21 Must Have Items For Your First Aid Kit List

21 Must Have Items For Your First Aid List

Survivalists often buy guns that are powerful enough to start a war. However, whilst focusing upon these high-adrenaline survival items, they forget bare necessities like first aid kits.

Yes, we get it – first aid boxes are not as exciting as rifles and all terrain motorcycles! Still, you cannot be serious about survival if you need to be told the importance of first aid supplies.Is your concern for survival just an excuse to justify the purchase of toys like guns, ATVs and machetes?

If not, we better not catch you without any of these 21 items in your first aid kit list.

1) Your daily medicines: Do not even go on a one day picnic without carrying your daily medicines with you! Doing this is an invitation to sickness and distress. Keep a separate stock of medicines in your bug out bag and rotate it regularly to prevent expiration.

 

2) Surgical spirit: This is great for cleaning wounds, cuts and scratches. It is also great for disinfecting the skin prior to administering injections. If you get injured, wash the affected area thoroughly with water. This helps to remove debris and dirt. Then, clean the wound with surgical spirit. Yes, it will burn – but concentrated alcohol kills many bacteria and germs instantly, preventing the onset of infections.

 

3) Hydrogen peroxide: Highly potent disinfectant – very good for cleaning wounds, cuts etc; but not in concentrated form! Use a diluted solution instead (3 to 6 wt%). You will see white fizz upon pouring this liquid on to open wounds, but it will burn less in comparison to spirit. Do not use in conjunction with spirit – use either one of these; not both.

 

4) Painkiller pills: You can buy these over the counter in most countries (Ibuprofen, paracetamol, aspirin). They help in numbing the pain in case you sprain your foot or take a fall; paracetamol also helps to reduce fever. However, do not overdose on painkillers as this can cause liver damage. Also, understand that paracetamol cannot treat the root cause of your fever – it simply brings down your body temperature.

 

5) Painkiller sprays and gels: Highly effective in providing relief from joint pain, lower back pain etc. These also help with inflammation.

 

6) Rehydration salts: These usually contain glucose, sodium, potassium and other minerals. Very helpful if experiencing dehydration and/or diarrhoea. Keep several sachets in your kit, mix with water and sip slowly for a burst of energy.

 

7) Povidone-iodine (Betadine): This is available in a liquid form and also as a cream. Lab tests have proven that betadine is superior to iodine tincture in terms of deterring bacterial growth. Apply betadine on cuts and wounds to promote fast healing.

 

8) Ointment for burns: In a survival scenario, you might be required to build fires on a daily basis and hence it is quite probable that you will experience mild burns every once in a while. A burn ointment provides quick relief and prevents burns from deteriorating. (Burns often become filled with water – nasty and painful).

 

9) Band aids: Come on, you know what band aids are for – surely, you scratched your elbows and knees as a kid. Make sure to get the waterproof variety though – holds longer even in wet conditions.

 

10) Gauze: This is a staple at hospitals – very useful for bandaging/dressing wounds. Clean around the wound using cotton doused with surgical spirit; then apply betadine solution onto the wound. Place some betadine cream onto a gauze or cotton-pad and place it on the wound. Seal wound with another piece of gauze and then use surgical tape to hold everything in place. You just learnt how to dress a wound. Use cotton gauze only!

 

11) Surgical tape: You just read what to use it for. 🙂

 

12) Scissors: You need something to cut the gauze and tape. A small pair will do. If you have been using your scissors for other purposes, disinfect them with spirit.

 

13) Pocket knife: Ok, so you may be wondering – Why do I need a knife in my first aid kit? Well, have you watched the film 127 hours? Just kidding! You never know when a knife can come in handy.

 

14) Needle and thread: You will need these if you need to stitch a wound up. Or you can use them to stitch your clothes or backpack if its gets ripped. In either case, learn how to stitch properly.

 

15) Charcoal digestive pills: If you happen to suffer from flatulence, stomach upset or food poisoning – just pop a couple of these pills. Drugs and other toxins are absorbed by activated charcoal. It can also be used for cleaning teeth and is effective against hangovers too!

 

16) Condom: Hopefully, you are old enough to know what a condom is for. You do NOT want unplanned pregnancies in a survival scenario! Remember that you can also use non-lubricated condoms for transporting water.

 

17) Some sort of basic antibiotic (like penicillin): This helps to combat minor infections. You can also open up a capsule and empty the contents directly onto a cut. You can use the same technique for a dental cavity as a SHTF situation, you might not be able to get to a dentist immediately.

 

18) Lighter: A lighter is useful for lighting up cigarettes! (Ok, really kidding this time!) You can use a lighter to disinfect knives, scissors and other metallic objects. And yes, for starting fires too!

 

19) Copy of your medical insurance: This might not be useful in the event of a zombie apocalypse. Doctors and nurses might turn into zombies and we are pretty sure that zombies cannot read. Even if we are wrong, everybody knows that zombies are pretty dumb and they will not be able to comprehend the terms and legal clauses of your insurance policy. In all other cases, medical insurance is very helpful. If you get injured, people should be able to contact your family and friends. So include emergency contact telephone numbers as well.

 

20) Balm: We like tiger balm – very good against splitting headaches. Helps you to relax and sleep.

 

21) Benadryl: Also known as Diphenhydramine HCl. Very effective against allergies – especially food allergies.

If you’d rather just buy a kit with everything already prepared for you, we found this 326 piece First Aid Kit on amazon.com to be a STEAL at just $31.00.

Check it out here: First Aid Kit With Hard Case- 326 pcs

 

It’s not ENOUGH to just have these items, but you also need to be sure you learn the basics of first aid.

Make sure you know and PRACTICE the following basic skills:

1. How to provide artificial respiration? (Can be quite fun if you practice on members of the opposite sex).
2. How to deal with a fracture?
3. How to deal with a snake bite?
4. How to stitch up and dress a wound?
5. How to carry an injured person?

Bonus Tip 1: Never ever forget to include mosquito repellent in your first aid kit! We are tempted to give you some frightful stats about malaria and dengue…but we digress – just trust us on this one!

Bonus Tip 2: Duct tape helps to stop bleeding. Yes, You read that right!

Next on your reading list: [supreme kwid=3 kw=”Survival Equipment List” url=”https://www.survivalcrackas.com/10-survival-tools-for-preppers/” cpfl=false] 🙂