Building a First Aid Kit

B Hess

B Hess

Joined
Feb 20, 2006
Messages
1,471
I want to put together a first aid kit for hiking/backpacking. I was looking for a good comprehensive list of supplies to fill it with. Can someone point me in the right direction?
 
get the military 6" field dressing paks : they come sealed in a heavy duty sterile bag, with a pressure dressing, wrap, and lockbar to keep it on or to loosen it. ANYONE can use it, medical training or not. The are about $5 - 10 bucks each and well worth the price.

other must haves:

- triangular slings
- tick tweezers
- eyepads, eyecup and little tube of sterile water
- OTC antihistamines (for bee stinges etc)
- gauze rolls
- gauze pads
- 3M transpore tape
- etc etc etc etc
 
my first aid (and repair) kit consists of two simple things;
1 tube crazy glue (plastic bottle inside platic tube)
1 roll cloth medical tape

between these two, i have fixed every boo-boo i have had for the last 6 months, and every booboo on everyone around me. nothing serious, all small cuts or burns that could be handled with a bandaid.

the superglue is great for patching slices or filling voids (as in when i accidentally dug my finger into the corner of the wheel on my bench grinder). the tape it good to just cover up wear points (cuts, blisters, etc)...

and i find that the glue and tape last longer and help me heal better than bandaids etc.

BUT-here is my disclaimer; these two things work great for me, but i don't necessarily recommend using them. neither are suggested for wound treatment etc, so could potentially be dangerous.

i would suggest a pile of bandaids, something designed for gluing skin together (like NuSkin or similar) and some triple antibiotic ointment. another good thing to carry is a large ACE bandage to stabilize sprains, breaks or just to cover up larger wounds. some clean (sterile) gauze is also good to have.

in my experience, most of my cuts in the woods are small and not life threatening, but can get annoying or potentially infected or made worse if left uncovered or unsealed.

i used to carry more, but found that i never used it, just the superglue and tape...so i stuck with that.
 
I keep posting it - but don't forget the meds: immodium (for diarrhea), gravol (dramamine; for vomiting), aspirin (good for pain, fever and heart problems), antihistamine, epinephrine pen, rollaides or peptobismol pills.

Samsplint is great but takes a bit of room. Lots can be done with gauze and ducttape. A full tube of antibiotic ointment - I found on one trip that I quickly ran out of the iodine packets that came with my kit while treating the same wound over several days.

A really good set of tweezers, preferably jeweler's tweezers with the sharp points - they work excellent for pulling slivers and cleaning wounds.
 
I was researching this as well about a year ago. What worked best for me was to be a preassembled kit, and build from their. I got myself an Adventure Medical Ultralight .9, and my chose a larger Adventure Medical Kit (came with shears and sam split and others). Both are great, but my wifes had more room to add things, but mine is a LOT smaller, and it's water proof as it comes in Alkosaks.

You can view all the contents via Adventure Medical's website.

I did all of this after taking a Wilderness First Responder course at a local university. It as great! I think learning about wilderness first aid will help you know how to create a good kit. If you have a bunch of stuff that is beyond your knowledge, its not that helpful to you personally.

Even after taking the course though, I've just been learning by experience what I need more or less of, and what can stay behind and what shouldn't.

Good luck!

If your interested in taking some formal wilderness training, check out the National Outdoor Leadership School: http://www.nols.edu

L
 
Some very good suggestions. You can also do a "Search", as I've seen many threads on this topic.

I also think Adventure Medical kits are good quality, although I prefer to build my own. I go along with what naked says, depending on number in group, length of stay, and environment: I've just been learning by experience what I need more or less of, and what can stay behind and what shouldn't. My first aid and survival kits are usually a work-in-progress. If I run across an item that I think might be necessary I'll give it a try.

Here's what I now carry:

4x4 gauze pads
3x4 non-stick pads
Roller gauze
Transpore tape
ACE bandage
Safety pins
Neosporin + Pain Relief
Orajel P.M.
Antihistamine
Sting Eze
Aspirin and ibuprofen
Iodine tincture (I also use this for emergency water disinfection)
Tweezers
Tick removal tool
Irrigation syringe
Spenco 2nd Skin Moist Pads
Blister pads
Duct tape bandages (Nexcare)
Anti-bacterial moist wipes
Q-Tips
I carry a bandana in my pocket, which can be used as a bulk dressing or sling, if necessary

Sawyer "Extractor" snakebite kit, carried separately
 
I placed an order at adventuremedicalkits.com. I guess I'll start there and expand as I see fit. Thanks for the info.
 
