What is a good first aid kit for backpacking?
What is a good first aid kit for backpacking?
Only item I've ever really used is tape. Leukotape Classic is my favourite.
But I still carry a tiny Standard first aid kit that you can buy at the pharmacy, and I swap it to a new one after several years of carrying it around.
Duct tape
Needle
Bandaids
Drugs..ibuprofen, benadryll,anti diarrhea, etc
Last edited by MuddyWaters; 02-06-2019 at 07:47.
Anyone care to make a recommendation for a burn treatment?I nearly burned myself once and actually ruined a Frogg Togg and puffy so I can see how that could have been a nasty burn in summer with bare arms etc.
I believe burns can be treated like many skin injuries, which will depend on the severity. Minor burns can be cleaned and treated with triple antibiotic ointment such as Neosporin or a generic equivalent. I also like natural remedies such as aloe vera but I am more likely to have a small tube of triple ointment than an aloe vera plant while hiking.
Training trumps the kit all the time. What you carry is useless if you panic in an emergency.
I don't have much of a first aid kit, just a snack-sized bag with a couple of bandaids, some cloth tape, and a tube of triple antibiotic. Elsewhere in my pack I have a bandanna, duct tape, tweezers, razor blade, sewing kit, safety pins, dental floss, paracord, sleeping bag and dry clothing (hypothermia), sleeping pad and poles (for splints), water (heat injuries).
Your skin is your largest organ, and typically needs the most care on a hike. Your first aid kit will probably be mostly oriented to skin injuries.
"Throw a loaf of bread and a pound of tea in an old sack and jump over the back fence." John Muir on expedition planning
The story here is that most people don't have a kit that you buy. They have one that you put together yourself. Mine is 2 band-aids, 4 Imodium pills and a tube of baby diaper rash ointment. If I get sick or injured I go to town. Each of us has a few items. You should have a few minimal things but don't let it got too heavy because it's so rare that you need it. For my kit 90% of the time I don't use it myself, I give it to other hikers. The other hiker will help you.
Ours is a few bandages, a single larger bandage, ibuprofen and antihistamine. My wife likes to have liquid skin for her heels, and a tube of antibiotic ointment. We also carry an elastic bandage that we've never needed ourselves, but have given to other hikers at least once.
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This is what you need for burn treatment and it comes in extremely light weight for multiple treatments for burn, cut, scapes
https://www.amazon.com/Triple-Antibi...Bointment&th=1
A little gel from one of these packets will take the pain away.... https://www.amazon.com/Water-Jel-Tec...81ZQ6JZ9P&th=1
One of these clear dressings over the wound, completely waterproof you can keep on for an extended period of time for your wound to hair thinner than plastic wrap like a second skin.... https://www.amazon.com/Tegaderm-Tran...words=tegaderm
For bigger wounds use these two items..... https://www.amazon.com/Medline-steri...ywords=abd+pad
https://www.amazon.com/Tubular-Elast...lastic+netting
I started by carrying crutches just in case, but then I tripped over them on a hike and broke my leg. Now I carry an emergency air cast and the crutches.
And 1 band-aid (any more would be much too heavy for me)
I take a reasonably comprehensive first aid kit, but even so it's maybe 4 ounces total weight. There's a lot of variety but not many copies of each thing, if that makes sense. I find that over the years I have tweaked the FAK based on things that have happened to me on previous trips. So, got a bee in my mouth, got stung, started carrying benadryl (and for a while epi-pens when our kid hiked with us.) Lost a crown to frozen jelly beans, started carrying a tiny bottle of dental repair adhesive. Partner got a very deep gash in her leg, started carrying antiseptic and an irrigation syringe and some wound closure strips. Kid fell and slid on rock, started carrying the really large 3x4 inch bandaids.
None of these has ever happened again, so I am 100% comfortable saying that my first aid kit prevents injuries from happening.
Rule #1:
...or if you don't know how to use it.
Rule #2:
Can you still start with a commercial 1st Aid kit. Keep the parts you want, remove the ones you don't, add what the kit was missing.
You can even find empty 1st Aid kits.
Many simply use a ziplock bag.
This is where starting with a commercial kit can be nice.
