Individual First Aid Packet

INDIVIDUAL FIRST AID PACKET (according to the terminology adopted in the RKKA - 'first aid dressing packet'), a sterile and antiseptic ready-made dressing intended for application as a first dressing by the wounded person themselves or by another person providing first aid. The I. F. A. P. is used primarily during wartime, when each soldier is supplied with such a packet; however, the I. F. A. P. also finds application in peacetime in aviation, tourism, expeditions, etc. First proposed in 1889 by Esmarch, the individual packet consisted of a triangular bandage, balls soaked in carbolic solution, a gauze bandage, and a pin. Subsequently, the I. F. A. P. underwent significant changes depending on the medical and tactical requirements imposed on it. The Commission for the Standardization of Sanitary Equipment of the International Committee of the Red Cross at its 2nd and 3rd sessions in 1927 and 1928 established the basic requirements for the I. F. A. P., which are as follows. 1. The dressing material of the I. F. A. P. must be antiseptic and enclosed in at least two envelopes, one of which must be completely waterproof. 2. On the outer shell of the packet, there should be placed the image of the Red Cross emblem or other appropriate symbols adopted by individual states (red crescent, lion and sun, etc.), as well as inscriptions in the national language with the name of the packet and instructions for opening (Fig. 1). 3. On the inner DRESSING PACKET and instructions for use are described on the inner shell. Figure 1. shell, the method of using the packet should be described. 4. The dressing packet should consist of a bandage, to the free end of which one cotton-gauze pad is firmly attached, while the other slides along the bandage. 5. The areas to which the person applying the dressing may touch should be marked with some noticeable sign. The I. F. A. P. adopted in the Red Army¹ meets these requirements. This packet, according to the model adopted in 1928, with changes made to it in 1929, consists of 2 mercuric cotton-gauze pads (compresses), each measuring 0.11x0.135 m, one gauze bandage 0.06-0.07 m wide and 5 m long, and a safety pin. To protect the dressing from contamination during application, the outer surfaces of the pads and the end of the bandage, which may be touched by the person applying the dressing, are stitched with bright colored thread or marked with a line of eosin paint. The dressing material is folded in such a way that after opening the packet, it can be easily and quickly unfolded and applied as a dressing. The dressing material folded in this manner is pressed and wrapped in parchment paper, on which the method of use is printed. In the fold of the parchment paper, a safety pin wrapped in varnished paper is placed. The dressing material wrapped in parchment is packed into a shell made of waterproof rubberized fabric. The free edges of the rubberized fabric are glued hermetically and have notches on their narrow sides to

facilitate opening. The packet, packed in a rubberized shell, is placed in a gray-colored morocco leather pouch-mesh bag, on one side of which the emblem of the ^; Red Cross and the method of opening the packet are printed, and on the other side - the method of using the packet. One of the wide edges of the bag is stitched with large stitches from coarse thread to facilitate opening of the bag.

The question of special protection for the individual packet against chemical warfare agents is resolved differently in various armies. The prevailing opinion at present is that special protective packaging is unnecessary, and only in the army of the United States of America a metal box, sealed in the manner of sardine cans (Fig. 2), has been adopted as the outer shell.