Recommended First Aid Kits?
 

Can someone here recommend some first aid kits that would be good to have on hand for a longer-term SHTF scenario? It seems there are a good number of kits that are limited in terms of quantities of supplies and designed for short camping or hiking trips.

Are there any brands that are considered superior and worth the money? Or do most people think going to a local drugstore and just buying a bunch of supplies separately would be better?

Thanks for any input.
DD

Re: Recommended First Aid Kits?
 

Go purchase a fishing tackle box. The larger the better. Think about those plastic boxes you see paramedics pull out of their ambulance. THOSE types of boxes.

Then go over to the pharmaceutical side of the store and then think about what type of problems you expect to encounter. Buy at least two of anything you think you will need. Get extra aspirin, tylenol, etc.

A few suggestions would be:

Spray on 'new skin' - or Liquid skin

Steri Strips (as good as or better than stitches - like filiment tape)

extra bandaids from small (especially if you have kids) to extra large.

Rolls of tape and extra 'square' non adhesive bandages will come in handy.

Buy two tubes of generic triple antibiotic (plus pain relief if you can find it)

Anti itch creme


The greater your medical knowledge, the more you can store, because you will know how to use it.

DO NOT RELY on someone else's 'first aid kit' to have what YOU will need. You will find your self disappointed when you least need to be missing something.

We have THREE boxes for different type emergencies. One is mainly for womens stuff. My wife filled that one with 'womens stuff', which vary GREATLY from the rest of us. We filled the main med kit. Then all the overflow went into the third.

We actually have a fourth box, but it's NOT about medicine. It holds batteries, extra flashlight bulbs, two small SW radios, one antenna still NIB so if we bug out I have one I can string up once we settle again. Brings in stations from all over.

Don't forget a copy of a First Aid book. I like either the 'Red Cross' or the 'Boy Scouts' first aid books. Both are fairly complete. Both have quite a few illustrations.

Hope that helps. DO NOT mark a large red cross on the outside of your tackle box. A theif might actually overlook it if it's stored low and does not have a red cross on it.

Re: Recommended First Aid Kits?
 

What brand of SW are you using? What is an NIB? Good ideas about using the tackle boxes. maost are made of plastic so not as heavy as tool boxes.

Re: Recommended First Aid Kits?
 

The tackle box idea is a good one. I use one of these for some basic homeopathic remedies.

I have an Army Surplus field surgical kit and some sutures. Got these from Sierra Supply (I think) out of Durango Co. Robert Something, a Nice guy to deal with.

Good idea to have some tootheache stuff, maybe a kit to make a crown with.

Get a small bottle of Cayenne Pepper; stops bleeding if sprinkled on open wounds, reportedly stops heart-attacks if placed on tongue, lowers blood pressure.

Burn creme, arnica montana homeo creme and 200c pellets; carbo veg 6x or 30c for upset stomach; 4x4 gauze pads, bandage tape, super glue will hold skin together if you can't stitch it. Ibuprofen or acetaminophen for muscle aches. Moleskin for blisters.

Why not ask your family doctor for recommendations? If you know any surgeons personally, ask them.

Where There Is No Doctor might be a good book to get, and a Merck Manual.

Benadryl used to be prescription only. Seems like it was a poison-ivy regimen. Pepto Bismol, Alka-seltzer, cough syrups, medicinal alcohol, band-aids. If you have children, ask your wife what to buy. Hyland's Toothing Tablets will calm young children even after they'e cut their teeth. Safe aid if they can't sleep or are agitated.

I would recommend going to your library and looking into homeopathic medicine and herbs, natural remedies. If you have a scanner, why not scan what interests you and save to a CD rom? Look at a Materia Medica as it lists symptoms and then shows remedies that work in primacy of typicality.

Boiron makes some very nice homeopathic kits. If you had a Materia Medica or homeopathic repertory with a 30 remedy basic kit, you would have a start on the homeopathic side of things.

If you have a bottle of Everclear, you can make your own Herbal solutions.

Might want to visit a farm supply that sells basic vet supplies. Erythromycin powder is a long shelf life antibiotic. Pennicillin is also sold in bottles, for injection and requires refrigeration. You can buy empty capsules and load them with powdered vet antibiotics. A guy named Larry Wayne Harris, a registered microbiologist, discussed these vet supplies as a solution against anthrax and bubonic plague. You might find his remarks via google, or in a book he wrote that Amazon might have.

Lots to consider. Spend some time evaluating your family's needs. Buy accordingly. Most "kits" are very minimally stocked and expensive. If you study the list of contents and buy individual items, you will likely get more and spend less.

Re: Recommended First Aid Kits?
 

The way I see first aid kits, is that you buy one and you get a little bit of everything. That way you ready for almost anything. Then you can buy more of the stuff you think your likely to need.

I personally don't think any of them ever have enough bandages and gauze and stuff like that for cuts. I have never had any serious burns other than just a small splash of hot water and I have never broken a bone in my body and I have been shocked by small stuff but never electrocuted and I very rarely get blisters and I have yet to have a bruise that didn't go away on its own with almost no care. I have never been around to see anyone else get any of them either.

So while I do have stuff that can treat them its really not that much. The way I see it, cuts and scrapes are by far the most likely thing to happen. Even minor ones can get messy if your bleeding all over the place. While its unlikely you will die from any of them and they might even heal themself but their also the most likely thing to get infected.

Anyway thats why I am a fan of buying a lot more bandages and stuff for cuts.

Re: Recommended First Aid Kits?
 

Excellent thread. I agree, put your own together and not only save $$$$ but have the things you feel YOU need.

Re: Recommended First Aid Kits?
 

Go to ER these days with a big cut, and they probably won't suture it. They use "dermabond" It's medical superglue, and it works great. The only diference between dermabond and superglue is that dermabond is somehow sterilized.

My wife works in the ER, so we have a couple of tubes in our kit. If you can't get your hands on dermabond, I'd make sure I had some superglue in my SHTF first aid kit. Put a drop in the cut and pinch it shut. Just be sure you don't get it on your hand as you hold the cut shut. Don't "glue yourself to yourself"!

We use it in the butcher shop at a friend's farm. Works great! You'll still need a bandage, but it's a lot quicker and easier than sutures.

Re: Recommended First Aid Kits?
 

I have been an EMT for 5 years now.

If you want to get a serious first aid kit go to Galls.com and buy a Jump kit.

Some of the stuff you will get you will need to get some training to use like the bag valve mask.

Some EMT's divide the stuff up into two or three bags.

Airway breathing and circulation in one bag.

Splits, braces, bandages etc. in the trauma bag.

Take a state or fed certified first responder course if you are really serious about helping yourself or someone else.

I don't have everclear in my bag now.
But in SHTF bag I will.

Everclear will cauterize a wound, sterilize, get sap out of your hair or off your skin.
It can be used as an anesthetic.
You can start a fire with it and if you are desperate it can possibly be used to make a small engine run. For a while anyway.


Benadryl is good for mild anaphylactic reactions.

Talk to your doctor and get a prescription for an Epi-pen for acute anaphylactic shock. You know allergic reactions (bee stings, peanuts etc.)

Superglue does work good for small bleeds too. For large ones lots of bandages and pressure.


Galls is a good source if you want buy assorted items for your kit.
Having stuff that you that you don't know how to use of course won't help.

Get some bandages first and then get some knowledge of first aid.

As in most anything else your brain is the best tool you have.

Re: Recommended First Aid Kits?
 

Bump for thread