Gauze, tape, medical stuff…where to get it?

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Wal Mart always seems to have what I need at reasonable prices, and it is close. Walgreens would be my second choice. Good selection and just as close.
 
I was given a tip by a welder yesterday on burns. He keeps a bottle of vitamin E capsules in the first aid kit and says that breaking a capsule onto a burn as soon as possible will heal it or prevent a blister within minutes. He’s a knowledgeable senior citizen. Vitamin E capsules will be added to my first aid supplies.
 
I get orders from: shopmedvet.com. They have a lot of stuff that you can't find at box stores and the prices are great. Look for coupon codes and deals too. They have LOTS of stuff. It'll take a while to look through it all. I've never had a problem with any orders I've made or buying enough stuff to get free shipping.

Tootsie said:
I was given a tip by a welder yesterday on burns. He keeps a bottle of vitamin E capsules in the first aid kit and says that breaking a capsule onto a burn as soon as possible will heal it or prevent a blister within minutes. He’s a knowledgeable senior citizen. Vitamin E capsules will be added to my first aid supplies.
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You can also get Vitamin E oil so that you don't have to open a capsule.
 
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lilmissy said:
I just burnt my arm last week and realized we dont have as much gauze and such as we should. does anyone purchase this stuff anywhere besides amazon? Just looking to replenish.
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I picked up a bunch of stuff on Ebay when I was putting together my IFAK, you might check there.
 
Walmart, Walgreens, Rite Aid, Target: basically any store that has a pharmacy. Hope your arm heals, keep it open to air as much as possible to speed healing (during the day) and wrap with a non-adherent dressing (non adherent gauze) at night --> this will avoid sticking and pulling off the healing skin.
 
Coban is a lot cheaper to buy at online horse supply places than at human supply places. Coban does not go directly on a wound. It is used to hold dressings on a wound. A step down from Coban (IMHO) is Kerlix, and another step down from that is Kling. These are all wraps that are used to hold a dressing in place. I just buy Coban from the horse supply places these days, and don't use the others much anymore. As far as dressings, I buy those wherever I can find them the cheapest. Usually a local Walgreens (maybe not always the cheapest, but the most convenient around here for sure). If I plan ahead, I do search online to check prices there.
 
lilmissy said:
...does anyone purchase this stuff anywhere besides amazon?
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Fwiw, for the 'basic BOB kit' supplies, or Home FAK supplies, these guys Prices are really hard to beat: medicalproductsdepot | eBay Stores ..they ship quickly, and are No prob with returns / exchanges..

..These guys have some excellent 'Baseline Kits' for different purposes (which you can 'mix and match' from, to tailor for your own IFAK..) Prepping_2_Survive | eBay Stores

..For more 'Advanced Care' supplies, we've been stocking up with Rescue Essentials Tactical Emergency Medical Supplies for years.. Lots of good Medic supplies (up to / including 'pro level'..) across all categories. Very competitive pricing-wise, and Lots of flexibility at the 'component-level' (vs the usually boku-expensive 'pre-packed Kits') - https://www.rescue-essentials.com/components-1/ Much-more economical / smart to 'DIY' / tailor yer own Kits, IMO.

They also carry a thourough 'Burn Dressings' / Treatment line: https://www.rescue-essentials.com/burn-treatment/ ..Even for later-stage / large severe-burn area healing: https://www.rescue-essentials.com/petrolatum-gauze-3-x-18-strip/
Also, for some basic - to Advanced - tips and just 'getting started to learn' vids, I can highly recommend (though, no 'official affiliation' or 'shilling', etc, and Many of his re-sale kits are kinda pricey, too, so I'd suggest to Avoid his, and just DIY..) This kids Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/SkinnyMedic/videos ..At least he delivers real-world, Accurate info, as an Active Medic, not just 'stuff he read in some book' / heard from someone Else, etc.

Fwiw.. :cool:
jd
 
Tootsie said:
I was given a tip by a welder yesterday on burns. He keeps a bottle of vitamin E capsules in the first aid kit and says that breaking a capsule onto a burn as soon as possible will heal it or prevent a blister within minutes. He’s a knowledgeable senior citizen. Vitamin E capsules will be added to my first aid supplies.
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The Vitamin E part is probably good, but you are not suppose to put oils on burns. My grandmother was raised to put butter on burns, but now the idea is not to.
The first thing when you get a burn is to put it under cold running water to take the heat from the burn, to stop the burning.
I am always looking in the reduced bins at the back of stores and I have gotten many reduced first aid items there. I don't think I have much gauze, but I do have some. If we need to keep dressing a burn, a person could go through a bunch of it in no time.
 
