Essential First Aid Kit Contents: A Comprehensive Guide for Family Safety

What should be included in a home first aid kit. How to assemble a comprehensive first aid kit for your family. Which supplies are crucial for treating common injuries and emergencies at home.

Key Components of a Family First Aid Kit

A well-stocked first aid kit is an essential item for every household, providing the necessary tools to address minor injuries and potentially save lives in more serious situations. But what exactly should be included in a family first aid kit? Let’s explore the core components recommended by medical professionals and emergency preparedness experts.

Basic Wound Care Supplies

The foundation of any first aid kit revolves around materials for treating cuts, scrapes, and minor wounds. These items include:

• Adhesive bandages in various sizes
• Sterile gauze pads (3×3 inches and 4×4 inches)
• Adhesive cloth tape
• Elastic roller bandages (3 inches and 4 inches wide)
• Triangular bandages
• Scissors
• Tweezers

Why are these items crucial? Proper wound care prevents infection and promotes faster healing. Adhesive bandages protect small cuts, while sterile gauze and tape can cover larger wounds. Elastic bandages provide support for sprains, and triangular bandages can be used as slings or to immobilize injuries.

Antiseptic and Antibiotic Products

To prevent infection in wounds, include:

• Antibiotic ointment packets
• Antiseptic wipe packets
• Hydrocortisone ointment packets

These products help clean wounds and prevent bacterial growth, reducing the risk of complications from minor injuries.

Emergency Response Items for Serious Injuries

While we hope never to use them, certain items are crucial for addressing more severe injuries:

• SAM splint (moldable foam splint)
• Emergency Trauma Dressing (ETD or ‘Israeli’ bandage)
• CAT or SOFTT Tourniquet
• Wound packing gauze (Combat Gauze or Z-Pak dressing)
• “Stop the Bleed” booklet

Why include these advanced items? In case of major bleeding or fractures, these tools can be life-saving. A tourniquet can stop severe bleeding from a limb, while wound packing gauze can help control internal bleeding. The SAM splint provides versatile support for fractures or sprains.

Medications and Topical Treatments

A comprehensive first aid kit should include over-the-counter medications to address common ailments:

• Ibuprofen (Advil)
• Acetaminophen (Tylenol)
• Aspirin
• Antihistamines
• Antidiarrheal medication (Imodium)
• Decongestants (Sudafed or equivalent)
• Throat lozenges
• Bismuth tablets
• Oral rehydration sachets

Why this variety of medications? Each serves a specific purpose, from pain relief to allergy management. Having these on hand can provide quick relief for common health issues and potentially prevent more serious complications.

Specialized Items for Outdoor Activities

For families who enjoy hiking, camping, or other outdoor adventures, consider adding:

• Blister kit
• Moleskin
• Second skin
• Medical tape
• Insect sting relief pads
• Sunscreen
• Aloe vera gel

These items address common outdoor-specific concerns like blisters from hiking, insect bites, and sunburn. They can significantly improve comfort and prevent minor issues from becoming major problems during outdoor activities.

Essential Tools and Protective Equipment

Beyond medical supplies, a well-rounded first aid kit should include:

• Non-latex gloves
• Breathing barrier with one-way valve
• Instant cold compress
• Space blanket
• Flashlight or glow sticks
• Oral thermometer (non-mercury/non-glass)

Why are these non-medical items important? Gloves and breathing barriers protect the first aid provider from bodily fluids. Cold compresses reduce swelling in injuries, while space blankets prevent shock and hypothermia. A flashlight is crucial for administering first aid in low-light conditions.

Customizing Your First Aid Kit for Family Needs

While the items listed above form a solid foundation for a family first aid kit, it’s important to customize based on your family’s specific needs. Consider the following factors:

• Family members with chronic conditions (e.g., asthma inhalers, EpiPens for severe allergies)
• Age-specific items (e.g., pediatric dosing cups for young children)
• Frequently undertaken activities (e.g., extra blister care for avid hikers)
• Geographic location (e.g., snake bite kits for areas with venomous snakes)

By tailoring your kit to your family’s unique circumstances, you ensure that you’re prepared for the most likely scenarios you might face.

Maintaining and Updating Your First Aid Kit

Creating a comprehensive first aid kit is only the first step. Regular maintenance is crucial to ensure its effectiveness when needed. Here are some tips for keeping your kit up-to-date:

• Check expiration dates on medications and ointments every six months
• Replace any used or damaged items promptly
• Review the contents annually to ensure they still meet your family’s needs
• Store the kit in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight
• Ensure all family members know where the kit is located and how to use its contents

Why is maintenance so important? Expired medications may lose their effectiveness or even become harmful. Regularly reviewing and updating your kit ensures you’re always prepared for emergencies.

Beyond the Kit: First Aid Training and Knowledge

While having a well-stocked first aid kit is crucial, it’s equally important to know how to use its contents effectively. Consider these steps to enhance your family’s preparedness:

• Enroll in a first aid and CPR course
• Practice using items like bandages and splints
• Familiarize yourself with basic first aid procedures for common emergencies
• Keep a first aid manual or quick-reference guide with your kit
• Regularly discuss emergency procedures with family members

Why is training so vital? In an emergency, knowing how to properly use your first aid supplies can make the difference between a minor incident and a serious complication. Regular practice and education ensure you can act quickly and confidently when it matters most.

Creating Multiple Kits for Different Scenarios

While a comprehensive home first aid kit is essential, consider creating smaller, specialized kits for different situations:

1. Vehicle kit: A compact version of your home kit, adapted for car emergencies
2. Travel kit: Tailored to your destination and mode of travel
3. Sports kit: Focused on common sports injuries (sprains, cuts, abrasions)
4. Workplace kit: Compliant with occupational health and safety standards

Having multiple kits ensures you’re prepared for emergencies wherever they might occur, not just at home.

Digital Resources to Complement Your Physical Kit

In today’s digital age, consider supplementing your physical first aid kit with digital resources:

• First aid apps with step-by-step instructions
• Emergency contact information stored in your phone
• Digital copies of important medical documents
• Bookmarked reputable health websites for quick reference

These digital tools can provide valuable guidance and information when you need it most, complementing the physical supplies in your kit.

Advanced Considerations for Comprehensive Family Preparedness

For families looking to take their emergency preparedness to the next level, consider these advanced strategies:

Creating a Family Emergency Plan

A well-thought-out emergency plan complements your first aid kit. Key elements include:

• Designated meeting places in case of home evacuation
• Communication protocols for various emergency scenarios
• Roles and responsibilities for each family member during an emergency
• Regular drills to practice the plan

Integrating First Aid with Broader Emergency Preparedness

Your first aid kit should be part of a larger emergency preparedness strategy. Consider:

• Creating an emergency food and water supply
• Preparing a “go-bag” with essentials for quick evacuation
• Installing and maintaining smoke detectors and fire extinguishers
• Learning basic survival skills (e.g., fire-starting, water purification)

Addressing Psychological First Aid

In addition to physical first aid, consider preparing for the psychological impact of emergencies:

• Include stress-relief items in your kit (e.g., stress balls, coloring books)
• Learn basic techniques for managing panic and anxiety
• Have contact information for mental health professionals readily available

Why consider psychological first aid? Emergencies can be emotionally traumatic, especially for children. Being prepared to address mental health needs can be just as important as treating physical injuries.

Adapting Your Kit for Long-Term Emergencies

While most first aid kits are designed for immediate care, consider how you might adapt for longer-term situations:

• Include a supply of any essential prescription medications
• Add water purification tablets or filters
• Include a basic suture kit (with proper training)
• Consider adding a field guide to medicinal plants in your area

These additions can be crucial in situations where professional medical help might be unavailable for an extended period.

Community Involvement and Resources

Expand your preparedness efforts beyond your immediate family:

• Participate in community emergency response training
• Connect with neighbors to create a neighborhood emergency plan
• Volunteer with local disaster relief organizations
• Stay informed about your area’s emergency response protocols

Community involvement not only enhances your family’s preparedness but also contributes to the resilience of your entire neighborhood.

By incorporating these advanced considerations into your family’s emergency preparedness strategy, you create a comprehensive approach that goes beyond basic first aid. This holistic preparation ensures that your family is ready to face a wide range of potential emergencies, from minor injuries to major disasters.

Remember, the key to effective emergency preparedness is ongoing education, regular practice, and continuous improvement of your plans and resources. By making preparedness a family priority, you not only enhance your ability to respond to emergencies but also foster a sense of confidence and resilience that can benefit your family in all aspects of life.

What Should Be in a Home First Aid Kit?

​From a minor ailment to a more serious injury, a first aid kit is a must in every home (vehicles too!). It can help reduce the risk of infection or the severity of an injury. First aid kits typically include a variety of supplies that will help treat cuts, scrapes and injuries, including sprains and burns. You can easily buy a prepared kit online or prepare your own. Learn what common supplies should be in a first aid kit and tips to keep your family safe both in your home and on the road.

Full List of Recommended Supplies by the American Red Cross

Basic First Aid Kit for Family of Four

• 2 absorbent compress dressings (5 x 9 inches)
• 25 adhesive bandages (assorted sizes)
• 1 adhesive clothe tape (10 yards x 1 inch)
• 5 antibiotic ointment packets (approximately 1 gram)
• 5 antiseptic wipe packets
• 2 packets of aspirin (81 mg each)
• 1 blanket (space blanket)
• 1 breathing barrier (with one-way valve)
• 1 instant cold compress
• 2 pair of large, non-latex gloves
• 2 hydrocortisone ointment packets (approximately 1 gram each)
• Scissors
• 1 roller bandage (3 inches wide)
• 1 roller bandage (4 inches wide)
• 5 sterile gauze pads (3 x 3 inches)
• 5 sterile gauze pads (4 x 4 inches)
• Oral thermometer (non-mercury/non-glass)
• 2 triangular bandages
• Tweezers
• First aid instruction booklet
• Flashlight or glow sticks

Blister kit for hiking and camping

• Molefoam
• Moleskin
• 2nd skin
• Medical tape

For major wounds and fractures

• SAM-splint: moldable foam splint
• Emergency Trauma Dressing (ETD or ‘Israeli’ bandage or Ace wrap)
• CAT or SOFTT Tourniquet
• Wound packing gauze (Combat Gauze or Z-Pak dressing)
• 
  “Stop the Bleed” booklet

OTC medications to consider – especially for travel

• Ibuprofen (Advil), 20+
• Acetaminophen (Tylenol), 15+
• Aspirin, 15+
• Anti-histamine, x10
• Immodium/Loperamide, x10
• Sudafed (or an equivalent), x10
• Throat lozenges, 10+
• Bismuth tabs, x20
• Oral rehydration, x3
• Cranberry extract, x10
• Dramamine, x10
• Stool softener (laxative), x15

To learn more about the featured medical specialties, please visit:

Burn Center

Emergency and Urgent Care

Trauma Center

IFAK first aid kit list – The Prepared

This guide is for self-reliant people who want to prepare for injuries that are more serious than daily scrapes and/or for situations where professional medical care might not be available — such as natural disasters, rural car accidents, SHTF, or getting lost and injured on an outdoor expedition.

Context matters! This is not a watered-down OSHA first aid kit you might keep in an office or classroom, for example, because an office typically isn’t preparing for the wide range of emergencies that you are. Vice versa, some of the contents typically found in a military first aid kit don’t apply to the threats you face, or the gear requires specific training.

