So I have been on a few week plus long trips in remote areas in my life and always just kind of assumed that nothing too bad would happen. I always have the basics (prscriptions, advil, benadryl, immodium, bandages, wraps, triple antibiotic, sunscreen, bug spray, tweezers) but never really gave it too much thought on the next level of care that may be necessary in a worse case scenario. We have all the surivival gear (water purifier, sat phone, cold weather gear, fire starting, etc) so I am just talking medical gear.

I am heading to remote Alaska in about 10 days for a caribou hunt. Even if we called in a plane for rescue on our sat phone we would be at least 6-8 hrs from medical care. Perhaps it is my older and possibly wiser age, but I am thinking perhaps I should beef up my 1st Aid supplies a bit. Neither of us are trained much more than the basics, start the breathing, stop the bleeding, type first aid that I learned in the military so I don't want to bring a bunch of extra gear/weight that we wouldn't know how to use any way.

Any recommendations on hitting the sweet spot betwen weight and preparedness? I am thinking maybe something for sutures (some type of glue would be my preference), and I am going to see if I can find a tourniquet or two and maybe some quickclot from a corpsman. We could always make a splint or harness out of parachute cord or clothes if we had any broken bones, so am not sure what other injuries we would really expect.

Any other must have items or recommendations from you doctors, vets, emts or outdoor survivalists?

Amazon.com will have most of what you need.

No sutures/glue/staples unless you can ensure the wound is clean- which is difficult when out in the boonies. I'd just get some good Ace/Pressure wrap with some gauze and let it heal by second intention or wait til someone qualified can clean and staple it.

You can buy quickclot on Amazon.

Paracord will work for tourniquet and to help with the brace.

Knowledge should be your guiding limiting factor, not gear. Think of every possible situation you know of (heart attack/bee sting/bear mauling/bad fall - through the inevitable burns/bruises/cuts/blisters) and think of what you KNOW how to help do. All else is secondary.

Most important knowledge is know when you need help and leave when that info is known.

Paracord, 4x4s, bandages (self stick and nonstick), tape, benadryl, aspirin, ibuprofen, tylenol, claritin/allegra/zyrtec, epipen if someone has anaphyllaxis history, Good scissors, tape, safety pins x 2-3, Ace Wrap with metal clips, survival blanket x # people, cheap ponchos x # People, backup dose of usual meds for each person in case stuff is lost, waterproof lighter/matches/firestarter/Lint (lights really wel), triple antibiotic ointment, hydrocortisone cream, extra food/snacks (MRE or meal bar) for x days, sugar tabs, needle nose pliers (if fishing), edit: Small flashlight, QUALITY compass, flares, extra water, water filter with extra cartridge (or iodine water drops and know how to use them), GPS locator if you are going to be somewhere you can get lost, whistle... I'll stop now but know that my list keeps going.

That's a list off the top of my head and I'd need to think more. Hope that helps and we really should have a master list on the OB by now of an anticipated quality survival kit...

^
That puts it very well.

If you can work in taking a Wilderness First Responder class, it may be of use too. They spend a lot of time on how to deal with shock for a potentially long period of time.

Thanks for the posts, we pretty much have all that covered minus the epi-pen and none of us are allergic to anything.

The suture thing I was unsure about. It would suck to slice open a hand, get a scope bite, etc and just have to let it heal on its own for 10 days leaving a huge scar. I figured applying some type of suture would be a possible option, but wasn't sure if it would be worth attempting as neither of us have done that before on a person. We have sewn up dogs before. Perhaps bandages are the best bet and just live with any scarring.

Like I said I have some basic trauma first aid knowledge from my military background but was kind of looking to see if there were any lightweight splints, suture glue, or any other easy to use lightweight meidcal gear that could be worth its wieght in gold in the back country.

I don't advocate sutures/staples/glue in the wilderness if you don't know you can get the wound clean because 2-5 days after closure you'll have a nasty infection. Chicks dig scars, not infections.

