Safety - Medical Kit

The sites I play at know of my job so I’ll leave more advanced kit in the safe zone with them and have coms on me incase (Had to be used last year for a diabetic incident)

but will always say to carry a small basic first aid kit incase you pic a fight with brambles or decide to burn yourself with a smoke grenade, we’ve all been there.

 
I carry a basic kit, plus eye wash and sutures. lots of triangulars and airways. But I used to be a paramedic so folks kind of expect it of me

 
I don’t carry a first aid kit, just a pouch of Maryland cookies....

 
Damion said:
I don’t carry a first aid kit, just a pouch of Maryland cookies....
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Thought about this and when it comes down to it there's nothing really unique to airsoft in terms of likely injuries compared to other outdoor hobbies.  Maybe some stuff for burns with all the pyro stuff that isn't as common in mountain biking or canoeing, but that's about it.

Just only carry what you're trained for and confident with and most importantly get a free CPR course if you can and/or other first aid training.  Speaking generally here but the training's more important than any kit for the average joe, you only need fancy gear to actually accomplish a given treatment with higher level stuff.  CPR, treating small bleeds, dehydration, shock.. that's more about what you know and using what's already around you.  Recognising allergic reactions and fit/asthma symptoms to figure out what kind of medication a chronic sufferer will have on their person and how to help them is a good one.

At the least, this game is free, really fun and well made and most importantly medically accurate as far as I can tell.  I've been touting it for years:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/404580/Relive/

 
TheFull9 said:
Thought about this and when it comes down to it there's nothing really unique to airsoft in terms of likely injuries compared to other outdoor hobbies.  Maybe some stuff for burns with all the pyro stuff that isn't as common in mountain biking or canoeing, but that's about it.

Just only carry what you're trained for and confident with and most importantly get a free CPR course if you can and/or other first aid training.  Speaking generally here but the training's more important than any kit for the average joe, you only need fancy gear to actually accomplish a given treatment with higher level stuff.  CPR, treating small bleeds, dehydration, shock.. that's more about what you know and using what's already around you.  Recognising allergic reactions and fit/asthma symptoms to figure out what kind of medication a chronic sufferer will have on their person and how to help them is a good one.

At the least, this game is free, really fun and well made and most importantly medically accurate as far as I can tell.  I've been touting it for years:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/404580/Relive/
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 I would say a higher risk or eye injuries with airsoft, especially with folks wearing mesh and non sealing shooting glasses and thinking its eye pro. That's why I carry sterile Saline and eye dressings. and of course romping at speed, through brambles and sticks means cuts and fractures are likely. Those are easy sorted with plasters, steri-strip and triangular bandages.

Pyro burns maybe next highest risk and for that you just need water 

I laugh when I see anyone with a tourniquet, completely pointless if there is no risk of explosive trauma and even then debatable, I've dealt with quite a few amputations in 12 years of 999 calls and never needed one, nor are they appropriate unless you are talking hours before treatment (which is never the case in UK). We never carried them in London Ambulance Service or on St John Ambulance Vehicles as they basically guarantee the loss of the appendage they are applied to, Elevation and direct pressure will work fine.

Simple Guedel to maintain an airway while you transport to Ambulance is handy but not essential, but needs training, it is pretty easy to maintain an airway without one though

Biggest thing I would recommend to all is to go to St John and do a basic first aid course so all can to CPR and ECM and know the basics,  that can really make a difference. Why this isn't taught at school to everybody still eludes me

 
In 21 years playing AS I've actually seen more pyro burns than eye injuries. And  even then it's not that common. Plenty of breaking bbs on mesh never resulting in any serious damage, eye wash job at the most. It's happened to me personally aproximatly 12 times in 450 games over my time. Even with bbs getting in non sealed eyepro of all the incidents I've been privy to (probably less frequent than bbs breaking on mesh) I know 2 that resulted in permanent sight damage most cases just some bruising. I think the most common AS injury has to be twisted ankles.

 
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so I am first aid trained and primarily play longer milsims where the site tends to be bigger (of course that means it takes longer for help to get to you) so I put this one together for myself and it all fits into the BFG micro trauma kit.

contents are just the basics to cover major bleeds, CPR and other general boo-boos. and I guess that's the issue I have with the pre packed med pouches/ifaks. when am I going to need a decompression needle or even a clotting agent at an Airsoft game?

so I felt that it was best to put one together that suited what I knew I was likely to use both commonly and  in a worst case scenario and also what I was comfortable having had training on it. med tree is a great website for this.

it won't solve every problem, but then it's not supposed to, ive prioritised what I need to be able to actually help someone. and in reality the worst I've actually had to deal with this far was a fall and a twisted ankle.

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MadMole said:
I laugh when I see anyone with a tourniquet, completely pointless if there is no risk of explosive trauma and even then debatable, I've dealt with quite a few amputations in 12 years of 999 calls and never needed one, nor are they appropriate unless you are talking hours before treatment (which is never the case in UK). We never carried them in London Ambulance Service or on St John Ambulance Vehicles as they basically guarantee the loss of the appendage they are applied to, Elevation and direct pressure will work fine.
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We carry them in the LAS now have for several years post the  7/7 bombings, along with Olaes, Russel and Nightingale dressings. Most recently used to good effect in the Croydon tram derailment where  multiple people had limbs  essentially cheese-gratered away by sliding along gravel and broken glass. Plus the recent mass surge in knife/gun crime. I've never had to use one, don't ever plan on using one, it's a last ditch hail Mary, but its nice to have one in the never-event should you need it. Clinical studies & indications show a safe-ish application time of about an hour, and no permanent damage up to about 2 hours, after 2 hours youre looking at risking tissue/nerve ischaemia and compartment syndrone. Sod's law dictates the moment I bin mine, someone is going to rip their femoral out trying to hop over a barb wire fence to sneak around the game zone  :P

 
Always better to have and not need etc etc ?