Although a scrape that makes your five year old scream their head off in public might feel like an emergency, you’ll want a “boo boo kit” for that and not a serious trauma kit list like this one.

People who take preparedness seriously typically learn how to make a first aid kit rather than buy the cheap pre-made ones promoted on Amazon. Off-the-shelf kits are usually junky, built for different contexts like the military or backpacking, come with stuff you don’t need, and/or require you to toss out and upgrade so many of the included items that you’re better off starting from scratch.

Note: Doing this properly is not cheap. Expect to spend over $100 for a complete survival medical kit, less for an EDC first aid kit. But you can work your way through as budget allows — it’s better to buy one correct item at a time than to waste $40 on a junk kit.

We split emergency preparedness medical supplies into two buckets:

• Portable kits you can carry with you, such as a pouch in your emergency go-bags or something you carry in your daily purse or work bag
• Supplies you keep stored at home for a wider range of issues

This list is for the portable kits. It covers the range of EDC, IFAK, and Bug Out Bag medical kits because the prioritized list of contents is roughly the same for each — it just comes down to how much you can carry and thus how far down the list you can go.

More: 145 prioritized medical supplies for your home

Working through a single prioritized list has multiple benefits:

• You can stop however far down the list makes sense for your kit — if you’re building a small EDC first aid kit for your belt or purse, for example, get as far as you can within your space and weight limits.
• You can intelligently customize or change things to suit your needs — you might need certain medications or know that you’re prone to blisters, so you can customize the list without wildly guessing what to trade away.
• If you’re on a budget or starting from scratch, you’ll at least buy the most important stuff first.

See below the fold for more details and how to split this list into tiers based on your needs. 

Prioritized first aid kit list:

1. Tourniquet
2. Pressure dressing
3. Z-fold gauze, standard 4.5” x 4 yards
4. Coban roll, standard 2” x 5 yards
5. Trauma shears
6. Acetaminophen / Tylenol
7. Ibuprofen / Advil
8. Diphenhydramine / Benadryl
9. Loperamide / Imodium
10. Band-aids (10x, various sizes)
11. Chest seals (1 pair)
12. Tweezers
13. Irrigation syringe, 20cc with an 18 gauge tip
14. White petroleum jelly / Vaseline in small container
15. Silk medical tape roll, 1” wide
16. Needle & thread stored in isopropyl alcohol (2x needle/thread, 1x small container)
17. Moleskin, 5” x 2” strip
18. Rolled gauze, standard 4. 5” x 4 yards
19. Gauze pads, 4” x 4” (6x)
20. Plastic cling wrap, 2” wide roll
21. Cravat / triangular bandage, 45” x 45” x 63”
22. Butterfly bandages, 0.5″ x 2.75″ (16x)
23. Safety pins (3x, various sizes)
24. Elastic wrap / ACE bandage, standard 4” x 5 yards
25. Aluminum splint, 36”
26. Emergency blanket (2x)
27. Gloves (2 pairs)
28. Reference guide
29. Saline eye drops
30. Abdominal pad (sometimes “ab pad”), 5” x 9” (2x)
31. Nasopharyngeal airway, 28 French (a unit of size used for these devices)
32. Aspirin / Bayer
33. Pepto-Bismol pills
34. Caffeine pills
35. Hydrocortisone cream
36. Miconazole
37. Doxycycline and/or Bactrim antibiotics

Use your head. Get professional help if you can.

The Prepared teaches survival medicine: what to do in emergencies when you can’t depend on normal help or supplies. How to make decisions, steps to take, gear to use… there’s a huge difference in the right answers between daily life and a survival situation.

You agree not to hold us responsible if you choose to do something stupid anyway.

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Why you can trust us

Although you should always be skeptical of medical advice on the internet, this guide was built with over 100 hours of research and debate by experts with over 180 years of combined experience working in and teaching various levels of medicine. Some of your guides:

Tom Rader. 18 years in emergency medicine. Former paramedic and Navy Corpsman (medic) with Marine Recon in Iraq. Teaches wilderness medicine nationwide to students including wildland firefighters, first responders, and remote populations.

Dr. Charles Dryden, 25 years experience, American College of Emergency Physicians, Diplomate of the American Board of Emergency Medicine, review contributor for the Wilderness Medical Society, and consultant to Tier 1 military units.

Matt Cionek is a Captain at Los Alamos FD. 22 years of experience in fire service and as a rural, urban, and air ambulance paramedic, as well as a medical teacher. (AAS, NREMTP, FP-C, CCEMT-P, I/C)

Mike Ruane retired after 27 years in emergency medicine as a paramedic and nurse. His career spanned from the streets of east Oakland to teaching military special warfare medics.

Cabot Stone has worked in emergency medicine for more than 38 years across 6 continents, including 8 years in Africa. He’s been a flight paramedic, combat medicine instructor, and firefighter.

Siri Khalsa is a 25-year paramedic with 6 years contracting overseas. He’s been teaching wilderness first responders, active shooter first responders, and Air Force Pararescue for 14 years.

What these first aid kits look like in real life

Although you can stop at any point down the list, we split it up into three common levels:

• Level 1: The smallest, typically used as an Everyday Carry or Individual First Aid Kit
• Level 2: A “good enough” Bug Out Bag first aid kit
• Level 3: The complete Bug Out Bag first aid kit that we recommend for serious preppers

Level 1 example: EDC boo boo kit (skips the serious stuff, focuses on light-to-moderate injuries), kept in an Altoids tin wrapped in a shemaghLevel 1 example: Minimal combat IFAK in a tear-away pouch, carried on a belt at the small of the back. The tourniquet is often stored outside of these pouches in combat/duty settings.Level 1 example: Full IFAK or EDC kit carried in a concealable ankle holsterLevel 2 example: A medium 9” x 3.5” x 2.5” MOLLE pouch attached to a 40L backpack. The tourniquet is rubber-banded to the outside.Level 3 example: Standard 8” x 6” x 4” MOLLE pouch attached to the same backpack for scale

Don’t be afraid to customize

It’s impossible to make a simple but universal checklist because of the huge range of scenarios, what terms like a personal first aid kit can mean, where and how it will be stored or carried, size, purpose, and individual medical needs and skills. Even local Good Samaritan laws can affect the decisions behind these items and where they rank.

We choose which items make it onto this list, and in what order, based on which products do the best job of helping typical people handle a mix of the most common yet most serious injuries in a survival scenario.

Sometimes you’ll see differences in meaning between labels like EDC first aid kits and IFAKs. In that example, even though both spiritually mean “a small portable kit you can carry on your body,” an Individual First Aid Kit is usually associated with the items military or police carry on their tactical gear for the most serious “someone’s about to die!” traumas, while an Everyday Carry kit is more associated with civilians carrying a mix of serious trauma and minor boo-boo convenience items in places like a purse or pocket.

While thinking through your medical preparedness, you want to be able to handle a wider range of issues than normal — from basic scrapes and pains to the most serious traumas — while still being portable.

That means accepting the trade offs necessary to build a well-rounded but portable trauma kit.

But this is your kit — you’re the one buying and carrying it — so it’s okay to customize as long as you understand the meaning behind those decisions and the sacrifices / tradeoffs.

Prescription medicines are an obvious way to customize. Follow your doctor’s advice! That includes understanding the priority of a prescription. Shampoo for dandruff is clearly not as important as a rescue inhaler, for example.

Note: If you or someone you love normally needs an EpiPen around, that would be the #1 overall most important item on this whole list.

Level 1: Core life-saving IFAK contents

Every kit should start with these items. But you might stop at Level 1, or even just part way through, if you’re building an ultra-portable Individual First Aid Kit for:

• your battle/duty belt
• something small you can grab and take with you while away from your shelter/BOB during a crisis, such as a scouting run to find food
• an EDC first aid kit you can throw in your daily-life bag, purse, car, locker, etc.
• an EDC kit you wear in an ankle holster or some other concealed body pouch

When you’re extremely limited in what you can carry, experts focus on the most severe injuries involving blood or breath — sometimes taught as ABC: Airway, Breathing, and Circulation — with a few common OTC meds thrown in if space allows.

Starter first aid kit or IFAK checklist:

1. Tourniquet
2. Pressure dressing
3. Z-fold gauze, standard 4.5” x 4 yards
4. Coban roll, standard 2” x 5 yards
5. Trauma shears
6. Acetaminophen / Tylenol
7. Ibuprofen / Advil
8. Diphenhydramine / Benadryl
9. Loperamide / Imodium
10. Band-aids (10x, various sizes)
11. Chest seals (1 pair)

Tourniquets are included because they’re purpose-built to control the kind of sudden, massive, spurting arterial bleeding that can kill a person within minutes. That’s why professionals often keep tourniquets strapped to the outside of their gear, holding one of the most prominent “I need to get this fast” spots.

See the review of the best tourniquets and learn how to use a tourniquet.

Our Picks

For serious bleeding

CAT Gen 7 Tourniquet

The king for a reason, and winner of our review.

For serious bleeding

TacMed OLAES Bandage

Our favorite Israeli bandage / pressure dressing.

Pressure dressings are the all-around hemorrhage control sibling to the tourniquet. The best way to get bleeding under control is through well-aimed direct pressure. Tourniquets do that well on the limbs, but they can’t be used on the torso, head, neck, or other awkward injuries. A pressure dressing, on the other hand, can be used in almost any location, with advanced features built in to help you aim the pressure where it needs to go.

See the review of the best pressure dressings and a lesson on how to use pressure dressings.

Quick Pick

For moderate bleeding

NAR S-Rolled Gauze

The best type of gauze for wound packing and other urgent bleeding injuries.

Z-fold gauze (sometimes S-rolled) is normal gauze that’s packaged in a way that makes it much easier to use in urgent life-saving situations — namely wound packing. Hemostatic z-fold gauze is even better because it has blood-stop agents built in. Clotting agents aren’t critical (you can control the bleeding without it) and add to the cost, but they can shortcut your success by a few minutes.

Coban (also known as vet wrap) is a versatile tape that sticks to itself in a way similar to plastic kitchen wrap. It’s great for small bandaging tasks and securing splints. Plus it can be reused if handled carefully and not exposed to high heat, which melts the layers together. We like these individually-wrapped 2” x 5-yard rolls are the right size.

Our Picks

Does the job:

Ever Ready Titanium Trauma Shears

Don’t use your knife — carry shears!

Worthy upgrade:

Leatherman Raptor

Built-in special tools, like a strap cutter, ring cutter, and carbide window breaker. Folds in half for nice storage. Comes with holster.

Trauma shears are a big help when things like clothing or seatbelts are blocking your access to an injury because it’s important to get close to the skin. You may have a knife on you, but shears are clearly safer (and don’t look nearly as evil to bystanders). Shears are further down the list than some may expect for the same reason as gloves: They’re not super critical, and you often have alternatives nearby.

Acetaminophen (Tylenol), ibuprofen (Advil), diphenhydramine (Benadryl), and loperamide (Imodium). Although not critical for saving lives, these core over-the-counter meds are easy to throw in a small kit and helpful in a wide range of situations. It’s possible to find single-dose packets, like what you’d buy at a truck stop, or you can assemble your own baggies/container.

When comparing common pain relievers — namely acetaminophen, aspirin, and ibuprofen — acetaminophen (Tylenol) is the single best universal choice because it’s the safer of the three drugs. Ibuprofen can cause problems in people with clotting disorders, high blood pressure, heart disease, kidney problems, or who are elderly. Aspirin should not be given to children, and it does reduce the body’s ability to clot, much like ibuprofen. Acetaminophen is generally fine for pregnant women and is the only thing kids under six months can take for fevers.

