Many of us pack a small first aid kit in our packs just in case something happens. Last nite I made an important addition to my rather elaborate, yet compact kit. But first: a quick rundown of the type of stuff I keep, so you have an idea...
Rolled gauze
variety of bandaids (waterproof)
Dermabond (liquid bandage)
rubber gloves
antacids
pain meds (advil and tylenol)
antiseptic wipes
condoms
photocopies of my passport and driver's license, and other important IDs
burn cream
medical tape
moleskin
You get the idea. Pretty standard stuff, right?
Last night I made a key addition to my kit, and its something EVERYONE should have.
Cayenne powder. Yep. Cayenne powder. The hot stuff. Its use as a coagulant for heavy-duty bleeding is just as good as any store-bought tincture/coagulant, and easier to come by in the pinch. Something at work fell and gashed me in the back of the noggin last nite, and gave me a concussion and a serious laceration that wouldn't stop bleeding with bandages and dermabond. I pride myself on my first aid ability, since I'm the one at work everyone goes to when they cut/burn themselves.
But the cayenne, applied to a wound immediately causes coagulation without any sting/burn that would be associated with using a pepper-powder. Sure, if you taste it, its hot, but on an open wound it doesn't at all.
Later, as the concussion set in and I went to the hospital for a CT scan (apparently I do in fact have a brain, and it was okay), the nurses and docs had never heard of it, and frankly were shocked. The one nurse even asked me point-blank: Didn't it hurt like shit? :D
Anyway, I'm gonna keep a vial of it in my first aid kits from here on out, and I suggest you do, too. There's actually some pretty decent info out there using Google on the uses of Cayenne in various first aid situations...
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Misadventures of a Crazed Kitchen Pirate
"Steve is the prototypical cool American male. Y'know, I'm talking about Steve McGarrett, alright? Steve Austin, Steve McQueen. Y'know, he's the guy on his horse, the guy alone. He has his own code of honor, his own code of ethics, his own rules of living, man. He never, ever tries to impress the women but he always gets the girl."
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