I'm a wilderness first responder. Don't close a wound in the field. If you have a cut large enough to require stitches, clean it really well, keep it clean, keep it moist, and cover it. You can also pack the cut with gauze wetted with a 1% iodine solution. Like has been said, don't clos it with stitches or glue. All you're going to do is trap dirt or something in there and cause an infection. And closing it yourself we'll cause a larger nastier scar.
Training is more important than any piece of gear. All the medical epuipment in the world I useless if you don't know how to use it.

Thanks Yellowpot. I'll leave any suture stuff out of the plan. I agree on the training. That's why I have always kept it pretty basic, stop the bleeding, start the breathing, treat for shock,etc as there is no point bringing in a bunch of gear you couldn't use even if you wanted to. My limited training has been more focused on trauma and stabilizing until medivac or passing over to a corpsman. Since we could be out there for a more sustained period of time I was curious for any suggestions.

We obviously wouldn't want to have to leave the field early for something treatable that got away from us. We have done a couple other trips to Alaska like this, so the best plan is just being cautious and careful and not putting yourself in a situation to need it, but obviously things don't always go as planned.

With a sat phone and professional help only being 8 hours away, there shouldn't be to much you can't handle. The two day wilderness first aid class would be perfect for a trip like this. In fact that basic class is good to have for anyone that spends any significant time outdoors.

I may have to look into the wilderness first responder class in the future, but won't be able to squeeze it in this time.

If we have bad weather and a plane couldn't get to us, then we could be out there longer, but it would take a lot of bad things to simultaneously go wrong for us to be completley on our own for extended time periods.

I guess last year, they had an extreme cold front push through that dropped the temps near zero for a few days. It got so cold some of the river froze and they couldn't move the raft. We have good gear, food, will have fire and a good tent, but a week in those temps would get pretty hairy I would imagine. Hopefully the current pattern holds and we have highs in the mid 40s and lows in the mid 30s. I can't wait to get out there!

Some great advice here.

Agree that you could pack a full medical stomp kit but even using a tourniquet incorrectly could cause permanent damage to someone's limb.

I'm not a first responder in any kind of way and have no military training but I have spent quite a bit of time learning about wilderness first aid b/c of some mishaps we've had at our remote deer camp. Any given weekend we may have up to 6-8 kiddos out there and I've always felt very vulnerable with my lack of first aid training.

For example, earlier today my 14 y.o. son rolled a Polaris Ranger with his 2 best friends on board. Fortunately no one was seriously injured but my son (driver) has a broken arm and some deep gashes that were sewn up at a hospital in Ballinger, Tx and now were at Dell Children's in Austin getting it opened back up to clean out more debris.

I think most of the important components of a wilderness first aid kit have been adequately listed above. Carry gear that can serve multiple uses where possible to reduce weight.

Couple of things I'd add:
-folded aluminum splint. These are lightweight and fold up small but unfold to a 24"-30" rigid splint when combined with an elastic bandage.
-Israeli bandage. Multiple uses.
-schemagh scarf. Multiple uses for emergency, splinting, sling, coverage
-GPS beacon
-irrigation/disinfecting solution, gauze pads, pro wrap self adhering elastic bandages.

I know some guys that even carry saline bags for irrigation solution (like they hang at the hospital) in their med IFAK's b/c they're leak-proof and can pack relatively flat.

Stuff to keep wounds clean and stabilized until you can get help.

Great topic.

If you plan on buying quick-clot, make sure to read up on when and not when to use. I can say QC even their newer version is difficult to clean out and remember its a quick fix and being out for the number of days you indicated or EMS is not accessible for a couple days, again its a last resort option. For example, if direct pressure is not successful, then QC may be an option.

I can tell you from my experience (20 plus years as a paramedic in urban and rural) what I have in my bag, are some of the same things being mentioned. Maybe less, maybe a few more but Im comfortable in knowing when and when not to suture. And last but not least irrigation of wounds can not be over stressed and keeping the most basic wounds clean.