Three questions:

1)Do you have one first aid kit for all trips, or do you have different ones you take depending on the trip (weekend at a hotel vs. weekend camping vs. extending trip)?

2)What is in your kit(s)?


3)What type of container(s) do you use for first aid stuff?


I have a soft zip-up pouch that always seems way too bulky (mostly b/c I refuse to leave my ace bandage at home...) to pack... I'm trying to come up with a better solution.

My first aid kit is a soft pouch, that opens up and has two compartments. One compartment stays the same for pretty much all trips, the other one is the drug compartment and changes depending on destination.

The standard compartment has the basics - bandaids, triangular bandage, iodine, sterile compresses, medical tape, etc.

The drug compartment is packed up for Ecuador and is pretty much a portable pharmacy:
For digestive issues:
- Ciprofloxacin
- Immodium
- Dulcolax
For Asthma and allergies
- Symbicort
- Ciclesonide
- Reactine
- Salbutamol
For aches and pains
- Ibuprofen
- Robaxacet
For various other things
- Malarone (malaria)
- acetazolamide (altitude sickness)
- ginger pills (seasickness)
- gravol (seasickness)
- multivitamins

I think that's it. I think we're prepared for pretty much any possibility.

quote:

Originally posted by Tracy Ann:
Three questions:

1)Do you have one first aid kit for all trips, or do you have different ones you take depending on the trip (weekend at a hotel vs. weekend camping vs. extending trip)?

2)What is in your kit(s)?


3)What type of container(s) do you use for first aid stuff?


I have a soft zip-up pouch that always seems way too bulky (mostly b/c I refuse to leave my ace bandage at home...) to pack... I'm trying to come up with a better solution.

Wow. I think I'll print this and use it for my next shopping trip. Gotta add one more, though, for all the ladies: Midol.

PMS can kill any fabulous trip.

I always find it difficult to decide what to keep in my kit as I'm always afraid that I'll be missing that one key thing when I actually need it. Then again, if I packed everything for every eventuality I'd likely end up driving an ambulance to my destination...

I do tend to mix up the contents (meds, etc) depending on where I'm going but the basic kit remains the same for traveling, mountain biking, hiking, etc.
I bought a basic kit and just amped it up a little with my own items:

Antibiotic ointment
Ibuprofen (advil)
Benzalkonium Chloride Antiseptic Towelettes
General purpose moist towelettes
Alcohol Prep pads
Sterile Gauze pads
A whack load of various adhesive bandages
Tape sutures
Mole skin
Sewing needle/thread
Smelling Salts
Latex gloves
First aid guide
I also usually tuck away a little bit of cash $10-$20 in the kit, just in case.

It's all packed into this little yellow expandable plastic container. With the current contents listed above the dimentions are about 12cm tall, 3cm deep and 8cm wide. Perfect for a side pocket on a pack.

An excellent blog is http://www.triphealthy.com. Entries on preparing for your trip include first-aid kits and medications. You will find this most helpful

El

Asprin
Pepto
Immodiom
topical antibiotic cream
ace bandage
duct tape
and always a nice sharp pocket knife.
oh, and a flask of whiskey in the back pocket, ya know, for sterilaztion

I have a first aid kit...I use a plastic type square box which is divided into 2 sections. The left side section contains all the medicines. And the right side section has a soft pouch, cotton, ban date etc. I think everyone should maintain first aid kit. But one should make sure that he/she is aware of the medicines expiration date.

We carry our portable pharmacy in a quart sized ziploc bag and our first aid kit in another one. The contents change somewhat based on where we're going and what we're doing, but here's what we take along on most trips.

Pain Relief:

• Advil (ibuprofen) (general pain reliever and anti-inflammatory)
• Excedrin Migraine (acetaminophen, aspirin, and caffeine) (for migraines, but it also works great for pulled muscles and cramps)

Respiratory:

• Benadryl (diphenhydramine) (general antihistamine for all manner of allergic reactions, plus it's good for inducing sleep)
• Sudafed (pseudoephedrine) (general decongestant for colds, allergies, blocked airplane ears, etc)
• Tylenol Cold/Flu (acetaminophen, pseudoephedrine, and dextromethorphan) (we only carry a few doses of this)

Digestive:

• Immodium (loperamide)
• Pepto caplets (bismuth subsalicylate)

First Aid: StingEze, Neosporin, various bandaids, moleskin, blister dressings, ace bandage, gauze pads, tape, two net bandages, butterfly sutures, gloves

Other: digital thermometer, rehydration tablets, Airborne, birth control pills

We usually have aloe burn gel, tea tree oil, Gold Bond powder, and Tiger Balm in our wash bag. We also keep a small zippered bag in our day pack with random useful things like a roll of Tums, a couple packets of Imodium and Advil, a tube of Bonine tablets (for motion sickness), and a few assorted bandaids. Stuff that's handy to have while we're out for the day. If we're going on a shorter trip in a city environment, this little bag might be all that we bring.

When the time comes that we go RTW, we'll add in a few presciptions like Cipro, something for malaria, and maybe something for altitude sickness. I'm tempted to buy a nifty zippered case before then to organize all this stuff, but I've yet to see one I like, and I'm reluctant to add more bulk to our packs.

Cotton Gauze
Duct Tape
Superglue
Iodine tubes
Spare $100 bill

I don't bother with small cut and scrapes, they heal fine most of the time after lightly washing with clean water. If I want to cover the wound, a "superglue skin" works very well. Deeper cuts I sometimes wash with diluted iodine after bleeding stops and "stitch" the wound with superglue. I use duct tape as first aid tape (I've verified that the glue doesnt irritate my skin).