHF situation, medicine - antibiotics especially - could mean the difference between life and death: without them, we are effectively tossed back to pre-Civil-War-era medical hygiene. True POTENCY expiration dates on drugs are often well past the one-year period for non-controlled substances and six-months for controlled substances that State law requires... efficacy of pills is often many years if stored properly.

If one is diabetic, for instance, one ought to stock up on insulin now - this one should be obvious, and in a truly SHTF situation,one is probably up a creek, but with a generator or low temperatures outside, there's no reason one can't at least try to maintain it at decent temperatures. However, I CANNOT vouch as to the efficacy of most insulins at temperatures which they are NOT to be stored at, save Lantus, which is long-acting. Lantus is good for up to 28 days out-of-refrigeration....what happens beyond that I don't know, whether the manufacturer just doesn't want it to be used beyond that so people will have to buy more or whether it actually does somehow magically turn into poison, but once yet again, I disclaim all liability, just tossing out some ideas here.

Anti-anxiety medicines might be a consideration as well, depending on how well you/loved ones handle stress. Survival will be a lot more enjoyable if you're a little tiny bit more relaxed.

Also, any maintenance medications which you NEED to survive (Nitroglycerin, Tikosyn, Warfarin, Potassium, blood pressure medicines, diuretics, inhalers, etc.) you should already be stockpiling one pill/dose at a time, if you can.

Lastly, think about what you could do without if you HAD to, but do NOT attempt it. Not unless AND until you have (read: are forced by circumstance) to, and have really had an in-depth discussion with your doctor, pharmacist, or other healthcare professional. You probably need your Digoxin; do you really need your Ambien?

Anyhow, just a few tips.

Most important is brushing up on some medical knowledge so that if you do have to, say, cauterize a wound or pull a round from someone's leg, you make things better and not worse.

Also, I've found that having a realistic ability to self-determine strengths and weaknesses in this area is perhaps the most helpful item to possess out of all of these... I have some limited confidence in my ability to diagnose infection as an almost-layman (as a pharm. tech., I've seen a few different types of illness in the past four-and-a-half years), but I also know I don't have the steady hand of, say, a surgeon.

Three cheers, though.
You've got a darned great setup on the rest.

Regards.

[HICKMAN]

man, another good quality post!

[ThrottleJockey]

many gallons of.

I see this in several places in your post. This is not going to work in a BOB for too many reasons to even mention. While this is good advice and all of it is good stuff to keep on hand at home, it isn't feasible or likely that any one, even you are going to concern yourself with carrying around "many gallons" of anything when you bug out. For this reason, I opt for a half gallon of everclear. It will serve a multitude of the purposes you outlined for both forms of alcohol as well as the peroxide and even serve as a pretty effective sedative if needed. I also agree with the scalpel and suture kit, and have them in my bag. Do not forget to pack little things like antihistamine and immodium as well as NSAIDs like ibuprofen. Also, let's try not to forget about some of the naturally occurring things we can find in the woods, for example this wonderful little fungi that has antibiotic propertiesPiptoporus betulinus. Not trying to say you're wrong, just that you may have forgotten this is a Bug Out Bag thread.

[evansvillethompsongunner]

Originally Posted by ThrottleJockey

I see this in several places in your post. This is not going to work in a BOB for too many reasons to even mention. While this is good advice and all of it is good stuff to keep on hand at home, it isn't feasible or likely that any one, even you are going to concern yourself with carrying around "many gallons" of anything when you bug out. For this reason, I opt for a half gallon of everclear. It will serve a multitude of the purposes you outlined for both forms of alcohol as well as the peroxide and even serve as a pretty effective sedative if needed. I also agree with the scalpel and suture kit, and have them in my bag. Do not forget to pack little things like antihistamine and immodium as well as NSAIDs like ibuprofen. Not trying to say you're wrong, just that you may have forgotten this is a Bug Out Bag thread.

I was just speaking in general terms....but quantities can of course be scaled down. Trust me, you're going to want both hydrogen peroxide and ethanol. Maybe even just a pint of Hydrogen Peroxide if space is limited, but like I said, it is very useful, and its applications are not just limited to the realm of antiseptic. Good reminder on the NSAIDs... I was just trying to list what most people might forget. I'm not about to forget the naproxen/tylenol/ibuprofen/aspirin. Antihistamines are always good. Benadryl (diphenhydramine) is good in case of allergies and as a mild somnatic. Imodium is good, but if water purification is kept up as necessary, it's a luxury, unless you're prone to the symptoms for which it's used. Dramamine is also good, and very effective at preventing/correcting nauseousness.



Glad you mostly agree with the usefulness of the items listed, though.

[Lex Concord]

I have no pics, but I'm with tuocs on trying to be less than overt with pack choices.

I picked up my "get home bag" (a nice North Face backpack, similar to what mercop has (though no molle-style webbing) for $1.59 a pound at the goodwill outlet, and my "BOB" is a big internal-frame pack I picked up for $10 at a garage sale a few years ago.

In looking through this thread, I have noticed that there really isn't any mention of clothing being in packs. Is this because you are planning to be wearing what you'll need, or do you segregate clothing from survival gear?

I tend to think of proper clothing as essential to survival, especially in winter, because you can starve in a week, die of thirst in a day or two, but it can take only a couple of hours to freeze to death, especially if you find yourself in a situation where you are without shelter and have to sit tight due to whatever risk.

I keep ski bibs, an extra coat, and other layers in a tub in the truck, but I also pack some layers in the get home bag, just in case I have to abandon the truck and don't have the luxury of time to don or the ability to grab the really warm stuff.

[Woodsman]

I think one of the things that is important is to seasonally adjust your BOB contents. Winter requirements are much different than summer. While hydration is still just as important you will need higher calorie intake to feed the furnace so to speak. Secondly, it's important to keep that heat contained.

Having the kit adjusted to these various demands is also one part of surviving.

A final comment would be on duration. The government and a lot of people routinely use 72 hours. My question is: Is this enough time for you to get to where you are going or having high hopes of being rescued within that time frame?