Honestly, for an urban environment, you don't really need much. I'm not a paramedic, I'm just a cop, but I've responded to hundreds of medical calls and we usually beat the bus there, although they're almost always just a few minutes behind. In my experience, this is what you need:

1. Know how to do CPR...and understand that in most cases it's not going to work, but it's worth doing because sometimes it will. Also, for the victim to have a chance, somebody on scene starting CPR right away is huge. The longer the wait, the lower the chance of getting them back. I don't carry a mask...they stopped teaching mouth-to-mouth years ago...it's compressions only these days except in very specific circumstances.

2. I'm not doing a lot of wound care myself unless they're actively gushing blood. In that case, I'll apply a tourniquet or pressure bandage. If they're not at risk of bleeding out, I'll wait for medics because I don't want them to have to undo everything I did just to be able to evaluate and treat the wound. Obviously this would be different if I was out in the backcountry or something and had to stabilize and get the victim out on my own, but in town with an ambulance and paramedics just minutes away, in most cases it's better to just wait for them. A tourniquet and nitrile gloves (getting exposed to bloodborne pathogens sucks) are the only medical tools I carry on my person. I have stuff for wound packing and quick-clot in the car. I'm not dressing wounds unless they're on myself.

3. A cheap blanket in the car isn't a horrible idea to help make somebody more comfortable or protect against shock. If nothing else, it'll save your jackets and shirts.

4. It sounds like you've already got the most important thing down...keep your cool, be a part of the solution not part of the problem, and don't be the guy dry-heaving because he saw a little blood!

A Stop the Bleed course is less than an hour and time well spent. Often offered by local EMS for free

quote:

Originally posted by kidcop:
A Stop the Bleed course is less than an hour and time well spent. Often offered by local EMS for free

Our local Fire Department recently offered this course. I saw the notice too late, but it’s now on my radar, for the next offering. From there, I’ll look at what the next level might be.

I'm a retired nurse, and my main concern is stopping the bleeding, or doing CPR.

In both our vehicles, the kits contain:
CPR mask
Gloves
Shears
Knife
Tourniquet
Israeli combat dressing
Lots of 4X4 gauze
ACE wrap
Space blanket
Flashlight

I carry a trauma kit similar to what we had when I was on the FD. It's a bag with a divide main compartment and two side pouches. An older version of this:



Mine has a
BP Cuff & Steth,
Flash Light
Med Shears
Ziplock Sandwich bags
- for ice or other things (coach thing)
Quick cold packs
Hot packs
Glucose tubs
- Gel frosting tubes from a grocery
oropharyngeal airway tubes
Pocket mask
Assorted sized gauze pads
Surgical sponges
Trauma dressings
Roll Gauze and Kling (several sizes)
Medical tape
Bandaids
Rubber gloves
Small clip board with copies of old incident sheets
Pens, pencils, markers
Tongue depressors for small splints
I'm sure a few other odds and ends I cant remember

Dave, don’t be shy. I’ve seen you open carry a variety of duct tape, all CA compliant. May be too sticky though gashes and gushers.

Lots of good suggestions here. I will only add that whatever you decide to carry, make sure you know how to use it and that you have practiced with them. I have separate tourniquets, israeli bandages, etc that I only use for practice. You won't be able to read the instructions when the shit hits the fan.

Dave et al, email me and I will send you a list of items that I use from North American Rescue.

If anyone is interested, I would be willing to set up a webinar with basic trauma/gunshot interdiction with some other tac med instructors for the sigforum membership.

This is a /really/ important topic.

For a lay person in a city environment. A towel, scissors, duct tape, and a tourniquet of some type. I've been rendering care for a long time in City environment. The above will do. Don't complicate it. Just being at someones side that has sustained a severe injury and is conscious enough to know goes a long way. If it's bleeding try to stop it with pressure, if not breathing and pulse less do chest compressions, mouth to mouth that's up to you. Hray

Dave, checkout “SkinnyMedic” on YouTube. He’s a Flight EMT professionally and has a ton of knowledge on the subject. He had a video on this very subject just today.

On another note, some of these “medical supply” sites will rob you blind for basic stuff. Medical Gear Outfitters has some pretty reasonable prices concerning the same supplies as you will find at higher cost sites. I just discovered the site today, but it is ran by a friend of SkinnyMedic.

I have a trauma bag with items from the state police for our church security team. The essentials for trauma can be had from authentic medical suppliers, such as Chinook. Look for NSN identifiers to see what is truly mil-spec.

Thank you everyone for chiming in. Such great information, I've started to order some things. Will share my Kit when done!

Yesterday I had a very energetic vein spraying blood as I was getting ready for work. Not my best moment of keeping my cool or applying first aid, but an IFAK helped. Keep one nearby. I like the North American Rescue SIRK kits. I need to take a proper stop the bleed, wilderness first aid, and anything else I can find in my area.
If you need a bag for your kit I highly recommend this one, dirt cheap and built for the job.
https://colemans.com/swedish-medic-waist-pack

Regarding a container for your kit- there's two ways to go about it. You can choose a container and then try to make your items fit, or you can assemble all the items you think practical for your kit and then choose an appropriately sized/shaped container. Doing it the first way, you may end up not being able to pack all your items, or may end up with a container larger than you need.

Once you have all your items together, then choose their container.

And dave7378 is right- get yourself spare tourniquets and Israeli bandages so you can familiarize yourself with their usage.

Ask most First Responders and there are never enough 4x4s around.