If you use the right painkiller it is great!
I'd got myself a broken femur and had to self-bandage until help arrived. They dragged me out of the pit whilst I was on Entonox (gas & air) and it seemed to me like I was just floating in a pleasant haze.

God that sounds familar... Knee blew up 15 months ago, also dragged myself from the depths of hell until having morphine to take the edge off it...., then the pink elephants carried me to the purple cloud where several pigeons and a walrus took care of me!

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and i guess if you cut yourself, you stab yourself with the cig end to stop blood flow!! :ohmygod:

No don't be silly, you use the wrapping from the pies as a dressing (after you've eaten the pie) and cable tie it in place, duct tape also works.

Or you get someone else to patch you up eh Jim :tongue:


I always carry a Tescos £6 car first aid kit. They are extremely good for the money and surprisingly well stocked. Just added a few Anadin for pesky hangovers and a few ibuprofen for good measure 🙂

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I am just in the prcess of replenishing my first aid kit.
Things I have used:
gloves
antiseptic wipes
plaster
NSAIDs.
A nice tip I learnt recently is to hold all the dirty bits in a gloved hand then turn the glove inside out over the bits.
Can go into the bin without getting blood etc over things on the way there.

A nice tip I learnt recently is to hold all the dirty bits in a gloved hand then turn the glove inside out over the bits.

You've been spending way too much time watching medical dramas :lol:

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Either that or he needs to find a new group of explorers who watch where there going lol :lol:

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A nice tip I learnt recently is to hold all the dirty bits in a gloved hand then turn the glove inside out over the bits.
Can go into the bin without getting blood etc over things on the way there.

Tried that once in a nappy change on the Autobahn.... Got covered in crap....

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A nice tip I learnt recently is to hold all the dirty bits in a gloved hand then turn the glove inside out over the bits.
Can go into the bin without getting blood etc over things on the way there.

Can also be used when picking up dog's leavings as well :lol:

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major trouble = dead, cpr dont bother unless cold water caused
minor trouble = go home

Interesting approach! :lol:

It's rather like the old adage of burying X under a pile of rocks and splitting their kit, then saying that X was feeling a bit under the weather, stayed on the surface and now we have no idea where X has got to, no officer...

The problem arises when X is badly injured, but not finished off - in which case you have a debate to have whether to drag them to the surface or just bash them over the head with a rock and get on with the burying.


Anyway. Back on topic!

I've come across a couple of things recently that may be of use.

Elastoplast 'Extreme' plasters - http://www.elastoplast.co.uk/products/First-Aid/fabric/68217.html  - somewhat more hard-wearing than the usual ones, but probably more use if you put them onto dry skin rather than grubby skin.
Elastoplast finger plasters - http://www.elastoplast.co.uk/products/First-Aid/fabric/126685.html  - like a normal plaster, but with one end much, much longer than it usually is. Might be handy for putting onto a (small) cut when fingers are less clean than they could be.

To this, I'd add latex bandages - these seem to have potential for strapping and all sorts of other things.

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Wonder what makes the Extreme ones Extreme lol

The finger ones look a good idea tho 🙂

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most heat loss will be convection and conduction - sit on a bag in a bivvy sac pulled down over your head
luxury would be a candle inside the sac - make a hole by your face

Seen this done with someone who had spent rather too long in deep cold water and was really not looking too good 😞 It was amazing how quickly they recovered and were able to make their own way out. :thumbup:

major trouble = dead, cpr dont bother unless cold water caused
minor trouble = go home

Interesting approach! :lol:
I've come across a couple of things recently that may be of use.

Elastoplast 'Extreme' plasters - http://www.elastoplast.co.uk/products/First-Aid/fabric/68217.html  - somewhat more hard-wearing than the usual ones, but probably more use if you put them onto dry skin rather than grubby skin.
Elastoplast finger plasters - http://www.elastoplast.co.uk/products/First-Aid/fabric/126685.html  - like a normal plaster, but with one end much, much longer than it usually is. Might be handy for putting onto a (small) cut when fingers are less clean than they could be.

To this, I'd add latex bandages - these seem to have potential for strapping and all sorts of other things.

Plasters and bandages and slings= duct tape
if you were at the end of cwm and there was a major incident how long to get to a phone? 1hr?
how long for cro to get to the car park? 1hr?
to get to the site of incident? 1hr?
thats at least 3 hours before a cro dr can get at you - but probably another 3-6 before you get the casualty to a hospital. these are VERY hopeful times. a carry from the bottom of giants can take 20hrs
anything major and the casualty will be dead
if cpr hasnt worked in 10 mins it isnt going to
apart from the first cause injury cold after many hours doing nothing will be a major problem. drugs wont work if your body is shutting down with cold (but then you wont need them in that state)
so, major=dead
minor=gone out
intermediate= problems! broken legs,backs, arms if climbs needed,being stuck, trapped, medical things, plug leaks, keep warm, get help, stay calm - it wont be quick

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intermediate= problems! broken legs,backs, arms if climbs needed,being stuck, trapped, medical things, plug leaks, keep warm, get help, stay calm - it wont be quick

Indeedy.

It's the little things that need patching up that are the priority for a first aid kit imho.

For example, cut hands, banged heads, general cuts and bruises where the bleeding needs to be stopped and the wound got to a stage where it's at least stabilised and the casualty got to the surface.

Where it gets more interesting is sprains and breaks, hence the suggestion of bandages etc.. Whilst various bits of SRT kit might be useful, they're not always present when you're in a mine.

Going back to pain killers - these are one thing that I find extraordinarily handy, but usually just to cure a headache, oft caused by dehydration.

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There is at least one thing that should probably never be used underground and that is the 'artificial skin' spray that is available. Superficially its a very attractive product for sorting out the (large area) minor injury commonly called 'gravel rash' that can easily occure when slipping on a loose rock or two. A person I know had such an injury, cleaned it with wipes and swilled it with water, and then sprayed it. All seemed OK so he left it to get better, this was a big mistake, he hadn't got it absolutly clean and the spray had sealed the problem in. The resulting infection gave him the amount of aggro you might wish on your worst enemy but no one else.

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Another usefull piece of kit, some BIG safety (nappy) pins.
You can immobilise loose & broken bits by pinning clothing or even stitch wounds!
Remember if they can still complain they are still alive & that is all that matters.

super glue and duct tape are very good.
Super glue does sting though.
after the event (i.e. to keep in the car / house) I have been very impressed by compeed liquid bandage seems to help a lot.
Its much better than anything else I have tried.