IMPORTANT stuff for First Aid kits.

It’s possible I simply have my own definition of what a proper ’First Aid Kit’ should contain, I’d like to know what others think.

First aid kits are for … emergencies.  And nothing else. Stuff you may need RIGHT NOW.  Stop the bleeding.  Epi pens.  Sometimes aspirin for some people, Benadryl for some people.   Stop The Bleeding is by far the #1 thing, I think.  

100 bandages is overkill, but 5 or less each of various large size bandages is of course a requirement.

NO to these things in a first aid kit:  Rolaids, Pepto Bismol, Tylenol, Chapstik, thermometers, burn cream, Advil, bee sting pain cream, emery boards, toenail clips.

If we put regular, non-emergency stuff in the first aid kit, it becomes instead a drugstore kit, and can become huge, cumbersome.  Hard to find that QuikClot powder because you first have to root through baby powder packets, Heimlich maneuver pamphlets, poison control booklets, etc.

If I get a bee sting,  I’ll say “Owww!”, and open the bedroom medicine cabinet and retrieve the sting medicine there.  If I have heartburn (“I can’t believe I ate that whoooole thing!”), I get the Pepto from the same medicine cabinet.  Headache?  Advil.  Same medicine cabinet.  All non-emergencies.  None fit the RIGHT NOW condition.

Of course, put whatever you want in your own kit.  I imagine some will include ‘emergency’ powdered coffee packets in there.  I’m not suggesting yinz need to include only what I want in there and nothing else.  Guess I just want to keep the first aid kit in that one special place, and it stays in that place in case I REALLY need it for something and I need to know where it is, and everything is easy to find.  That way if I do have an emergency, I won’t have a situation where one of my kids brought the kit into her room because she needed the toenail clips and the kit is still with her.  “Oops, sorry!” May not be good enough.

Maybe the aforementioned coffee packets, Advil, Chapstik, etc. should go in your Survival Bag, a completely different thing.

This just appeared, under 'Similar threads' after I posted my original message.

Other kit opinions


As I read through, I kept shaking my head no, ... no, ... no, ... etc.

My kit is to the point, that's it.  Looks like I may be alone in that regard!

If it's called a "first aid kit" I can see anything that can render first aid being considered fair game. Maybe that's the difference between a "first aid kit" and an "emergency first aid kit"?

It very much depends on the circumstance.

The kit in my car is different to the kit on my motorbike is different to what's in the house first aid kit.

I reallt should put some stuff in the saddlebag on my bicycle.

Gary, you maybe are talking about this thread:

https://permies.com/wiki/109015/pep-homesteading/Create-Restock-Aid-Kit

I found that thread a great reference for items in a "First Aid Kit" and for getting a PEP Badge.

At my home, we have several different kits. there is one in the mule, our truck, and I even have a 'grab-and-go" kit if someone is hurt on the property. Also, I have one in our bathroom.

As you said, everyone has their own needs.

Here is my list of things we have actually used and needed that were in my kit:

Several gauze pads, these can be used to stop bleeding or as a bandage.
Adhesive tape
Scissors for using with the tape and cutting the gauze pads for different sizes.
Lots of bandaids, maybe not a hundred though there would be several ones of different sizes.
Alcohol wipes
Antibiotic cream
Pepto Bismol, especially in the car kit.
Antidiarrah tablets
Pain killers
Several bottles of water for washing.

I think the priorities change by circumstance.

My kit for a hiking weekend is very different from the one I take to the woods when I’m using the chainsaw, and different again from when I’m working with bees.

First aid, to my mind, I about preserving life - or preventing worse injury - until medical attention can be found. What that entails for the kit itself then becomes a case of balancing a whole host of different priorities. The more remote you are, the more you need to be prepared for.