At one time years ago, I got exposed to some info about alternative products to use for wound, trauma and other types of primary care.. Things that were easily obtainable, easy to use, and many times cheaper than dedicated care products..

For instance.. Female sanitary pads.. They come in different sizes, unscented and the like.. Useful for a lot of situations.. Vet wrap.. Just as good as dedicated wound dressing wrap, just as clean, and likely cheaper.. I suspect there is a lot of info available on alternative products just as useful as dedicated labeled products.. Just how to find, put together that info... ??
 
Tim Horton said:
At one time years ago, I got exposed to some info about alternative products to use for wound, trauma and other types of primary care.. Things that were easily obtainable, easy to use, and many times cheaper than dedicated care products..

For instance.. Female sanitary pads.. They come in different sizes, unscented and the like.. Useful for a lot of situations.. Vet wrap.. Just as good as dedicated wound dressing wrap, just as clean, and likely cheaper.. I suspect there is a lot of info available on alternative products just as useful as dedicated labeled products.. Just how to find, put together that info... ??
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Tim Horton said:
At one time years ago, I got exposed to some info about alternative products to use for wound, trauma and other types of primary care.. Things that were easily obtainable, easy to use, and many times cheaper than dedicated care products..

For instance.. Female sanitary pads.. They come in different sizes, unscented and the like.. Useful for a lot of situations.. Vet wrap.. Just as good as dedicated wound dressing wrap, just as clean, and likely cheaper.. I suspect there is a lot of info available on alternative products just as useful as dedicated labeled products.. Just how to find, put together that info... ??
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Others have shared some awesome sites above on just what you are talking about. Check them out, so well worth it
 
We are finding that for medical supplies it is a mixed bag. If it's cold and flu season the cough meds are almost impossible to find, so we try to buy things before we need them... but that has it's problems too. I shop W-mart, but they are often out or only have "G-value" which is often not acceptable. If W-M does not have what I need I check CVS (there's a 24 hour one near here), then I check Target (I have been surprised more that once by what they have on the shelf). Then if all else has failed I will hit Amazon. I try to keep a full first aid kit in the car/truck, but as they get old I move them into the house and replace with a new one.

Burn creams are a particular issue here. I discovered the hard way that tap water is not "clean" enough for treating/cleaning burns (I have scars on my back to prove it). The other thing that I learned is that sometimes you need someone who has the stomach to clean a wound that you can't reach. I had 2 burns on my shoulders, one on the right and one on the left, I could reach the one on the left and was able to clean it myself, including removing the rolled up blistered skin. I couldn't reach the one on the right and the wife refused to help me clean it, it got infected and it took months to heal.

Identifying resources before you need them can be a big help when time is critical.
 
This is a great thread to share ideas and products others might have overlooked!
I like to put mist spray nozzles on my alcohol, Hydrogen peroxide, witch hazel, and Betadine, and on the burn spray. (that's another thread LOL) Just cap them with a penny balloon for long-term storage.
Look what I found!
https://www.grainger.com/product/36...:CSM-2295:4P7A1P:20501231&gclsrc=ds&gclsrc=ds
You just inspired me, Urban Hunter, I'll be adding a long-handled foam pan brush to my kit! and some Scotch tape as well.
 
Mountain trapper said:
We get our supplies at our local grocery store. Also, we get a lot of stuff through Medicare's OTC program for "free". We're well stocked up now.
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? How does that work, did you have to sign up for it or what? With Medicare premiums over $167/month I would like to get something out of it...
 
UrbanHunter said:
? How does that work, did you have to sign up for it or what? With Medicare premiums over $167/month I would like to get something out of it...
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Cant remember exactly, but I think they sent out a list of available items and their prices. Every quarter we're allowed to choose any item we want up to a set dollar amount. I'll look more in to it when I get back to the house. This Medicare stuff is still new to me, only been on it for a year now.
 
That OTC program depends upon which plan you have. I believe it's included with the Medicare Advantage plans (which may be going away--my memory needs refreshing about that). Each one works differently--some people come into the pharmacy with a prepaid credit card, others we have to enter their insurance plan information at the register.

October usually starts the open enrollment period for Part D plans. Use the Medicare.gov website and enter in all your medications. They have a fantastic tool for drilling down on the monthly estimated cost of your meds. It doesn't just show you the "monthly" cost but also the individual month's cost.
 
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