Items that are useful and others may not be aware of.

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Phoynix

Joined
Dec 21, 2013
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This is just a thread for people to post things that are useful and which do not seem to be common knowledge.


So to get things started.

Leukoplast medical tape(often called classic due to vast array of different tapes now in existance)
IT was used by the Germans in WW2 and they had far fewer casualties from wounds then other powers in part because of it, Israel now uses it for its soldiers in a turn of irony and its found to be very effective.
I was wrong and Israel does not use Leukoplast, sorry about the incorrect information.


The official PR
"Leukoplast consists of a high quality viscose backing coated with a zinc oxide caoutchouc adhesive.

It ensures a high initial and permanent adhesion. Due to the porous coating of the adhesive Leukoplast® is permeable to air thus reducing the risk of macerations. The material is extremely resistant to tension. Leukoplast® contains natural rubber latex which can cause allergies.

Main uses

Fixation of wound dressings on normal skin
Securing of tubes, catheters, probes and cannulae"

Resent studies have also found its a great replacement for sutures, especially on parts of the body that previously other methods were not effective due large amount of stretch/contraction.
You can also use it as mole skin for blisters, it works fine as cover for small wounds, stopping dirt getting in while your working in muck or keeping flies off. If you get a large roll 5cm wide it works as a pressure bandage or for tying splints to a broken/sprained limb.

It also has many non medical uses a person who camps/backpacks and likes to roam out yonder will find useful.
Can be used to temporary patch tears in backpacks or clothing, add a grip to handles on knives or other tools that's grippy yet easily removed.
If you use resin and coat it as you wrap it will greatly reinforce what you wrap it around and dry hard... almost like a bushversion of epoxy and fiberglass tape, great for attaching a knife to a stick to make a spear. If torn off into strips and then rolled on itself can make cordage quickly.

My grandfather was a fisherman all his life and its what he used to cover cuts nicks and scratches for most of it(no gauze). he would heat a strip up over a flame source then slap it on the wound, it would adhere instantly and wouldn't even come off in water. Further his wounds when it was applied this way healed quicker and I suspect the heating sterilizes the tape and the outside of the wound when its applied hot.

large 5cm wide 9m(30feet) roll weighs about 85 grams (3 ounces) pretty light considering it can replace alot of other medical supplies like bandaids and steri-strips.
Just don't buy the stuff made in Africa(I don't know why but its crap and won't stick)

Hopefully at least one person will find this helpful and I look forward to seeing what items others have found useful.
 
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I don't believe this is available in the states...at least not under that name.
 
Phoynix said:
... and I look forward to seeing what items others have found useful.
Click to expand...

Saline solution water bottles from the hospital, the best free-ish bottles for hiking and backpacking.

Baxter-Sterile-Irrigation-Solutions-LG.jpg


Available in different sizes, double rubber seals, and a type of plastic that doesn't get brittle with age or cold.
 
Plastic drinking straws make awesome containers for a wide variety of things...

Salt
Pepper
Garlic powder
Onion powder
and...::drumroll::......

Crisco for cooking.

What you need:
Heavy drinking straws [like the ones from Burger King]
needle nosed pliers
candle or torch
very small [flask type] funnel
whatever ingredients you are using.

For dry ingredients:
Cut the straw into 1" lengths [or whatever suits your use].


Using a candle, heat the pliers and heat-seal/pinch one end of the straw closed.
Insert the funnel into the other end and fill the straw, all but the last 1/4". heat seal it shut.

For the Crisco,
 
That's a good idea with the salt, pepper, and other dry spices as the straw actually makes a good applicator and might be used more than once.
 
Crisco. [for whatever reason the forum won't let me edit or quote :eek: ]

* Take the full length straw and jam it straight down into the can. Leave 1/4" at the "top" unfilled.
* Using the heated pliers method above, seal the unfilled "top"
* Measure about every 2" down from the "top" and heat seal the straw. Make it a 1/4" wide seal.
* Using a scissors, cut that 2" seal right down the middle.

You should get at least 4 "good" pieces and one "short" piece.
Store in an Altoids tin.
 
leuko tape is great stuff. there are a few different types of "people" tape that all have different uses. I really like it for different things. Leuko can also be use for some types of joint strapping, but I'd get training, and understand its limits (its not magic, in fact most of it is whooey but in the right circumstances can help) really, elastic bandages are a better choice in most cases.

As for healing speed, no, it would have nothing to do with sterilization, there wouldn't be enough heat to sterilize the tape, let alone the skin. However.... Its been found that a lot of the old info on wound care was based on poor research, and in cases were the skin is moving, and has high blood flow, getting the edges together, and keeping them together is the most important. The tape would also have prevented drying, which speeds healing as well, especially over the old "let it air" method. opsite patches work that way.

As for things that people might not know about....
Can't think of much that hasn't been covered, but one thing I keep in my bush kit is clear safety glasses. helped a few times.
I also keep skin-tone zinc sunblock in my kit, it goes farther, and also prevents windburn when I'm near the water.
 
I've found the EZY Dose pill pouches to be invaluable. The list of possible uses is only limited by the imagination and a pack of 100 is only $3.
 
Gadgetgeek care to explain what you mean by whooey, I cant work out if you are referring to my post or something else...

