What essential items should go in a small first aid kit?

Question

Another question asked what survival equipment should be carried in an emergency kit. But very little was about medical or first aid supplies (band-aids, gauze, tylenol, moleskin, etc).

What items would you consider essential to bring in a small first aid kit for injuries or health concerns that could come up during outdoor activities?

Answer 1

Okay just broke out my kit. Here's what we carry. This may seem like a long list, but it's small. It fits in a ziploc bag (almost).

• Tylenol -- pain where ibuprofen is not ok (ie - patient is bleeding)
• Ibuprofen -- pain that involves swelling but not bleeding
• Small bandages -- comfort item and to help prevent infection on longer hikes
• Triple Antibiotic -- reduce risk of infection
• Iodine -- would care, reduce risk of infection
• Medical Tape -- close wounds
• Gauze -- for use covering wounds and to stop bleeding
• Latex Gloves -- They weigh nothing, sometimes you don't have time to wash (get nitrile if you or your hiking buddies have a latex allergy)
• SAM Splint -- breaks and sprains, better than improvising one
• Benedryl -- mild reactions
• EpiPen -- serious reactions. One of the few things you will NOT make it out of the woods with is an anaphylactic shock reaction without an epipen or something equally powerful.
• Basic Suture stuff -- dire emergencies only
• Quick Clot patch (antibacterial) -- slows/stops bad bleeds
• Tick key -- hate those bugs
• Butterfly bandages - medium cuts
• Sudafed -- okay, this is just to handle my sinuses
• Hydrocortizone -- soothes some stings, bites, etc.
• Tweezers
• Lip Balm -- Good for any kind of chapped skin, not just lips. If your face is badly wind chapped, this can be a godsend.
• Moleskin and 2nd Skin -- Moleskin is OK, but 2nd skin with a moleskin over it is unbeatable for blister treatment.

With the exception of the EpiPen and Splint, this all fits in a quart freezer back and goes in the very top of my pack in a separate compartment. We tell everyone where it is.

Everything is also sub-packaged into smaller (cheap) snack size ziplocks. You don't want your gauze wet or contaminated because you needed a tylenol. I also packed things together logically (for me). Bandages, triple antibiotic, and iodine all into one ziploc. Pills in little containers (packed with cotton so they won't crack).

One tip for labeling your pills. Use a sharpie then clear tape over the writing. Sharpie will wipe off of most plastic containers in time. We've never lost the writing this way.

With the EpiPen you will notice that I took a rubber band and attached the medial information sheet to it with all the instructions, warning, cautions, etc.

What it looks like packed

and unpacked

Answer 2

It depends on precisely how big the kit is. A couple other answers have covered bigger packs, so I'll mention what could be in a much thinner pack.

If it needs to be flat and relatively small:

• Bandages.
• Alcohol wipes.
• Gauze pads.
• A flat pad of athletic tape*.
• One or a couple small packs of Benadryl
• Antibiotic ointment (the small, flat packs of stuff like Neosporin).
• One or a couple small packs of Aspirin or Ibuprofen and/or Tylenol**.
• Gloves.
• A mouth barrier for CPR (try to find a flat one, obviously).
• Some fishing line
• A couple pads of moleskin

*: To make it flat, take a bit, stretch it out a couple inches, fold it over on itself, and wrap it around itself until it's about as thick as you want it. My friend and I use these and mini-rolls made essentially the same way for climbing.

**: Aspirin and ibuprofen reduce fever and inflammation; Tylenol reduces fever but not inflammation. As a commenter pointed out, it may be beneficial to have both. Aspirin and Ibuprofen are also mild anticoagulants (prevent blood from clotting), so if you already take blood thinners or have less-than-minor cuts, you should take Tylenol instead.

Answer 3

Bring a wilderness first aid guide! Even if you have training, it could save your life if you're the one injured and someone else is trying to take care of you with your own kit.

Here is a list of things I would have in pretty much any hiking first aid kit. There are other items worth considering for kits, but I consider these to be the minimum.

Wound Care

• Assortment of bandages
• Gauze roll
• Roll of adhesive tape
• Duct Tape!
• Small scissors
• Tweezers
• Safety pins
• Moleskin
• Superglue
• Reusable elastic or rubber wrap (ace bandage)
• Some sort of coagulant. (Celox, QuikClot, etc)
• Latex gloves

Medicinal

• Iodine (also useful for treating water)
• Antibiotic ointment
• Aspirin and or Ibuprofen (fever & swelling)
• Hydro-cortisone cream (bug bites & rashes)
• Antihistamine (allergies)

And I would also include an emergency blanket in the first aid kit.

If you have more room or don't mind the weight a few other items worth considering are:

• Bulb syringe
• CPR face shield
• Israeli emergency bandage

Answer 4

My kit is predominantly based on this article by Kath Wills of Llanberis MRT.

http://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/page.php?id=3593

The Israeli trauma compression bandage is a great bit of kit, but not recommended to be carried in certain territories....

http://news.sky.com/home/world-news/article/16182372

Members of the brigade also produced a field dressing that they said had been found in the journalists' possession. It was of a type, they said, used by the Israeli military.

Answer 5

In addition to items listed by others, the most important item is a cell phone with service, or other communication devices. If there is a serious emergency, nothing else can be as important.