When it comes to survival gear, first aid kits are one of the most overlooked preparedness items out there. I get it — they aren’t as fun to talk about as survival knives, bug out bags, and firearms. Nobody posts a glamour shot of their gauze roll on Instagram. But when it comes to gear that actually gets used, your medical bag is going to see more action than anything else in your stash. Most of us will never fire a shot in self-defense. Almost all of us will eventually bleed, burn, twist, or break something.
If you haven’t dedicated real time to your first aid setup, stop what you’re doing and rethink your preparedness planning. This is the bag that pays for itself on a random Tuesday, not just in a grid-down scenario.
What Items Go Into a First Aid Kit?
A good first aid kit is built around your unique medical needs. There’s no one-size-fits-all answer here, no matter what the $40 drugstore kit on the shelf wants you to believe. Every bag should be customized to handle the most likely medical emergencies you and your people might actually face. That means taking honest inventory: who’s in your household, what medications they’re on, what conditions they manage day to day, and what you’d need to keep them stable if professional help is hours — or days — away.
Avoid prepackaged kits as your final answer. Use one as a skeleton if you want, but treat it as a starting point, not a finished product. Most commercial kits are stuffed with cheap adhesive bandages and a handful of alcohol wipes, priced to look generous and built to look good on a shelf, not to handle a real laceration.
Here are the core items that should form the foundation of any serious medical kit — broken down by what they’re actually for, not just dumped in a list.
Stop the Bleeding and Close the Wound
Every good medical kit needs items that can stop bleeding fast, close cuts, and protect the area while it heals. This is priority one. A person can survive a long time without antibiotics. They cannot survive long with an artery open.
- Duct Tape — Yes, duct tape. It sounds like a joke until you’re standing in the woods with a gash and no clinic for 20 miles. Duct tape can pull an open wound together fast and buy you the time you need to reach real medical care. Keep a flattened roll in every kit, not just your truck.
- Butterfly Sutures — These adhesive strips pull the edges of a small-to-medium cut together the same way a doctor’s stitches do, without the needle. Cheap, light, and they belong in every kit regardless of size.
- Medical-Grade Cyanoacrylate (Surgical Super Glue) — The same compound found in standard super glue was originally developed for closing surgical wounds, and field medics have used it for exactly that since Vietnam. Skin glue products like Dermabond are the medical-grade version — buy that over hardware store glue if you can, since the medical formulation is designed to flex with skin instead of cracking. Never use it near the eyes.
- Quick Clot Gauze — Hemostatic gauze that’s impregnated with a clotting agent and was developed for combat trauma. It works fast on wounds that won’t quit bleeding through normal pressure. Not cheap — expect to pay $15–$40 per roll depending on brand — but it earns its place.
- Israeli Bandage or Combat Tourniquet — If you’re serious about trauma response, a real commercial tourniquet (CAT or SOFTT-W, not a shoelace) and a compression bandage belong in your kit. Arterial bleeds kill in minutes, not hours.
When using duct tape, butterfly sutures, or skin glue to close a wound, clean it first. Flush out any debris, apply antiseptic if you have it, and dry the area completely — glue and tape won’t hold on wet or dirty skin. Start in the middle of the wound and work outward, pulling the edges together as tightly as you reasonably can without causing more damage.
Don’t Forget Infection Prevention
In a survival situation, sanitation breaks down fast, and an open wound left unmanaged can go from minor to life-threatening in 48 hours. Infection doesn’t care if the power’s back on yet. You need to stay ahead of every cut, scrape, and puncture, which means carrying:
- Gauze — Multiple sizes. Don’t just throw in one roll and call it done.
- Adhesive Wound Dressings — A real range of bandage sizes, not just the standard 1-inch strips.
- Antibiotic Ointments and Creams — Triple antibiotic ointment is cheap and shelf-stable for years.
