First Aid Kit DIY?

[kittlecat]

I built my own first aid kit based on prior knowledge from scouts as a youth and just knowing what I would need from experience. Like others, I carry a small first aid kit in my pack when we are hiking, but I've got a full first aid kit in the RV. Luckily, haven't had to use it yet except for minor issues a bandaid could handle, but like the OP, when my son camps with me it is a matter of when, not if. He's not usually accident prone, but he certainly seems to find himself in some unusual situations while we camp that are directly related to using his bike in a manner his mother would deem unsafe. Better safe than sorry. If you aren't sure what to put in a first aid kit yourself, get a pre-stocked one but also try and think ahead to other items you might need that might not be in a prestocked kit and then get those. An example might be an ice/gel pack to reduce swelling (on a smashed foot incurred while chopping firewood!).

[Scheinin]

I use to be a medic, so I go little overboard on first aid kits. I carry a full medical bag in my truck, and a small first aid kit in my backpack for hiking.

[tahoe1840]

I spent 34 years in the fire service and 27 in the ski patrol industry and like many of these posts I go a little overboard on my kits. Everyone has posted really great ideas for you. I have found though that my most useful kits are the ones I keep in all my vehicles. They are all stored in fanny packs. They tend to be really convenient when you need something to grab and go. You can simply strap them around your waist and head out to your issue. They are also handy to stuff in a day pack for hiking. Just a thought for you.

[PenJoe]

I'm going to chime in here, because of what DW has endured in two instances. These are things that we have learned.

Lesson 1: Several years ago, DW had an endoscopic shoulder surgery. Pretty routine with a small incision. While in recovery, the nurse came in to check the dressing. Within an hour, DW's skin had reacted to the latex (surgical) tape. The reaction was so severe that it was equivalent to 3rd degree burns. She spent considerable time in the burn care center to get the affected skin to heal. Prior to this, she had never had a reaction to latex. She has scars from the latex tape reaction.

Lesson 2: We were doing volunteer work for a sale. DW scraped her arm against a steel bed rail and peeled back skin on her arm. The wound was about an inch and a half square. While dressing the wound, we cut away the piece of skin that had been scraped back. We ended up going to two doctors, the emergency room and finally a wound care center.

The education came when she first visited the wound care center. The doctor at the wound care center used a significantly different approach to treating the wound than did the previous two doctors and the ER. The only correct thing that the previous three doctors had suggested was getting the Tetanus booster. (Though you can't have Tetanus boosters in your first aid kit, make sure your family is up to date with the shots).

The wound care doctor stated that we should not have removed the skin that was peeled back. Instead, it should have been cleaned with a 1 percent saline (salt) solution, then the skin carefully placed back over the wound. This would have shortened the healing process. The previous doctors had used NON-STICK dressings. The wound care doctor was opposed and stated they only use liberal amounts of antibiotic cream, absorbent pads, gauze wrap, hypoallergenic paper tape and a sleeve to protect the wound. They use nothing with latex. Because of the severity, a prescription ointment was used, but typically an antibiotic cream such as Neosporin would be used. We were told to change the dressing every two days and only sufficiently tight to keep the dressing in place. The other revelation was that the wound care center stated never let a wound "air dry and form a scab". It was always to be kept moist with antibiotic cream and a dressing until the skin reestablished.

So, here would be my top suggestions for establishing a viable 1st aid kit:
1. Cortizone 10-any cream that has a 1% hydrocortisone content and available over the counter. This is very efficient for soothing stings and bites. Using this cream, fire ant bites will not infect and the pain will subside quickly. We use it for any bite, sting or plant reaction to the skin. A must-have.
2. Neosporin or equivalent antibiotic ointment (liberally applied).
3. Large absorbent dressing pads. These can be cut to size for smaller wounds. Use a second larger pad to cover the dressing pad.
4. Gauze wrapping (3"-4" wide cut to length)
5. Hyperallergenic (non-latex) dressing tape. For gauze to gauze, use paper tape.
6. expandable stocking material (optional) to keep the dressing on.
Make sure anything you purchase for the kit is hypoallergenic. As noted earlier, latex can cause a skin reaction even though it has never caused a problem in the past. Latex tape has very limited use professionally.
7. Premix saline solution (available in disposable tubes) or a small spray bottle (pint size) 1/4 teaspoon of table salt dissolved in distilled water (or boiled tap water).
Though some of this may seem overkill, it is better to have it and not need it.
Accidents are never planned. And never say never as to severity.
Others here have suggested items for the kit-no need to repeat.

[TheWolfPaq82]

I could just drag my one son around everywhere I go as he is a Fire Fighter/First Responder with EMS training. He hasn't been assigned a permanent station yet, so he carries all his gear with him in his truck at all times. We've used some of his multi-tools down at our cabin a couple time.

[ekrus]

We carry two first aid kits, one for two-legged and one for four-legged campers. Nothing too exotic in the contents, but be sure to include an antihistamine if anyone is/might be allergic to bug bites or stings. We have found that a roll of Vet Wrap comes in handy for both dogs and humans. The most important thing is that the first item on our before-camping checklist is to check both kits and replace any items that are expired or running low; Murphy's Law guarantees that the first thing you'll need is something you're almost out of.

[NJKris]

Duct tape and paper towels. Oh, and instant ice packs would be handy.

[markb5900]

Originally Posted by NJKris

Duct tape and paper towels. Oh, and instant ice packs would be handy.