We throw in ibuprofen at this level as well, though, because it reduces inflammation better than acetaminophen. An anti-inflammatory could be helpful for something like a sprained ankle.

There’s also evidence that when acetaminophen and ibuprofen are combined (especially with caffeine, included further down the list), the ‘ensemble effect’ creates pain relief similar to a stronger opioid. So this mix covers your daily, moderate, and potentially severe needs.

Benadryl is an antihistamine, helpful for treating allergies, hay fever, cold symptoms, and even insomnia. Everyone should carry some, regardless of whether you have an allergy that’s severe enough to justify an EpiPen. If you do need an EpiPen, keep in mind that the shot only treats the symptoms for 15-20 minutes, which buys time for the Benadryl to treat the underlying causes.

Imodium treats the effects of diarrhea. Emergencies can really screw up your digestive system through stress, difficult environments, and food your body isn’t used to (eg. freeze-dried survival food). That can easily lead to diarrhea, which, besides being an unhappy thing to deal with, leads to dehydration, fatigue, and other dangerous problems.

When we’re in a combat zone, for example, we’re often giving out Imodium to some of our soldiers on a daily basis. Even just the relatively-routine stress of going out on a patrol can cause some of the toughest people on earth to be out of commission due to diarrhea.

Tip: Buy the pill or tablet form of medications. Capsules and gels are too fragile for prepping.

Band-aids are an all-in-one dressing and bandage combo. A larger medical kit will split out those different components, but for a small EDC/IFAK kit, band-aids do well enough. Carry at least 10 in different sizes.

Our Picks

Band-Aid Variety Pack

Besides the obvious use, you can also use Band-Aids to anchor down larger dressings and bandages.

Box of 280

HyFin Chest Seal

Winner of our review. Compact, lightweight chest seal 2-pack that’s easy to tuck in any kit.

2-pack

Chest seals help when a penetrating trauma (like a bullet or knife) affects the lung area. See the links below for details why, but if the chest is punctured, breathing can get very difficult or stop altogether. A chest seal does exactly what it says: it’s a thin sheet that you slap over a hole, like patching a leak in a boat hull. Thankfully, chest seals are pretty compact and easy to carry in an EDC kit.

You often see chest seals in the top 3-4 items of a military IFAK — which makes sense as a kit built for fighting — and we considered ranking them that highly on this list. But the likelihood of those kinds of injuries is low enough that we moved chest seals after the common medications.

See the chest seal review.

Level 2: “Good enough” go-bag first aid kit

Level 2 is the 80-20 or “good enough” first aid kit for your Bug Out Bag, Get Home Bag, or car kit. If you have everything in Level 1 and Level 2, you won’t have the type of kit that would get an “impressive!” smile and nod from a medic, but you’ll be able to handle a wide range of emergencies.

Continuing from the Level 1 list, add:

1. Tweezers
2. Irrigation syringe, 20cc with an 18 gauge tip
3. White petroleum jelly / Vaseline in small container
4. Needle & thread stored in isopropyl alcohol (2x needle/thread, 1x small container)
5. Silk medical tape roll, 1” wide
6. Moleskin, 5” x 2” strip
7. Rolled gauze, standard 4.5” x 4 yards
8. Gauze pads, 4” x 4” (6x)
9. Plastic cling wrap, 2” wide roll
10. Cravat / triangular bandage, 45” x 45” x 63”
11. Butterfly bandages, 0.5″ x 2.75″ (16x)
12. Safety pins (3x, various sizes)
13. Elastic wrap / ACE bandage, standard 4” x 5 yards
14. Aluminum splint, 36”

Quick Picks

TecUnite 20cc Irrigation Syringe

Syringes are cheap — buy a variety pack, put the 20cc and 18 gauge tip in your IFAK, and leave the rest for your home kit.

20 pack

MABIS Tweezers

Great for cleaning debris out of wounds and other fine tasks.

Tweezers and an irrigation syringe are the two most basic items you need to properly clean wounds in the field, which greatly reduces the chances of infection and can speed up healing. The syringe is used to aim and force clean water into a wound to flush out contamination and debris. The tweezers are used to pick out whatever chunkier stuff the water can’t remove, such as a visible sliver of wood pushed into the meat.

The pressure from running tap water (or even just a pour from your water bottle) is usually enough to remove most debris. But we think it’s important not to rely on running tap water for this kit, and studies show you need water pressure to properly flush away debris. We’ve found that an 18 gauge nozzle (which comes with the product linked above) creates the best water stream.

Learn how to clean a wound.

White petroleum jelly (eg. Vaseline) is useful for everything from providing a non-stick layer between the skin and dressings to healing cracked skin or lips. Petroleum jelly also makes a great fire starter when combined with gauze or cotton balls. Pick up a small tub or tube — it’ll go a long way, just make sure you use a clean finger or tool when taking out a chunk so that you don’t contaminate the whole container.

Medical tape. Duct tape and similar versions (eg. Gorilla tape) are not great for medical use because the adhesives act differently. We personally carry two forms of medical tape — silk and paper/plastic — because silk lasts longer but paper/plastic adhere better to wet skin. But, to keep things simple, you can just pick up one roll of silk tape and do your best to get skin dry beforehand.

Blister kit: Moleskin, plus a needle and thread stored in alcohol. There’s a reason movies about the military often have an experienced soldier preaching the importance of foot care. You might have no other choice than to be on your feet for a long time in an emergency, and blisters can essentially cripple you. So it’s important to prevent blisters and properly care for them when they pop up.

Many hikers preemptively put Moleskin over “hot spots” before a blister forms. And if a blister does form, Moleskin can be cut into a donut shape around the area to prevent any more friction damage.

Tip: Never put duct tape over a blister or hotspot, which will just make it worse by tearing at skin or the edges will ball up and create new friction points.

Blisters, which are medically a type of burn, should be left intact. Popping or deroofing a blister puts you at risk for infection, and, once it’s deroofed, you’ll have to spend more time and resources treating it like any other open wound.

Instead, field medics carry a needle with six inches of thread stored in a small container of isopropyl alcohol (which can also serve alcohol’s normal medical purpose). By threading the sterile needle and thread straight through a blister, leaving the thread behind and dangling out from both ends, you keep the roof intact while giving the fluid a wick to drain through.

Rolled gauze is often referred to via the popular brand name Kerlix. Pick up a 4.5-inch wide roll that’s at least 4 yards long.

This checklist has gauze in multiple places because different packaging styles and form factors are optimized for different levels of injuries. Where z-fold gauze is great for the most dire bleeding scenarios, rolled gauze makes it easy to bandage awkward areas (like around the head). It also acts as a backup for wound packing when you’re out of z-fold gauze, can be cut down into normal 4” x 4” squares, and can be used as the hard object (when still rolled) in a home-made pressure dressing.

4” x 4” gauze pads, which medics consider to be the best all-around size, can be cut down to fit or folded over to double up the thickness. Pick up 6-8 pads in thin, independent packaging.

Learn how to dress and bandage a wound.

Plastic wrap makes a great bandage because it’s cheap and transparent, so you can watch a wound over time without constantly lifting and redoing your work (which also wastes your limited resources). Although it clings to itself, it won’t adhere to a wound or skin and can be reused if handled with care. Plastic wrap also tends to keep the right amount of moisture in a wound, and you can hold something cold (like snow) on the outside to help soothe the injury.

Buy a standard kitchen roll and cut it down into a two-inch wide roll (you’ll cut other large pieces for your home medical supplies). It’s okay to squish the round roll into a flatter shape for your kit.

Our Pick

H&H Combat Cravat

A versatile cloth you can twist and fold into dozens of uses.

Cravats (also known as triangular bandages) are a simple but flexible piece of cloth that’s been in use since the Napoleonic Wars. Cravats are very versatile and can be used as tie offs for splints, slings, swathes, improvised tourniquets, head and face coverings, or even water strainers.

Some of the many ways to use a cravat

Butterfly bandages are a thin strip of medical tape designed to hold wounds closed. Steri-strips are a common alternative, but they don’t always stick well. That’s why some pros carry steri-strips with a separate vial of benzoin, a fluid that makes the strips stickier. Butterflies technically don’t keep as tight of a wound edge as steri-strips, but the benzoin vials can be fragile, the butterflies can be repurposed more easily than strips, and we’d rather keep things simple. Pick up a box of 0.5″ x 2.75″ butterfly bandages to carry 16 in your kit (and throw the rest in your home kit).

Learn how to close a wound.

Safety pins are handy in a variety of situations, such as a reusable bandage closure or to make a sling for a broken arm with a cravat or t-shirt.

Elastic wrap (eg. an ACE wrap) can be used for splinting or bandaging. Keep a 4-inch wide by 5-yard long roll in your kit.

Quick Picks

NexSkin Elastic Bandage

Rolled gauze makes it easy to wrap around the head, limbs, and torso. This product has built-in velcro.

Recon 36″ Aluminum Splint

The closest thing to a hard cast you can carry in a portable kit.

An aluminum splint, commonly referred to as a SAM Splint, is a versatile product that can be shaped into a rigid form for stability. They work well as a custom-formed splint for the elbow, wrist, finger, ankle, or toe. You can even use the splint as a makeshift C-spine stabilizer or headrest/pillow. Here’s the best 36” long splint. You can cut it down to smaller pieces — just be careful, as the cut aluminum edge will be sharp.

Level 3: Complete survival first aid kit

Complete Level 3 if you take medical preparedness seriously and want the same kit that experts put in their own family’s emergency bags. It doesn’t have everything the pros carry in a dedicated medical bag, however, because it’s still portable enough to just fit in a standard 8”x6”x4” MOLLE pouch — an appropriate size to tuck in a backpack.

Everything on this first aid kit checklist (Level 3) in one 8” x 6” x 4” MOLLE bag

Add these last items:

1. Emergency blanket (2x)
2. Gloves (2 pairs)
3. Reference guide
4. Saline eye drops
5. Abdominal pad (sometimes “ab pad”), 5” x 9” (2x)
6. Nasopharyngeal airway, 28 French (a unit of size used for these devices)
7. Aspirin / Bayer
8. Pepto-Bismol pills
9. Caffeine pills
10. Hydrocortisone cream
11. Miconazole
12. Cephalexin or Doxycycline

Emergency blankets are common among preppers and often kept in random places around the bug out bag. But we like to store them in the medical kit because you’re more likely to use them in this context — the body’s primary method for making heat is through movement, and injured/sick people tend not to move around. These lightweight, reflective blankets can insulate a patient from the ground or air while trapping the radiant body heat inside. Pick up two blankets at least 52” x 82”.

Our Pick

NAR Talon Gloves

Cool Operators wear black gloves. It’s science.

Gloves are a cheap and compact no-brainer that more people should use in an emergency. “If it’s wet and not yours, don’t touch it.” But you may be surprised to see gloves this far down the list — gloves do more to protect the patient from you, not the other way around.

It’s very unlikely that you’ll pick up something contagious from getting another person’s fluids on your hands, even if you have an exposed cut. Mucous membranes, like around your eyes, nostrils, and mouth, are far more likely to be the point of entry for something bad. So glasses or a respirator will do more to protect you than gloves will.

However, contamination does matter when treating the more serious injuries on your patient, or if you’re touching around their mucous membranes. You wear gloves to keep the grime on your hands away from their risky spots.