- Broad-Spectrum Oral Antibiotics — This requires a prescription, but some doctors will write one as a preventative measure if you’re heading into extended backcountry travel or building a serious preparedness stockpile. Amoxicillin, Ciprofloxacin, and Doxycycline are the broad-spectrum standards worth asking about. Veterinary-labeled equivalents (fish-mox, fish-flex) carry the identical compound at the identical dose and are sold without a prescription — plenty of preppers stock these as a backup, though you’re on your own for dosing guidance without a doctor.
- Antiseptics and Disinfectants — Hydrogen peroxide, isopropyl alcohol, povidone-iodine ampules, and antiseptic wipes all belong in the bag. Note: iodine allergy is not the same thing as shellfish allergy — that’s a persistent myth — but if you’re unsure, chlorhexidine (Hibiclens) is a solid substitute that sidesteps the question entirely.
Pain Management Items
Pain that goes untreated isn’t just uncomfortable — in a prolonged survival situation, it’s the kind of thing that wears a person down to the point of giving up. Managing pain and inflammation is a real survival skill, not a luxury.
- Aspirin, Tylenol, or Ibuprofen — Stock all three if you have the space. Different mechanisms, different use cases (aspirin for cardiac events, ibuprofen for inflammation, Tylenol when NSAIDs are contraindicated).
- Prescription-Strength Pain Relief — Something like codeine, if you can source it legally through a physician, for the kind of pain OTC meds won’t touch.
- Chemical Ice Packs — Instant cold without a freezer. Cheap, light, and good for almost a year on the shelf.
- Lidocaine — Topical or injectable, for numbing before you have to do something unpleasant, like cleaning a deep wound.
Dealing With Allergies
Even people who don’t think they have allergies can get blindsided by one — a new food, a plant, an insect sting in a region they’ve never been before. For people with known food or insect allergies, anaphylaxis is a countdown clock, and it needs to be treated immediately, not in 20 minutes once you find the truck.
- Antihistamines — Benadryl (diphenhydramine HCl) is still the gold standard. Cheap, effective, and it belongs in every single kit, allergy sufferer or not.
- Antihistamine Creams — For topical reactions and bites.
- EpiPen or Epinephrine — For anyone with a known life-threatening allergy, this isn’t optional. It buys you the window of time you need to reach real medical help during anaphylaxis. Generic epinephrine auto-injectors now run roughly $100–$150 for a two-pack with a coupon — still not cheap, but a fraction of what brand-name EpiPens cost a few years back.
Items Specific to Your Unique Medical Needs
No kit built off a checklist is right for every person — this is the section nobody can write for you. It has to come from your own household.
- Extra Prescription Medications — If anyone in your household manages a chronic condition, your kit needs a real rotating supply, not three loose pills in a baggie.
- OTC Medications You Actually Use — Arthritis meds, anti-nausea meds, whatever you reach for regularly. If you’d be in trouble without it for two weeks, it goes in the bag.
Round Out the Kit: Everything Else That Earns a Spot
Beyond the categories above, here’s what fills out a kit built for real use, not just minor scrapes:
- Emergency Dental Kit — Temporary filling material and clove oil can turn a dental emergency from agony into manageable. Dental pain is brutal, and access to a dentist during a disaster is not guaranteed.
- Sterile Needles and Surgical Blades — For anything from splinter removal to draining an abscess.
- Splints — SAM splints (the foldable aluminum-and-foam kind) and inflatable air splints both pack flat and immobilize a fracture or sprain well enough to get someone to real care.
- Grooming and Cleaning Tools — Fingernail clippers, bar soap, antiseptic wipes. Small stuff that gets overlooked until you need it.
- Tweezers — Fine-point, for splinters, ticks, and debris.
- Trauma Shears — Real ones, not safety scissors — capable of cutting through a boot or seatbelt, not just gauze.
- Disposable Thermometers — Cheap, light, and useful for tracking a fever’s progression.
- Disposable Nitrile Gloves — Skip latex. Too many people react to it, and nitrile performs just as well.
- Sterile Eyewash and Eye Dressings — Eye injuries are time-sensitive and easy to make worse with the wrong response.
