Outdoor First Aid Kit Contents and Safety Tips

Outdoor First Aid Kit Contents and Safety Tips

A first aid kit is an essential part of any camping kit. If you’re hiking, camping, travelling, it’s just not worth the risk of not having the essentials to help out if you or someone else in your group comes across some personal harm.

Ideally, you would have everything you could possibly need in your kit. But available space and overall weight in a backpack is always an issue. After years of camping and realising what I have or haven’t needed, I’ve managed to refine the list of essential first aid items I keep in my kit.

You can group the items into four categories:

  • Caring for wounds and cuts
  • Medicines
  • Medical tools
  • Creams and repellents

Caring for Wounds and Cuts

Wounds and cuts are the most common cause of needing to call on the first aid kit. It’s all too easy to open up a cut outdoors, there are lots of hazards like brambles and sharp plants.

Treating cuts and keeping the area clean and covered up is important to recover quickly without infection. You should pack the following items in your first aid kit to cover all possible wounds:

  • Bandages
  • Elastic support bandages
  • Blister pads
  • Q-tips
  • Burn ointment
  • Antiseptic wipes
  • Medical tape

Medicines

If you take any medicines you should pack some spares in your first aid kit for emergencies. It’s easy to forget or lose small tablets or bottles when camping. Having spares in your kit might bail you out one day.

Check the shelf-life of the meds are good before trips, and if you use some make sure you restock the kit when you’re home. Here are some medications to consider:

  • Current medications
  • Painkillers and anti-inflammatories
  • Anti-allergy meds

Medical Tools

Outdoors folk are resourceful and are never short on helpful little tools. Some of the tools in your pack or on a Swiss knife might do the job of some medical tools you need. Here is a complete list of all the handy tools that should cover you in just about any situation:

  • Scissors
  • Safety pins
  • Duct tape
  • Rubber gloves
  • Batteries
  • Nail clippers
  • Waterproof matches
  • Knife
  • Water purification tablets
  • Weather protection

Creams and Repellents

A couple of things that can ruin camping trips for people are getting sunburnt, and insect bites. You may know that the location and time you go camping is always going to be cold and free from bugs, but it’s still a good idea to pack sunscreen and insect repellent. Here are some items that should be in all first aid kits:

  • Insect repellent
  • Sun cream
  • Lip balm
  • Anti-allergy cream

There you have it, the bare essentials of any first aid kit. Obviously, there are lots of other items that could prove handy, especially certain items specific to you and the others you travel with.

Safety should always be a priority, if there is anything you think you may need, you should probably include it.

Here’s to safe camping!

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