Janet is an Emergency Medicine Physician and I’m a Paramedic, so suffice it to say that we pay a lot of attention to our medical kit aboard Tortuga. We keep track of our medical kit inventory with the app MyStuff Pro, which notifies us when stocks are running low or medications are about to expire. More on MyStuff Pro later.
Below is a list of what we normally carry in the ship’s medical kit.
- Ace Bandages – assorted sizes
- ACLS Handbook
- Albuterol Inhaler
- Aleve (Naproxen) 220mg
- Antacid (Calcium Carbonate)
- Aspirin 81mg
- Azithromycin 500mg
- Band Aids – assorted
- Benadryl 25mg
- Bentyl 20mg
- Blister Dressing and Mole Skin
- Blood Pressure Cuff
- Chest Cough Relief (Guaifenesin)
- Ciprofloxacin 500mg
- Cotton Tape – assorted sizes
- DayQuil
- Famotidine 20mg
- Fluconazole 150mg
- Non-Latex Exam Gloves: large-small
- Glucometer kit
- Halls Cough Drops
- Headlamp
- Ibuprofen 200mg
- Loperamide 2mg
- Pepto Bismol tablets
- Pulse Oximeter + spare batteries
- SAM Splint
- Scalpel – 10 Blade
- Scopolamine Patches
- Sea-Bands – child and adult sizes
- Silk Tape 1”
- Simethicone 180mg
- Staple Remover
- Sterile Gauze Pads- assorted sizes
- Sterile Gloves – specific sizes
- Steristrips – assorted sizes
- Stethoscope
- Sutures and Misc Instruments
- Tongue Blades
- Triangular Bandages
- Trimethoprim 100mg
- Tylenol 500mg
- Wound Care Pack
- Zinc Lozenges
- Zofran 4mg
A few random thoughts on medical emergencies while underway:
Have a Plan: Give some thought to actions during a medical emergency. Who would you call for help, and how would your reach them? Having two reliable means of communication to reach assistance, and then test them often. Remember, “Two to make One, One makes None”.
Medical Evacuation Insurance: Consider how you would get a sick crew member or yourself home if you or they were hospitalized in a “less-than-developed” area or country. How can you be sure that the diagnosis and treatment that are being provided is accurate and medically sound? There are companies, such as Global Rescue, that will provide those services for an amazingly small annual subscription fee. As a disclaimer, I used to work as an Operations Paramedic for Global Rescue and know first-hand the value of having thought these challenges through before you cast off or travel.
An AED is an extremely useful piece of kit and should be strongly considered. While we do not carry one aboard Tortuga, we probably should.
There are several good books on wilderness medicine. The ones that comes to mind are:
- Where There Is No Doctor by David Werner and Carol Thuman
- Ditch Medicine by Hugh L. Coffee
- Where There Is No Dentist by Murray Dickson
- Auerbach’s Wilderness Medicine, by Paul Auerbach
- Tarascan Pocket Pharmacopeia – to understand various names and dosing of medications, especially traveling outside of your own country