- Sunblock — A serious burn is a medical event, not a cosmetic one, especially if you’re stuck outdoors for days.
- Petroleum Jelly — Cheap, shelf-stable, and useful for chapped skin, minor burns, and as a fire-starter in a pinch.
- Burn Creams and Dressings — Burns get infected fast and need dedicated supplies, not just regular gauze.
- A Real Medical Manual — Not a pamphlet. A proper field guide with actual treatment steps, because adrenaline has a well-documented habit of erasing training from your brain at the exact moment you need it.
The uncomfortable truth about your current setup…
Here’s the uncomfortable truth: gear without knowledge is just dead weight in a bag. A $300 trauma kit in the hands of someone who’s never opened it is worth less than a $20 kit in the hands of someone who’s practiced with it. Buy the supplies, yes — but then actually open the package, read the instructions, and run through the steps before you ever need them under pressure. Take a real first aid or wilderness medicine course if you can. The two-day Stop the Bleed class many fire departments offer for free is worth more than another shelf of gear you’ve never touched.
A first aid kit isn’t a box you buy once and forget in the closet. It’s a living piece of equipment — check expiration dates twice a year, restock what you’ve used, and rebuild it as your household’s needs change.
This bag doesn’t get Instagram likes. It doesn’t look tactical in a photo. But the day it gets used, nothing else in your gear closet will matter more — and that’s a trade worth making every single time.
What’s in your medical kit that we didn’t cover here?
Moleskin!!!
I my kids and grandchildren all have some different allergies, irritants, sleep apnea and asthma. My biggest concern pertaining to the kit list is the IODINE. PLEASE everyone use Benadine or clean water NOT IODINE. Iodine is made from SHELLFISH and there are a LOT of people allergic to anything seafood. NO LATEX GLOVES EITHER PLEASE! NO LATEX BANDAGES TOO! A lot of people are allergic or find very irritating many soaps, some people cannot use Hand SANITIZERS on their skin. Two of my kids are allergic to APPLE, LATEX. One is Highly allergic to seafood, cherries, apple, ect. I am allergic to wheat, yeast, coconut and latex. My grandchildren and one of my kids has asthma. Two grandkids have sleep apnea and have to use a cpap at night to sleep, they both got one way before the age of six. So can someone come up with a fairly easy tool or way to make a cpap for all to use that need it when we do NOT have electricity, distilled water, ect. DO NOT EVEN SUGGEST THOSE STUPID MOUTH GAURD THINGS THEY ARE ADVERTIZING ON THE INTERNET. Thank you in advanced from a concerned mom and grandmother.
Quit YELLING and telling people possible conflicting info. YOU DO YOU, I’LL DO ME
thank you for that my ears were hurting as well!
Seems like they are just points to think about.Possibly things that might not pertain to you or I but if we’re on an outing and god forbid you are called to help someone else who we don’t know it can be lifesaving.
Umm how about this? I put into my first aid kit what works best for me and you do the same for yourself…
If you mean Betadine that is Iodine as well.
Handsanitzers are excellent if you do not have access to regular water & soap. After the #1 in it is alcohol some have aloe which are a little less drying.
linda the day you send that comment was my birthday finally yaay!!!!! april 26 is it!!!
I know this is old, but being at the top of the page, I hate that it is passing terribly untrue information. Being allergic to shellfish does not make one allergic to Iodine. Iodine is in fact perfectly safe for most who are allergic to shellfish.
That is absolutely correct and also applies to IV iodine contrast for xray or CT, seafood allergies do not automatically mean allergy to iodine. But here’s the thing—if in an emergency situation, why take the chance, just use Hibiclens.
Every medical emergency is different- I think what is most important is that you have knowledge. I talk to people about their health in a professional setting all day long and the thing is people don’t have a clue how to help themselves. Like this poor couple with sick grandchildren. You should have a clue what to do about your family situation. Yes there are answers. Six year olds should not have sleep apnea. Now would be a great time to research that and not rely on an overly busy doctor or others to be prepared for that matter. What you choose to prepare is for you and your family. Your unique needs. If you thing you can dictate what others do because of your needs, your not taking responsibility. Learn. If you do have supplies, learn how to use them. Right now we have a overabundance of knowledge at our fingertips. Don’t just buy a first aid guide. READ it , take a class. Fill your mind with that which could soon be gone. Stop making excuses and do.
