Syringes?

dougo83

dougo83

Joined
Feb 28, 2008
Messages
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Ok...I noticed some of my former FD compadres carrying syringes in their personal kits/BOB's for debridement. Doesanyone here carry them? I figure for the cost and weight it wouldn't hurt to toss a few in with my gear. I never really dealt with them much, so I had a few questions:

1. What gauge would they need to be to be effective?

2. What kind of storage works best?

3. Where can I pick them up?

4. What about water? You fill them with water to irrigate wounds, so would it be wise to pack along distilled water?
 
4: One of my hunting buddies is a combat veteran who later became a trauma surgeon. He's worked in some pretty rough places---like remote African villages that could only be reached by horseback. He said that in desperate situations, urine from a healthy male can be used to irrigate wounds. He says it's sterile and a viable choice if you have nothing else that is safe.

I can't answer the other questions but I keep several syringes in my Alaska wilderness rafting kit. They came in sealed packages so I don't worry about storage---other than to keep them in a cool, dry place out of sunlight.

DancesWithKnives
 
I've carried one in my FAK for years. Just today I added a small syringe to my PSK. I've heard from wilderness medical types that wound irrigation is about the best thing you can do.

-- FLIX
 
I used to carry a plastic syringe with me while backpacking and used it on a couple of trips to irrigate other hikers blisters that had opened up. I do not know the gauge or the brand but I think I bought it off the shelf at a pharmacy.
 
dougo83 said:
Ok...I noticed some of my former FD compadres carrying syringes in their personal kits/BOB's for debridement. Doesanyone here carry them? I figure for the cost and weight it wouldn't hurt to toss a few in with my gear. I never really dealt with them much, so I had a few questions:

1. What gauge would they need to be to be effective?

2. What kind of storage works best?

3. Where can I pick them up?

4. What about water? You fill them with water to irrigate wounds, so would it be wise to pack along distilled water?
Click to expand...

Syringes are nice but a hole in a ziplock will work pretty well also. No need to pack any water. Any water clean enough to drink is suitable to use for wound irrigation.

KR
 
I carry them, I get mine at just about any farm & feed supplies store.

Often the same brands used in hospitals.
 
Your best bet is probably to find a supply of prefilled 0.9% Saline 10ml syringes. We usually just refer to them as a "flush." They are cheap, appropriately sized, self contained units.
 
Shoot me your Address and Ill send ya some Doug. I have ALOT. Me being a medic, and the wife an RN..:o

Or you could just go to the free clinic and tell em you need a fix! :eek::p
 
I have seen these in kits before and always wondered where people got them. For some reason they seem taboo to me, like if I go and try to buy some I will get busted for being a heroine addict.
 
orrey45 said:
I have seen these in kits before and always wondered where people got them. For some reason they seem taboo to me, like if I go and try to buy some I will get busted for being a heroine addict.
Click to expand...

Nope, your just a survival addict :)
 
In some areas, possession of a syringe barrel along with the needle itself is illegal. Some pharmacies will not sell them without a Rx. Sort of like lockpicks, if you think you need them, carry them. :D

I'll tell you all what you really need and it can pull double duty...in other words, you want to carry something for wound irrigation, that's more than reasonable! I do! Anyways, with some IV or fish tank tubing, you can gather water from areas not easily accessed by a canteen. Turkey baster is good too. Also, the little stone filter elements that attach directly to the end of the tubing, put a very, very large syringe on the other end and you can pre-filter water from areas not easily accessed.
 
I guess you could take the mouth piece off of your hydration bladder (if you carry one) and squeeze it bagpipe style while directing the flow.

