r/preppers • u/Capstonelock • 1d ago
Prepping for Tuesday Home medical equipment
I just purchased a commercial heart monitor because I seem to have developed a new heart condition on top of my existing one. The doctor suggested the device since it can give me an ECG anywhere, at any time, so is our best chance of diagnosing it.
The monitor will join my blood pressure monitor, blood sugar monitor, thermometers and pulse oximeter in my arsenal of medical supplies. These have already helped prevent a couple of ER trips, helped with phone doctor's consults, and even led to diagnoses (aspiration pneumonia, brachycardia and emphysema, in another family member).
I would love to expand my kit, and was wondering if anyone has come across other useful home medical devices that I might not have considered?
Edited to remove brand. Edit 2. Apologies everyone, I don't seem to have permission to reply to comments, but I'm grateful for all the suggestions.
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u/Flood_Incantation 1d ago
I have a withings watch that tracks a ton and is very helpful, it can do simple ecgs anytime, monitors o2 at night, temperature, and more. I like that I can use it as a multi tool without having to rely on different apps, which I things helps with data security as well.
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u/Spiley_spile Community Prepper 1d ago
I highly recommend keeping an AED handy.
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u/Capstonelock 15h ago
We are lucky enough live across the road from a community centre which has one on the outside wall. In an emergency, 000 (our version of 911) operators will give you a code to open it. I get recertified to use an AED annually for work.
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u/HappyCamperDancer 1d ago
Peak Flow meter is an inexpensive device used by many people with lung conditions. It helps you determine if you need to use additional drugs (for asthma you can slowly lose lung fuction without realizing it). You then add whatever drugs your doctor has prescribed to get things under control before the situation gets out of control.
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u/UnlimitedHippos 1d ago edited 1d ago
If you don’t have kits to stop bleeding, I’d look into the organization “Stop the Bleed” and get a few of those kits together. I was able to take the class for free at a local firehouse, but they also have great educational material on YouTube. Your kits will have sterile gauze for wound packing, tourniquets, and compression pads. People kind of get fixated on tourniquets, but imo sterile gauze is more important. Bonus points if it’s treated with Quick Clot.
I also have a blood pressure monitor, thermometers, dermal glue (marketed for pets, but… y’know…), sterile suture packs (though I haven’t practiced with them), anti-diarrhea meds, and lots and lots of gauze pads, non-stick pads, leukotape, bandaids, wound wash, and petroleum jelly.
On my wish list, are NPA tubes (but I want training), and especially an AED.
If the point of prepping is to be ready for an emergency to preserve life, limb, and eyesight for you and your family, an AED is arguably one of the most important tools you can own.
But they’re really expensive and have a shelf life (in theory).
Edit to add more stuff: Mylar blankets (keeping up body temperature helps with shock which is a really really big deal for massive bleeding), good high-quality shears, finger tourniquets (but zip ties supposedly work surprisingly well in this role). Most importantly, a good class on CPR/AED use. Be an asset!
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u/Excellent_Condition All-hazards approach 1d ago
I keep basic stop the bleed and standard first aid, povidone iodine for cleaning particularly dirty wounds, a pulse ox, and an inhaler.
The thing about having more advanced diagnostic equipment is that 1) you have to know how to use it, and 2) you need the supplies, knowledge, and infrastructure to treat whatever condition you are (hopefully) able to diagnose.
The way I see it, if things are bad enough that you need specialized equipment at home beyond things to manage conditions you already have, you probably won't have the other required knowledge and supplies to treat the condition.
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u/Capstonelock 15h ago
I have all the usual things for any first aid type situation, but our hospitals are really struggling with capacity here. Purchasing this device will save me a trip to the ER since I can email my ECG straight to my doctor. Anything that can help a doctor diagnose you over the phone is really useful. My husband and I both caught the flu in the ER last autumn after a 12 hr wait for him to see a doctor. He's immune compromised and has emphysema so the flu can get serious really fast. We used a combined flu/covid/rsv test and he tested positive for influenza A. We then called a doctor, and I gave them his temp, BP, O² sats and heartrate. The doc listened to his breathing and cough over the phone and sent through electronic prescriptions for two types of puffer, oral steroids, tamiflu and antibiotics. He also got me to show him the spacer I have in my kit to check it was suitable (he was pleasantly surprised that I had one). It saved us an additional 12+ hours of waiting in the ER, which could have been really serious given his O² was at about 80%.