I agree
In regards to the clap you can get battery or car charger adapter for the clap and then use a battery or one of those battery jumper units. I used this at my cabin when I didn’t have exlecteicity. Will last you a few days fore needing recharging.
CLAP???
This might sound a little cold, but from your reply, Tomi, I get the impression you might not have ever heard it before:
The world is not here to serve *you* and to cater to *your* needs.
If you and your children are allergic to everything under the sun, then your knowledge of this fact should enable *you* to make appropriate preparations while you have the time so that you won’t have to be picky and choosy in the off chance that a good Samaritan appears and happens to have a first aid kit when you or they are in need.
Move real close to a hospital,you have your hands full.
you gotta lot of allergies. dang. prayers go out to you!
The items you put in your first aid kit should be used on you. If you are in an emergency situation, use the other guys FA supplies on him and yours on yourself. This serves two purposes. First, you don’t use up your stuff and then get caught without when you need it. Also, you pack the items that you are not allergic to.
god, your entire family has a whole list of medical problems. are you by any chance a redneck?
Maybe your family should stay at home in bubbles
At this point you use what you get your hands on. These are personal kits. Everyone knows their allergies.
Get a solar generator with enough power to run your CPAP machine all night, and a solar battery to power it.
tomi I know your kids are allergic but it does not mean that I am allergic.my brother is allergic to milk.there is this company that can STOP YOUR ALLERGIC.try it you have to get some shots but it is so worth it my friend was allergic to milk and she did it and now she is not allergic try it.look it up on the internent to see for your self
Superglue is good for closing wounds.
Correct. Cyanocrylate was originally manufactured for closing surgeries.. until it was discovered that Doctors were getting stuck to the patients… one thing led to another.. Voila!.. Superglue
I have used superglue many time to close people’s wounds.
You must be some kind of a hero
I’ve heard that works but I don’t want to try it.
I have six children. All but one of them have been repaired by super glue. The first two went to the ER and the doctor cleaned the wound and glued it. We haven’t been back to the ER since. Now it’s almost like a badge of courage, the kids think it’s awesome that they get to use super glue on their cuts. It’s so easy to do my kids have done it themselves.
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Use it all the time. The Doctor said that the glue they used at the hospital was the same as regular superglue except it was coloured purple so they could see it better, to make sure it was covering the would properly.
*wound properly
Stings no worse that alcohol, I had my dog cut his paw open once, while back packing, and had little option to use super glue. Worked great and he handled it well
only real worry with superglue is making certain you wash and clean the cut as well as you can. in an end-of-the-world scenario you dont want to have to deal with an infection on a closed wound if you can avoid it. always remember the small bottle of hydrogen peroxide, or alcohol wipes, or at least good clean water and soap. before you glue it!
Yes it is, BUT do not get near the eye….true story, at the ER, took my son for a cut above the eye, Doctor used “superglue” to close the cut and the glue dripped into his eye. Long story short, immediately took him to our Ophthalmologist and his eye was fine after being flushed for 1 hour, BUT he said that had we not gotten him in, the glue would have hardened and he would have lost his sight…….
Um, not true. Superglue is used to seal corneal wounds and does not cause blindness.
Yes it does, your a tard.
I have always heard that doing the superglue thing leads to cancerous issues.
