Prepping: The “Go-Everywhere Box”

There we were, Sunday morning…just gorged on French toast and coffee.

My consigliere announced he wanted to take a hike down to the bottom of the hill and back.  And as we were discussing the wilds of East Texas, he got out his “Goes Everywhere Box.”

See This?  Everything I need is in here…”

He placed a small plastic flash drive case on the table – the kind that the micro SD cards come in with their carrier/adapter –  and opened it up…I put a flash drive next to it for scaling:

I never go anywhere without this case.  Most people don’t know it, but if you’re having a heart attack the best thing you can do is put a couple of aspirin under your tongue to get the blood thinning effects right away…”

I made a note to myself:  the aspirin were not the coated ones.  “For fast absorption you don’t want to waste time dissolving the coating off…”  Check.

Then, almost like a proud parent, he went through the other contents besides the four aspirin..

The pink pills, for example, are 25-milligram dyphenhydramine hydrochloride (Benadryl) pills. Generics…

“Got a niece who is allergic as heck to bee strings….But, you know, I have given out a fair number of Benadryl over the years when out on the bike trails up around home.  I have no idea why more people don’t carry a couple of Benadryls….”

Us either.  If a person is having a serious reaction to an insect sting, the main thing to do is stop anaphylactic shock from setting-in.  Symptoms of pending trouble following a bite is widespread itching, your throat feeling dry, and shortly thereafter, the throat may begin to constrict.  Easiest way to avoid anaphylaxis is either an EpiPen (which thanks to the FDA costs are arm or two) OR to immediately pop two or even (for heavier people 180 pounds, or so) three Benadryl pills.

Next Item up were the small pills.

Imodium AD” he explained.

Since he travels a good bit – and frequently eats in out of the way places, one of his occupational hazards going to client locations, is having a bite of food that doesn’t (how to say this gently?)  “know when to stop.”  A couple of Imodium’s and presto!  No more problem.

The pill in the clear plastic wrap was a Pepto-Bismal.  Why that?

Most people don’t know that in addition to the stomach ache calming, Pepto will stop e. Coli and certain other bacteria from multiplying…”  I felt like he maybe should have been a doctor, not a tax lawyer.

Thing is, if you ever get food poisoning while out, the bismuth subsalicylate is a heavy metal and it stops some bacteria from multiplying.”

Hmmm…learn something new every day.

The Flash Cards – and Boxes Conversation

Since a lot of people are upgrading older flash cards to Class 10 – and UHS-1  if they haven’t already, for their faster data speeds – there are tons of these small containers around.

Just make sure to wash them out good and dry well before use.  The reason is we don’t have any idea what kind of “parting compounds” are used in the case-molding process.

I’ve been prepping for decades and this simple little “goes everywhere box” had escaped me.  No idea why…it just did.  (Maybe my own immortality belief…no telling…)

The idea of the box is to put in just enough of a few critical items – like his list – so you could get to medical help under most conditions.

In my own case, I would likely take the idea and toss in two other items and have a box (maybe a tiny bit larger than a flash drive box) which would add colchicine – which is what you take (on doctor’s advice) to ward off a gout attack.

The other items for me might be one baby aspirin (not the grown up ones for heart attack).  That’s because my doc still wants me to take one a day.

I would also add a tiny HCTZ pill (hydrochlorothiazide) (water) pill which keeps blood pressure down.  HCTZ pills are a little bigger than a grain of rice, so I might be able to shoehorn in a two or three day pill kit into one of these containers.

What goes in your Go Everywhere Box depends on what your doc has you on…

if anything.

There are several box formats to consider including:

  • SD Standard Capacity (SDSC) cards.
  • SD High Capacity (SDHC) cards.
  • SD Extended Capacity (SDXC) cards.

The SD cards come in slightly different boxes – BUT the micro versions usually come with a carrier/adapter which means a little larger box.  That’s what you’re after.

Long as we’re on it, there are four flavors of SD cards:   Classes 2,4,6 and 10.  10 is suitable for high speed recording (as in cameras) but if you’re investing in hardware for the future, there’s another level of card called the UHX /UHS standard cards that will handle even faster data transfers.  They will cost more but the U1 or U3 cards may work with UHD video recording. Class 1 is up to 50 MC/sec while the Class 3s run up to 100 MB/sec.

We just picked up a number of Transcend 32GB SDHC Class 10 UHS-1 Flash Memory Card Up to 45MB/s (TS32GSDU1E) cards (the boxes- if used –  may be smaller than the micros with the transport adapter though) but we will see what we can get into them (if anything)…  $8 bucks a pop on sale for 32 GB is pretty damn good.

