First aid kits

[Bicorn]

Something I've never found any official ruling for: how many uses are you supposed to get out of a first aid kit? Realistically most of the stuff in one is not reusable.

[weby]

Only one I have seen is in DF where a kit is for half a dozen wounds.

Realistically a mini kit is single wound use. Larger ones can be used for few wounds.

[Ulzgoroth]

I don't remember seeing that anywhere, but Biotech does supply details on a lot of the things you'd be likely to have in the kit, so you can be more specific about what you're using up if you want. Doesn't, as far as I recall, detail just how much of what to expect to be included in any given medical kit.

[Phantasm]

The travel kits we had when I was camping as a kid in the late '70s/early '80s had a few dozen adhesive bandages for minor cuts, enough gauze pads for six larger wounds, a roll of adhesive medical tape, a large roll of gauze (enough to wrap an arm or leg if burned), and a 5 oz. tube of antiseptic (to prevent infections). I'm not sure if there's been much change in the last 30 years.

I'd say that for basic cuts and bruises, you can use it indefinitely while replacing the band-aids and antiseptic on a regular basis, and let it be used twice for what GURPS calls a "major wound" before it needs to be replaced.

[Bruno]

I unfortunately can't check what came in my first aid kit, because we mostly just have the original box. And some iodine wipes and the crappy scissors, I think.

But if it's one of the ones you get at a pharmacy, hardware store, or car supply store (for putting in your trunk), it's not going to be many uses. 6 sounds fine to me. It also isn't usually good for more than scrapes and small kitchen accidents, or possibly a sprain if you have a slightly-less-cheap kit that includes an elastic bandage.

[Ashtagon]

Come to think of it, commercial first aid kits in the UK can't, for legal reasons, include any "lotions, potions, or pills" (in case someone has an unexpected allergy). This would definitely make a kit less effective compared to what the game rules assume, but by how much?

[Bruno]

Originally Posted by Ashtagon

Come to think of it, commercial first aid kits in the UK can't, for legal reasons, include any "lotions, potions, or pills" (in case someone has an unexpected allergy). This would definitely make a kit less effective compared to what the game rules assume, but by how much?

... not even alcohol wipes or iodine wipes for cleanup? Or a straight un-medicated Vasoline?

Antibiotic ointments have been proven, repeatedly, to slow wound healing and promote antibiotic resistant bacteria. So allergies be damned, they're not actually useful. If you've had wound care in the last five or so years from a nurse, they'll totally give you the whole lecture. Twice over if they think you haven't got the point yet :)

On the other claw, the base of the ointment, which is basically Vasoline, is actually supposed to be a pretty damn good wound treatment on its own. Keeps it moist and germs out of it. Presuming you've remembered to clean the wound first, of course.

[safisher]

Originally Posted by Bruno

On the other claw, the base of the ointment, which is basically Vasoline, is actually supposed to be a pretty damn good wound treatment on its own. Keeps it moist and germs out of it. Presuming you've remembered to clean the wound first, of course.

And apparently honey works quite well, too, and has been used for thousands of years.

[Bicorn]

Alright, based on the replies, how'd this sound as a houserule?

Regular first aid kit: 12 uses on small wounds (GM's judgement, rule of thumb no more than 1/5 max hp) plus (separately) 6 uses on larger wounds. A Major Wound counts as two uses of the latter.
Crash kit: 12 uses for any sort of wounds (no separate small wound supplies); again, Major Wound takes two uses.
Refilling an empty bag costs half the price of the original kit.

[Bruno]

If you have a specific situation in mind, you can hand-pack a kit to have potentially quite a lot of uses - but for only one thing.

In my case, I had surgery and critically failed my HT roll or something because it took a year to heal (for no damn reason). It was probably only a 1 HP wound, but I still had Wounded for a year, grumble. That's also where I got lectured by nurses :)
I could actually pack about a month of bandage changes for that wound into a kit box. But I can't treat much else with it when its packed like that, like the important step of getting dirt out of a new wound.