-- FLIX
 
Ok...still haven't found syringes. I am probably going to pick them up from CountyComm. In the meantime, or for future reference, are there any other worthwhile alternatives to syringes? I am thinking that a pipette/dropper may work.
 
dougo83 said:
Ok...I noticed some of my former FD compadres carrying syringes in their personal kits/BOB's for debridement. Doesanyone here carry them? I figure for the cost and weight it wouldn't hurt to toss a few in with my gear. I never really dealt with them much, so I had a few questions:

1. What gauge would they need to be to be effective?

2. What kind of storage works best?

3. Where can I pick them up?

4. What about water? You fill them with water to irrigate wounds, so would it be wise to pack along distilled water?
Click to expand...

For irrigation of a wound, ANY attempt to wash it with 'clean' water will be better than leaving it dirty :thumbup:. Cooled boiled water is ok, bleach treated water or even urine in a pinch :barf::D but sterile saline is obviously best.

I don't carry them but IMO if you want to use a syringe you will need at least a 10 ml syringe, possibly 20 ml, but you will only need 1-2 of them for short trips. 'Gauge' refers to needle diameter. Unless you are injecting something, you really only need the 'plastic' syringe and not the 'metal' needle. Syringes generally come in sterile plastic wrap packs. If you want a blunt needle to direct irrigation flow - and avoid any legality issues in your jurisdiction - get a 'drawing up' needle with a large bore (?19 gauge I think) or buy a butterfly needle (size doesn't matter) and cut off the needle to retain only the flexible tubing and hub to connect to your syringe. Needles generally come with plastic sheaths and are also in sterile plastic wrap packs.

OR you can buy "normal saline for irrigation" that comes in roughly 20-50ml single use plastic squeeze tubes (usually several tubes attached side to side by a detachable plastic weld). They have twist off tops - some brands twist off to leave a tight hole on top that will squirt a firm spray/jet under pressure - these are easier to squirt into a deep wound than the 'flush' saline 10ml tubes (flush tubes have a wide neck for drawing up saline by a syringe, so you get less pressure from squeezing the flush tube and if you can only get flush saline you will want a syringe to wash the wound thoroughly). At any rate, this sort of all in one product bypasses the needle-legality issue and takes up half the space of combined syringes and flush bottles. Eg: http://www.midmeds.co.uk/steripod-sodium-chloride-20ml-p-223.html That is a different brand than I use but you get the idea. They should be stored in a firm walled case otherwise they can leak if the caps are bent about in your pack... :foot:

You should easily be able to get them from a medical supplier or your local doctor's practice (if you explain their use, they only cost a few cents/dollars) but I'm in Australia so YMMV :o
 
Edgyone said:
OR you can buy "normal saline for irrigation" that comes in roughly 20-50ml single use plastic squeeze tubes (usually several tubes attached side to side by a detachable plastic weld). They have twist off tops - some brands twist off to leave a tight hole on top that will squirt a firm spray/jet under pressure - these are easier to squirt into a deep wound than the 'flush' saline 10ml tubes (flush tubes have a wide neck for drawing up saline by a syringe, so you get less pressure from squeezing the flush tube and if you can only get flush saline you will want a syringe to wash the wound thoroughly). At any rate, this sort of all in one product bypasses the needle-legality issue and takes up half the space of combined syringes and flush bottles. Eg: http://www.midmeds.co.uk/steripod-sodium-chloride-20ml-p-223.html That is a different brand than I use but you get the idea. They should be stored in a firm walled case otherwise they can leak if the caps are bent about in your pack... :foot:
Click to expand...
This is the best way to carry saline solution. These plastic bottles are small and easy to carry, and reasonably resistant so you can put them in your FAK without the fear of them bursting. With the plastic bottles you just have to make a small hole in one end and then squeeze the solution and wash (with pressure) whatever you want. With this set-up you don't even need a syringe.

In fact, if you're not carrying IV or IM medications in your pack, you really don't need to carry syringes. Other then actually using them to inject something, the only use of a syringe is as a hypodermal needle holder. A hypodermal needle is the needle used on syringes, and it's a great thing to have because the edge is sharp - it's perfect for removing splinters. Since you can buy them separately from syringes, I think it's smart to carry a pair or two in your pack.
 
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