We prefer nitrile material rather than latex or vinyl. Some people are allergic to latex (which might be your patient, not you), and both latex and vinyl have durability and quality issues compared to nitrile. Although gloves between 3mm and 8mm thickness are common, 5mm is the sweet spot between comfort and durability.

Tip: You can also fill gloves with water, then freeze them for a DIY ice pack.

Our Pick

Wilderness Medical Associates Field Guide

No one can remember everything, even the pros. That’s why they carry this popular quick reference guide.

Reference guides are carried in the field even by the most seasoned professionals. The best choice is the Wilderness Medical Associates Field Guide because it’s well organized, has clear illustrations and info, and is specifically written for austere/wilderness situations.

Saline eye drops are included because — beyond the obvious comfort reasons — many types of emergencies involve pollutants in the air that hurt or lower your ability to survive because you can’t see. Smoke from a wildfire or pepper spray during riots are good examples.

Abdominal pads are essentially just large gauze pads, originally designed to cover the large sections skin around the torso. We include these 5-inch by 9-inch pads because, if there’s an injury that requires a lot of gauze, you can quickly run through your smaller supplies.

Our Pick

Rusch Nasopharyngeal Airway

Inserts through the nose to help keep the upper airway open. Comes with lube.

Nasopharyngeal airways (“NPAs”) are a simple rubber tube that help keep the upper airway (nose and throat) clear by creating a tunnel from the nostrils to the beginning of the lower airway. This can be helpful when the patient is (or is about to be) unconscious and there’s some signal that they’re not breathing normally — snoring is a decent analogy because it’s technically a corruption of the airway while unconcious. The tube is inserted through the nostrils, which can be a little awkward, so most NPAs come with a small lube packet. NPAs can also do double duty when combined with the irrigation syringe, acting as a sort of suction tube to remove mucus or blood.

Aspirin, Pepto-Bismol pills, and caffeine. Pepto Bismol is included to primarily fill the role of an antacid, although it clearly helps with other digestive issues like nausea and diarrhea. Pepto doesn’t stop symptoms are rapidly as Imodium, but it treats the underlying causes more effectively.

Caffeine can be helpful as a general stimulant if you’re beat down but have to recover quickly to survive whatever situation you’re facing. And, if you’re someone who needs their coffee to function, sudden caffeine withdrawal can cause unpleasant symptoms in an emergency. Having a dose or four on hand can help ease you down so you’re not exploding at your FEMA shelter neighbors.

Our Pick

No-Doz Caffeine Pills

Coffee? Who said I need coffee?! TELL ME! Actually, go away.

Aspirin is good to have on hand when you have the space for more than just acetaminophen and ibuprofen because, even though it interferes with clotting more than ibuprofen, aspirin comes in a chewable form that the body can absorb rapidly. Try to carry the low-dose chewable forms of aspirin — formerly called baby aspirin, even though you’re not supposed to give it to babies.

Hydrocortisone cream treats several skin conditions, such as general itching from insect bites, poison oak/ivy, and eczema. You can skip this if you want, but it’s easy to throw in a cheap small tube.

Miconazole (Monistat) should be included if you or someone in your close group are a woman. The stress and lack of hygiene common in serious emergencies can lead to vaginal yeast infections. Monistat can also be used for other fungal infections such as ringworm, jock itch, and athlete’s foot.

Doxycycline and/or Bactrim are both generally well-tolerated, multispectral antibiotic medications. They are usually prescribed to treat infections to the upper respiratory system, ear, skin, and urinary tract. If all you have access to are other broad-spectrum and generally well-tolerated meds like Keflex, that’s okay, but they were considered second best because they’ve developed a bit of bug resistance in recent years. If you’re American and unable to easily buy antibiotics, try having a talk with your doctor about picking some up specifically for this kit.

Skip these common items

We see a lot of these kinds of lists that include gear that just doesn’t make sense. Often times it’s due to the difference in context, and sometimes it’s due to just plain lazy or uninformed writing.
Skip:

• Decompression chest needle
• Eye shield / cup
• CPR masks
• Suture kit
• Diagnostics: blood pressure cuff, stethoscope, etc.
• Knives and scalpels
• Multivitamins
• Iodine
• Hydrogen peroxide

The most common product you see in other prepper medical lists that you should actually avoid is the “chest dart” or decompression needle. It’s often included in other lists/packages because of tacticool prepper fantasies or copy-pasting from the military.
Decomp needles are used for a specific condition called Tension Pneumothorax, which is basically a collapsed lung venting air into the chest cavity or air entering into the chest from an external hole that is trapped and can’t escape.

You may remember this scene with George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, and Ice Cube in Three Kings:

The movie makes it look easy. It isn’t. You need training (and additional equipment instead of Dr. Clooney’s magical ears) to know when to recognize this specific problem and how to do it without causing more damage.

One recent study found that, out of the 19 patients who had been given a chest dart by people with training, only four of them actually needed it, and only two of those were given the needle correctly.

Plus the patient will need professional follow-on care, like surgery in a hospital, which won’t be possible in some emergencies.

Common decomp needles are 14 gauge, which is already pretty large. But field data shows that the needle sometimes becomes plugged up with tissue and blood, requiring multiple stabs, which makes it even riskier if you don’t have training. Some kits are moving to larger 10 gauge needles to lessen this problem. Finally, a growing number of professionals are arguing for skipping the needle altogether, in every circumstance, in favor of a “finger decompression.”

The military is taking a stronger stance about including eye shields — essentially a rigid patch to protect an injured eye — because they’ve found it’s helpful for soldiers in the field. For example, wounding patterns in battle often include bullet “spall” that bounces off metallic gear riding in front of body armor and up into the eyes. But this is another example where what works for the military is not worth it for you.

CPR masks would’ve been on the list in the past, but modern guidelines are skipping mouth-to-mouth breathing altogether, making a mask moot. There are still a few wilderness medicine situations where rescue breathing is helpful — namely “correctable” situations like lightning strikes, drowning, asthma, etc. — but you’re most likely going to be with people you know, and thus aren’t as worried about random grossness. Besides, the mask is more about psychological comfort than an actual medical need anyway. If you want some, try the $2 CPR Face Shield Mask Keychain (five-pack).

Suture kits aren’t included because the chances you really need one aren’t worth the space and weight in a portable kit. People tend to overestimate the need for forced wound closure, especially in the immediate aftermath of an injury. But the kit does include butterfly bandages that can handle almost all of the situations you’ll face — without poking more holes in a patient.

Diagnostic equipment, such as a blood pressure cuff, isn’t included because they just aren’t necessary in this type of first aid kit and thus not worth the high cost of space and weight. The best data you can get from a patient is through their words, mental status, pulse, and respiratory rates — which you can gather without equipment (except perhaps a watch).

Knives, scalpels, and other specific cutting tools can be helpful in a pinch — and you’ll likely have a field knife or multi-tool with you anyway — but you want to avoid cross-contamination or accidentally cutting your patient. Even a sterile medical scalpel isn’t worth it because it’s extremely unlikely you’ll need to cut someone in the field.

Multivitamins aren’t as helpful as you might expect. Specific vitamins like B-12 or D are worth storing in your home supplies, but they’re not worth it in a portable first aid kit because the few day’s worth of pills won’t really make a difference.

Iodine is commonly used when cleaning wounds. But studies have shown that iodine can do more harm than good after 48 hours without professional care — something we have to plan for as preppers.

Hydrogen peroxide damages both bacteria and healthy cells, and has been shown to actually slow down the healing process.

Where the experts disagree

Most disagreements come down to context. An ER surgeon, for example, has fundamentally different experiences than a ski patrol medic, which might cause them to disagree on the importance of a specific item.

After screening out those obvious differences in context, these were the biggest areas of debate:

• About a third like to carry a thermometer. It’s helpful when dealing with elderly or very young patients — their bodies don’t naturally communicate temperature well — or people at risk of pre-existing conditions. But the consensus was that it’s an optional nice-to-have.
• About half prefer ibuprofen over acetaminophen as The One analgesic (if you were to only carry one). Ibuprofen is better at reducing inflammation, which can be helpful with injuries like rolled ankles. In the end, we went with the more universally-safe choice (acetaminophen) since they both work equally well in most people.
• Additional wound cleaning gear beyond the included tweezers and syringe — a Kelly forceps, tissue forcep, toothbrush (for scrubbing), and magnifying glass — were originally on the list, but removed after some tough prioritization. Some pros, particularly those with field/combat experience, carry these tools in their gear and find the extra weight worth it because cleaning wounds is one of the most likely things you’ll do in a moderate or severe emergency. But the tweezers and syringe alone will be good enough for most situations.
• Some prefer a 60cc irrigation syringe, 3x larger than the 20cc in the list. The larger capacity requires fewer refills and does a better job when using the syringe as a suction device. The larger syringes are also more likely to come with an 18 gauge nozzle tip, which we recommend regardless of the syringe size. In the end, the 60cc size was too bulky for most kits except the largest Level 3 bags.
• Whether to include more cravats than just the one large cravat on the list. Some medics like to improvise cravats and would rather not carry as many to start with. But it’s fine if you want to add one or two smaller 36” x 36” x 51” triangular bandages.
• Whether wet wipes should be considered part of the medical kit or just general hygiene kept somewhere else. There’s clearly a benefit to cleaning your hands, tools, or the area around an injury. But you’ll likely have clean water around (or the ability to make it with a survival water filter) and can get by without a dedicated medical wipe. It’s fine if you want to add a few single-serve alcohol wipes, though.
• Soap was another hygiene question. We keep concentrated camping soap in our go-bags, but don’t consider it part of the med kit.
• One medic doesn’t carry chest seals, instead improvising them out of plastic wrap (even Ziploc bags) and medical tape when needed because of how rare those types of injuries are. Chest seals are mostly used for bullet and knife wounds to the chest — rare, but critical and part of what many people prep for, so we kept them high on the list for when you take a small kit out with you in dangerous situations.
• Coban and leukotape are two products that are either highly ranked or dropped to the bottom, and we suspect it comes down to personal preference of what people were trained to use.
• Tissue glue (eg. DermaBond) is a quick way to close up a wound. It’s more of a personal preference than a scientific must-have, but we didn’t include it because you can still close wounds in other ways.
• Adding a second tourniquet and pressure dressing. The research is clear: There are times when a second tourniquet is needed to get things under control. But it’s rare enough that we felt the extra space, weight, and cost were optional.
• Feminine hygiene products are clearly something you can stock in your go-bags, but we don’t consider them part of a first aid kit — although you can use the gauze if needed.
• Whether antibiotic ointment (eg. Neosporin) is worth it. Many field medics tend to skip it, while “white-coats” tend to like it. But the research doesn’t support carrying it.

Supply list for basic first aid kits

Kit Contents – Canadian Red Cross

First Aid Kit

Keep a first aid kit readily available in your home, cottage, car, boat, workplace, and recreation area. Store it in a dry place and replace used or outdated contents regularly.

A first aid kit should contain the following:

• Emergency telephone numbers for EMS/9-1-1, your local poison control centre, and your personal doctors
• Home and office phone numbers for family members, friends, or neighbours who can help
• Sterile gauze pads (dressings) in small and large squares to place over wounds
• Adhesive tape
• Roller and triangular bandages to hold dressings in place or to make an arm sling
• Adhesive bandages in assorted sizes
• Scissors
• Tweezers
• Safety pins
• Instant ice packs
• Disposable non-latex gloves, such as surgical or examination gloves
• Flashlight, with extra batteries in a separate bag
• Antiseptic wipes or soap
• Pencil and pad
• Emergency blanket
• Eye patches
• Thermometer
• Barrier devices, such as a pocket mask or face shield
• Coins for pay phone
• Canadian Red Cross first aid manual

Emergency Supplies Kit

Have supplies ready for an emergency. Store them in a backpack or a duffle bag so you can take them with you if you have to evacuate the area.