If you are referring to everything I stated, I have done almost everything I wrote personally.
Never made a spear with it, but I have added it to handles and rubbed in resin to give it a hard top coating for wear, I have used it to hold a splint to a leg and to repair holes in fabric as a temp fix(you place a piece each side and sew it together with the original fabric).
Actually I dropped a knife on my bed once because it slipped out of its sheath as I was pulling it from a draw and I even used Leukoplast to cover the cut(didn't sew) and its stayed on for 3 years now and the cut has never expanded in the mattress. I also have two machetes a knife and a bow where I used it as handle wrap.


100c in air kills most bacteria, in water or other liquids it can be higher, Cellulose burns at least 200°C and latex at 180°C, its quite easy to get the temp of the tape to a level it will kill bacteria(the most common cause of infection in wounds) On both the tape and the outside of the wound. While it hurts applying after being heated it never seems to cause any actual burn damage... likely due to low thermal mass so not enough total heat exists to penetrate.
Of course its only a theory on my part, I don't know this is why heating it works, but it does. Next time you get a wound apply a strip that's heated over half the wound and a strip that wasn't to the other half, heated side will heal quicker.

Published medical articles exist showing it works as Suture replacement on areas of the body normally unsuitable such as knuckles or armpits for other methods, not to mention its current and historic use for battlefield dressings because it sticks even when wet even from blood(though better dry).

Its not magic but it is a rather strong fabric tape that is water resistant but air permeable with adhesive backing that will stick to things many other adhesives will not, usefulness limited only by ones imagination.

Example -Girls can use it to wax... heat a strip up apply it... wait a min.... then rip it off against the hair grain and boom... silky smooth skin.
I actually just tested it... I may have used a larger piece then was wise on my leg... long pants till the hair grows back I think. :confused:

If you were not referring to me, can you point me to what you were... I suspect some ideas that may seem silly may actually have merit, or at least be a good read.
gadgetgeek said:
leuko tape is great stuff. there are a few different types of "people" tape that all have different uses. I really like it for different things. Leuko can also be use for some types of joint strapping, but I'd get training, and understand its limits (its not magic, in fact most of it is whooey but in the right circumstances can help) really, elastic bandages are a better choice in most cases.

As for healing speed, no, it would have nothing to do with sterilization, there wouldn't be enough heat to sterilize the tape, let alone the skin. However.... Its been found that a lot of the old info on wound care was based on poor research, and in cases were the skin is moving, and has high blood flow, getting the edges together, and keeping them together is the most important. The tape would also have prevented drying, which speeds healing as well, especially over the old "let it air" method. opsite patches work that way.

As for things that people might not know about....
Can't think of much that hasn't been covered, but one thing I keep in my bush kit is clear safety glasses. helped a few times.
I also keep skin-tone zinc sunblock in my kit, it goes farther, and also prevents windburn when I'm near the water.
Click to expand...
 
Anything make them better/different then small normal ziplock bags?
fishiker said:
I've found the EZY Dose pill pouches to be invaluable. The list of possible uses is only limited by the imagination and a pack of 100 is only $3.
Click to expand...
 
The best straws for the use mentioned above are at a "discount" store by the name of "Big Lots" and they are called Milkshake Straws. They are almost 3/8" in diameter and made of the same plastic as other straws.
Much easier to get stuff into.....
 
Phoynix, sorry, my bad explanation. Joint taping, which you did not mention at all is what I was calling whooey. There are a couple of joint tapes that work very well, only with leuko, rather than standard white tape, (since it has less stretch). But in general most joint taping is at best limited in effectiveness, and worst, placebo. There are a couple of knee tapes that work quite well with leuko, a shoulder stabilizer, and its fantastic for "buddy" taping fingers. The main thing you don't want to do is full wraps around limbs with it, since it doesn't stretch, any swelling will create a constriction. But that is neither here nor there.

Not going to argue the sticking power of leuko, when I used it on athletes they hated the stuff because it stuck so well!

My theory is that by heating the adhesive, it flows and thus adheres better, possibly creating a better seal. People get really worked up about sterilizing skin, where the truth is that its really really difficult, and often, you really don't want to. you want your "local" bacteria to keep out any invaders, and sterilization is a factor of time, I doubt you would keep the tape hot enough for long enough to kill the skin bacteria, the skin just pulls the heat in (ciggy and dollar bill stunt). The tape itself would have little to no bacteria on it, since there would be no food source for them, and it is manufactured in a clean if not semi-sterile environment. Not discounting what you are saying about healing time, I just don't think bacteria have anything to do with it, provided you are not getting an infection, which is a different story. Again, not saying you are wrong, just saying that I disagree with the why.
 
Phoynix said:
Leukoplast medical tape(often called classic due to vast array of different tapes now in existance)
IT was used by the Germans in WW2 and they had far fewer casualties from wounds then other powers in part because of it, Israel now uses it for its soldiers in a turn of irony and its found to be very effective.
Click to expand...

This couldn't be a more factually wrong or offensive on the 71st anniversary of D-Day.
 
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KFC moist towelettes ( for cleaning yourself) . Free , and if they're dried out well keep them anyway for fire tinder. Take salt sachets and what not from fast food restaurants , salt is a flavour to add to something you killed to survive. Take napkins and you got free tissues or toilet paper .
 
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A very basic way to boil water or heat up soup. Just got it a little while ago still need to use it. Put together a little messenger style shoulder bag for short day hikes or hunts.
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Klean Canteen and a fish spreader
 
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