Mine is actually electrical tape and rags. LOL
But seriously, other than the normal stuff, we found "afterburn" an essential item in our trailer for the grandchildren.
No matter how much sun protection you put on, they get burned. LOL

[Scrapper]

A friend, who is also one of the security guards at the cg is a retired First Responder/EMT. He carries his EMT trauma bag and a AED wherever he goes. The cg bought him a red & white GEM Car, modified to 50mph with lights, horn and siren. It has a collapsible backboard dolly that attaches to the rear in less than 2 minutes.


Since the cg is family oriented he also carries a radar gun and they do enforce the 5mph speed limit.

[CincyGus]

Found a decent sized plastic red first aid kit that had plenty of additional space in it and came with the basic assortment of bandaids, antiseptic swabs, etc and then supplemented it with other items.

Added, Neosporin, small tick removal tool, snake bit kit, liquid bandage, additional individual wrapped gauze pads of multiple sizes, some of the athletic wrap that sticks to itself but not to gauze or skin along with a roll of good medical tape.

We also carry burn cream and spray, Benadryl, small bottle of Peroxide for rinsing wounds, aspirin, Tylenol, Tums, Claritin and a tube of orajel in the medicine cabinet.

[Reverse_snowbird]

We have a mini first aid kit with essential items.

However, the two most used items have been Adolphs unseasoned meat tenderizer (made into a paste with a bit of water) to apply to bee and wasp stings and Clorox bleach mixed with water applied to fire ant stings (that helps my friend when benadryl doesn't)

Ice in plastic bags, and bandages and neosporin are our second most useful items.

That and a cell phone ... making sure we know the telephone numbers of the emergency services and locations of the nearest hospital when out in the middle of nowhere.

[Scheinin]

Originally Posted by Scrapper

Since the cg is family oriented he also carries a radar gun and they do enforce the 5mph speed limit.

Sounds like lots of fun. What campground it that?

[cincia]

Remember the first aid supplies for the 4 legged campers. We do a lot of dog shows so our first aid kit is put together for the dogs. We bought a tool box and put in what we wanted. A few things that are handy to have for the dogs are benedril, endosorb (or anti-diarreal meds), and baby aspirin. If they get a spider bite, etc.(especially on the muzzle) it can restrict their breathing and benedril can lessen the severity. My dogs don't do well with changes to their diet (and many dogs will eat things off of the ground and get sick) so I have endosorb which will firm up their stools (a dog with the runs on vacation isn't much fun). And if you need to give your dog pain killers then baby aspirin is one of the only non perscription pain killers which dogs can tolerate (don't ever give dogs adult human pain killers).

[NJKris]

Annnnnnd, this is why I have a Betta fish!

[Fluffywhitedogs]

Originally Posted by cincia

Remember the first aid supplies for the 4 legged campers. We do a lot of dog shows so our first aid kit is put together for the dogs. We bought a tool box and put in what we wanted. A few things that are handy to have for the dogs are benedril, endosorb (or anti-diarreal meds), and baby aspirin. If they get a spider bite, etc.(especially on the muzzle) it can restrict their breathing and benedril can lessen the severity. My dogs don't do well with changes to their diet (and many dogs will eat things off of the ground and get sick) so I have endosorb which will firm up their stools (a dog with the runs on vacation isn't much fun). And if you need to give your dog pain killers then baby aspirin is one of the only non perscription pain killers which dogs can tolerate (don't ever give dogs adult human pain killers).

Thanks for the reminder, I need to replace my outdated benedryl [emoji3]
Vetwrap, tick twister, and hydrogen peroxide (to induce vomiting) are in my dog kit, too.

[Gene and Pam]

Great info everyone!

I'd like to add another item that I didn't see included: Saline-based eye wash.

I carry a small, 4 oz bottle in all my kits. It's one item I've needed to use several times for family and others. It's enough to rinse out tiny stuff that can become big problems....sand, cinders, etc. You can also use it to rinse out wounds.

I've even used it on our dogs' eyes after a beach romp. Silly dogs use their noses & faces to treasure hunt in the sand!

[campkasten]

After realizing I could build my own first aid kit to our specific needs for less than a good quality commercial kit, I bought a good sized tackle box from Walmart and and used a lot of the info available on the Internet and the list of contents from commercial kits to assemble our travel kit.


We did not include things like blood pressure cuffs and stethoscopes, but we do have Quick Clot and stuff to make both a splint and a sling. Since outdoor adventures can include meeting poison ivy in the field, we have a couple of over-the-counter aids to deal with that as well as Benedryl for reactions to bee stings.

[3boxerss]

I lucked out at the fair and won a first aid kit about 3 years ago.. I just check it each year and replace older stuff and restock it

[43Hawk]

Unless you're as lucky as I am (DW is a RN), you might want to consider taking or updating a basic first aid course. Check out your local Red Cross or community college for courses. Either one will have suggestions for first aid kits.

[Homersimpson]

In addition to the usual first aid items (and even the unusual), remember to bring meds for those of us with special needs. For example, if there is a diabetic in the family, some extra insulin or a candy bar could come in handy if the sugar goes out of whack, high or low. Years ago, I supervised a worker who was an uncontroled diabetic and an alcoholic, and we had a long talk about what to do for him, just in case. As for me, I make sure to bring extra nitroglycerine. You get the idea.