 
Interestingly some car first aid kits do now come with torniquets. Also Ambulance Service 999 call handlers (at least in some services) are trained in certain cases to give instructions on the use of commercial torniquets (or improvised torniquets) to members of the public prior to 999 crews arriving.

I don’t know of any example where they have actually done it though.... I assume it is a last resort kind of thing.

 
To add to what everyone else has said, spend money on training rather than on kit. I'm a wilderness first responder (in date until Feb 2021) and have held various quals since 2001.

With the right skills, you really don't need much kit. For anything remotely serious, your job, 99% of the time, is to stop it getting worse, to control the scene and to help get an ambulance here ASAP. I've been unlucky enough to be on scene for a bunch of incidents over the years and have only ever used gloves and Israeli dressings in anger. My car kit is based around this experience, it's gloves, tape, steristrips, a field dressing and a CPR mask plus a bit of celox gauze, a couple of ambulance dressings and a triangular bandage. I've got a couple of chest seals in there but I don't ever expect to need them. The best thing I've done is generally stop other people faffing about and to make sure that the ambulance team know where to get to. Although, I did once ID a landing zone and then marshal an air ambulance but that's a different story.

Anyway, I love cool kit as much as, if not more than most, but f you're not qualified to use it, don't carry it - I'm looking at airways here in particular.

As for the original question, for airsoft I carry a really small kit with, gloves, tape, steristrips, tweezers, tick removers, antiseptic wipes and a triangular bandage (wound packing, wiping up blood, stabilisation etc).

 
Airsoft J2 said:
if you're not qualified to use it, don't carry it -
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Use it, no. Carry it, why not?

I'm looking at airways here in particular
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You'll notice that I said that I don't carry them for airsoft use.  I mentioned this to contrast airsoft with a scenario where traumatic injuries are more likely, and there's a reasonable chance of someone qualified either being on scene, or passing by before the blue lights get there.

I feel this thread might be about to derail into a train wreck. ;)

 
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Airsoft J2 said:
To add to what everyone else has said, spend money on training rather than on kit. I'm a wilderness first responder (in date until Feb 2021) and have held various quals since 2001.

With the right skills, you really don't need much kit. For anything remotely serious, your job, 99% of the time, is to stop it getting worse, to control the scene and to help get an ambulance here ASAP. I've been unlucky enough to be on scene for a bunch of incidents over the years and have only ever used gloves and Israeli dressings in anger. My car kit is based around this experience, it's gloves, tape, steristrips, a field dressing and a CPR mask plus a bit of celox gauze, a couple of ambulance dressings and a triangular bandage. I've got a couple of chest seals in there but I don't ever expect to need them. The best thing I've done is generally stop other people faffing about and to make sure that the ambulance team know where to get to. Although, I did once ID a landing zone and then marshal an air ambulance but that's a different story.

Anyway, I love cool kit as much as, if not more than most, but f you're not qualified to use it, don't carry it - I'm looking at airways here in particular.

As for the original question, for airsoft I carry a really small kit with, gloves, tape, steristrips, tweezers, tick removers, antiseptic wipes and a triangular bandage (wound packing, wiping up blood, stabilisation etc).
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Second the Get training rather than kit

The absolute most useful piece of first aid kit in the world is a traingular bandage. Carry 2 and you can deal with almost anything. everything else is a luxury. 

Tiercel, its over 25 years since I was in the LAS. Things have changed a lot in that time (vehicles were white Hanlons and Wadham stringers) . I was one of the first paramedics when manual Defibs (not AED's) hit the streets and we could intubate and set up a drip, that was about it then, oh and uniforms were Blue over white cotton shirts.  We were really, pick em up, throw em in the back and get to A&E quick merchants.

Once dealt with 6 leg amputations at once, 2 folks with double. Dont sit on a flat bed trailer with your legs over the side when another truck runs along it (Notting Hill sound system) just to add to the fun, the speaker stack had fallen on another person on the truck who had a crushed ribcage and stopped breathing and its at night. Typical running call on way back to depot at shift end

 
Rogerborg said:
I feel this thread might be about to derail into a train wreck. ;)
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I just tend not to carry stuff I don't need or won't use!

I wasn't taking a pop at you, it was a more general point. I see loads of airsoft med kits being shown off with decompression needles, airways etc and just wonder if they actually know how to use them, and if they also have any actually useful stuff with them as well.

Any-hoo.

The most blood I've seen at an airsoft game was when Player A was searching Player B and found a proper fighting knife. Player B said "careful, it's sharp". Player A then ran their thumb along the razoer sharp blade... cut blood. Any despite all the fancy med kits no one had gloves or a decent dressing until another chaps and I heard the kerfuffle and wondered over.

 
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