Gentlemen; there are some excellent suggestions above. Some items I hadn't thought of. Good stuff.
Here are some minor suggestions of some items I feel worthy of inclusion:
Oral antibiotics. If you get a skin infection, an invasive enteritis (see below)or strep throat and don't have antibiotics, you are potentially dead. I would suggest some amoxicillin for upper respiratory infections. It has a good range of coverage, and is inexpensive, and comes in chewable tabs, so you can afford to carry enough pills to treat everybody. Alternatives would be Augmentin (amoxicillin plus a chemical that makes amox. resistant organisms sensitive to it), or Ceclor (2nd gen cephalosporin).
Skin infections (usually from blisters or cuts) are best handled by a first gen. cephalosporin, such as Keflex. Alternatives would be E-mycin or Augmentin.
Some Zantac or Tagamet. These are great for protecting your stomach if you are taking NSAIDS (ASA, ibuprofen, etc.). If you take ibuprofen on an empty stomach, you are asking for a GI bleed. Dose for ibuprofen is 600mg. to 800mg three times daily with food. Lower dose for smaller people, i.e. most women.
A suture kit with anesthetic would be nice, if you can obtain one. Suturing is a lot easier than it looks. Be prepared with steri-strips or some other sort of sticky tape for closing wounds.
Betadine SOLUTION (not scrub) is great stuff; diluted one part Betadine soln. to 9 parts water (roughly; exact proportions not required, just don't make it any more dilute, as you may not have enough Betadine to be effective) is a good wound cleanser and antiseptic. Doesn't sting either (much).
This does double duty as a water purifier; 10 drops per liter will kill Giardia, amoeba, bacteria and viruses. Don't forget to turn the water container upside down and loosen the screw top to get the Betadine treated water in the threads. You did pack several large (one liter or larger) water containers, correct?
I would add some Lomotil or OTC anti-diarrheal med, such as Immodium tabs, as well. Having the runs while on the trail is annoying. If you have a severe enteritis, not just the runs, you will have a fever, blood and/or pus in stool, and abd. pain.
Ciprofloxacin is a good antibiotic to take for this. Check with your doc; having some Cipro could save your life, and an severe (invasive) enteritis is not uncommon when sanitation is poor.
You did toss in toilet paper, right? Doesn't take that much space, and is also useful for taking notes.
A bandana is a wonderful thing to have. It can be used as head/neck cover, and as a washcloth. Further, if you have one imprinted with various knots, and how to tie them, or a star chart, you have an even better item.
How about a Global Positioning Navigation device? They are now fairly cheap, and while everybody should know how to use a compass, the GPN system is hard to beat for accuracy.
I highly second the inclusion of insect repellent, antibiotic and antifungal creams or ointments. I would add a high power fluorinated steroid cream. This will work on any type of contact dermatitis (poison oak, poison ivy).
How about a reflective mirror; the ones with the hole in the center for signalling? I find that they work well.
A plastic bottle of antibacterial hand/dish soap, such as Palmolive diswashing and antibacterial hand soap, is a good thing to have. Does double duty, and also will be a suitable wound cleanser.
Antihistamine/decongestant tabs (Actifed, Isochlor, Dimetapp, etc.) are really nice. They can be used for their usual use, and are also effective for whole body allergic reactions, when you break out in hives.
SUNSCREEN; large bottle. Indispensible. You can be totally incapacitated and even die from severe sunburn; toss in a few tubes of lip block as well.
Trauma shears. These are like large bandage scissors, with the blades angled about 30 degrees. They will cut through light sheet metal, and are very cheap ($4 or $5).
Photon lights. Lots of them. At the size and weight of a quarter, you can carry lots; enough for everyone to have spares. If you want a larger light, Sur-Fire is the most compact of the bright ones, but burn time is only one hour, and while rechargable battery models are available, most people use the Li cells, which are fairly pricey. Also, they have a reputation for the lamp/reflector assembly being fragile and breaking if dropped.
I would use a Mag-Lite. The smaller (AAA or AA) ones are good choices, and the batteries are fairly compact and light (compared to C or D cells). I prefer the AAA ones myself. The burn time is about the same time as the AA, and while the AA starts out 50% brighter, at half the burn time and beyond, the brightness is the same. A solar charger for AAA or AA cells is a good idea for protracted sojurns. Use the high capacity rechargable batteries from Radio Shack; they are much better than the standard yellow Everyready ones. If you take non rechargable batteries, take Lithium ones. They have more capacity than alkalines, and have a longer shelf life.
Take a book on survival. I couldn't make a figure 4 trap from memory right now, but I'll bet that I could relearn how to really quickly from a manual.
Know CPR. Learn it within the next month. They use replaceable plastic parts so you don't share saliva with others. Absolutely indispensible. Even if you are not planning on hitting the trail.
Latex gloves, sterile or not. Obvious reasons for having these.
Leather gloves. You might have hands of iron, but I don't, and if you are digging through piles of broken glass or rubble, they are indispensible.
A whistle for signalling. Also, have a predetermined plan, such as staying put where you are if you are lost.
Duct tape, and glass fiber reinforced strapping tape for emergency repairs or splints for injured extremeties.
That is it for now. Comments, criticisms, and questions gladly entertained.
Walt Welch, Diplomate, American Board of Emergency Medicine.
