I ask this because I just finished packing a pocket sized mini first aid kit, using supplies from our full size home kit. I’m sure people will mostly agree with the contents I packed, but does anyone have any other suggestions?
This is the kit I packed today, should I try to add anything else? There’s not much space left, but I can probably stuff a couple other flat packet items in there, so am I like missing anything obvious that might fit?
Decide what your end goal is. Trauma kit, or just an ouch pouch? For basic injuries I pack adhesive bandages of various sizes, a little bit of gauze to help slow down a decent cut before bandaging, some ibuprofen, gloves, burn ointment, and maybe some antiseptic towelettes. In my camping ouch pouch I add in Neosporin for bug bites, tick tweezers, instant cold packs, and some nausea medicine.
In my portable trauma kit (it’s actually a small pack with both ouch and emergency compartments), I have more gloves, a fair bit of different sized packing gauze (quick clot), a compression bandage, emergency foil blanket, chest seals, a sharpie, and mounted on the outside are trauma shears and a CAT Gen 5 tourniquet in a dedicated holster. As a bonus, I have a moldable splint in an emergency survival bag with the rest of my kit.
If I remember, I can share some pics in a few days.
Cool cool, make sure to check the link I posted.
My kit is basically a pocket kit ‘ouch pouch’ as you call it, so basically only flat-pack items in there, I don’t think I can safely fit any metal items such as tweezers in there without risking puncturing one or more of the packets.
We do have a full size home first aid kit, which is where I got most of the supplies for this mini pocket kit, meant to go in our glove box for road trips.
Cool cool 👍
Contents?
I have everything there except the pouch… 👍
Gloves!! A pair or two of nitrile gloves takes almost no space. If you’re patching up someone who isn’t in your immediate circle, you have no idea what’s swimming around in their blood, so always use gloves before handling it.
Similarly, another thing that I like to keep handy - but never actually see in things like commercial 1st aid kits, is a CPR sheet with a 1-way-valve: https://www.redcross.org/store/first-aid-supplies/cpr-keychains
Giving rescue breaths without it risks picking up things like oral herpes.
Interesting, and good advice.
It’s late here, I ain’t about to repack the kit now, but that did cross my mind earlier. Would be nice if gloves are packed into some sort of flat-pack, as I don’t have much space left.
Hope you checked my link to see what all I did manage to pack in the pocket kit…
- Tiny bottle of artificial tears - great for flushing stuff out of your eyes, offers some relief if hit by tear gas or pepper spray too
- Tweezers
- Scissors, unless you carry some kind of blade anyway
Watered down liquid antacids like milk of magnesia is a great tool for treating exposure to those chemical agents.
A fresh tube of super glue. Cyanoacrylate glue was initially developed as field sutures. That’s why it’s so easy to glue your fingers together. It’s a great fast and durable way to stop bleeding.
Is it actually safe? Cyano in cyanoacrylate doesn’t fill me with joy and sense of wonder
Yes, clean the wound as always and use a fresh unopened bottle and it’s perfectly safe.
Just FYI, a lot of chemical names don’t really work like that.
Norco (opiate painkiller) is HYDROcodone and acetaminophen. TONS of medications start with HYDRO but have nothing to do with opiates.
METHylphenidateMethylprednisolone is a common steroid often prescribed to kidsCYANoacrylate is to CYANide as GRAPEfruit is to GRAPE.
Edit: methylphenidate is in fact related to meth. I had my names mixed up. My bad!
I thought methylphenidate is used for ADHD? As in Ritalin
Whoops, good catch. I was thinking of Methylprednisolone. It’s been a while since I’ve been in the pharmacy.
Methylphenidate is in fact related to meth, lol.
My personal philosophy with first aid kits is to start from treating life threatening wounds and then build up from there so the three absolutely most crucial pieces would be:
- Tourniquet
- Pressure dressing (e.g. Israeli bandage or OLAES) - for bleeding that doesn’t require a tourniquet.
