First Aid Supplies

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  • jerrob

    Master
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    17   0   0
    Mar 1, 2013
    1,939
    113
    Cumberland Plateau
    Anyone have a lead on where to pick up medical supplies?
    Would like to put a couple trauma kits together and upgrade/update my primary first aid kit.
    Looked online to pick up a couple pre made IFAKs, but lead times are a month or more.
    I would be happy to piece some stuff together if I can find a reliable source, be it online or brick and mortar.
    Thanks Ingo.
     

    jerrob

    Master
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    17   0   0
    Mar 1, 2013
    1,939
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    Cumberland Plateau
    Don't know what their current shipping time is, but here is where I bought my kit:

    Disaster Preparedness Survival First Aid Kits

    Thanks. Definitely some items on there that I need to fill in some things missing in my first aid bag.

    Just pieced together two basic "stop bleed" kits at Galls.com for $115 each. Pricey, but says all items will ship out on 9/4. I rarely procrastinate, but when I do, my wallet feels the pain.
     

    ajeandy

    Master
    Rating - 100%
    43   0   0
    Oct 25, 2013
    2,005
    63
    S. Indianapolis
    I honestly source as much as I can from Walmart... tends to be the lowest cost.

    Anything I can’t find there, the next stop is amazon. Some of these sites seem wildly overpriced for these “kits”

    Ultimately you should evaluate things as followers:

    Keep plenty of what you’ll need on a frequent cadence, such as ibuprofen, tylenol, bandaids, alcohol, etc...

    Then consider what you’d need in a more severe injury...such as surgical dressing, sterile gauze, tape, wrap, tourniquet, perhaps surgical sewing equipment, you decide.

    I’ve found these kits include a lot of useless filler garbage to justify the price.
     
    Last edited:

    mike4

    Plinker
    Rating - 100%
    3   0   0
    Mar 23, 2010
    110
    28
    Central Indiana
    I will third North American Rescue (https://www.narescue.com/). They are not just a reseller, they are the source for the well regarded US mil issued CAT (Combat Application Tourniquet). I would go to the source or a well-known reputable vendor for such items and not Amazon which can't be trusted now with fakes. Even legit listings on Amazon can end up fulfilled with fake products when they get scammed where someone orders and keeps the legit product and returns a cheaper fake product that goes back into inventory.

    A few months ago NAR had 25% off their products listed in one category, but it included the CAT and just about all of the best gauze packings, wraps, and trauma bandages. I just acquired enough for two fairly well equipped kits, one for vehicle and one to throw in any pack or bag, and few other minimal kits for other packs and locations. I agree it's almost always better to piece together a kit versus any pre-made kit, but I actually found one really good kit at NAR that formed the core of one of the two larger kits. I'd have to dig up the order email to identify it.

    NAR is not big on the smaller stuff, but agree that is cheaper and easier to round out at Walmart, CVS, etc. Don't forgot to do an annual review of kits for things that expire.

    ETA: NAR bleeding control kit was NAR Item 80-0466.
     
    Last edited:

    Frank_N_Stein

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    79   0   0
    Nov 24, 2008
    10,206
    77
    Beech Grove, IN
    Anyone have a lead on where to pick up medical supplies?
    Would like to put a couple trauma kits together and upgrade/update my primary first aid kit.
    Looked online to pick up a couple pre made IFAKs, but lead times are a month or more.
    I would be happy to piece some stuff together if I can find a reliable source, be it online or brick and mortar.
    Thanks Ingo.

    Know any firefighters, EMTs, or nurses? See if they can get you "expired" stuff. It might not be good enough for an ambulance or ER, but it will do good for your kit(s).
     

    Cameramonkey

    www.thechosen.tv
    Staff member
    Moderator
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    Rating - 100%
    35   0   0
    May 12, 2013
    31,685
    77
    Camby area
    Know any firefighters, EMTs, or nurses? See if they can get you "expired" stuff. It might not be good enough for an ambulance or ER, but it will do good for your kit(s).

    THIS!

    I forgot what I was looking for, but when I inquired he responded "how many dozen you want? We go through these like water. Supers wont miss an extra dozen. Yeah, THAT many a month." Oh, yeah. Now I remember. A replacement mask assembly for a home nebulizer. I asked for 1, he delivered 5. LOL "beacause you'll need more eventually."

