** First Aid **

[Savannah]

First Aid is an essential part of any packing list.

Yes, there are 6 fantastic Medical Stations at Burning Man . . . but do you really want to walk a few blocks for a humble alcohol wipe and a bandaid? Wouldn't you like to save the day for yourself (or someone else) when--for minor ailments--it's not so difficult at all? . . . You bet your sweet, honey-baked ham you would.

Here's what Burning Man officially recommends that the Radically Self-Reliant include in their kits:

Packaged in an airtight container (Ziploc, Rubbermaid, etc): . . . . (I recommend a new Tackle box! -- Savannah)

• A box of assorted sizes of adhesive bandages, aka “Band-aids”
  1 roll adhesive cloth tape (10 yards x 1 inch)
  Moleskin
  1” and 2” Coban or similar self-adhesive bandage wrap (works better than “Band-aids” and tape in the dust!)
  Antibiotic ointment
  Antiseptic wipe packets
  Aloe vera gel for minor burns and sunburn
  Benadryl for minor allergic reactions, itching and a sleep aid too
  Antacid (such as Maalox)
  Anti-diarrheal medication (such as Immodium)
  Laxative (such as Ex-Lax)
  Saline eye wash solution
  Breathing barrier (with one-way valve) ⟵ for mouth to mouth…let’s try to avoid this
  Instant cold compress or zip lock bags to put ice in
  Non-latex gloves (size: large)
  Hydrocortisone ointment
  Bandage scissors or Medic shears
  1 roller bandage (3 inches wide)
  1 roller bandage (4 inches wide)
  One box sterile gauze pads (3 x 3 inches)
  One box sterile gauze pads (4 x 4 inches)
  Oral thermometer (non-mercury/nonglass)
  Triangular bandages
  Tweezers
  Chapstick
  Sunscreen
  Vinegar (to mix 1:4 with water for Playa Foot prevention).

Make a small kit out of the above supplies to have in your pack, along with your map and water bottle. (Have this in a small zip-lock, or just stuff it all into one of the exam gloves.)

• Moleskin
  Antiseptic wipes
  Adhesive bandages
  Antibiotic cream
  Sunscreen and lip balm with SPF
  I pair exam gloves

Optional items for a camp-sized first aid kit

• Finger cots- these are great for keeping the dirt and grime out of wounds. Use them in conjunction with a dressing.
  
  Alcohol wipes- use these to remove grease from around a wound before applying Benzoin. You can also use them to sanitize things.
  
  Tincture of Benzoin- this comes in individually wrapped packages. They are swabs that you wipe on the skin around a wound (after cleaning said wound) to help the bandages stick.
  
  Steri-strips- these are better than butterfly bandages for keeping wounds closed; use in conjunction with the Benzoin mentioned above.
  
  Magnifying glass- to look for slivers and little tiny things.
  
  Afrin- for nose bleeds

Any further questions can be addressed to [email protected].

Source, plus additional info about Playa Health & Safety, and the first edition of the ESD Playa First Aid Manual:
Source: https://burningman.org/event/preparatio ... t-aid-kit/

Additional notes:

Other nice items I personally bring for myself (or a neighbor): ibuprofen and aspirin, Liquid Bandage (for cuticles), Solarcaine, Pedialyte powder, and tampons (even if I don't think I'm going to need them, 'cause stress can do funny things).

Keep all pills in original bottles! Don't take Tylenol for hangovers. And skip the medical marijuana--it's still illegal on federal land.

If you or someone you know (or encounter) requires medical assistance beyond what you or your
camp can provide, you may contact an Emergency Services Department volunteer or a Black Rock Ranger, or visit one of our
six Medical Stations. Stations are located at 5:15 and Esplanade, and behind the 3:00 and 9:00 Plazas. We also have satellite stations behind the 4:30 and 7:30 Plazas on H, and between the Temple and the Man. All are easily identified by a large, lit red cross. Trained emergency medical personnel are on duty 24 hours a day.

For additional insight into how other ePlayans make first aid kits, visit this thread.
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=42867&start=30

.

[misfit]

your awesome Savannah, thanks.

[Savannah]

your awesome Savannah, thanks.

Aww, thank you!

See you in the dust . . .

[lucky420]

your awesome Savannah, thanks.

Ditto

[Skuzzy61]

Nice Savannah.

I also recommend Neosporin for infections/cuts. It is awesome. A little goes a long way and it is water based so you will not have splotches of Playa stuck all over you.

[Savannah]

Nice Savannah.

I also recommend Neosporin for infections/cuts. It is awesome. A little goes a long way and it is water based so you will not have splotches of Playa stuck all over you.

Thank you, yes--It's on the list under "antibiotic ointment"!

I have some in my main kit, and some in my Bag of Wandering's kit. I hate that feeling when I've cut myself and have been able to clean and bandage but not moisturize & coddle the wound with the extra antibiotic. For me, a percentage of Neosporin's benefit is psychological.

your awesome Savannah, thanks.

Ditto

<3

[Skuzzy61]

I saw the generic "antibiotic" and wanted to cast my vote for one particular one.

