Thoughts On Medical Equipment.

If you are carrying good primitive sustainable equipment, there are items in your kit that can double as medical tools. Everyone should be carrying a housewife/sewing kit, & the needles can be used for removing splinters as well as sewing up bad cuts/wounds. Be careful though to make absolutely sure that the wound/cut has been cleaned before closure. In the past I have closed large open wounds by simply closing with a bandage.

My housewife with needles, linen thread, spare buttons, animal sinew & beeswax.

You should also be carrying an awl for making repairs to leather clothing & for making moccasins. The awl can be used to help dig out large splinters if you should stake yourself. A pricker can also serve this function. If the splinter is sticking out so you can grab the end, you can use your ball or shot mould as large tweezers.

My two awls. The upper one I made myself & use at home, the lower one was my Father's & it is the one I carry in my knapsack. The other item shown is the wooden awl sheath wrapped in waxed linen thread.

A pricker for clearing the vent on a flintlock gun, rifle or pistol.

My ball mould & ladle.

My swan-shot/buckshot mould.

Hygiene is a must when in the wilderness so you should be carrying soap. There are other ways to stay clean, but soap is the easiest & more pleasant way. Also good of course for washing wounds.

Bar soap & a piece of ivory hair comb that I always carry with me.

Drinking spirits do not contain enough pure alcohol to be considered the best for cleaning wounds, but drinking rum or whisky can help if you are in pain & have nothing better. I have been operated on without the benefit of any anesthetic, not even a local, & I wish I had been carrying some rum with me at the time!

My leather covered bottle of rum.

Nothing can of course be better than carrying a first aid kit, on most short period treks I carry a basic medical kit, but on a long period trek I carry a modern first aid kit.

This is my very basic medical kit that I carry with me in my knapsack on treks in the woods. It contains: salt, eyewash glass, Betadine disinfectant, herbs for a poultice, scissors, suture thread & needle, two tweezers, clamps, & bandages.