• Four litres of water per person per day (use sealed, unbreakable containers and replace the supply every six months)
• Packaged or canned food that won’t go bad, and a can opener (replace the food once a year)
• Walking shoes, rain gear, and a change of clothing
• Blankets or sleeping bags
• A first aid kit and prescription medications (check the medications every six months to make sure they haven’t passed their expiry date)
• Toilet paper and other personal supplies
• An extra pair of glasses
• A battery-powered radio and flashlight, along with extra batteries
• Spare cash
• An extra set of car keys
• A list of your family doctors
• Important family information such as a list of any medical conditions or medical devices, such as pacemakers
• Photocopies of all important identification for you and your family, including health card numbers
• Special items for babies, elderly, or disabled household members
• Cell phone and contact information for family and friends

Emergency Car Kit

Keep an emergency kit in your car.

• A battery-powered radio and flashlight, with extra batteries
• A blanket
• Booster (jumper) cables
• A fire extinguisher
• A Canadian Red Cross first aid kit and manual
• Bottled water and high-energy foods that won’t go bad (replace the water every six months and the food once a year)
• Maps of the area
• A shovel
• Flares
• A tire repair kit and pump
• Matches and a “survival” candle in a deep can that will burn for many hours

For more information on the different models of Canadian Red Cross first aid kits that are available, please contact your local Red Cross office or visit shop.redcross.ca.

First Aid Kit | Environmental Health & Safety (EHS)

First-aid supplies are to be made available as specified by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), and the International Safety Equipment Association (ISEA) in ANSI/ISEA Z308. 1-2015. Provided below are the University guidelines for general workplace first aid kits and the minimum requirements of its contents.

Guidelines:

1. Approved first aid supplies shall be readily available to all employees.
2. First Aid Kits shall be kept in an easily accessible area.
3. First aid supplies shall be inspected frequently and replenished when necessary. Some supplies may have expiration dates.
4. For most workplaces, a Class A First Aid Kit is sufficient. If working in a higher risk environment, a Class B First Aid kit is recommended.

Approved Class A First Aid Kit Contents (ANSI/ISEA Z308. 1-2015)

• 16 Adhesive Bandage 1 x 3 in.
• 1 Adhesive Tape 2.5 yd. (total)
• 10 Antibiotic Application 1/57 oz.
• 10 Antiseptic 1/57 oz.
• 1 Breathing Barrier
• 1 Burn Dressing (gel soaked) 4 x 4 in.
• 10 Burn Treatment 1/32 oz.
• 1 Cold Pack 4 x 5 in.
• 2 Eye covering (with means of attachment) 2. 9 sq. in.
• 1 Eye/Skin Wash 1 FL oz. total
• 1 First Aid Guide
• 6 Hand Sanitizer 1/32 oz.
• 2 pair of Medical Exam Gloves
• 1 Roller Bandage 2 in. x 4 yd.
• 1 Scissors
• 2 Sterile pad 3 x 3 in.
• 2 Trauma Pad 5 x 9 in.
• 1 Triangular Bandage 40 x 40 x 56 in.

Approved Class B First Aid Kit Contents (ANSI/ISEA Z308. 1-2015)

• 50 Adhesive Bandage 1 x 3 in.
• 2 Adhesive Tape 2.5 yd. (total)
• 25 Antibiotic Application 1/57 oz.
• 50 Antiseptic 1/57 oz.
• 1 Breathing Barrier
• 2 Burn Dressing (gel soaked) 4 x 4 in.
• 25 Burn Treatment 1/32 oz.
• 2 Cold Pack 4 x 5 in.
• 2 Eye covering (with means of attachment) 2.9 sq. in.
• 1 Eye/Skin Wash 4 fl. oz. total
• 1 First Aid Guide
• 10 Hand Sanitizer 1/32 oz.
• 4 pair of Medical Exam Gloves
• 2 Roller Bandage 2 in. x 4 yd.
• 1 Roller Bandage 4 in. x 4 yd.
• 1 Scissors
• 1 Splint 4 x 24 in.
• 4 Sterile pad 3 x 3 in.
• 1 Tourniquet 1 in. (width)
• 4 Trauma Pad 5 x 9 in.
• 2 Triangular Bandage 40 x 40 x 56 in.

Download

Resources

Build A Kit | Ready.gov

After an emergency, you may need to survive on your own for several days. Being prepared means having your own food, water and other supplies to last for several days. A disaster supplies kit is a collection of basic items your household may need in the event of an emergency.

Make sure your emergency kit is stocked with the items on the checklist below. Download a printable version to take with you to the store. Once you take a look at the basic items consider what unique needs your family might have, such as supplies for pets or seniors.

Emergency Supply List

Basic Disaster Supplies Kit

To assemble your kit store items in airtight plastic bags and put your entire disaster supplies kit in one or two easy-to-carry containers such as plastic bins or a duffel bag.

A basic emergency supply kit could include the following recommended items:

• Water (one gallon per person per day for several days, for drinking and sanitation)
• Food (at least a three-day supply of non-perishable food)
• Battery-powered or hand crank radio and a NOAA Weather Radio with tone alert
• Flashlight
• First aid kit
• Extra batteries
• Whistle (to signal for help)
• Dust mask (to help filter contaminated air)
• Plastic sheeting and duct tape (to shelter in place)
• Moist towelettes, garbage bags and plastic ties (for personal sanitation)
• Wrench or pliers (to turn off utilities)
• Manual can opener (for food)
• Local maps
• Cell phone with chargers and a backup battery

Additional Emergency Supplies

Since Spring of 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recommended people include additional items in their kits to help prevent the spread of coronavirus or other viruses and the flu.

Consider adding the following items to your emergency supply kit based on your individual needs:

• Masks (for everyone ages 2 and above), soap, hand sanitizer, disinfecting wipes to disinfect surfaces
• Prescription medications
• Non-prescription medications such as pain relievers, anti-diarrhea medication, antacids or laxatives
• Prescription eyeglasses and contact lens solution
• Infant formula, bottles, diapers, wipes and diaper rash cream
• Pet food and extra water for your pet
• Cash or traveler’s checks
• Important family documents such as copies of insurance policies, identification and bank account records saved electronically or in a waterproof, portable container
• Sleeping bag or warm blanket for each person

• Complete change of clothing appropriate for your climate and sturdy shoes
• Fire extinguisher

• Matches in a waterproof container
• Feminine supplies and personal hygiene items
• Mess kits, paper cups, plates, paper towels and plastic utensils
• Paper and pencil
• Books, games, puzzles or other activities for children

Maintaining Your Kit

After assembling your kit remember to maintain it so it’s ready when needed:

• Keep canned food in a cool, dry place.
• Store boxed food in tightly closed plastic or metal containers.
• Replace expired items as needed.
• Re-think your needs every year and update your kit as your family’s needs change.

Kit Storage Locations

Since you do not know where you will be when an emergency occurs, prepare supplies for home, work and cars.

• Home: Keep this kit in a designated place and have it ready in case you have to leave your home quickly. Make sure all family members know where the kit is kept.
• Work: Be prepared to shelter at work for at least 24 hours. Your work kit should include food, water and other necessities like medicines, as well as comfortable walking shoes, stored in a “grab and go” case.
• Car: In case you are stranded, keep a kit of emergency supplies in your car.

First Aid Kits for Home and Away

You can download this article as a PDF (English, Spanish).

Are you ready?

Having a well-stocked first aid kit handy will help you take care of injuries at home and on the go. You can buy a first aid kit or make one out of a lunch box, tote bag or tackle box.

Kit contents

Information:

• Emergency phone numbers: 911, Poison Center, doctor, dentist and crisis line
• First aid book

Supplies:

• Band-Aids in assorted sizes
• Gauze pads and rolled gauze
• Adhesive tape
• Instant cold pack (disposable)
• Elastic roller bandage, like an Ace bandage
• Safety pins
• Triangular bandage (to wrap injury or make an arm sling)
• Cotton swabs and balls
• Bottle of water
• Soap
• Antiseptic wipes
• Thermometer
• Flashlight with extra batteries
• Plastic gloves (2 pairs)
• Tweezers
• Scissors with rounded tips
• Space blanket or regular blanket (stored nearby)

Medicines:

• Acetaminophen, like Tylenol
• Ibuprofen, like Advil
• Aspirin (do not give aspirin to children under 12)
• Anti-itch medicine taken by mouth, like Benadryl (antihistamine)
• Electrolyte solution, like Pedialyte
• Calamine lotion
• Hydrocortisone cream
• Antibiotic cream
• Aloe vera gel
• Saline wash

Tips for use

• Keep this list with your kit. Check it yearly, and replace missing and old items.
• Keep a kit in your home and in each car.
• Know the location of the first aid kit where you work.
• Remember to bring a first aid kit on trips.
• Show your babysitters and older children where the kit is.
• Keep the kit where adults can easily reach it, but young children can’t.
• Post the number for the Poison Center near each phone and add it to your contacts in your cell phone: 800-222-1222. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that syrup of ipecac no longer be used in the home to treat poisoning.
• Consider taking a first aid and CPR class. See our class options, or contact your local fire department, hospital or American Red Cross chapter to find out about their classes.
• Consider keeping a disaster supplies kit with your home first aid kit.

SBER EAPTEKA and SberAuto have released a limited version of car first aid kits

SBER EAPTEKA, one of the largest online pharmacies in Russia, and the online car purchase service SberAuto have presented a limited version of car first aid kits for World Health Day. First aid kits with a special design and content can be received as a gift when buying cars through SberAuto starting from April 9, 2021.

The contents of car first-aid kits from the companies of the Sber ecosystem meet all the necessary requirements effective from January 1, 2021: they include masks, gloves, gauze napkins, bandages, scissors, adhesive plaster and a device for artificial lung ventilation.The companies added something from themselves to the standard set: in addition to items from the mandatory list, the first-aid kit also includes hand cream, antiseptic, moisturizing antibacterial wipes, as well as illustrated color instructions for using the contents and providing first aid to victims of road accidents.

In addition to the composition, the first-aid kits from the limited series stand out for their design: instead of the usual version in a hard plastic case, motorists are offered a stylish black bag made of dense fabric with the SBER EAPTEKI and SberAuto logos. Outside and inside the first aid kit – convenient pockets for storing contents.

A personal car gives a feeling of comfort and at some point becomes a “second home on wheels”. At SberAuto, we strive to turn the purchase of a car into a convenient, safe and modern service, supporting customers at any stage. To make the experience of owning a car even more enjoyable, my colleagues from SBER EAPTEKI have created a branded car first aid kit. We made it useful and convenient – in a word, the way we would be looking for for ourselves

Collaboration with such a reliable and competent partner as SberAuto helped us to start mastering a new direction: ready-made solutions that can make it easier for our clients to purchase frequently used pharmacy products.With this gift, we want to remind motorists that SBER EAPTEKA is always there. Here you can replenish the contents of a first-aid kit (home or automobile), as well as order any medicines and health products

What must be in a home first-aid kit

A home first aid kit is an “ambulance” at the first sign of illness or domestic injuries.

Domestic accidents are frequent. Knife cuts, burns from touching a frying pan or hot oil – all these troubles require first aid.