I certainly hope it’s not carcinogenic, and I very much doubt it. Reason being, I had a full ceramic hip replacement in 2009 when I was 38 at Wrightington Hospital (where the hip replacement was pioneered by Mr Charnley). It’s the centre of excellence for the western world. Anyway back to the point, my incision was super glued up all 10″ of it or so, bar two stitches, one at the top and the other at the bottom of the incision. The scar is like somebody made a line with a red ball point pen, virtually non existent compared to the others left by my local hospital after 3 other ops on my hips, and they have had the best part of 30 years to heal and disappear, so yes, Superglue is an excellent addition for a first aid kit when used correctly.
literature summary of this issue from”wise guy website”:
Using superglue to close a wound is possible, but not advisable. While using glue that you can buy in the store to close a wound would work, it also may produce extreme skin irritation and skin death when purchased in over-the-counter form. There are medical superglues that are often used in place of stitches to close certain types of wounds.
Superglue is made of a substance called cyanoacrylate. When it comes into contact with liquids like water, it forms a plastic mesh that will keep skin, or anything someone wants glued, neatly bonded together. Regular superglue has methyl alcohol, however, which creates heat in order to produce the bonding effect. Using this type of glue to close a wound in deep tissue could result in killing some of the surrounding skin cells.
It is true that the US military used superglue to close wounds during the Vietnam War. Most of the studies of problems resulting from use were recorded during this time. It is likely that doctors did save many lives with this procedure, however, because it gave them time to transport patients to M.A.S.H. units where they could have needed surgery.
super glue is not good for closing wounds
That’s actually what it was first made for.
In the Er we used pretty much “super glue” in an expensive but it works best on areas like finger,toes, hands (smaller lacerations)
After surgery, glue was used on my lower leg, from my ankle to my knee, to close an incision. Every time I took a step, it started to pull apart. It took a very long time for the incision to heal because it was in motion much of the time. I wouldn’t use it unless desperate.
Adding to my list right now. Use crazy glue. Not super glue. Good one. Thank you
All the above plus: B-P cuff, stethoscope; splints (made of 1/4″ mesh wire w/duct-taped edges; Neosporin (anti-bacterial); face masks; airway rebreather tube kit; mouthguard (for M2M); rubberized chest apron; alcohol wipes; mercurochrome iodide; emergency blanket; only one EMT field guide; a few other ‘small’ items too numerous to mention.
Shy
A BP cuff is pointless if you don’t know what the information means or how to solve that problem.
Except it makes an exceptional tourniquet. Of course if you’re in a situation requiring a tourniquet you had better be close to an ER otherwise it’s moot.
Works great as a tourniquet. I you have abilities to start a line best tourniquet I’ve used in 28yrs. And the obvious-bleeding. If u have fluids u can use it to replace them faster by using stethoscope.
I meant BP cuff buta cheap stethoscope would be good to pack too! Anybody can listen to a heart beat w/one w/o any training too.
Antibiotics have a pretty short shelf life. I think I would skip those.
Plenty of natural antibiotics available for the INCH bag, Honey should be at the top of the list
What is the INCH bag? Thx
yeah what is the inch bag
INCH bag is an “Im Never Coming Home” bag I.N.C.H.
It’s a bag the size of your dick.
@ Dr. Level 2: Comments like that are not helpful, nor necessary, thanx.
I was told by my MD to get the antibacterial ointment without the neomycin to have on hand, as many people are developing allergies to it. Just a thought.
Build the immune system with whole foods and essential oils stock essential oils therapeutic.
Let me be the first here to say
You are an idiot
“essential” oils are snake oil, and while “whole” foods dont hurt you, they are in no way a replacement for actual medical care or medication. Please keep this hippy dippy crap to places that wont actually affect other peoples lives.
What nonsense. Food was the first medicine known to man. Modern medical care is what is used when the body/being is sick and at dis-ease. If one is sick it is because that have not been in good health to start with; the notion that if you are sick, you have messed up some how. True health is predicated upon the ability to a.) block disease, b.)prevent disease from taking hold and c.) get rid of disease quickly if it takes hold. This is accomplished by having a strong, fit and integrated vessel in the first place. The food one eats, the things one puts into one’s body effects all of this. Herbs and essential oils work and are real and pre-date modern medical by several thousand years and is in fact the first ‘medicine’. Do you really think that pharmaceutical companies actually come up with these medicines chemically alone? They don’t. The essential compound come from the rain forest. So if you think that you can eat fast food frequently and live healthy you are wrong.
