First Aid Kit

What does your first aid kit contain? Anything that you swear by?

For me it's basically assorted band aids and Neosporin. But im sure there are better first aid kits out there.

To that, I add and carry (and I mean pretty much daily in my bag or briefcase)

• Small Tylenol bottle with both Tylenol, Advil (helpful to give away, especially for women with cramps), and Aspirin (also particularly useful to wet and rub on the site of a bug bite)
• Latex gloves (yeah, I should probably switch to nitrile)
• Cough drops (two strong Cepacols and two lightweight Halls)
• Earplugs (I have bad ears)
• Alcohol prep swabs (bug bites, minor cuts, disinfecting stuff)
• Tweezers
• Gauze patches
• Vitamins
• Of course some Purell, chapsitck, hand lotion, and alittle tiny flashlight but that's on me, not in the kit per se,

And my 'swear by':

• Roll of electrical tape -- more useful than most band-aids, can keep a wound dry, can be used with the gauze to bandage virtually any part of the body, and I bet it could work as a torniquet because it is so elastic.

If I'm going camping, into a mine, or something that warrants a little more effort, I'll add more/larger gauze, burn spray, benadryl, Sarna cream, and Immodium. There are probably other things I add/carry that aren't occurring to me right now. I really should get a barrier too. ~ H

I bought a backpack from the Red Cross. NO idea what's in there.

Originally Posted by Huntsman

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To that, I add and carry (and I mean pretty much daily in my bag or briefcase)

• Small Tylenol bottle with both Tylenol, Advil (helpful to give away, especially for women with cramps), and Aspirin (also particularly useful to wet and rub on the site of a bug bite)
  
• Latex gloves (yeah, I should probably switch to nitrile)
  
• Cough drops (two strong Cepacols and two lightweight Halls)
  
• Earplugs (I have bad ears)
  
• Alcohol prep swabs (bug bites, minor cuts, disinfecting stuff)
  
• Tweezers
  
• Gauze patches
  
• Vitamins
  
• Of course some Purell, chapsitck, hand lotion, and alittle tiny flashlight but that's on me, not in the kit per se,

And my 'swear by':

• Roll of electrical tape -- more useful than most band-aids, can keep a wound dry, can be used with the gauze to bandage virtually any part of the body, and I bet it could work as a torniquet because it is so elastic.

If I'm going camping, into a mine, or something that warrants a little more effort, I'll add more/larger gauze, burn spray, benadryl, Sarna cream, and Immodium.

There are probably other things I add/carry that aren't occurring to me right now. I really should get a barrier too.

~ H

Holy crap you must have been a great cub scout!!

It depends on what I'm doing, how long, and what the hazard assessment indicates. In a previous job I had to be EMT certified.

1) The MOST important thing is knowledge. An ambulance full of gear is worthless if you don't know how to use it. At the very least, get to a Red Cross first aid and CPR class.

2) Then make informed decisions about what you need and why. If you have little kids you'll want different things than if you live alone. If it is a kit for your car, it will be different than one in your home. If you live in a hot climate it is different than a cold climate. Poisonous insects? Allergies? etc.

3) Some of the basics:

CPR mask
Flashlight

5*9 gauze pads (also called ABD pads) Good for traumas that bleed a lot. Apply pressure.
I like roller gauze a lot because of my EMT background. Also Coban (self sticking gauze type stuff) and Ace wraps.

I like SAM splints quite a bit.

I also have a blood pressure cuff and a stethoscope, but that is well above most people's training.

I keep a pretty stocked selection of OTC drugs (APAP, ASA, Ibuprofen, Immodium, Dramamine, Benadryl in a few forms, triple antibiotic, etc).

For wound cleaning, I keep Povidone Iodine pads handy. Alcohol is for cleaning skin prior to injection.

After using a ton of different tapes, I have settled on a very particular brand of athletic tape as my go to for any kind of bandaging. I also keep 3m dermapore surgical tape around.

An emergency blanket is also good to treat shock.

Ziplocks for ice packs in the home.

Thermometers.

A reusable hot or cold pack is nice.

EMT shears and forceps or splinter tweezers.

I'm probably forgetting some things.

Nexcare adhesive bandages (bandaids), best brand ever.

Pepto-Bismo

A small mirror

Originally Posted by Huntsman

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There are probably other things I add/carry that aren't occurring to me right now. ~ H

Originally Posted by Milpool

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For wound cleaning, I keep Povidone Iodine pads handy. Alcohol is for cleaning skin prior to injection.
Duh. Betadine pads here, too.

Originally Posted by BP348

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Holy crap you must have been a great cub scout!!

Never was, actually. Most of the things I carry have been added out of "I wish I had..." moments. ~ H

A bottle of Jim Beam and a hacksaw.

None of you have condoms?

What will you do when the apocalypse comes around and the only chick you can find seems to have teh herp?

Just my Rambo knife, brah, nuthin' else needed.

Seriously, though, I carry a lot of stuff with me traveling:
- Silvadene Cream - much better than triple antibiotic ointment and excellent/preferred for burns and also effective against MRSA.
- 3x3 gauze.
- 1" bandaids
- Coban - 3" and 1" widths - great low-profile substitute for ACE wraps and conforms much, much better and sticks to itself.
- Betadine swabs - excellent as an antiseptic and to dry out areas like between the toes or crotch. It also becomes a little tacky after it dries, so you can have things like tape or bandaids stick better to your skin - especially important on your feet.
- Alcohol swabs - great for many things like tape/sticker residue.
- Sunscreen 50 spf
- A good set of tweezers
- Plier-style nail clippers that are small in size cuz it sucks to get an ingrown nail while traveling. Plus, you can use them as fine tweezers at the tip.
- Disposable scalpels for picking out splinters, or sea urchin spines, emergency tracheotomy, you know . . .
- Tegaderm - if you've never used it, then you'd be amazed at how effective a skin barrier this is. It conforms very well to the skin, especially if you prep the area with betadine and let it dry. It's also very thin and water/air tight. A great first aid tool for the boat.
- SteriStrips. Superglue would be helpful as well, but I've never carried it.
- Hydrocortisone ointment - strong enough for the body but you can also use around the face as well.
- Lidocaine ointment - great for blisters, mud-butt, hemorrhoids, whatevs. Just a great topical anesthetic.
- 14 Levaquin Tablets - four are 750 mg and the rest 500 mg. This is a great broad-spectrum antibiotic which you only have to take once daily.
- Various pain meds, antianxiety meds, sleep meds, Tums, and Allegra and Allegra with decongestant (allergy meds)
- Levaquin (levofloxacin) Ophthalmic drops