Cycling UK Forum

So from the NHS list as above: https://www.nhs.uk/common-health-questi ... t-aid-kit/

...who carries a thermometer with them?

Bmblbzzz wrote: ↑4 May 2022, 7:31pm So from the NHS list as above: https://www.nhs.uk/common-health-questi ... t-aid-kit/

...who carries a thermometer with them?

I don't.

(That list isn't for cycling or travel.)

Jonathan

Paulatic wrote: ↑4 May 2022, 3:04pm ..........Thankfully I’m in blissful ignorance of 95% of the things being discussed. ..........

You and me both.
My attitude to first aid kits .....
Anything which a first aid kit will fix, you can improvise so you don't need the kit.
Anything which really needs fixing, you are going to need help anyway.

I'm on the same page with the whole h*lm*t thing.

Jdsk wrote: ↑4 May 2022, 8:01pm

Bmblbzzz wrote: ↑4 May 2022, 7:31pm So from the NHS list as above: https://www.nhs.uk/common-health-questi ... t-aid-kit/

...who carries a thermometer with them?

I don't.

(That list isn't for cycling or travel.)

Jonathan

It's a list for home use, AIUI, so my question was "Who carries a thermometer with them?" I expect most people have a thermometer at home, Do you, Jdsk, carry a thermometer with you when on a cycle tour? Or at other times?

Bmblbzzz wrote: ↑5 May 2022, 11:54am

Jdsk wrote: ↑4 May 2022, 8:01pm

Bmblbzzz wrote: ↑4 May 2022, 7:31pm So from the NHS list as above: https://www.nhs.uk/common-health-questi ... t-aid-kit/

...who carries a thermometer with them?

I don't.

(That list isn't for cycling or travel.)

It's a list for home use, AIUI, so my question was "Who carries a thermometer with them?" I expect most people have a thermometer at home, Do you, Jdsk, carry a thermometer with you when on a cycle tour? Or at other times?

Was there some ambiguity about "I don't"?

: - )

Jonathan

Jdsk wrote: ↑5 May 2022, 11:57am

Bmblbzzz wrote: ↑5 May 2022, 11:54am

Jdsk wrote: ↑4 May 2022, 8:01pm
I don't.

(That list isn't for cycling or travel.)

It's a list for home use, AIUI, so my question was "Who carries a thermometer with them?" I expect most people have a thermometer at home, Do you, Jdsk, carry a thermometer with you when on a cycle tour? Or at other times?

Was there some ambiguity about "I don't"?

: - )

Jonathan

Ummm... no. But for some reason I construed it as "I do". Perhaps simply because it was an answer (people are more likely to answer a "Does anybody..." question with "yes" than "no". The "no" answers usually don't answer.)

A length of bandage, safety pin and about half a dozen good sticking plasters. But if I'm on a day ride I probably wouldn't bother with any of the above.

Having started the tread claiming to take plasters (and having been reminded by others I also take tick hooks), today I also remembered I also take a tube of Voltarol (the stronger version). Never found the ibuprofen gels do anything but I have a suspicion that Voltarol does (but impossible to say without a control ...).

Most of me enjoys cycling. My knees don't.

Ian

Psamathe wrote: ↑8 May 2022, 4:39pm Having started the tread claiming to take plasters (and having been reminded by others I also take tick hooks), today I also remembered I also take a tube of Voltarol (the stronger version). Never found the ibuprofen gels do anything but I have a suspicion that Voltarol does (but impossible to say without a control ...).

There's a fair bit of evidence of efficacy.

"Topical NSAIDs for acute musculoskeletal pain in adults":
https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/do ... ofen%7Cgel

Topical analgesics for acute and chronic pain in adults ‐ an overview of Cochrane Reviews
"https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/do ... ofen%7Cgel"

Jonathan

531colin wrote: ↑4 May 2022, 10:28pm

Paulatic wrote: ↑4 May 2022, 3:04pm ..........Thankfully I’m in blissful ignorance of 95% of the things being discussed. ..........

You and me both.
My attitude to first aid kits .....
Anything which a first aid kit will fix, you can improvise so you don't need the kit.
Anything which really needs fixing, you are going to need help anyway.

I'm on the same page with the whole h*lm*t thing.

I tend to this approach, although there are a couple of rolls of bandage, some iodine, something in a sealed pack to place over a wound and a foil bag to place an injured person in to keep their temperature up included in the luggage. Together, they weigh about the same as an inner tube. Thanks for the mention of tick removers, Jdsk, I'll add a couple - near zero weight and space.

Carrying a spare couple of batteries/powerpack to maintain the charge of a phone may be as valuable a piece of kit as any in the case of an emergency in a remote spot.

531colin wrote: ↑4 May 2022, 10:28pmAnything which a first aid kit will fix, you can improvise so you don't need the kit.

Sometimes you just want an Elastoplast for no other reason than to stop the blood making a mess of your clothes.

As I'm on blood thinners, I have some powder made from crushed up sea creatures that immediately stops bleeding, even arterial.

Same approach I take to cycle tools- I only take the stuff I know how to use. It has cut down my load a lot!

Bumbling around Western Europe as I do most of the time I’m not worried. We have extensively tested European clinics following various injuries (Spain x 2, Sweden, Croatia) and they’re pretty competent ie they know how to use a much wider range of equipment and medication than me so I’m happy to rely on them.

I'm with Colin above. The only thing I have shoved in the bottom of the saddle bag is one anti hystamine tablet as once, a wasp really spoiled my day. First aid is generally, "you'll live" or dial 999.

I'd agree there's no point taking stuff you don't know how to use but there's a lot of "it's a scratch but it will get worse" between "you'll live" and "999". Obvious example, a small cut – a plaster or bandage will make it much less likely to get infected, meaning it remains "a scratch". Get infected, you could be going home early.