Number 1:

Thou shalt find it impossible to put together the perfect first-aid kit.

Go ahead and try, but eventually, if you spend enough time in the back country, you will one day wish for somethi8ng that is not there.  It is possible to create a kit to meet your every need – almost!  But don’t ever try to convince someone else that your first-aid kit is better than theirs.  Accept the fact that kits are very personal.  You may get by for years on a small piece of moleskin because your feet are tough.  Your partner may need a mile of the stuff for an overnight hike.

Not abiding by the First Commandment, here is a list of items for the “almost perfect” first-aid kit:

  1. A few adhesive strips.  The ones that are somewhat resistant to water last longer, and the ones about an inch by three inches work in most situations.  And a couple made especially to cover knuckles are nice, too.
  2. A few sterile gauze pads, around four inches by four inches.  They’ll cover large ouchies, and can be cut down for smaller wounds, and doubles up for bigger ones.  They can be used to scrub out dirtier injuries, or molded to cover an irritated eye.
  3. A roll of athletic tape, one inch by ten yards.  It holds down the guaze, prevents blisters when applied to sensitive spots at the start of a trip, and repairs injured equipment for short periods of time.  Athletic tape shapes itself more easily to the strange designs of human extremities, and can be used to supportively wrap ankles.
  4. Tincture of benzoin compound.  When the benzoin is rubbed on the skin before anything you want to stick is applied, it sticks better.
  5. Wound closure strips.  They are for pulling together the sides of a clean wound that gapes open.
  6. An individually wrapped sanitary napkin.  This lightweight, inexpensive item is a wonderful compress for badly bleeding injuries.  Or you can pack a real trauma dressing.
  7. Providone-iodine.  For cleaning wounds or disinfecting water.
  8. Moleskin and/or 2nd Skin.  It works great to prevent blisters if applied before the damage is done, and to treat blisters so a trip can continue in more comfort after a bubble has developed and been drained.
  9. A few tablets of painkiller (e.g. aspirin or ibuprofen).  This medication can bring a bit of relief after you have grown a headache, a muscle or joint ache, or just about anything that causes painful discomfort.
  10. An elastic wrap and/or Coban.  Can be used to compress strains and sprains for a little added comfort, or used to hold a possible broken bone to a splint, or used as a constricting band in the treatment of poisonous snakebite, or used to hold the compress on a bad bleed, or used in any other creative way you can think of.
  11. A couple of safety pins.  They can secure the elastic wrap, be sterilized for puncturing a blister to drain it, repair rips ion clothi9ng, or whatever.
  12. A few mild antihistamine tablets.  Benadryl is probably the best for most people.  The tablet’s sedative effect helps relieve the itch of allergies and insect bites, helps you to go to sleep (so don’t take one and continue a high-risk outdoor activity), and helps ease the symptoms of a cold (but antihistamines do not cure a runny nose, and possibly extend the cold’s life by causing your body to forget to fight off the infection).
  13. A couple of tables of Imodium for diarrhea.
  14. Antimicrobial ointment.
  15. Scissors and tweezers are things you’ll find yourself using on a daily basis in the backcountry.  They can be a part of your pocketknife, which is the friendliest way to keep them ready for use.
  16. Rubber Gloves

 

Throw in other items depending on the time of year, and the part of the country you’re traveling through.  Things like a dab of meat tenderizer to rub on serious insect bites, sunscreen, lip balm, more potent medications for specific problems, and the phone numbers of the closest emergency aid in case samothing really bad happens and you have to hurry out for help.

 

You may have already thought of things that should have been left out, or included.  Fine!  Put them all in the bag, and carry it whenever you travel outdoors.  A first aid kit is only useful when it is with you.

 

Note:  Many excellent commercially prepared kits are available.

 

Number 2:

Thou shalt choose things for your first-aid kit that are versatile rather than specific.

You do not need to carry on your back a variety of different sizes of band-aids, several widths of tape, three brands of painkillers (in their original bottles), and a wide range of thicknesses of gauze.  Pack a few of the most commonly used items, and improvise when you need to.

 

Number 3:

Thou shalt not carry anything in your first-aid kit that you are not familiar with.

What’s the point of packing along something you don’t know how to use?  Why carry a suture kit or prescription drugs unless you fully understand their uses? Besides, it could be dangerous for the person who needs first aid if you try to sew up a gaping wound, or give them medications they can’t tolerate.

 

Number 4:

Thou shalt re-pack your firsat-aid kit at least seasonally.

For one thing, there are expiration dates on many of the containers of medicinal supplies.  And for another, moisture or heat or cold can creep in and destroy efficacy of some of your items, and you’ll never know it until you reach for them.  Finally, lazy kit-checkers find their carrying insect repellant on a winter trip where it is useless.  Or rubbing alcohol on a ski excursion where it can be dangerous.  What you include in your kit may also change when you explore a new geographical location.

 

Number 5:

Thou shalt not forget that the first-aid kit that saves lives rarely comes stuffed in a bag but in the human brain that stores skills.

Kits are mostly for the little trivial injuries that would probably be okay whether you interfere or not.  Your ministrations can erase the pain and speed healing, but it is knowledge and the ability to use that knowledge that makes the difference between life and death in a critical situation.  Learn what you do for the seriously hurt or sick person, and carry that information with you at all times.

 

 

Reprinted from Medicine for the Backcountry, 2nd Edition, by Buck Tilton M.S. and Frank Hubbell D.O..