Cannot have cats and not have Neosporin around. Best stuff there is for those pesky little love scratches.

Damn fine list Savannah. That could be a snapshot from our medicine cabinet in the RV.

[Savannah]

I saw the generic "antibiotic" and wanted to cast my vote for one particular one.

Cannot have cats and not have Neosporin around. Best stuff there is for those pesky little love scratches.

Damn fine list Savannah. That could be a snapshot from our medicine cabinet in the RV.

I cannot take credit for it, I just went looking for the info . . . it's directly from the Burning Man website, with only some thoughts, links and notes added. My personal list is in the link to another First Aid thread. (It's not too different.)


I grew up with cats . . . I too, have those Neosporin memories.

[Savannah]

The great thing about having a fantastic playa first aid kit is that it doesn't cease being a fantastic first aid kit when you get home . .

I was leapfrogging around my dainty apartment and put a foot down too close to a trash bag I had impatiently chosen to take out while I was in the middle of unpacking. As it happens, I'd cracked a glass on my departure day, put it in a thick Grocery Outlet style reuseable plastic bag and then put that in the trash, and somehow the glass had gone from cracked to broken. As I attempted to step past the bag, a centimeter of glass poked through and raked my ankle but good. It hurt, but my first reaction was to laugh, as a few minutes prior I'd pinched my upper arm on a laundry basket whose handles keep falling off (YES, I NEED TO REPLACE IT, GOSH) . . . . and I knew the basket would leave a bruise (and it did). So I was feeling very hapless in general, and it was kinda funny to get a second stupid injury in 5 minutes.

Then I realized, "Oh, my ankle's bleeding, isn't it? That blood drip looks wide."

So I sat down and applied pressure for a few minutes, then pulled my kit from under the sink. Took a quick peek at the wound. Yep, that's gross. It would need stitches.

The stars of the show would turn out to be:

* Alcohol wipe
* STERI-STRIPS . . . 4 strips going one way, 4 going another, in a nice "X" (held my skin closed perfectly!)
* Neosporin
* Gauze square, applied atop
* Coban self-adhesive bandage, wrapped in two directions (checked above & below the site for circulation)

When it was done, I was actually quite pleased with my handiwork--it would've been sufficient in the wilderness, even if I had to hike out a little gingerly. I took my time getting dressed and hopped a bus to the hospital for 5 stitches (Oh God, it took almost 4 hours because I was absolutely fine compared to everyone else). The nurses at the ER were very complimentary of my work. And the resident who stitched me numbed it up nicely, and I didn't feel a thing.

[global village idiot]

There are two kinds of "Combat Lifesavers" in the Army - those who go to the class because they have to, and those who go because they want to. I was in the latter category, which means that I was always the one folks went to when they didn't feel good but didn't want the hassle of going to sick call. I kept a HUGE aid bag (larger than the one we were expected to have) and could usually treat most things that put a Soldier off his feed, and I'd be quick about it, whereas going to sick call always took hours.

Being a Combat Lifesaver (CLS), you seldom have to actually do anything medical - you're there for emergencies only, and in combat you're supposed to do your original job before you do anything medical ("fire superiority is the best tactical medicine"). About the only time when you're somewhere BECAUSE you're the CLS is on a rifle range.

I used to love being the CLS at the rifle range, largely because you can just sit there all day doing nothing but reading and minding your own business (NO ONE messes with the CLS), but when "business" comes your way, it's almost always some tiny thing the Soldier should be prepared for him- or herself.

I'd always make a big deal out of folks who come to me for bandaids, especially if they were Senior Noncommissioned Officers (Sergeants) or Officers - people who can afford their own bandaids and ought to know better. I'd gather all the junior enlisted Soldiers in the area around to do "hip-pocket training" on how to put a bandaid on an owie-boo-boo. They'd also get a sucker (I kept a ziploc baggie of them in my aid bag) for being such a brave patient. And while you could tell they were embarrassed and fuming over the spectacle I'd make of them, there wasn't a thing they could do about it because it was "training" (complete with sign-in roster). The junior enlisted Soldiers loved it because they got to watch me embarrass a Senior NCO or Officer.

I'll be bringing the "big Kahuna" aid bag to next year's event.

gvi

[MyDearFriend]

I'll be bringing the "big Kahuna" aid bag to next year's event.

gvi

Yay!!! We need all the help we can get.

Double Karma points if you bring single-use eye drops, but only if you make your hapless victim admit that they left their goggles back in camp because: Shiny make-up is so awesome!!!

Quadruple Karma points if you can offer something for that sore throat, but again only if you make them admit that they left their dust mask in camp because it doesn't go with their cool costume. NO YOU DON'T HAVE STREP THROAT, not if you are riding a bike on Burn Night with no mask on, sheesh.

Extra Public Training Opportunity if you patch up someone whose way-cool costume got caught in their bike chain & dumped them on the ground.

[Savannah]

Quadruple Karma points if you can offer something for that sore throat, but again only if you make them admit that they left their dust mask in camp because it doesn't go with their cool costume. NO YOU DON'T HAVE STREP THROAT, not if you are riding a bike on Burn Night with no mask on, sheesh.

