Organizing medical supplies?

I'm part of the way through reorganizing our various preps, and have now entered the great abyss that is my abundant but highly disorganized medical supplies. I have multiple off-the-shelf FAKs, trauma kits and IFAKs (mostly a mix-and-match assortment of retail kits with my own additions/subtractions) and all of the numerous components of each that haven't been assigned a particular role. I had one backpack stocked as a "kitchen sink" containing a bit of everything and a dedicated trauma kit for GSWs, severe burns and such, but everything else was just crammed in a bin or box.

I already have the plate carrier/chest rig/battle belt kits done, so I now am faced with a couple of likely choices: organizing everything by type *or* continuing along the lines of building additional comprehensive kits. Other than updating/rotating expired OTC meds and topical stuff, I don't anticipate having to actually add anything, as even the older items have never been opened and should be fine for a long time to come.

What are other folks doing?

I put everything in one cabinet. The cabinet itself needs some organization, but I can foresee needing a second one soon. My focus is more on the usual remedies for the normal ailments - despite my pandemic supplies, and of course trauma supplies.

Ive got one 6 latch pyro can, and 2 mortor tube cans, full. sutures to C.A.T.s, Israeli bandages to stethoscopes, Celox to chest seals, you name it, its in there. and that dont include the blast out kits or bags i have of loose stuff. Key being you got to know how to use what you got.......

Yup. That’s where I’m at. No clue.
Everything’s a mess. Arrrggghhhh.
I need to pull an all-nighter or something and get my chit together. 😠

Oh, I forgot about that cabinet. It's technically a hallway linen closet with one shelf being dedicated to first aid supplies, but at some point became a bizarre mix of allergy meds and cartoon character Band-Aids. I had it organized pretty nicely at one time, but those pesky other people messed it all up.

That's the sort of thing I'm talking about, more or less. For instance, I have an assortment of Israeli bandages, which logically could be stored together, but the case could be made for divvying them up across multiple kits. Same with SAM splints, or CATs or . . . virtually anything. We don't have any surgical stuff since we don't have the training to use it, and any useful prescription meds are presumably expired by any sense of the word, so it's basically part of the "make holes, prevent holes, plug holes" philosophy around here. Even so, those sorts of supplies may seem plentiful now, but if someone is bleeding all over my floor and I'm inclined to help them, things like gauze and bandages get used up in a hurry. I've considered having kits staged throughout the house to address everything from a bad burn to a stray bullet (coming soon to a neighborhood near me, no doubt) instead of hunting around for what I need or having to immediately transport a stricken person to the one room in the house where I have the necessary stuff. Sort of like having defensive hardware in key locations.

Tonight may be that night for me, but my concern is that I'll end up running out of good storage methods, or commit to a plan that makes sense at 2AM but proves completely absurd by 2PM.

if your going to plug holes your going to need a surgical kit ,hemostats ect chest seals, ect. your also going to need at least the ability to rig a IV. You got to get the foreign object out or you will lose em to septus /shock you need to learn about pneumothorx Injuries (tension ) to the chest and how to relieve it. How to do a Trache. Entropyfx can explain it better, keep in mind if you do this in a extreme situation your going to be doing it to a screaming patient, cause in the weeds there is little or no anesthesia. alcohol thins the blood. morphine depresses pulmonary this is a exercise in Apocalypse only. current world you stop the bleed, stabilize transport. and try like hell to keep em from slipping into shock..........

as far as gauze pads and vet wrap, last year when i had the serous fluid leak that i had to live with for almost a month. I had probably 10 boxes of 5x5 pads, 15 boxes of Tegaderm waterproof transparent dressings, and 40 rolls of the vet tape. (vet is the same as human wrap, but wider and cheaper. you can get it cheaper by the case from a stockyard.) three to 5 bandage changes a day using 2 guaze pads, 1 tegaderm and 4 wraps of tape around the midsection, I went thru all supplies within the first 10 days. staggering the amount you use on a wet seeping wound. to keep it clean. get what you think is enough and multiply X10. then build you a blast out kit for each room and vacume seal the excess.

Yeah, that's about the extent of it here. I have no illusions of trying to actually treat anyone beyond getting them to better care. Not sure if my wife has been through combat lifesaver training, but that would certainly be the upper end of what we'd be able to provide. Liquid Skin and butterfly strips would have to be enough for someone here.

In a perfect world (well, not so perfect as to avoid serious harm entirely) I would be trying to get EMT training, but that's not in the cards anytime soon. And even if we had a group, which we don't, I don't think that between co-workers, friends and family, we know anyone who is a legitimate medical professional in any sense of the word.

We were fortunate to inherit a bunch of leftover supplies from when my mother-in-law was my wife's great-uncle's in-home care provider. At some point, we bought a bunch of vet tape, although I don't remember why as I'm thinking about it now. Lots of gauze and bandages, TQs of varying quality, etc. But with what you described, and how long it lasted, that makes a strong case for having more of the things we already have in the greatest quantity.