“The right home first-aid kit must have essential items, ambulance telephones and medicines,” says medical expert Sinfa Manuel Escolar from Italy.

To begin with, he advises to organize a pharmacy cabinet in a dry, cool place, which will protect the contents from dust and dirt.

It is advisable to revise the contents of the first-aid kit at least twice a year in order to replace expired drugs.

Essentials include the means necessary for the treatment of household wounds. The rescue kit includes:

• medical alcohol for hand disinfection;

• antiseptics such as hydrogen peroxide, iodine, brilliant green;

• bandages of different sizes;

• sterilized gauze pads;

• adhesive plaster;

• scissors.

The first aid kit should have a list of emergency telephone numbers so that any family member can call for help as quickly as possible.

According to the expert, the first-aid kit should keep those medicines that you often use, you should keep the packaging and instructions for them.

Medicines that should be in your medicine cabinet:

• antipyretic, pain relievers such as paracetamol and ibuprofen, do not forget to read the instructions before use;

• anti-allergy medications, especially if someone at home is allergic to dust or pollen;

• heartburn pills;

• anti-influenza drugs;

• laxatives and antidiarrheals;

• ointment for burns;

• thermometer.

Earlier, “Kubanskie Novosti” told what drugs should be stocked up before the flu season.

The composition of the first-aid kit – Official website of the administration of the Lysogorsk municipal district

We will be interested not only in the composition of the production first-aid kit, but also in the purpose of the products included in it. And also we will dwell in detail on the recommendations for their choice.

As we remember, the requirements for the complete set of medical products for first aid kits were approved by the Order of the Ministry of Health and Social Development of Russia dated 05.03.2011 N 169n.

Upon careful study of the order, you will notice that there is not a single drug in it (including brilliant green and activated carbon). According to the logic of the Ministry of Health, and the correct logic, only a doctor should give medicines. Of course, if a person takes medications prescribed by a doctor, he must keep them in his personal first-aid kit.

The order divides the items included in the first-aid kit into four groups:

1. MEDICAL PRODUCTS FOR TEMPORARY STOP OF EXTERNAL BLEEDING AND TRANSLATION OF THE RAN

BLOOD HARNESS ISSUESISTAN3

HARNESS OF THE BLOOD ISSUESTAN3102 9000 RANGE .1-99 “Medical devices. Assessment of the biological effect of medical devices ”. The purpose of this standard is to predict and study the biological effect of medical devices on the body. However, one must understand that the tourniquet is not an implant. We understand that the main function of the tourniquet is to ensure that blood stops reliably. For this reason, it should be borne in mind that a rubber band that meets the requirements of GOST may be less functional than the simplest turnstile. Rubber can dry out during storage and simply break during application.Even a high-quality rubber band can be very difficult to apply to yourself in a situation where you can act with only one hand. A rubber tourniquet is useless if a child tries to put it down. In addition, the tourniquet is easier to put on the limb through the clothes. So if you complete a first aid kit not just for show, but for first aid, then feel free to change the tourniquet to a turnstile or supplement your first aid kit with it.

MEDICAL MAREL BANDAGES

The first-aid kit includes 3 non-sterile and 5 pieces of sterile bandages of different sizes.Questions arise – is it a lot or a little, why exactly so many and just such?

The number of bandages required for first aid in its most general form depends on the number of people who may need help. For simplicity’s sake, let’s assume that it is very easy to make non-sterile from a sterile bandage. And from a long bandage, you can quickly make a short one. Thus, you can give preference to large sterile bandages at the rate of 2 pieces per person. (For severe venous bleeding, one bandage is used to tamponade the wound and the other to bandage).

PACKAGE MEDICAL BANDAGING INDIVIDUAL (PPI) STERILE WITH A SEALED CASING

PPI is a very convenient and proven means of stopping bleeding, including from oneself. It consists of a gauze bandage on which two pads of non-woven fabric are fixed, movable and fixed.

It is better to use PPI packed in a sealed outer sheath made of rubberized fabric. In addition to the main purpose of the bag, this sealed sheath can close the wound in case of a penetrating chest wound to prevent air from entering.

STERILE MEDICAL MARLET WIPES

The first-aid kit should include one pack of medical napkins. The size of the napkins prescribed to keep in the medicine cabinet is at least 16 x 14 cm. Their purpose is to cover a wound or burn.

PLASTER

The first-aid kit should contain two types of bactericidal adhesive plasters: Large 4 cm x 10 cm (2 pcs.) And small 1.9 cm x 7.2 cm (10 pieces). Their purpose is to help with cuts and abrasions.

Due to the fact that it is the most commonly used item for first aid, a larger supply of plasters can be made.

And also one roll adhesive plaster, not less than 1 cm x 250 cm in size. It can be used to fix bandages or compresses, to fix damaged fingers and joints, to temporarily fix the edges of the wound, and the like.

2. MEDICAL PRODUCTS FOR CARRYING OUT CARDIAC-PULMONARY REANIMATION

Device for artificial respiration “Mouth – Device – Mouth” or pocket mask for artificial ventilation of the lungs “Mouth – mask”.

A device with a mask is definitely more convenient to use than a simple duct.

Note that the presence of these devices in the first-aid kit is useless without the skill of carrying out cardiopulmonary resuscitation in the one who is going to provide assistance.

3. OTHER MEDICAL PRODUCTS

SCISSORS FOR CUTTING BANDAGES ON LISTER

Despite the name, the scissors in the first-aid kit are needed not so much for cutting the dressings with the hands (bandage), but for tearing and tearing providing access to the damaged part of the body.The shape of the scissors included in the first aid kit allows you to do this in the least traumatic way.

ANTISEPTIC WIPES

Antiseptic wipes made of paper textile-like material, sterile alcoholic. Not less than 12.5 x 11.0 cm in size in the amount of 5 pieces.

The purpose of the wipes is to disinfect the hands of those who are going to provide assistance. Due to the presence of alcohol in the composition, do not allow contact of the napkins with the mucous membranes of the victim’s wounds.

MEDICAL GLOVES

Medical non-sterile gloves, examination are needed in the first-aid kit in order to prevent possible infection by contact with the victim’s fluids.

The first-aid kit includes two pairs of gloves with a size of at least M. same case as gloves.Namely, when there is a danger of transmission of infection from the victim.

RESCUE COVER

Isothermal rescue cover 1 pc. Size not less than 160 x 210 cm.

When used with the gold side to the body, in theory, should provide protection against overheating, the silver side to the body is supposed to be used for protection against hypothermia.

Without any doubt, the most unnecessary item in a first aid kit due to its absolute inefficiency.But it does not take up much space and weighs almost nothing, so let it lie. However, we do not recommend that you rely on him in a critical situation.

4. OTHER PRODUCTS

ENGLISH PINS

The first aid kit contains three steel pins, at least 38 mm in size.

Used only for fastening bandages, headscarves, etc.

In no case should you prick a person with pins !!! Or, God forbid, they fasten their tongue to the collar.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Recommendations with pictograms on the use of medical devices first aid kits for providing first aid to workers.

Recommendations for the use of products from a first-aid kit, as a rule, are not very informative and can never be an adequate substitute for specialized training or even simple instruction. Do not expect that at the time of an accident you will be able to look at the pictograms and provide proper assistance.

NOTEBOOK AND PEN

A tear-off notepad for notes, not less than A7 format and a pen are used for their intended purpose, namely for writing. For example, to indicate the time of application of the tourniquet.

CASE

Case or sanitary bag – needed to transport the contents of the first-aid kit.

WHAT WAS NOT INCLUDED IN THE COMPOSITION OF THE FIRST AID KIT BY ORDER N169H, BUT MAY BE USEFUL IN FIRST AID

The following items are not included in the first aid kit by order of the Ministry of Health N 169n, but do not contradict its logic, which means can supplement the composition of the production first aid kit.

ELASTIC BANDAGE

Elastic bandage is used to fix the limbs when stretching the ligaments.

HYPOTHERMAL PACKAGE

First aid rules in many cases involve applying cold. The question arises – where to get it.

If at home we can still use items from the freezer, then on the road or at work this can be a problem.

The operation of the hypothermic package is based on a chemical reaction with the release of cold.An external shock breaks the plastic shell with the liquid inside the bag, which reacts with its contents. For the next 15 minutes, the bag is a source of cold.

DISINFECTANT

We have already said that all medicines are excluded from the first aid kit. But no one canceled the need to disinfect the wound. For this reason, it is good to have a disinfectant handy. For this role, hydrogen peroxide, miramistin, chlorhexidine, or similar over-the-counter antiseptics are fine.

First aid kit for newborns | Medical center Healthy child

The main requirement for a first-aid kit for newborns and young children is to have the necessary dosage forms and care items that parents can use on their own without special prescriptions from a pediatrician.

Thermometer:

Despite the abundance of various types of thermometers (electronic, contact), most pediatricians prefer to conduct thermometry of the child’s body with a mercury thermometer, which must be kept in a special case.

Sterile cotton wool and sterile gauze wipes:

allows you to gently treat the skin of a newborn baby when caring for a healing umbilical wound or for prophylactic care of the conjunctiva of the eyes.

Eye Pipette:

must be kept in a separate case.

Pediatric enema:

is a necessary attribute in children of the first year of life, since the process of defecation is in the process of formation.

Flue pipe:

is used in cases of increased gas production in the intestine to facilitate the elimination of gas.

OTC Medicines:

• Antipyretic
• anti-inflammatory drugs – for example rectal suppositories based on paracetamol , which can be used already from the neonatal period.
• In addition, you may find useful means for the prevention and treatment of intestinal colic in a child – various kinds “defoamers” in the form of finished dosage forms.
• At an older age, when the child begins to erupt, you may need teething gels to facilitate this process.

Outside:

• 5% potassium permanganate solution and 3% hydrogen peroxide solution may be needed to treat the umbilical wound in a newborn in the first days after discharge from the maternity hospital.
• 2% brilliant green solution will help protect the child from inflammation in case of accidental damage to the skin.

Disposable items are referred to as care items, which allow you to protect the baby’s skin from the occurrence of diaper dermatitis and diaper rash.

In addition, it is necessary to have a set of cosmetics for skin and hair care of the child, including a cream for diapers.
Scissors: The requirements for children’s scissors are rounded edges to prevent accidental damage to the child.

First aid kit for a baby after one year

Each mother prepares a first aid kit for the birth of her baby.At first, it may seem difficult to remember and apply all the necessary drugs as prescribed. But now a year has passed, and you already easily find out what exactly your baby needs in a given situation.

If we talk about the set of medicines that should always be kept at home, then this is still a very small list. At home, you need to store only those funds that you may need immediately and urgently. Of course, if a child has some kind of chronic disease, then medicines for this disease should also always be at hand.All other tablets, aerosols and potions, antibiotics, etc. are best bought at the pharmacy as needed. The fact is that most drugs require special storage conditions, which cannot always be provided at home for a long time. Well, an overflowing home first aid kit is always a risk of taking an expired medicine.

So, what should always be at hand?