Ah, if only some company would throw in some rattlesnake or copperhead anti-venom ........ Now that would make my kit complete!
 
As far as snake bite kits go, when I took my Wilderness First Responder class, they taught us not to use the Sawyer Extractor. This is another benefit of taking a class, you know the most current medical information.
 
Well what did they tell to use?

naked said:
As far as snake bite kits go, when I took my Wilderness First Responder class, they taught us not to use the Sawyer Extractor. This is another benefit of taking a class, you know the most current medical information.
Click to expand...
 
back in the day...

I did some research on U.S. poisonous snake bite treatment. At that time, and I've seen no contradicting information since then, the recommended treatment was to get the victim to anti-venom as quickly as possible, and to leave the wound/bite alone--you're only delaying treatment and possibly aggravating the poison spread.

Oh, and I still remember, "remain calm," as an admonition. :) Right.

Maybe new treatment information is now available. dunno.
 
gruntinhusaybah said:
Personally I think a FAK is something that is based mostly on your skill level. What do you know how to do? Ask yourself that and go from there.
Click to expand...
Good point, which is a good reason to take at least a first aid class dealing with what emergencies might be encountered .

naked said:
As far as snake bite kits go, when I took my Wilderness First Responder class, they taught us not to use the Sawyer Extractor.
Click to expand...
I'd also like to know what the recommended treatment is. I think there's been disagreement and controversy for years about emergency field treatment of snakebites. Hopefully now there is a consensus.

Kismet-- I agree with that treatment but unfortunately snakebites don't usually happen near a hospital with anti-venom.
 
Last edited:
Kismet said:
back in the day...

I did some research on U.S. poisonous snake bite treatment. At that time, and I've seen no contradicting information since then, the recommended treatment was to get the victim to anti-venom as quickly as possible, and to leave the wound/bite alone--you're only delaying treatment and possibly aggravating the poison spread.

Oh, and I still remember, "remain calm," as an admonition. :) Right.

Maybe new treatment information is now available. dunno.
Click to expand...

That's it. Some ambulances are allowed to help the "remain calm" process by giving valium or other sedative, but I don't think anyone would have much luck getting Rx-ed valium for their first aid kit.
 
INFI Kid said:
Well what did they tell to use?
Click to expand...

Well, in short:
Keep patient calm
Remove constricting clothing and jewelry from the bite site
Pain meds
Monitor for signs of envenomation
For Crotalids (pit vipers, rattlesnakes, water mocassins, copperheads) and Elapids (coral snakes)
- Splint extremity. Keep it at the same level as the heart
- Measure and monitor swelling
For Elapids only
- pressure immobilization bandage wrapped distal to proximal as tight as an ankle wrap
Evacuate all patients bitten by a poisonous snake

DO NOT:
Cut and suck or apply ice
Use electricity, a tourniquet or constriction band on Elapid bites
Use a suction device


Here is a thread that discusses some more on snakebites... as well as some wicked photos:http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=496096

Basically a sunction device only works well if done in the first 3 minutes, and it will still only remove a small portion of the poison. But it has the potential to cause more damage.

This post has the best info from the phone thread: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=4873785&postcount=80

SOOO, get medical training!!!!!
 
naked said:
Well, in short:
Keep patient calm
Remove constricting clothing and jewelry from the bite site
Pain meds
Monitor for signs of envenomation
For Crotalids (pit vipers, rattlesnakes, water mocassins, copperheads) and Elapids (coral snakes)
- Splint extremity. Keep it at the same level as the heart
- Measure and monitor swelling
For Elapids only
- pressure immobilization bandage wrapped distal to proximal as tight as an ankle wrap
Evacuate all patients bitten by a poisonous snake

DO NOT:
Cut and suck or apply ice
Use electricity, a tourniquet or constriction band on Elapid bites
Use a suction device


Here is a thread that discusses some more on snakebites... as well as some wicked photos:http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=496096

Basically a sunction device only works well if done in the first 3 minutes, and it will still only remove a small portion of the poison. But it has the potential to cause more damage.

This post has the best info from the phone thread: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=4873785&postcount=80

SOOO, get medical training!!!!!
Click to expand...

+1
I just upgraded my EMT to a wilderness EMT, and I was given the same information. The main thing is to keep the patient calm, try to keep the wound below their heart, and get them to an ER. I was taught, and practiced, using the sawyer extractor for years while I was in boy scouts. It came as quite a shock when I was taught of this change of practice
 
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