As always, you give me a lot to think about!

Found this and thought it interesting.

https://gippslandunwrapped.com/2017/06/07/can-you-use-out-of-date-first-aid-stock/

And this.
https://prepplans.com/expiry-dates-on-first-aid-supplies/

So in our house every bag and car has a first aid kit along with appropriate kits on the aforementioned plate carrier/chest rigs/battle belts. Spare items like trauma gear including TQ's, suture kits, small surgical kits, chest seals, compression bandages, airways, etc are in marked (giant red cross painted on the sides) ammo cans and extra supplies like bandaids, gauze, ointments, meds, wraps, swabs, etc are in a large red plastic tool box in our front closet. Bathroom cabinet has basic 1st aid supplies, kitchen pantry has a shelf for 1st aid, and the garage has a 1st aid kit.

OK, I'm feeling a bit better about things today. Still a daunting task to get everything in its proper place, but I don't think I'll sweat the dates too much. I'm still curious about things like burn creams/dressings and chest seals. I have a variety of QuikClot, ChitoSAM and AllaQuix gauze, which ought to still work as "normal" gauze even if the clotting properties degrade over time.

There are also the numerous store-bought kits that have never been opened. I figure I could just as well leave them intact, rather than parting them out for my own kits.

on quick clot. three things.
1.only use the granular type if its absolutely all you have. a breeze catches it and it blows in your eyes, you going to be on the ground with your wounded screaming in pain and agony. sponges are more better.
2.quick clot sold less expensive at gunshows flea markets and auction sites. its always out of expiration date . it does degrade and loose some potency as well as fall apart somewhat. I rotate mine every three years. vacuum packed lasts longer.
3. next time you get a deep cut, if you do use one. so you know how a human will react when you apply it and the struggle that ensues. trust me. it burns. even the stuff that says it is less heat. still burns........ you need to know how to react when someone starts screaming and struggling when you shove it in a wound channel
I applied it to this cut
bout 45 min prior to stitching it up. sealed it up good. healed up after stitching perfect.. it felt like when i applied the sponge, that i took the cutting torch and applied it liberally. i cut it to the bone with a screw up with a angle grinder. blood spray pattern that woulda made Freddy Kruger envious. apprentice i had at the time passed the F out.
I didnt even feel the stitches when i put em in. not a perfect job but a decent line. one handed stitches are a art form.

think that is what kept girlchild safety conscious, all these years. when she started getting older and doing daring doo stuff, i told her if she got cut, I wasnt taking her to the ER that i would stitch her up myself. so far "knocks on wood" my bluff with her worked.

Got myself pretty good with my Kershaw Lahar (VG10 Japanese steel) last week at work. I put the knife in my back pocket instead of up front, and apparently, there was enough pressure from my leather wallet to engage the flipper (manual, not assisted) pressing up against the side of the pocket. I reached back to adjust it and did a nice sllllliiiiiiiiiiide down the blade with my thumb. Direct pressure with paper towels, followed by 70% alcohol hand sanitizer (holy hell, that stung) and the biggest Band-Aid I could find in the office first aid cabinet did the trick. Bled a lot, but not the worst I've seen.

Meanwhile, my neighbor just about lost a finger on Sunday. Our wives work together and our kids play together, but all I know is that he hunts and has a nice garage workshop. We just don't cross paths much. But on Saturday, it would've been better for him if we did. The wives were both at work (fitness club childcare center) and I was going to bring our son there because they were having pizza and various planned kids' activities. I get there to drop him off, and Mrs. Neighbor is frantic. My wife was staying late to cover her shift because her husband had cut himself bad, tried to get their daughter in the car so he could drive himself to the ER with his finger wrapped up in paper towels and duct tape, but couldn't the bleeding under control. She apparently got home to find him fading in and out of consciousness, blood squirting all over. All this not from doing something amazing in his shop, but from cutting an onion.

I was still home when all this happened. If he'd called or texted me, or even staggered to my front door, I would've had him bandaged up and back to crying over his onions, not passing out on the kitchen floor. I did send my wife over with a care package of bandages and gauze . . . for next time. Dick move?

This Looks The BOMBA!

I had an impulse buy on one of these last week to use as a truck kit.
Tough, waterproof, large enough to add on.
https://www.milwaukeetool.com/Products/48-73-8430

Grinder wounds are nasty!

but it does leave a classic "Texas chainsaw massacre" spray pattern on the ceiling!!!

Yeah they are. Speaking from personal experience too.

It gets You extra Points if You have a part of a Grinder Wheel embedded/Sticking Out of Your Helmet...

I always joked about a CSI investigation. When they scanned for blood, My place would light up like freaking disc.