Sir:
I was wondering if you had any direction to a source for “bulk” medical supplies. Thinking about tape, gauze, non-stick pads, burn dressings, etc – all the items that if you are faced with “any” type of serious wound you will go thru in large quantities For example 4″x4″ gauze pads – buying those from your local pharmacy in the 10 to box quantities would bankrupt you – they are available in 100 count sleeves for almost the same cost as a single box of 10. Thanks – MSJ
JWR Replies: Wound dressing items that have essentially unlimited shelf life (such as gauze and splints) can and should be bought in bulk. If you can buy those from surplus outlets for “pennies on the dollar” then don’t hesitate to buy a lifetime supply. But keep in mind that items with adhesive (band-aids, bandage tape, butterfly closures, et cetera) have a limited shelf life, so don’t go hog wild buying those. Otherwise, some will surely go to waste. Some items can be found on eBay at reasonable prices. A few dealers that I can recommend are: JRH Enterprises, Ready Made Resources, Safe Solutions, Sportsman’s Guide, and Nitro-Pak. Other low cost U.S. military surplus sellers include Civil Defense Supplies and Spruce Mountain Surplus. (I haven’t done business with either of the latter, so I can’t vouch for them.) A vendor with a very wide selection of civilian wound dressings (albeit at slightly higher prices) is Quality Medical Supplies.