It seems there is a strep throat epidemic every year . . .

[some seeing eye]

I don't blame the ORG for wanting campers to be more self reliant in cuts and scrapes. But what is needed is to clean the wound in the field.

The skin around the would is going to have sweat and playa dust which is not sterile and will irritate the wound with salts. Therefore some single use 100ml sterile water for wound irrigation and something to wipe it off with and sterile to wipe the would itself might be a good idea. Then the alcohol swab, then the triple antibiotic single use packet and then the dressing. I'm seeing single use 100ml sterile water on sale for about 75 cents, a worthy investment you can throw in your camping and car travel first aid kit.

A nice bright lamp in the night and an assistant might be useful too. Medical provides more than a bandaid. But shat they do can roughly be duplicated.

Of course there are probably actual medical professionals on ePlaya who can provide suggestions.

[Ratty]

Silly question. Can't I just use the 16.9 fl ounce bottle of water that I keep in the car. It's surely sterile enough.

[some seeing eye]

Commercial bottled water is probably clean enough if it is freshly opened But once opened, the brine shrimp eggs can get into the bottle Vodka is probably clean enough Everyone knows that brine shrimp creates an Alien situation - you don't want to be Kane

[AntiM]

I have leftover squirt bottles of wound wash from when I had my ostomy. We're bringing one of those for our first aid kit. A little expensive for showers.

[Rusted Iron]

Great list.

Mine is probably way too big, but it includes:
Silvadene for burns
Zofran for nausea/vomiting
Suture kit with 5-0 and 4–0 nylon
Tobrex ophthalmic solution
Peptobismal
Ibuprofen
Acetaminophen
Compression gauze for major bleeding (think maxi pad but sterile)
Epinephrine
Diphenhydramine
Marcaine

I’ve only had to use it two or three times but it seems like I’m always moving it because it’s in the way.

[Rusted Iron]

Tegaderm dressings are great for keeping dirt and playa dust out of wounds. The “spiders” are really protective. When used with the wound prep that comes with them.

[mdmf007]

Sage advice.

Taking care of your feet also frees up the volunteer doctors, nurses, medics, firefighters time for more meaningful things. Keep your feet from drying out and cracking by keeping clean and moisturized. Vinegar washes will help reduce alkalinity and help keep clean.

I have seen some gnarly playa foot.

[MyDearFriend]

Pleading guilty to interweb necromancy here but I really want to object to this.

The skin around the would is going to have sweat and playa dust which is not sterile and will irritate the wound with salts. Therefore some single use 100ml sterile water for wound irrigation and something to wipe it off with and sterile to wipe the would itself might be a good idea. Then the alcohol swab, then the triple antibiotic single use packet and then the dressing. I'm seeing single use 100ml sterile water on sale for about 75 cents, a worthy investment you can throw in your camping and car travel first aid kit.

No no no no no.

Of course there are probably actual medical professionals on ePlaya who can provide suggestions.

This is my cue. Here is what you need for cuts and scrapes on playa:

one pocket-size refillable spray bottle with 1:4 vinegar water
one clean bandana
one hydrogel "advanced healing" bandage

Clean the wound with vinegar water, pat the skin dry, apply the (expensive but necessary) "advanced healing" self-sticking bandage. Leave the bandage on until you get off playa, or until it leaks, at which point you rinse and repeat.

The worst thing out there for any skin wound is the dust, which is so alkaline it will eat its way through the wound base until it is stopped. No bandaid, gauze pad, or adhesive tape will keep out playa dust. Neutralize the dust and seal it out. Antiseptics and antibiotic ointment are completely useless on playa, since anything susceptible to such would already have been killed by the dust and sun.

Sterile water is not appropriate for wound irrigation. Ordinary soap and water out-performs every other known wound cleanser, unless you have a deep multi-layer wound, which should be left to the professionals inside the dust-lock at Rampart.

You can rinse your eyes with that sterile water if that's what you've got, but drinking water is fine for that and I personally carry single-use "bullets" of artificial tears in a lipstick case, so, I have a mirror in there to see what I'm doing.

That's it for wounds. But let me say this about skin care:

DON'T MOISTURIZE YOUR SKIN.
MOISTURIZE YOUR BODY BY DRINKING WATER
and then
GREASE YOUR SKIN.

Moist skin will burn you as the water molecules react with the alkaline dust. Coconut oil, cocoa butter, Badger Balm or Bag Balm remain chemically inert in the dust and so are much better choices out there.

[lucky420]

How about Vaseline to grease your skin? Serious question

And I truly am lucky that the brand on my arm healed so well and scarred nicely since I lost any good sense at the time I had it done on playa, on Wednesday middle of event week...

*whew

[some seeing eye]

Hey - Thanks for the correction on wound care on playa. Now I know about that bandage. The BORG should make a video about this on their YouTube.

[Oldguy]

If it has been awhile since your last tetanus shot, you might ask your medical provider now before you go.