But, even better (64 GB) and faster (100 MB, U Class 3) for data use is the
Where and what you get to serve as your “go everywhere pill box” will depend on your computing style.  Do you want to do what we do…shoot video and pix and then toss the card in an envelope with some basic date range info on it?
Or, do you want the screaming fast class U3 card and dump everything onto that HUGE SSD or remote storage.?
We  aren’t sure…so we got a few of each.
A really prepped person might have a second tiny box like this with a bit of char cloth and Vaseline on it…using as a back-up fire-making kit… Vaseline melts, though, so we’re not so hot on that idea.
Suddenly, though, the new definitive marketing battle flashed before our eyes:  What would be THE MOST highly robust micro prepping kit one could build?    One of these days, we will spend some time on that.  for now, though, this is an easy three-minute projects.
If you actually do it…
And then actually carry it with you everywhere.
Write when you get rich,
george@ure.net

 

 

 

 

13 thoughts on “Prepping: The “Go-Everywhere Box””

  1. This Go Anywhere Box will make a great addition to my snake bite kit & bear pepper spray I carry when I walk in the NC woods. Thanks for sharing.

  2. Hi, George,

    I have carried Pepto Bismal tablets and Benadryl in my purse for years; would not go anywhere without them. I also carry Allegra, Aspirin, and Tylenol, along with a few band aids strips.

  3. That mini-med kit is a great idea. I would also suggest putting a label on it indicating the type and count of everything inside. In the rare case the police shake you down, the label might sway them to believe you’re not a pill pusher.
    I wonder how often the kit content should be replaced. If it is carried in the pocket or left in a hot car, the heat might affect the shelf life.

  4. I hope he sterilized the box first. It may have spent time on a factory floor (or worse) in some third-world “worker’s paradise”.

    73s

  5. Speaking of snake bites our vet turned us on to vet strength DMSO small jar(plastic) for $10
    that he used successfully on a rattlesnake bite with no necrosis on a small dog. Might be a good addition? Our dogs get snake bitten a lot and we also have used it. We also used it on my husband who got bitten removing a copperhead from my garden……

  6. I have a key chain holder lol.. But I also keep a couple little blue pills.. You never know when the moment comes you need to be prepared.
    I get razed quite often.. I took a vinegar bottle ( heavier plastic that doesn’t decay under uv light as readily)
    In it I have a couple of cup of soul’s individual mac and cheese a retort Package of tuna. A fishing pen a seige stove kit two Crisco candles a credit card multi tool.. Three day supply of meds a tarp roll of pata cord water filter straw..fire starter ( the striker is half a hacksaw blade wrapped with ducktape as a handle magnesium candy hard poncho TP collapsible cup no.10 can and the next size smaller for stove (fits perfect in the gallon jug) sheet of clear plastic 36 by 36 small trap kit and instruction book. Hobo knife https://tacticalgear.com/ka-bar-hobo-utensil-kit-plain-edge?hp=y&gclid=Cj0KCQiAi57gBRDqARIsABhDSMp5Noc5XKZLpKApLRqRBgCvGrgSGlaoYuswJB5u17EZ6HlW0-ByFgcaAgZFEALw_wcB#/27382/11345/1&dl=b
    And a few other things like space blanket matches etc…
    You cut down the center of the neck of the bottle. Then horizontal cut to the edge on both sides now you can open the bottle to place items in it..screw the cap on toss it in the trunk.
    I also have the w/o tee box that has coat boots gloves urshanka hat ice scraper snow pants and a few other things like collapsible saw hatchet (Russian spax.).slingshot with collapsible arrows and three hundred grain balls car care kit with plug kit added. Phone
    I am anal about stuff like that.. Mostly because I’ve been stuck on the road had to walk in winter froze my feet and hands. The space it takes really isn’t that much and every car has one anyone getting a new car or their license gets one to.
    But a situation happens you’ll stay alive at least three days and all in the space of a small box in the trunk.

    • I forgot I have home made fire starter.. Vaseline cotton and I impregnate it with a little flash powder mix I make stuff it in straws and heat seal it in half inch sections.. I also put the home made flash powder I make in straws the same way but not mixed with cotton. And seal it. Tear off an inch square of the duct tape sprinkle flash powder on it and magnesium you can start soaked wood on fire with that.you can burn a hole in just about anything with that stuf.it will burn and burn hot..

    • FOR A FIRE STARTER I USE COTTON BALLS COATED IN VASELINE & THAT HOLDS UP WELL IN HEAT. THANKS FOR THE INSIGHTS.

  7. I’ve carried similar items in my purse for a few years now. Pepto tablets come in their own wrappers, just leave them in it. Ditto Imodium and Benadryl tablets. Leaving them in their wrappers/flats will clearly identify them as OTC meds. I put them in a sealable baggie (sandwich size) with a couple of band-aids and a couple of packets of alcohol wipes. And voila! – a mini medical kit. Will add a couple of aspirin, though — didn’t know about that use.

  8. This is not a wise idea. If police stop and search you and find them you will have to explain that they are legal drugs. Which is impossible without their wrapping. They may take you back to the station lock you up while they drug test every one. If they Don’t have rapid tests you will wait there until they organise something. If it is the weekend it will be longer. All of it can be avoided by leaving them in their blister packs.

  9. Huge thank you for this article. My wife had very bad food poisoning this week. Nothing made it better. After waiting 4 days for it to pass we tried the Pepto you mentioned and within hours symptoms cleared up and nature took its course. She’s now feeling a million times better.

Comments are closed.