Food is not medicine, it’s not a wonder drug. If that was a fact, people would have never died before modern medicine. The story in which you tell is like abnormalist said, snake oil salesman. If all we need to do is eat “healthy ” foods, no Medicine would ever be need. I will say certain foods will mess with some people’s health but I wouldn’t recommend the ” junk food is satan ” routine of whole foods. If that’s all you ever needed was essential oils; cancer, MS, polio, etc wouldn’t exist, and that’s just a load of bull pucky.
Pharmaceutical companies create customers, not cures!
Physical health is 1 core component to defeating sickness.
Mental health is the other…
Nowadays we now know a lot more about natural remedies and how effective it could have been for our native ancestors.
WE ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO LIVE FOREVER
Debbie is correct, and you need to go back on your mind altering drugs. I use wild crafted oil of oregano (one drop under tongue) at the onset of any cold or sore throat and have not been sick in years. Also use tea tree oil on any minor cut or cat scratch and it heals fast with no infection. Peppermint essential oil mixed with olive oil on temple for headaches. Small bottles fit well in first aid kits. Plus many more.
Tommy or get adook called backyard medicine.
sorry I ment a book
Most anti-biotics such as amoxicillin, tetracycline, doxycycline, augmentin have a several year “best used by date” not to mention studies show that if stored properly they are good for several years afterwards. Get a good prepper book on emergency meds and look up fish antibiotics on eBay. Honey may be ok for cuts and burns but it’s not gonna help sepsis or cellulitis.
There have been studies as long as it is in a SEALED package, it has up to 95% potency after 40 YEARS.
East & westers med can save your life. Child has asthma & no ihaler in site? Few drops of eucalyptus, peppermint oil mixed w/vaseline=vapo rub but lots cheaper. Few drops over boiling water-towel over their head-can b a life saver. Don’t forget hot cup of coffee helps things too. Insects eating u to death try citronella oil othets respond well to cedarwood oil. Peppermint helps w/indigestion. No antibiotics-Golden Seal & Echinacea are natures antibiotics. Actually worked for me when an antibiotic didn’t. Nothing to bring a fever down-aspirin is made straight from Willow bark that you can make a tea out of !
FYI…FEMA which stockpiles large amounts of antibiotics, used to replace them quite often, at huge cost. They funded a study and found that most antibiotics in tablet or caplet form, retained pharmacological and therapeutic effectiveness for up to 5 years beyond the manufacturers expiration dates. None were found to degrade in a medically deleterious manner. Therefore, in a SHTF situation, the medically indicated use of such expired date antibiotics could be life saving, and in the worst case, they may have no effect at all. This was NOT found to be the case for liquid form medications of all sorts, which generally lost therapeutic value and may become otherwise harmful when used beyond manufacturer expiration dates.
I believe that is true for most antibiotics, but I think tetracycline becomes toxic as it breaks down. I would check on that before stocking up on tetracycline.
Also, it is a felony to possess medicine unless a government approved individual has written you an exemption.
If we are at the point of needing survival gear/supplies/equipment, are we going to worry about getting arrested for posessing it? I would be more concerned with getting killed by someone who wants it.
This is so true and funny – always a good idea to keep your eye
on the BIGGER PICTURE and don’t sweat the small stuff.
I have YUNNAI PAIYAO in my emergency kit – it is a Chinese Herb used to stop the bleeding, pain and swelling immediately. Comes in little ball pills or powder. This a life saver.
Another herb is CURING PILLS for stomach problems.
YIN CHIAO pills are great for balancing the system just when you begin to feel something coming on. Two compressed pills usually do the trick before bedtime.
Ask for these at any Asian market or buy it online.
A favorite homeopathic remedy is Oscillococcinum by Boiron.
This too, is great to take just when a sore throat, flu or cold is coming on. Ten Tiny white pills wipe out that symptom so nothing continues to magnify into real discomfort. I take it before boarding a flight to ward off the air-borne germs that are flying around the cabin.
not in florida it isn’t
Really Bob ???????
