Tiger Tales 20: First Aid Kits

By The Law Tigers
America’s Injury Lawyers Who Ride

First Aid Kits – Do You Have One On Your Motorcycle?

Do you carry a First Aid kit on your bike? If you do, you likely purchased it to meet a perceived safety requirement. When is the last time you took a look inside? If you don’t know what your First Aid kit contains and you ever need to use it, you may be unpleasantly surprised. If you don’t carry a kit with you when you ride and you ever need it, you could be in great danger.

What passes for a First Aid kit from sources such as discount stores and auto supply shops (and sometimes as giveaways at Poker Runs) may be less than adequate if you or someone else is injured in a motorcycle accident. In the event of a motorcycle accident, band-aids and a little gauze simply aren’t sufficient.

We recommend that your First Aid kit include the following items:

• Your First Aid kit needs to have a really good pair of scissors in it to cut away (thick) clothing. If you can’t see the injured area, it’s hard to figure out what’s the best course of action. You may find it worthwhile to invest in a heavy-duty pair of shears that can cut through thick material.
• If there is ever a motorcycle accident where blood is spilled, every rider should carry several pairs of latex gloves. Having them on your bike will allow you to help an injured motorcyclist, and may also allow those who want to assist you to do so without fear of contamination.
• A good First Aid kit should have a number of triangle bandages in it, which can be easily made from inexpensive muslin purchased at any fabric or discount department store. These pieces should be large enough that you can make a sling from them, fold them to use as a pressure-point type bandage, or put them on a head injury to hold other bandages in place. If you need more than one (for example, after making a sling for an arm, it’s a good idea to immobilize that arm by binding it to the upper body), you can tie several of these together. Carrying a minimum of three triangle bandages is recommended.
• Very few kits contain enough sterile gauze pads. If you need to put pressure on a bleeding wound, you’ll go through these items quickly and need to add another clean one often, directly to the wound.
• It is helpful to have a bottle of filtered or distilled water in your kit. This can be useful in case of broken bones, eye injuries, dehydration, and for cleaning out other minor injuries. If you have a compound fracture, to keep it from drying out, it is helpful to put a muslin bandage over a damp gauze bandage on the end of the exposed bone. Many minor problems can be dealt with initially by washing them with clean water.
• In the case of very bad head injuries, it’s not unusual to have substantial eye injuries. Unfortunately, eyes can come out of place upon impact. The recommended First Aid in this situation is to have a cup (such as a clean Styrofoam cup) available to contain the damaged/displaced eye, and to strap that cup onto the face with a triangle bandage. Medical technology has advanced to a level where doctors are now able to put an eye back into place. It’s a good idea to bandage both eyes to keep the person from panicking (and to slow the ‘eye-matching’ reflexes, which try to make our eyes work together), while touching and reassuring the injured party. Having a clean cup in your kit may one day save your eyesight or some other rider’s.
• CPR courses recommend that a person who is going to administer CPR have a barrier to protect them from the bodily fluids of the injured party. This may be a plastic gadget that looks like a kitchen gripper, with a hole in it for a breathing tube, or a more sophisticated mask that can keep a rescuer’s face and lips away from the injured party while he or she breathes for the person who’s down. These items are inexpensive and are available at medical supply shops.

When a motorcycle accident occurs, the first thing you should do is call 911. In most regions of the country, emergency assistance can generally reach the accident location within minutes. Regardless, if you ever become a witness to a horrific motorcycle accident, you’ll discover the importance of having current information and adequate First Aid gear.