1. Antipyretic drugs. Suppositories, tablets or syrups based on paracetamol or ibuprofen.These medicines can also be used as pain relievers.
2. Antihistamines. At least one remedy for allergies must be present in the medicine cabinet, be it tablets, syrup or oral drops
3. Sorbents – activated carbon, Smecta, Enterosgel, etc. These medicines can be used as first aid for any intestinal infection or food poisoning.
4. Regidron. This drug is necessary for drinking with vomiting and diarrhea.
5. Local disinfectants – brilliant green, iodine, fucorcin, etc.d.
6. Cotton wool, bandages and plasters.
7. “Nazivin” and “Otipax” – as an emergency aid for pain in the ear. “Nazivin” constricts the vessels of the nasal mucosa, thereby reducing the pressure on the ear, “Otipax” has an analgesic and anti-inflammatory effect. Independently, these drugs can be used once or twice, then – only after examination by an ENT doctor.
8. Saline nasal solution. It can be “Aquamaris”, “Salin”, “Aqualor” or normal saline solution plus a pipette. Any of these drugs can be used to treat and prevent ARVI.

It will be useful to remind you that you need to keep the first-aid kit out of the reach of the child, because it becomes more and more difficult to keep track of the young researcher every day.

90,000 list of drugs for the first aid kit at home

A home first aid kit is often like a warehouse for unnecessary medicines. The drugs that the doctor prescribed for the treatment of a certain disease enter it and remain for a long time. And finding the most necessary first aid is not always possible.Therefore, the preparation of a home first-aid kit must be approached deliberately, taking into account the recommendations of doctors and the composition of the family.

General recommendations

For the first-aid kit to be always at hand, it is necessary to organize the storage of medicines correctly. For them, you need to allocate a plastic box, a container that closes tightly and does not allow sunlight to pass through. Most drugs are afraid of bright light and require room temperature storage. Therefore, the box must be placed in a cabinet so that it can be easily retrieved if necessary.High humidity is dangerous for medicines; it is not recommended to store them in the bathroom.

Candles, interferon preparations and some other medicinal products are stored in the refrigerator. In a warm room, they can melt, and preparations with protein components can be inactivated. The box with the home first aid kit is kept out of reach of small children or animals. Medicines are a source of danger to them.

In order not to confuse which medication is in the container at home, you do not need to take them out of the branded packaging, pour them into jars.An instruction leaflet is retained for each drug, even if it is familiar. In an emergency, this will help you quickly determine what dose to take the medicine.

Original packaging is required to control expiration dates. On a cardboard box and on an individual blister, bottle or ampoule, the expiration date of the product’s suitability must be duplicated. Expired medicines are dangerous and should not be used.

List of essential medicines in the home medicine cabinet

The composition of the first-aid kit is individual in every home, but there are certain groups of drugs that each person should have at hand.They will help provide first aid before the arrival of the doctor or wait until the morning to see a specialist. But in a home first aid kit, you should not include funds that are used very rarely.

A first aid kit for home use should include three main groups of medicines:

• Wound treatment and dressings;
• required medications;
• ancillary medical devices.

The last group includes tweezers, clean scissors that can be used to cut a bandage or plaster.The necessary components include a thermometer, mercury or electronic, tonometer. If you have a small child at home, you can purchase an infrared thermometer.

Means for treating wounds

Minor household injuries, abrasions, cuts and minor burns can be treated independently without seeking medical attention. To do this, it is enough to compose a home first aid kit properly. It must include several types of antiseptics and preparations for treating the skin. It is best to have hydrogen peroxide, iodine solution, brilliant green at home.For washing wounds in adults and children, chlorhexidine, miramistin, furacillin can be included in the list. Any of these antiseptics will help get rid of harmful bacteria on your skin. They are also used to treat the oral mucosa for colds.

The necessary components of a home first aid kit include various types of fixing and dressing materials. What is the minimum set all houses should have:

• sterile bandage, large in width;
• small bandage;
• cotton wool or sterile nonwoven dressings;
• elastic bandage;
• several types of plaster.

If you have a child at home, you can buy a children’s patch with funny pictures to cheer you up after an abrasion. Special types of a fixing bandage, a plaster against corns and corns are acquired in the event of the appearance of injuries in the right amount. It is not necessary to keep them at home at all times.

An essential item in the home first aid kit list is lidocaine anesthetic spray. It can be applied topically to bruises and sprains to relieve pain. Also, a spray for burns is added to the list of drugs for treating wounds and dressing.It usually contains panthenol, which helps relieve pain and burning sensation, and speeds up skin regeneration. But in the case when the required drug was not included in the first-aid kit, it is forbidden to spread the place of the burn with oil or fat.

Medicines

If there are no people with chronic diseases in the family, then a large first-aid kit is not needed for the house. The list of essential drugs should include only those that have a universal effect and can be used without a doctor’s recommendation.

A simple home first aid kit consists of the following groups of medicines:

• Pain relievers are non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, the most popular drugs include paracetamol, ibuprofen, aspirin, nimesulide.They help not only to relieve pain, but also to lower the temperature.
• Antispasmodics – drugs that remove spasm of smooth muscles of the intestines, blood vessels, uterus, and also help to eliminate pain. These include drotaverine, papaverine, papazol.
• Remedies for diarrhea – These are composed of sorbents that help remove toxins and harmful bacteria from the body. At home, everyone should have at least one of these funds: smecta, activated carbon, polysorb, enterosgel. And to recover from diarrhea – rehydron.
• Antiallergic – antihistamines are added to the contents of the first aid kit, even if there have never been any allergy symptoms. They will help reduce swelling of the nose with a cold and relieve itching after insect bites.
• Medicines for colds – simple vasoconstrictor drops, saline solutions are needed to reduce the common cold. For a sore throat, you can have lozenges or a simple spray handy.
• Sedatives – To reduce anxiety and unforeseen experiences, you need to have valerian, validol or corvalol tablets at home.

Additional funds in the home medicine cabinet

An extended list of medicines in the home first aid kit is needed if there are children, people with chronic diseases or elderly family members in the home. A newborn baby needs herbs for bathing, a baby syringe in case of constipation, glycerin suppositories.

Parents need to have antipyretic, antihistamines in children’s dosage. For babies under 3 years old, you can store candles with paracetamol in the refrigerator from the temperature, and buy allergy medicines in drops.

For chronic diseases, a home first aid kit is collected individually. With the pathology of the digestive tract, they store at home remedies for heartburn, with chronic constipation – simple laxatives. People suffering from hypertension need to have enough pills for high blood pressure, which are recommended by the attending physician. In old age, the main emergency medicine for heart pain is nitroglycerin. The rest of the medicines are best purchased after consulting a doctor, and not purchased in reserve.

90,000 what medicines to take and how to bring them abroad

A properly assembled first-aid kit on the road can save a vacation, and it is as necessary a thing as a passport and a bank card. But the first-aid kit raises much more questions. What must be taken, and what can you do without? How to transport medicines across the border? How to buy the required drug in another country and not overpay for branded drugs?

Skyscanner has compiled a list of a first aid kit for the trip, which includes everything you need and does not take up much space in your luggage.Learn about all the intricacies of collecting a first-aid kit at sea and on any other vacation and keep in mind a list of medicines that you should always have with you.

Remember that a first aid kit on the road will help with a slight discomfort, but does not replace the need to see a doctor. When traveling, follow all safety precautions (here are the WHO recommendations for a pandemic), and if you feel unwell, seek medical help.

These are challenging times for travel.And as the world prepares to reopen in 2021, we stay close to keep you dreaming and planning new adventures – whether it’s a short break not far from home or a flight to unexplored corners of the planet. The latest news on tourism amid COVID-19 will help you stay on top of what’s happening and don’t miss the moment when it’s time for your next trip.

First aid kit on the road: all the subtleties of collecting

What medicines to take in a travel first aid kit: minimum required

A first aid kit on the road is akin to insurance: you hope it won’t come in handy, but you take it anyway – it’s safer.And then you take it home unpacked. For those who are not ready to carry half a suitcase of medicines, but also do not want to run a little on a trip to pharmacies, we have compiled a first aid kit for one person for two or three weeks .

Our list includes only basic remedies for emergency use and treatment of common ailments – in accordance with WHO recommendations. This is a minimal set for a quiet rest, in which, if anything, there will be an opportunity to see a doctor or look into a pharmacy.It is not suitable for hikes and long road trips to the ends of the earth.

We give Russian analogues of medicines: they contain the same active ingredient, but are much cheaper.

We use Nurofen as an anesthetic. But if you are used to other pain relievers, add them to the list. Please note that “Analgin” and analogues (the active ingredient is sodium metamizole) are sold by prescription in many countries or are completely prohibited due to the risk of agranulocytosis. Analogs of “Ketorol” (ketorolac tromethamine), even if they can be bought just like that in Russia, it is better not to take them abroad without a prescription.

Some travelers carry broad-spectrum antibiotics in their travel medicine cabinet, such as amoxicillin. This makes sense if you cannot buy an antibiotic without a prescription in the required country and you do not want to go to a local doctor, but prefer to consult your doctor in Russia by phone.

If you are going to the sea, add a sunburn remedy such as Bepanten or Panthenol to the basic list of medicines.

If you are planning to get out into nature and spend time actively, add repellent, elastic bandage and insect bite allergy medicine to your first aid kit.

If you are going to places where tick-borne encephalitis is widespread (the link will open the data for 2020 for the subjects of the Russian Federation), then think in advance about taking a course of preventive vaccinations, and also take a tick repellent on your trip.

For detailed recommendations on how to avoid a tick bite and what to do if the tick does bite, read on the Rospotrebnadzor website.

This is the minimum set for outdoor activities close to civilization. In addition to this list, take your medicines that you drink regularly (making sure they can be transported across the border).

Medical masks, gloves, wet wipes and hand sanitizer in 2020-2021 have become commonplace even for a trip to the nearest store, so you will hardly forget them.

First aid kit on the road: how to transport medicines across the border

Each country has its own rules for the import of medical products.Narcotic, psychotropic and potent substances are under special control everywhere, but their lists differ.

Medicines readily available in our country can be sold abroad only by prescription, considered narcotic or psychotropic, or even prohibited. For example, in the United States, “Corvalol” is banned, which until 2010 was in every Russian automobile first aid kit. But in America, methylphenidate is prescribed for the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, which is illegal in Russia.

The good news is that basic drugs are generally not questioned by customs. Although if the drug is prescription (and not in Russia, but where you are going, and this should be checked in advance), they may ask for a prescription or a certificate from a doctor. Look for the rules of the countries on the websites of customs services, but the surest way to find out how things really are is to ask a question at the consulate of the desired country.

If the drug is prescription, but is not included in the list of specially controlled ones, then the prescription can be in Russian – the main thing is that it is filled out correctly.The prescription form must be signed by the doctor and the seal of the medical institution, as well as the active ingredient in Latin (not a trade name!), The dosage and duration of admission. For example:

Rp .: Tab. Clarithromycini 0.5 N 14

D.S. Take orally 1 tablet 3 times a day with a glass of water.

You can ask the doctor to write in English your name and comment about the medication:

D.S. 1 tablet 3 times per day with glass of water.

If you are taking a drug from the list of strong or narcotic and psychotropic substances, check if it is allowed in the country of destination and what are the conditions for import. There are almost always restrictions on the quantity: you can import the medicine for no more than 1-3 months of administration. You may need a prescription written in English or a local language or a notarized translation to clear customs.

When departing from Russia and upon arrival in another country, honestly declare everything and choose the red corridor instead of the green one.

How to buy medicine abroad according to the Russian prescription

Foreign pharmacies often accept prescriptions in Russian with the name of the substance in Latin. But according to the rules, if a doctor is certified in Russia, then his prescription is invalid abroad. Therefore, in strict countries, you will have to look at the doctor who will write out a new paper.