Are you joking? Go back to law school mate. You can drown someone to keep yourself afloat and alive, explain that one.
Not a felony to but fishmox and other antibiotic pills from your local pet supply store. It is the exact same stuff in smaller doses with out having a presciption.
No it’s not against the law. Lord have mercy. It’s against the law to take a medication written from a prescription that isn’t in your name…if they piss test you…with probable cause…or under a previously signed contract.
If you live in a rural area, join the fire dept, and or ambulance dept. you’ll get a free education and learn absoulute invaluable info, techniques,and experience in fire fighting, rescue, and EMS..And, you’ll be doing the BEST thing for your community !
You are incredibly right. And it doesn’t have to be rural, in the U.S. at least, only major metropolitan areas have a fully paid service. So cities and small counties with large populations (normally around cities). Your local fire department can provide very cheap or free education in first aid or basic medical care as well as access to smaller medical supplies like gauz and bandages. Highly suggested.
All that stuff is fine and dandy but you should get the knowledge to use it befor you buy it. First aid classes and CPR classes are nearly free through the red cross…Taking EMT classes at a comunity college would be very helpful.
and its usually free. you just need to join a volunteer rescue squad. I became a paramedic for absolutely no money. The rescue squad will “sponsor” you and the community college doesnt charge you.
Emt classes are pricey. No reason you can’t get good first aid classes through AHA.
Extra perscriptions you are taking.
Hand sanitizer?
Dirty hands are a major source of infection, particularly gastrointestinal infections (traveller’s diarrhoea). People are always picking things up, touching things and then eating without a thought.
This can be risky. Clean hands are therefore extremely important out in the field before doing any food or water prep. Washing your hands regularly with soap and water is not always possible and a real faff if you are having to sterilise water to do it.
Either there is no soap and water, the water is not reliable or there is no clean towel available. For all those moments when there is no soap and water available, Care Plus® Clean Disinfect Gel is the solution.
It is a softening and cleansing antibacterial gel that protects your hands against harmful outside influences. Care Plus® Clean Disinfect Gel eliminates 99.9% of all harmful germs on your hands. Contents: a handy pocket size 30ml ml.
Ideal for use especially post and prior to prepping game and food, dressing injuries or sterilizing water.
This gel also makes a great addition to a fire lighting kit as it is alcohol based.
I would leave out the codeine phosphate.
Why?
I am a trained nurse,Paramedic and combat medic (UK) so i carry a comprehensive kit. I would add tampons,panty liners heavy absorbency, which make great wound plugs like gauze, and dressings. They have many other uses too,tampons for fire starting. Petroleum jelly as a sealant,also added to cotton wool a long burn firestarter, steristrips and tinc benzoin for wounds, safety pins, potassium permanganate crystals (add to sugar firestarter),add to water purple dye signal, or antifungal for feet)
Benzoin Tincture is also highly flammable so good for your survival fire kit!
HI Jay Cee,
Your list makes the most sense of the things a good first aid Kit should have, and in case of shortages of basic medicines. I will be stocking the things you have mentioned and also a lot of good other items some people have added. I have no medical background whatsoever can you explain what does the purple dye gel do by adding it to to water? any brand name or universal one to get? I do have a suggestion to add to the First aid kit and that is what we call Alum powder? My dad had this Alum stone which he would use after he had had shaved and cut himself. It was like a magic stone and it would stop the bleeding immediately. I think a good Tweezer is also a good addition to the Kit. Thank you for all for the great advice.
small wooden tongue depressors (or popsicle type sticks)for finger splints, thermometer strip type, 4 triangular bandages minimum, 4 crepe support bandages,blister kit-molefoam, moleskin,occlusive dressing, plastic bags (can be used for sucking chest wound also)(if you dont have asherman seals etc),burn jel and dressings,(burns are common outdoors),2 pairs artery forceps 1 straight 1 curved many uses,1 needle holder forcep easier to suture if you know how,useful also for sewing repairs,Iodine and eye dropper (water purification), small lighter for sterilising needles, nitrile gloves at least 4 pairs, sterile plastic dressing forceps (tweezers) for wound cleaning using cotton balls or gauze swabs
Was an EMT for a time in the US, a 3m wound stapler may be a good investment when you can’t use sutures, i.e. on yourself without help.