- Hemostatic gauze (like QuikClot) - helps stop bleeding, especially for junctional wounds (groin, armpits)
Ever used hydrocolloid bandaids? They are the best! Yeah, they’re more expensive, and as usual, Band-Aid brand is by far the best. I’ve used them in the field dozens of times.
Would not use them on puncture wounds and they seal the bacteria in quite nicely. But for surface wounds they’re antibacterial and a bandaid all in one.
I actually have used such bandages before, and they’re fantastic!
Except one thing, they don’t have a good shelf life, the paper wrapper apparently degrades a lot faster ☹️
Not good to store in a first aid kit…
Tried actual Band Aid™ brand? Hate to sound like I’m shilling, but I get beat up a lot in the woods and on the water. Never had a hydrocolloid fail, even if it was mushed in my tiny aid kit for months. Again, Band Aid™ brand works way better. Easier to get out the package, sticks way better, comes off better.
Hate buying the brand name because it costs so much more, but, get what ya pay for.
Meh, I ain’t stressing it too much, I’m mostly using select supplies from our home first aid kit, 140 items. All too many are just average size bandages, Equate brand, almost like they just simply dumped a 50 box of them in there to pump up the item count…
Just using what I got ya know, not like I’m in a hurry to have to even test different bandages…
Scissors.
Tourniquet.
Of all the things that you should have a tourniquet will be one of the few things that will mean the difference between life and death.
I’m not about to put metal tools in this kit, only to find they somehow puncture or damage the contents of the kit.
I do have a separate multi-tool that I carry in a different pocket though, so loosely speaking, I have something of equivalent tools readily available. 👍
Tourniquet? If that ever becomes necessary, I’ll quickly cut my shirt and make something positive happen.
Short won’t really do it.
Medical scissors don’t puncture.
Did you check the link I posted?
I don’t think there’s even any room for any sort of mechanical devices.
I do keep a multi-tool in a different pocket on me at basically all times, so if cutting is necessary, I more or less got that covered anyways.
Yup. I made one about the same size with a tourniquet strapped to the side and a small blunt scissors to safely cut away clothing fast.
Triangular bandage - like a multitool with many uses
Snake bite compression bandage - if in snake territory
Consider an Epinephrine Injector and a tube of Oral Glucose Gel, depending on how off-grid you are going, or the needs within your travel party.
Good advice 👍
Our main travels are either in my roommate’s vehicle, or me alone on my BMX bike. Yes there’s snakes around, but I don’t venture off far into the woods hardly ever anymore.
It’s important to note your location/purpose.
I’m in Australia so I always include multiple compression bandages for snake bites.
True that.
Here in South Mississippi, yes we have a few rare wildlife risks out here, but we rarely venture out into the woods.
We either travel by vehicle, or I ride alone on my BMX bike. Which means our biggest risk might be busted knuckles or busted knees, or allergic reaction for me from a bug bite…
At least a couple bandaids
Good advice 👍
Check the link I posted for the kit I packed, there’s 1 large, 2 medium and 2 small bandages, along with a 2x2 inch sterile absorbent pad and some medical tape.
Amongst other things from our full size home first aid kit.
A whole roll of athletic tape is always a good choice. If you have to splint things or affix larger bandages, it makes the task far easier. Also, throw in an emergency blanket. And if this is in the glove box, more pills.
All awesome advice, but this is a pocket size kit that’s practically full already. I think I might be able to fit a 2 Alka-Seltzer packet in there, but that would be a pretty tight fit…
Edit: I already have some medical bandage tape in there, probably only about 2 feet or so though, re-rolled section to be flat to fit in the box…
I have a leatherman squirt multitool, has a blade and scissors. And yeah, paracetamol, Codeine, loperimide. Bandages, glue. I keep some electrical tape in there as well, not necessary first aid, but so useful.
Diphenhydramine or hydroxyzine is good to have in there as well as ondansetron, lorazepam and some opiate or opioid.
Aspirin can also save a life (heart attack/stroke)/day from a hangover.
US translation, paracetamol = Tylenol, loperimide = Imodium.
So Tylenol is really the brand name paracetamol goes by in the US, even though it’s not just paracetamol? Oof.
