Must have medical items?

Good advise Yknpdir.
Jim

I have a prophylactic prescription for antibiotics, which I carry on trips. It’s for a particular condition that really requires immediate hospitalization in an acute flare up, but beggars can’t be choosers in the bush.

Bunch of great advice in this forum.
My two cents.
1) A good safety talk at the beginning of an outing. Including an opportunity to disclose pre-existing conditions or medical wishes.

2) For extended trips I'll carry a bag valve mask, BP cuff/stethoscope, and Pulse Ox. I like the advise that whatever you carry should be things you know how to use, these are my main tools at work so they are things I feel comfortable using in an emergency. For extended trips I want a toolset that allows me to make decisions about severity and urgency ( blood pressure and oxygenation are a good start). And the bag valve mask for extended trips because if breathing is a concern, mouth to mouth becomes pretty impractical after about an hour.

3) In reality the things I actually tend to use are syringes for pressure washing cuts, herbal antimicrobials for early intervention of infection or food poisoning (oregon grape, huang lian san, et.c.), and assorted pain and bowel meds.

I've taken a nurse on one trip and a doctor on another. They're good for piece of mind, but you need to feed them.

lowangle al said:

I've taken a nurse on one trip and a doctor on another. They're good for piece of mind, but you need to feed them.

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You gotta vett those folks, too.
We had a surgeon join us on an extended flyflishing trip who kept losing fish. He wasn't lying about hooking them (as some do), we actively watched him hook them and then have his line break, four or five times. Turns out he didn't know how to tie a surgeon's knot.

I've taken a nurse on one trip and a doctor on another. They're good for piece of mind, but you need to feed them.

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That sounds like my sister's advice. As an RN, she thinks I should be tripping with someone who can recognize signs of a stroke. I'm not really sure what one would DO with that information except confirm the condition: "yep, that's a stroke".

With the nearest hospital often 3+ hours away, I told her I'd probably be better off taking a priest.

Gamma1214 said:

That sounds like my sister's advice. As an RN, she thinks I should be tripping with someone who can recognize signs of a stroke. I'm not really sure what one would DO with that information except confirm the condition: "yep, that's a stroke".

With the nearest hospital often 3+ hours away, I told her I'd probably be better off taking a priest.

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Did you tell her you knew all about J-strokes? Indian strokes? Reverse sweeps? You can recognize a lot of strokes!

I liked when my son-in-law who is a pulmonologist/critical care doc would come along (he only came on trips where he felt the fishing would be good or he had the opportunity to go for species he wouldn’t normally be able to).

He had a good background after 12 years as a navy doctor with combat causality care training/experience. And he always carried a very comprehensive med bag.

The Dr. I took out was my wife's younger female cousin who was an ER doc in Baltimore. At that time in my late 30's the significance of the safety factor of having a Dr along didn't occur to me. Years later in my early 60's when I took along my new friend, Nurse Bob, I was well aware of it.

Gamma1214 said:

That sounds like my sister's advice. As an RN, she thinks I should be tripping with someone who can recognize signs of a stroke. I'm not really sure what one would DO with that information except confirm the condition: "yep, that's a stroke".

With the nearest hospital often 3+ hours away, I told her I'd probably be better off taking a priest.

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Depending on one’s age having someone with you wouldn’t be a bad idea. I heard that an older gentleman lay in his home for four days before anyone checked on him. He is now in a facility and was severely damaged from his stroke.

Bring whatever makes you feel secure.
If something bad happens your kit is not going to make much difference.
Whenever you are a long way from help then you should be thinking about safety.
I bring pain killers like Percocet, stomach remedy, kaolinite.
I hide the axe if anyone is drinking. I use blood thinners so I am very careful with knives and no longer use an axe.

I got hurt once on a trip and broke my femur. No helicopters were available. Finding a hospital took 24 hours.