Re: [Philmont]: Suture Kit

I think this is the right answer. In 2 years, the program that I began at
my last troop accumulated over 4200 backpack miles (including 2 crews at
Philmont). We only opened a first aid kit on one occassion (other than for
a couple of moleskin pads) - to patch up an off-road bicyclist that fell off
the trail.

There was an instance at Philmont, not to negate the "Be Prepared"
philosophy that precipitated the original message. A Scout was using his
knife incorrectly and cut his finger fairly deeply. His crew stabilized the
wound and went for assistance. My troop's 2nd crew happened along and the
MD in that crew assured that things were as good as they could be.
Philmont's medical staff arrived, sewed it up on the trail, bandaged it, and
the crew finished the hike (albeit with a hugh bandage on his hand).

Brush up on your first aid, know what to do in an emergency, and ensure that
everyone is prepared for emergencies, should they occur. And leave the
extra gear at home..

<> Happy Trails <>

Dave
Crew Advisor - Crew 131 Pasadena, CA
Philmont P2K 726-J

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Date: Sun, 22 Jun 2003 15:25:53 -0400
From: "tom fitzpatrick" <tk_fitz123@hotmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Philmont]: Suture Kit

I suspect that this topic is going to generate a lot of messages...

As adults, we need to focus on minimizing injuries by practicing and
promoting safe techniques - Plenty of training and practice hikes, No night
time hiking, proper hydration, etc - Should I assume that most of you know
that a large percentage of injuries happen at the campsite, not on the trail

(youth will always find an excuse to fool around). I've always known that
most scouts are resourceful - Closed foam sleeping pads and duct tape make a

great splint. How about the sewing kits we bring along with our personal
gear? could that be used to sew someone up? It's not sterile, but the
conditions in which we're tending to the wound aren't much better...

I was actually surprised that our 1st aid kit wasn't inspected when we hit
the trail in 2002

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Received on Mon Jun 23 09:38:28 2003