The local doctor may issue his prescription based on yours, but not always. It happens that an examination or medical documentation is required, translated into English and certified by a notary, especially when it comes to drugs from the controlled list.

How to find an analogue of your medicine abroad

Symptomatic drugs, for example, for colds and flu, mild pain relievers, antipyretics – sold without a prescription even in Europe.

You can also buy more specific non-prescription drugs even if you don’t understand a word in the local language. To do this, you need to know the international name of the drug.

Since 1953, the World Health Organization has been working to ensure that all active substances (that is, the active ingredients of drugs) receive International Nonproprietary Names – unique names that are understood throughout the world.

INN lists are updated every year. Now there are more than 8000 of them, and for each name in Latin there are equivalents in Russian, English, French, Spanish, Chinese and Arabic.

How to use the international drug list and find the right remedy in any country

Let’s use an example to show you how to use the generic drug list abroad. Let’s say you need Nurofen. If the instruction has been preserved, take a look at it: at the very beginning, in addition to the trade name “Nurofen”, the international non-proprietary name – ibuprofen – is immediately indicated.If there is no instruction, it can be found on the Internet – this is the easiest way.

A more complicated option: go to the website of the State Register of Medicines of the Ministry of Health, enter “Nurofen” in the line “trade name” and click “Find”. See the International Non-Proprietary Name column for the active ingredient.

So, you found out that the active ingredient of Nurofen is ibuprofen. Go to any pharmacy abroad and just tell the pharmacist that you need ibuprofen to get started.If you are not understood, translate the name into the desired language (with the help of a translator on your phone or write it down in advance at home on a piece of paper, finding the translation, for example, in the English-language Wikipedia) and show it at the pharmacy. In most cases, this works.

Please note that many medicines, including antibiotics, require a prescription to purchase: either from your Russian doctor indicating the active ingredient in Latin, or from a local doctor.

“Once in China, I explained myself to pharmacists practically without words.I needed to replenish the Diakarba supply. This medicine is used at altitude to treat altitude sickness. I was in a small town, practically in a village, where no one understood English, let alone Russian. The active ingredient “Diacarba” is acetazolamide. I wrote it in Latin – acetazolamide – on a piece of paper and showed it at the pharmacy, but they did not understand me.

There were two volumes of some sort behind the counter. It turned out – Chinese reference books of medicines. In one of them I found an index on the Latin names of drugs.On the right page were written all the brands of acetazolamide produced in China – in hieroglyphs, of course. When the pharmacist brought the pack, I found the Latin name in the instructions, which completely eliminated the mistake when buying. ”

Pavel Borisov, travel blogger

Checklist: how to properly assemble a travel first aid kit

1. Put all your “own” medicines that you take regularly into the medicine cabinet.
2. Take only those drugs that you know how to use and for which you definitely have no contraindications.
3. Take the instruction. When it comes to a first aid kit, you can easily get nervous and forget about dosages and compatibility with other drugs. The full version of the instructions can be stored in a smartphone, and put a list of medicines with short explanations and a scheme of administration in the first-aid kit. To prevent the important sheet from tearing and rubbing, laminate it or simply tape it on both sides with tape
4. Check the expiration dates. Make sure your medicines are not expired, especially if you get them from your home medicine cabinet, which sometimes gathers dust for years.
5. Read storage conditions. Check the instructions and make sure that the medication does not deteriorate while traveling. For example, candles melt at temperatures above +25 ° C, while others need to be kept cold. You may need a cooler bag – don’t be alarmed, they come in the size of a cosmetic bag.
6. If possible, replace liquid preparations with tablets and powders. Tablets, powders and capsules weigh less liquids in their original packaging and will not fill the entire suitcase.If the medicine needs to be taken in liquid form (the same chlorhexidine), try to buy it not in a glass, but in a plastic bottle so that it does not break for sure.
7. On the plane, take liquid medicines in containers larger than 100 ml in baggage or carry them in carry-on baggage with a doctor’s certificate stating that they are vital
8. Make sure that the opened package has the name and expiration date. A started blister of tablets, on which the name of the medicine is not visible, is best replaced with a whole one.So you will avoid unnecessary questions at the border and will not forget what kind of drug you took with you.
9. Be careful about saving weight. Throwing out the bulky cardboard boxes is a good idea. But, if you are flying abroad, all medicines must be easily identifiable so that the customs officer does not have to guess what you are carrying. At least the name of the drug should be read on the blister, but if you have even the slightest suspicion of interest from the customs, it is better to leave the drugs in their original packaging.
10. Take a reasonable supply of prescription drugs. In other countries, drugs are most often allowed to be imported for 3 months of admission. Even if you are not going so long, take essential medications (for example, insulin) with a reserve: suddenly the flight will be postponed or you will have to be delayed on a business trip.
11. Don’t forget the recipe. Attach a correctly issued prescription or a doctor’s certificate to your prescription drugs – show them to customs if you have any questions.

First aid kit on the road: answers to the main questions

What medications do you need to take with you on vacation?

If you are traveling to a developed country and do not plan to move too far from civilization, then, according to WHO recommendations, you should take only the most necessary medicines. They will come in handy so as not to run to the pharmacy because of every cut and to be able to provide simple emergency assistance to yourself and your loved ones. Also put in the medicine cabinet the usual medicines that you drink regularly.If something more serious happened on vacation or you feel unwell, do not heal yourself – see a doctor.

What are the basic rules to follow when collecting a first aid kit for the trip?

The main thing is that you must be able to use all the medicines from the first-aid kit. Take only proven products and just in case, print and take a short list of all drugs with dosages: in an emergency, you can forget something like that.

Can medicines be transported across the border?

Conventional medicines can be transported across state borders without problems, you just need to make sure in advance that in all countries along your route the active substance is not included in the list of prohibited or especially controlled ones.Medicines containing psychotropic, narcotic or potent substances must be transported across the border with a prescription from a doctor or an extract from a medical history – and must be declared.

How to carry medicines correctly in carry-on baggage?

It is allowed to take medicines in solid form in hand luggage: tablets, granules, dragees, powders. Ointments, creams, potions, infusions, emulsions and other medicines in liquid and soft form can be taken to the salon only in containers up to 100 ml, packed in one transparent bag measuring 20 × 20 cm.An exception is made for medicines that are vital for the duration of the flight, but it is better to have a doctor’s note with you.

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90,000 What should be in a car first aid kit in Kazakhstan?

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Composition of a car first aid kit in Kazakhstan in 2021

A well-stocked first aid kit is required in every car.It is difficult to predict when a car accident might occur, but when it does, having an emergency kit can be a matter of life and death. The motorist must be prepared for potentially life-threatening injuries, so a car first aid kit is essential. It can be decisive in the event of a serious accident, when the injured person needs to urgently stop the bleeding before the arrival of the medical aid team. However, this kit is often indispensable for minor incidents such as cuts, insect bites and burns.

What should be in a car first-aid kit

In 2014, all medicines were removed from the car first-aid kit, except for a solution of hydrogen peroxide (peroxide) 3%. The reason is the impossibility of observing the temperature regime when storing drugs in a vehicle. This practice complies with the norms of European countries and corresponds to the composition of auto first aid kits in the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus.

Also for motorists there are recommendations approved by the department on the use of car first aid kits.

Composition of a car first-aid kit in Kazakhstan in 2021:

According to the approved list, a car first-aid kit should contain:

1. Hydrogen peroxide

2. Sterile gauze bandage (5m * 10cm)

3. Non-sterile gauze bandage (7 * 14cm)

4. Sterile medical gauze napkins

5. Sterile dressing bag

6. Medical hygroscopic sterile cotton wool 50 g

7. Hemostatic tourniquet

8.Bactericidal adhesive plaster

9. Medical adhesive plaster

10. Elastic tubular bandage No. 1, 3, 6 (one of each)

11. Medical non-sterile gloves (1 pair)

12. Blunt scissors

This set for rendering emergency medical assistance in a car was approved on November 18, 2014 by the Ministry of Health and Social Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan and entered into force on January 11, 2015.

Since that time, the composition of the first-aid kit in Kazakhstan has not been revised.

By the way, in neighboring Russia, since January 1, 2021, the Ministry of Health has added disposable three-layer masks to the set, which they are obliged to keep in the first-aid kit from 2025. Perhaps, in the future, a similar solution will be extended to the territory of Kazakhstan. So far, there has been no official instruction from the relevant authority. It is known that the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan has determined the composition of medical kits aimed at reducing the spread of COVID-19. They included a thermometer, masks, disinfectants and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.Their purchase is not compulsory in a car first aid kit, but it is desirable at home.

You can buy a ready-made complete first-aid kit in our pharmacy.

What happens if there is no first-aid kit in the car

The requirement for a first-aid kit in the car is spelled out in the standard ST RK GOST RK51709-2004 “Requirements for the technical condition in terms of traffic safety”. According to paragraph 4.1.9 of this standard, “vehicles of categories M1, M2, M3 of class I, N1, N2, N3 must be equipped with at least one first-aid kit, and buses of category M3 of classes II and III – three first-aid kits.”The passenger car belongs to the M1 category and therefore must be equipped with at least one first aid kit. The list of the contents of the first aid kit is approved by the Order of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan No. 368 “On approval of the list of medicines and medical products for automobile first aid kits”.

Also, according to these requirements, a first-aid kit must be completed in accordance with the current regulatory documents of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and also be in an easily accessible place.

The absence of a first aid kit in a car in Kazakhstan is considered an administrative violation and according to Part 5 of Art. 590 of the Administrative Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan – “Driving a vehicle that does not meet the established rules for ensuring road safety”, is punished with a fine of 5 MCI (14 585 tenge – in 2021).

In practice, DPP officers can check the presence of a first-aid kit only if the inspection procedure is followed, that is, in the presence of attesting witnesses and the included video recording. You cannot simply open the trunk and view the contents of the medical kit.A fully stocked first aid kit must be presented when passing a vehicle inspection.

Now on the market there are many ready-made first aid kits, which are available everywhere, from pharmacies to online stores, and range from 900 tenge per set to 3-5 thousand tenge. The shelf life of such kits is 4.5 years.

What else can you add to your first aid kit

You can find one of the ready-made medical kits that suits your needs, but many motorists assemble it themselves.The good thing about your own first aid kit is that it suits your individual needs. In addition to the minimum required list of the contents of the first-aid kit, you can add the drugs you need, with the exception of those that are prohibited for use in Kazakhstan. You also need to take into account that there are drugs that are contraindicated for use while driving – these are drugs containing alcohol that slow down reactions that impair vision.

So what else can you add to your car kit?

It is important to have something simple in your set, for example, antiseptic wipes, they, like hydrogen peroxide, are well suited for children when disinfecting.An ointment for burns can also come in handy, as well as a hypothermic bag that is applied to the site of the injury. Eye solutions can help if debris or other small foreign matter gets in your eyes. Additionally, you can add drugs for motion sickness and nausea.

So, in short

– Nobody is insured against accidents on the road. It can be not only an accident, but also household cuts, bruises or burns. In this case, a car first aid kit is needed, in which there should always be a bandage, a plaster and hydrogen peroxide.

– Traffic police officers can check the presence of a first-aid kit only with the appropriate inspection procedure with the presence of attesting witnesses. And if the absence of a first-aid kit is confirmed, then they have the right to fine the driver by 5 MCI.

– The list of the contents of the automobile first-aid kit is approved by the order of the Ministry of Health and Social Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan No. 368 of 18.011.2014.

– You can supplement this list with medicines and other medical products at your own request.