    Purple tipped needles are awesome for digging out splinters. I forget which gauge they are. But l know they are large enough that every medic and medical pro I've asked gave me a couple without question because "We sure as hell know its not for illicit drug use. Those things are HUGE! Nobody wants those going in." I think they are about the diameter of a wood pencil lead. So what they use for blood draws or bigger. I like the strength because they dont bend when you are digging for the splinter, and are heavy enough they stay sharp a long time.
     

    Hoosierkav

    Expert
    Rating - 100%
    5   0   0
    Dec 1, 2012
    1,013
    22
    South of Indianapolis
    NAR is great but you do pay a premium. Amazon is great but there are lots of knock-offs (for tourniquets) and you're supporting a company that is making billions from overseas sales at the expense of domestic companies (and, yes, WM does the same, so)
     

    Cameramonkey

    www.thechosen.tv
    Staff member
    Moderator
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    Rating - 100%
    35   0   0
    May 12, 2013
    31,685
    77
    Camby area
    NAR is great but you do pay a premium. Amazon is great but there are lots of knock-offs (for tourniquets) and you're supporting a company that is making billions from overseas sales at the expense of domestic companies (and, yes, WM does the same, so)

    NEVER EVER EVER EVER Buy a TQ on Amazon, ebay, etc. TONS of knockoffs out there... With reports of said units failing catastrophically in the field. Such failures as the windlass snapping in half as you tighten it. (which means its useless and your patient is just gonna bleed out... hopefully you are not self-treating. :nailbite: )

    So always buy TQs (and other critical gear) from reputable sites like NAR, Dark Angel Medical, etc. is your life not worth the $10 more to guarantee its a legit TQ? Pads, creams, ointments, etc? knock yourself out at those cheaper sites. The risk is much lower.
     

    10-32

    Sharpshooter
    Rating - 100%
    1   0   0
    Nov 28, 2011
    631
    18
    B-Burg
    Know any firefighters, EMTs, or nurses? See if they can get you "expired" stuff. It might not be good enough for an ambulance or ER, but it will do good for your kit(s).
    ^^^THIS^^^ One of the things I miss from working in EMS, taking home the stuff that was going to be thrown out. Yes, My Med 1 and Med 2 gave me permission.

    Seriously though, if you think about it, what expires in wound packing gauze, NP/OPs, needle, syringes, or tourniquets if the seal is still good. Keep them dry, out of high temps, direct sunlight, and they'll last well beyond the exp date.

    Side note. Band-aids and medical tape have an exp date because of the adhesive. Medical tape I have seen go well beyond is EXP date but band-aids, not so much.
     

    mike4

    Plinker
    Rating - 100%
    3   0   0
    Mar 23, 2010
    110
    28
    Central Indiana
    Just a heads up relative to my post #8 and other comments on North American Rescue as a source of med supplies. Looks like they are running 25% off again until Oct 1 under two product categories that include pretty much all of their key products; see their home page. To me that 25% brings them from fairly high priced but worth it for quality products, to a pretty good value.
     

    Gluemanz28

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    29   0   0
    Mar 4, 2013
    7,430
    113
    Elkhart County
    Just went to their website and got this :dunno:

    ZDXAUaq.jpg
     

    mike4

    Plinker
    Rating - 100%
    3   0   0
    Mar 23, 2010
    110
    28
    Central Indiana
    That was not very good timing on NAR's part after I gave them a plug. I'm sure my thousands of Instagram followers were disappointed when they went to the site. Seriously, it looked like it was back up later in the morning.

    Actually posting to add one data point from my previous order with them, which was my first. Backorder behavior of companies and e-commerce websites always concerns me. I'm careful to combine things to minimize shipping cost, but a few places want to charge you individually for items shipped later, in the worst cases without a clear statement to that effect or worse, doing more than one additional shipment as items become available. I had a couple of items from NAR show up on backorder only the next day in order processing emails; but all was handled well, backordered items shipping within indicated lead time with no additional shipping cost.
     

    FN USA

    Sharpshooter
    Rating - 90.9%
    10   1   0
    Jul 25, 2011
    303
    28
    Sellersburg
    I've always found army surplus stores have good gear that's expired, but still in good working condition. I've put together a few trauma kits for cheap.
     

    ajeandy

    Master
    Rating - 100%
    43   0   0
    Oct 25, 2013
    2,005
    63
    S. Indianapolis
    FYI in case you didn't realize you can use your HSA for many medical supplies. If buying anything on Amazon.com it will tell you if it's HSA qualified. Prime day is tomorrow and Wednesday so not sure if anything will be on sale. There is some decent stuff that can be had on Amazon for a good med kit.
     
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