The medical kit you describe is an excellent baseline of products that are needed. I have read some of the other comments and I agree with jay cee. The items described are a great complement to the baseline you describe. I believe that the superglue, stapler, and RX antibiotics. I think you have to prepare for minimum of 72 hours of emergency care.
What Medical Guide do you suggest?
Carolyn, that all depends on your skill level. Just a book won’t help if you have little or no hands on experience. So let’s say you start out with American Red Cross First Aid course and go from there. Then you can get into more advanced training and books. I.E. Medicine for Mountaineering, Emergency War Medicine, ect.
Study your book. Shouldn’t have to pull it out when the emergency happens.
Pick up a copy of “Mountaneering Medicine” by Dr. Fred Darvill- it’s written for anybody with a reasonable amount of commen sense, and contains a list for a medical kit that is a great place to start.
I really suggest having a snake bite removal kit (I would put at LEAST 2 in my kit just depends on how much my pack weighs (They are not very heavy) I would like to have a bakers dozen)
Consensus by experts in wilderness medicine suggests that kits like the “extractor” do nothing to treat envenomations. The appropriate anti venom is the only definitive treatment….just don’t get bit again by it cause it only works once.
Just because this looks like a good place to put this…
A myth about snake bites says to apply a turniqute. Dont. The bitten area will swell regardless and you can create larger problems such as burst blood vessels and killing tissues. The best thing like others have said is have the antivenom. When bitten the damage is done trying to keep it from spreading won’t help.
This is in accordance with the Maryland State EMS Protocols 2015. In case you needed verification
Agree..another one if someone is having a seizure don’t stick anything in there mouth to keep them from “swallowing their tongue” They won’t sallow their tongue. #1until seizure has stopped prevent them from hurting themselves from hitting things around them. Recovery position L side.
not going to lie, looking at this list its very comprehensive but a lot of this stuff is not really suitable for first aiders, and also i see a lot of stuff that wouldn’t be available without a prescription
In the US only 3 of the items would need a prescription. Codeine, Epipen, and the antibiotics. There are plenty of OTC painkillers that would work in a pinch. An Epipen would be great, and if you or a family member have asthma or bee sting reations, you most likely have a prescription already. There are plenty of animal grade antibiotics on the market, but without knowing exactly what strain of infection you are dealing with it is kind of pointless, or possibly dangerous. Maybe learn how to run Gram stain tests and ID the bug and have a reference book to determine the proper antibiotic.
What about activated charcoal?
Activated charcoal is good for neutralizing ingested chemicals. Situations include: over doses on asprin, nyquill, etc. It wouldn’t be terrible to have but I wouldn’t make it a priority
In my med bag is almost everything as this one. But a few particular items I bring for not me but my friends and family. Contact casings and contact solution. As well as Witch Hazel. At my Wal*mart they have it there looking like Alcohol but in yellow not red, next to the Peroxide.
The first thing I added to my kit that I’ve NEVER seen anyone mention – a spare (cheap) pair of GLASSES! Just a pair of readers from the dollar store, but if I wouldn’t be able to do anything if I didn’t have my specs, and this way I can guarantee I’ll be able to see what I’m doing.
You are SO right Tom! I keep several pairs of different strength in my FAK, as well as, extras for myself.
Oddly, I have my old pair in my go bag, with clip on polarizedsunglasses. My thought, if something happens and I’m wearing my contacts, I have a few days before I’d be blind as a bat!!!!
I see a lot of survival websites suggesting prescription painkillers and antibiotics, how is someone supposed to procure these? I’ve spoken to different doctors and telling them that I wanted them for a med kit wasn’t sufficient enough for a script.