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u/TerrainofWar 1d ago
Stethoscope and an analog watch. You can count heart rate, listen for murmurs, lung sounds etc. it's a staple for medical staff everywhere
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u/Lancifer1979 1d ago
Blood pressure wrist cuff, stethoscope, pulse oximeter, crutches, walking boot leftover from broken ankle, braces and wraps, shower chair, lightweight collapsible wheelchair, staple gun
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u/Still-Peanut-6010 1d ago
Staple gun? Are you planning for sutures? Do you have some lidocaine to go with that or hoping the person passes out?
Not being funny, I would really like more information on this.
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u/Lancifer1979 1d ago
Yes. Medical staple gun and remover. Some spray on lidocaine. I’ve had my head stapled without. Hurts for a second or two.
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u/Ok-Resident-4095 6h ago
You can do it without lidocaine, ideally injectable 1% or 2% is what you want though, spray on lidocaine doesn’t do much. The big thing with staples for me is finding the absorbable ones. I have both absorbable staples gun and normal metal staple gun. If you don’t have the absorbable ones then you need a staple remover as well
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u/Extension-Snow-265 21h ago
The most useful thing I added to my kit wasn't gear at all, it was training. I took a wilderness first aid course a couple years back and it completely reshaped what I carry, because I realized I'd never be able to use half the fancy stuff under stress. I'd look into a Stop the Bleed class if there's one near you, most are free or close to it and a single day teaches you more than any monitor will.
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u/Capstonelock 15h ago
I work in the wilderness (Australian outback) so I keep up to date in remote first aid. Health crises often seem to crop up when you're in the middle of nowhere. My heart condition first occurred on a remote tropical island and another time I got shingles on an 11 day field trip 3.5 hrs from the nearest tiny town. But things also happen at home. We have pretty long wait times at our ERs so I find the extra equipment really useful to determine whether something is really an emergency, and also to give information to the doctor over the phone. The good thing about this new device is that I can take it with me when I work remotely (it's small). If I'm in a tiny town or at a mine camp, I can just send a 30 second ECG back to the city.
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u/Ok-Resident-4095 6h ago
Medications is a big one, especially ones you and your family would need due to medical conditions and health risks that may be unique to you. Stop the bleed, airway kit, and hypothermia prevention
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u/AmosTali Realistic prepper 1d ago
Everyone should have a Sphygmomanometer
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u/Capstonelock 15h ago
Unfortunately they aren't easy to use on yourself because you have to hold both the stethoscope and the inflation pump (to deflate) at the same time. This prevents the arm you are taking a reading from relaxing, so biases the results. And they require basic training to understand the Korotkoff sounds.
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u/Star_Boxer72 1d ago
So focused on using a big word that you neglected rules of capitalization and punctuation. Cool.
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u/fenuxjde 1d ago
Most modern smartwatches can also do ECG and similar things and they take way less electricity to run in a shtf situation.
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u/Capstonelock 14h ago
The monitor I bought is only about 1x3 inches and runs off a coin battery. It uses less charge than a smart watch.
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u/PracticalPrepnxtdoor 5h ago
Sounds like your kit is already paying for itself. A few things I'd add, most of them cheap or free:
A paper log. Readings are most useful to a doctor as a trend, and phones and apps aren't always available in an outage. A notebook with date, time, reading, and what you were doing covers it.
A printed medication and conditions list for everyone in the house, with doses, allergies, and doctors' phone numbers. It costs nothing, and it's one of the first things ER staff and phone doctors ask for.
Spare batteries for every device, stored with the device, with a note of which size each one takes.
A quick accuracy check. If you haven't already, bring your BP cuff to an appointment and compare it to the office reading. For future purchases, validatebp.org lists home blood pressure monitors that have been independently validated for accuracy.
+1 to the peak flow meter from u/HappyCamperDancer, especially with emphysema in the family, and to the stethoscope and analog watch from u/TerrainofWar. The walker, cane, and knee roller ideas above are good too, and thrift stores are a cheap source like u/Still-Peanut-6010 said.
Last thing, since your doctor is already on board: ask them which readings mean "go to the ER" versus "call us." Writing those numbers on the front of the log means anyone in the house can make the call, not just you.
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u/dogsRgr8too 1d ago
I keep a walker that I found cheap at a yard sale in my garage. Safer than crutches for foot/leg injury.