Hey everyone, so I want to have a couple simple first aid kits on hand, for different situations, but I’m at a loss for what would be actually useful to put in there.
Most Spec-Ops-Navy-SAS-Seal-LARPers mainly on youtube that I’ve looked to for advice on what to put in it go full operator and suggest stuff like tourniquets that I would be extremely doubtful would ever be used in day-to-day situations. Of course its useful to have things you need that one time despite not needing them the previous 99, but I’m trying to be more realistic. (The description at the beginning of the paragraph was mainly a lil jokey for myself :P )
Back to the serious stuff, essentially the way I see it I have 3 distinct categories of “emergency” that I will ever encounter in my region and lifestyle:
- Day to day (keep in daily bag) such as office at work (for example getting a minor cut in the office kitchen during lunch, or getting a headache that is just strong enough to make me take a painkiller or two)
- On the streets (keep in car) e.g. if I find a biker/cyclist (mainly delivery drivers where I am) who’s had a minor tumble and is scraped up, but otherwise fine. Since most of these guys are migrants, its pretty rare for people in my country to stop to help unless the guy is literally down on the ground not moving. Most will just call 112 and go about their day). In this example something to wipe down the road rash is what I mean.
- When I go out hiking (keep in hiking bag). I’ve recently started hiking, but the area I live in doesn’t have the super remote areas or any wildlife which is dangerous
Based on the examples above for what I believe are my 3 different levels of emergency, what would you recommend to keep in each first aid kit?
I should note that I’m not first aid certified, though I have suggested to my employer that we go through the training program at some point soon and got positive feedback on the idea (there’s a government-funded program for employees in my country to go through various training programs in topics ranging from tech to stuff like first aid)
Thanks in advance, and sorry for the kinda long rambly post
This is a giant rabbit hole you could spend your life going down. It depends on what you intend to be able to handle.
You could argue that the most important things to have are items that will prevent immediate death from blood loss or airway blockage. That’s really the only thing a first aid kit is meant for.
If you want to expand it into a more general emergency kit, you can start considering things like blankets, seatbelt cutters, fire extinguishers (all things I keep in my car). You should always have gloves, both nitrile and work gloves to protect you from fluids, temperatures and sharp items.
In my opinion, a genuine first aid kit is only for stopping immediate death, so the gloves, various gauze and bandages, a tourniquet and that’s about it. You need to be able to keep the blood in the body until help arrives, and maybe do CPR without getting infected by something. There isn’t much else you can do to keep someone alive in the short term.
Anything else is just extra, things like disinfectants or tweezers are great, but if you need them, nobody’s in real danger so it’s not a major issue if you don’t have them. It’s far more useful to be careful so you don’t get into trouble in the first place, especially in the wilderness.