(well done branding, scary)
We use a different generic name in NA too; acetaminophen
I actually have some experience with this!
I travel a lot and always have an IFAK and a somewhat extensive “boo boo” kit.
The IFAK covers serious trauma, car crashes, GSWs, whatever. Haven’t had to use this thank fuck. Standard stuff though, take your Stop The Bleed. I carry a tourniquet (I like snake staff systems), compressed gauze, pressure dressing, chest seals, trauma scissors, gloves. You can safely reduce this to the tourniquet and the gauze for 90% of use cases though.
The boo boo kit contains more comfort items, stuff to turn a moderately bad day into a mild inconvenience. It has a bunch of stuff but by FAR the most used items are these in order of frequency:
Ibuprofen - carry many doses
Small bandages - 3M Nexcare are the good ones
Moleskin - helps with shoe blisters, friends use it a lot
Deviant ollam folding scissors - for cutting moleskin, hangnails, whatever. TSA doesn’t care about them.
Pseudoephedrine - the behind the counter stuff, NOT phenylephrine from the aisles. This is the good stuff, helps with allergies, mild colds etc.
Moleskin is also a great way to fix pokey underwire bras
I definitely forgot the moleskin in mine. I’ll have to add that in next time I’m home.
What scissors? I’m not getting anything particular tied to Deviant Ollam
Deviant usually carries some TSA compliant folding scissors in his kits. I know fiskers makes a pair. And their scissors are usually decent quality.
Umm…
Context?
They’re asking what the parent commenter meant by “deviant ollam folding scissors.”
Sorry lol
The smallest size Swiss army knife is also a good option for tiny scissors that TSA doesn’t care about, then you also get the bonus of knife, tweezers, toothpick, etc.
TSA took my Leatherman Squirt PS4 when I forgot to check it. Only like a 1.5" knife. Smaller than that? I didn’t think there was any compliant knife
I’ve never had a problem with it. Doesn’t necessarily mean it’s compliant, I guess, since it’s all security theatre.
Domestic and international air travel, as well as things like bringing it into court, sport stadiums, etc.
Add crazy glue as an emergency substitute for stitches for mild to moderate cuts.
Triangular bandages, a shit ton of band aids, polysporin, medical tape, n95 masks, finger splints, duct tape, all the usual over the counter meds like pepto bismol and ibuprofen/naproxen sodium, salicylic acid. A laxative, anti diarrheal, some just add water electrolyte beverage solution, aloe vera, aveeno moisturizer, petroleum Jelly and a bottle of gin and a bottle of whiskey. Medicinal, of course.
Crazy glue sounds great too, but not for a pocket size kit that’s gonna get tossed in our glovebox. Check the link I posted to see what all I packed…
Still, all advice is awesome, but also depends on the size of the first aid box…
There are very small crazy glue tubes.
That’s not the point. The point is that this is gonna get stored in our glovebox, which will get hot and dry out in the heat of the sun.
Not saying that heat won’t gradually degrade the other items, that’s entirely possible, but if super glue is in there and decides to leak in even the slightest, it’ll ruin everything else…
I’d still do it. A tiny superglue vial, even one that leaks, won’t ruin anything.
Edit: Also probably won’t leak.
You’ve clearly never worked with superglue then.
Last night I had to use a rasp file to file superglue off of my fingers, because the tube busted on me when trying to open it.
Note that I didn’t say I filed my fingernails, I literally had to file my fingers, using a rasp file meant for wood no less.
I ain’t trying to test and see if everything in an emergency kit might get glued together…
FYI, if that ever happens again and you have nail polish remover handy, it dissolves it with no filing required :)
You’ve clearly never worked with superglue then.
Maybe I have, used for moderate lacerations, and I don’t suck? Maybe.
Despite being flat this might be too big to fit in, but if you can–emergency blanket. I once helped a disoriented senior who had fallen and injured themselves and accidentally left their keys in their apartment. I wish I’d had something to keep them warm while we waited for the FD to get them in.
Oof, I just realized our full size kit that I got most of the items from didn’t even come with a thermal blanket.
