Don’t Get Caught Without a Good First Aid Kit!
The first aid kit checklist below will hopefully help you in either finding a GOOD QUALITY first aid kit or putting one together on your own.
While food and water are priorities in any prepping plan, so is adding a good first aid kit.
We owe it to our families to have some great first-aid stuff on hand at all times, but ESPECIALLY in our bug out packs.
When we are out in the middle of nowhere with no doctors in sight, our insurance and medical cards won’t do us squat!
Because of the nature of the supplies needed in a first aid kit, it is often not practical to make your own, unless we have access to medical supplies where we don’t have to buy a whole box of each item just so we can add a few of them to our survival kit. But we did add a checklist below for those that want to just make their own.
Purchasing a First Aid Kit
Making Your Own Kit
It is usually much easier to just purchase a ready to go kit, but for those that DO want to make their own, there are some simple guidelines.
First of all, you will need a good sturdy bag to put your supplies into. One that will stand up to use and being tossed around and bounce around in your car trunk, or wherever you choose to store it.
Grab a good strong backpack Here…
And then start filling it with supplies from the list below.
Basic Checklist for First Aid Supplies
- AntisepticOne of the main items needed is a good antiseptic like Bactine, for instance. Soap and water are great for cleaning almost any kind of wound, but bactine also has a mild pain reliever minor scrapes and bruises. Bactine comes in spray, liquid or wipes and they are all handy, but if I had to pick one, I would go with the liquid as you can wash out wounds with it that way.
- Gauze PadsGauze pads come in all sizes. Get the biggest size you can and then cut to size as needed. It will save space to only have one size.
- Small ScissorsScissors come in handy in many ways besides cutting gauze! You might need to cut shoe laces, clothes, adhesive tape, all kinds of things so scissors are a must. I would recommend the curved medical ones so you don’t have sharp points. It is easy to poke thru something when you are in a hurry or under stress.
- Adhesive TapeGet a good quality adhesive tape that will not get brittle with age, and lose it’s stickiness.
- Ace Bandage
- Instant Cold Pack Get a couple of these as they are one time use so you will want to add several of them.
- Latex GlovesThese are a good precaution for both parties, the injured and the one helping, especially when you are dealing with open wounds.
- Sting and Bite TreatmentThis is good for kids especially that might get bites from ants, mosquitos, etc..
- Band Aids, Tweezers, Small bottle of Peroxide, Pain Reliever Capsules, Benadryl….These are all great items to stick into your first aid kit. Some of these items have expiration dates on them, so you may have to exchange those in a few years if you have your kit that long without using them. Although for myself, personally, I have used outdated Tylenol many times and they work just as great as the in date stuff!
The ready made emergency kits all have MORE items than what I have listed here and it is actually best to get one of those and have it on hand, having a simple first aid kit checklist will simply help you make sure you are getting what you are paying for.