Mini First Aid Kit (What I carry with me when traveling light to the 3rd World) :
• Dedicated case or 1-Quart Ziploc Freezer Bag
• Roller Gauze (quantity: 1-2)
• Gauze Dressings (quantity: 4+)
• 4” or 6” Compression Bandage or SWAT-T
• Triangle Bandage
• Assorted Clothe Bandages (a.k.a. “band-aids”
• Triple Antibiotic Ointment with Pain Reliever
• Antiseptic Wipes
• Clothe / Silk Medical Tape or Duct Tape
• Extra 1-quart Ziploc bag (for pressure irrigation)
• Medications: prescriptions, ibuprofen, acetaminophen and/or aspirin, anti-diarrheal medicine, antihistamine medicine, Epi-pen.
*Optional, depending on situation, country, and level of medical training. If you do not know what these things are or what they are used for then you do not need them:
• If you’re the type to help others bring a CPR shield and nitrile disposable gloves. It’s great to help others, but always protect yourself first.
• Consider bringing a Mini Dental Kit: oral pain gel, a temporary filling kit, dental wax (to cover sharp areas of lost fillings, broken teeth, etc.), and nail file (for smoothing chips and breaks).
• Hemostatic Agent: to stop major bleeding quickly, especially useful for gunshot and knife wounds. Celox, QuickClot and WoundStat are among the best at the time of this writing (2009), but take practice to become proficient in their use.
• Compact Tourniquet: to decisively stop major bleeds to the extremities. The SWAT-T and the H&H TK-4 are small, light, inexpensive and effective. The SOFTT and CAT are better but bulkier and heavier.
• Abdominal / Combo / Trauma Pad: highly absorbent thick pad to help stop major bleeds. Usually comes in 4” x 6” or 5” x 9” versions. Obviously the more compact one fits in smaller places. Menstrual pads can be used in a pinch but are a poor substitute.
• Occlusive Dressing: for treating a sucking chest wound from a puncture like a knife or bullet wound. Bolin Chest Seal, Asherman Chest Seal or a petroleum dressing, or improvise using the Ziploc bag and duct tape method.
• 3” 14-Gauge Catheter: for relieving a tension pneumothorax to a simple pneumothorax.
Mini First Aid Kit Component Explanation:
• Roller Gauze (x 1-2): highly absorbent, multi-purpose item. Use as a 1st or 2nd layer, depending on the wound. Also helps to give slight compression to aid in the stopping of bleeding and re-bleed (CAUTION: do not wrap too tightly as it can cut off circulation). Can also be cut up into smaller pieces as gauze dressings. Kerlix is the best but is too bulky for a Mini First Aid Kit. H&H PriMed Gauze is vacuum-sealed and so is very compact. Kling is bulkier and has less gauze than PriMed but it is readily available at drug stores.
• Gauze Dressing (quantity: 4+): 1st Layer for wounds used for absorbing fluids, padding and protecting and cleaning and scrubbing wounds. 4” x 4” pads are the best as they can be cut down for smaller wounds, but 3” x 3” pads take up less room.
• 4” or 6” Compression Bandage: multi-use, reusable Ace-type bandage. Get the variety that has velcro closures as this eliminates the cheap metal clips that break or get lost. Can be used as a 2nd Layer over the Roller Gauze, Trauma Pad, or Gauze Dressings, keeping them in place and giving compression to stop re-bleed. (CAUTION: do not wrap too tightly as it can cut off circulation). Can also be used for compression on sprains and strains. Can be used to improvise a sling, etc. The SWAT-T can be used as a compression bandage and also as an effective tourniquet.
• Triangle Bandage: Useful, multi-use item. Can be used for slings, compression, padding, etc. A bandanna or sarong is more useful and will probably be used every day, so you can save weight and space by remembering these in an emergency.
• Assorted Clothe Bandages (quantity: lots): also known as “band-aids.” For those inevitable little cuts and scrapes. Cloth is more durable and breathes better. 3M / Nexcare are my favorite. Get an assortment of shapes and sizes.
• Triple Antibiotic Ointment with Pain Reliever (quantity: one tube): Heals small cuts and wounds twice as fast. Do NOT put into deep wounds as it can be toxic. The pain reliever takes the edge off of cuts and especially burns. If you get ointment instead of cream it does double duty as an emergency firestarter.
• Antiseptic Wipes (quantity: 6-10): cleans around wounds to help keep infections down. Benzylkonium Chloride wipes (BZK) are more effective than alcohol wipes and work well with animal bites. Povidone Iodine wipes are also effective but can damage cells if used inside a wound at too high a concentration.
• Anti-Diarrheal Medication: bad water and unusual foods can and will make you sick which can be a show stopper. It’s best to let it run its course to flush the bacteria causing the problem, but that’s not always possible when traveling and has the potential to cause serious dehydration. Drink lots of clean water to rehydrate.
• Clothe / Silk Medical Tape or Duct Tape: used for securing bandaging, closing wounds, etc. 3M Durapore is the best medical tape. Gorilla brand is the best duct tape and if you tear it lengthwise as needed you get twice the tape. Warning: duct tape sometimes sticks too well. If you wrap it around a card, pencil or your water bottle it takes up very little room.
• Extra 1-Quart Ziploc Freezer Bag: fill with clean water, poke a small hole in the corner and squeeze hard to pressure irrigate an open wound. Use the entire quart of water. Can also be used as an ice bag, water carrier, etc.
• Ibuprofen: anti-inflammatory and pain reliever. Works better for pain and menstrual cramps than acetaminophen or aspirin.
• Acetaminophen and/or Aspirin: Fever reducer and pain reliever. Aspirin can be effective at stopping a heart attack if used early.
• Antihistamine (Benadryl): Food, animal and insect allergies can literally kill you. When traveling abroad you will be encountering foods, animals and insects that are foreign to you. Be prepared and know the signs of an allergic reaction so that you can get the antihistamine working as quickly as possible. If you have known allergies get a prescription for an Epi-Pen.