Start with something like one of the Adventure Medical Kits. Even if you don't use ANY of the supplies that come with the kit, it comes with a nice rip-stop pouch and an inner removable waterproof pouch that is MUCH tougher than any ziploc bag.
Rule #3:
Figure out what YOU are realistically going to need. Will likely take some trial and error over time. You'll eventually come across a situation where you wished you had included some particular item... and more likely you'll look back years from now a realizes you've been carrying "x" all these years and never needed it.
My personal suggestion:
#1 Any prescription medications you require.
#2 Something for minor cuts and scrapes. This means at least some assortment of bandaids and antibiotic
#3 Assortment of drugs:
Asprin (or what ever is your favorite pain reliever),
Imodium (or some other medication that can help with stomach issues or diarrhea). I seem to recall Imodium now makes some sort of tiny caplets that won't take hardly any space in your kit.
Benadryl - Again, comes in tiny caplets.
LipBalm - If that's an issue for you (I carry these little packets of Blistex)
Burn jel and any other ointments you feel like you need to carry.
For those who don't want to buy 144 packets of antibiotic ointment or 25 burn jel packets, might I suggest https://www.minimus.biz.
They sell these exact packets (and much more), but they sell them individually, meaning you can buy 1, 10, or 100.
Obviously the price per packet will be more buying them individually, but their prices are not outrageous. For example, the Safetec antibiotic ointment listed at Amazon for $11.69 for a packet of 144. But at Minimus, they are $0.14 each.
BTW: minimus.biz shipping is free if you spend $20 or more, and they sell much more than 1st aid stuff. They have pretty much anything you might find at the "travel size" section of WalMart, as well as all sorts of food stuff.
I agree with duct tape and needle (with some dental floss to sew up pack repairs etc)
For drugs, I carry ibuprofen and magnesium (for cramps)
For blisters, neosporin and duct tape.
I did cut my hand once and luckily my hiking partner had some gauze which I duct taped on the wound (after some neosporin). Took it off a week later and it was fine. So now, I carry a little gauze also.
I used to carry aspirin for hangovers but quit drinking a few years ago. so, was able to lighten my first kit eve more.
Don't let your fears stand in the way of your dreams
I second the minimums.biz motion. Go in on it with someone if you don’t need $20 worth. Other stuff like sunscreen sold too.
I have carried an ace bandage for over 700 miles and never used it. Same with the Neosporin.
I also carry moleskin, wet ones, a few Band-Aids, ibuprofen, Benadryl.
I keep meaning to add Imodium to the kit, but keep forgetting.
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I have been stung by a bee while hiking, so if you are allergic (or have never been stung and MIGHT be allergic) bring something to deal with that.
On my 2015 flip flop thru hike, i took a bulky box full of all kind of medical staff, of which i realized very fast that i don't need. Today, i take only the following: A 1 oz bottle with iodine and a few gauze for minor cuts, scrapes, blisters, etc. For blisters, i take a roll of medical tape, the one they use in hospitals, but are easily found in any pharmacy. For chaffing, i use a mixture of the following: (1) Hydrocortizone cream (the highest strength i can get without prescription), (2) A + D ointment, and (3) Zinc oxide cream. Works wonderfully for me. Also, I take tweezers, in case i need to remove ticks, a few safety pins, and chlorine tablets, in case my water filtering system is not working.
Honey, as Zalman mentioned, for any superficial burn or wound is my number one Rx. Wound specialists in hospitals are just starting to recognize the healing properties. This is not a whack-job home remedy. It is getting mainstream recognition. Bacteria are resistant to so many antibiotics that even triple abi ointment is of questionable value. As a side benefit, honey is a great calorie dense food to take on the trail.
I second carrying anti-chafing treatments (zinc oxide, etc.) especially for men and especially on high humidity trails like the AT. Untreated it can take you off the trail in agony. I would hesitate ever using steroids (hydrocortizone) on a rash/wound unless I was just on a day hike. The immuno-suppresant qualities of steroids could set you up for a bad bacterial or fungal infection. After all, the trail is not the most sanitary situation for open wounds of any kind. Not worth the risk in my opinion.
Vitamin I (ibuprofen) is a must have in my pack.