Everyone should have at least a basic survival kit at home just in case disaster strikes. A survival first aid kit is one of the most important preparations for any sort of disaster or event.
What Is a Survival First Aid Kit?
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Survival First Aid Kit[/caption]
A survival first aid kit is a bit more equipped than just a regular everyday first aid kit that you might pick up from asda containing some plasters and antiseptic cream. A survival first aid kit is meant to help you survive in the aftermath of a major disaster, where injuries sustained could be life threatening. A survival first aid kit is going to be small enough to pick up and move with, but large enough to contain a lot of potentially lifesaving items.
Why Keep a Survival First Aid Kit?
The fact is that you never know when a disaster could happen. To keep yourself and your family safe, there are some preparations that are just plain smart. A survival first aid kit is a necessary item for every home, even if you think you may never use it.
Once you have your "base" kit from home use built you can move on as required and make a BOB kit or EDC, The possibilities are endless and you cant put a price on the safety and wellbeing of you and your family.
What Could Happen?
Many people do not keep survival first aid kits because they think that nothing bad could ever happen to them. The fact is, however, that disasters can happen, and it is better to be safe than sorry. Disasters come in many forms, such as sudden inclement weather disasters, major accidents, and even acts of malice or terrorism. The idea is to hope that such an event never occurs, but to be ready just in case.
[x_alert heading="You never know" type="warning"]I feel its best to carry a kit not need it than to need it and not have one.[/x_alert]
Where Do I Get a Survival First Aid Kit?
There are many websites that sell survival first aid kits and other disaster plan items. These packages vary in how much or how little they contain; some contain just the essentials and others are extremely full and equipped for just about anything. These types of kits are often very expensive.
You can also put together your own survival first aid kit. Not only will you be able to cater the necessary items to fit your needs, but you can save a lot of money.
I have brought a lot of different first aid kits over the years ranging from mid range to expensive and I find breaking them down and mixing the kits to requirement to be the best way of putting the best kit together.
Some of the best starter kits I have found are from a company called adventure medical kits and I have linked a few of the best available kits below.
Basic Must-Have Items
The Red Cross website (http://www.redcross.org/prepare/location/home-family/get-kit/anatomy) has a comprehensive list of what items are necessary for a first aid kit. The items listed are for a family of four, so you might need to make adjustments according to your family size and needs.
Red Cross first aid kit list:
- 2 absorbent compress dressings (5 x 9 inches)
- 25 adhesive bandages (assorted sizes)
- 1 adhesive cloth tape (10 yards x 1 inch)
- 5 antibiotic ointment packets (approximately 1 gram)
- 5 antiseptic wipe packets
- 2 packets of aspirin (81 mg each)
- 1 blanket (space blanket)
- 1 breathing barrier (with one-way valve)
- 1 instant cold compress
- 2 pair of nonlatex gloves (size: large)
- 2 hydrocortisone ointment packets (approximately 1 gram each)
- Scissors
- 1 roller bandage (3 inches wide)
- 1 roller bandage (4 inches wide)
- 5 sterile gauze pads (3 x 3 inches)
- 5 sterile gauze pads (4 x 4 inches)
- Oral thermometer (non-mercury/non-glass)
- 2 triangular bandages
- Tweezers
- First aid instruction booklet
Depending on your family and specific needs, you may want to consider a few more items to add to your kit. Remember that the idea is emergency preparedness, so try to think of everything. For example, if someone in your family has anaphylactic allergies, you will want to consider adding an EpiPen and/or Benadryl to your survival first aid kit.
Some other items to consider including:
- LED flashlight
- Extra batteries
- Burn gel
- Medical grade super glue (cyanoacrylate base)
- Suture kit
- Eye wash kit
- Necessary medications for family members
You will also want to keep information about each of your family members' medical history and a list of medications that each of you take. When rescue services do come, it could help them to have a working knowledge of your history in the event of an injury or emergency. Also keep a list of contacts and emergency phone numbers so you can reach family or friends if you need help or to tell them you are okay.
What am I carrying in my basic kit?
My Survival First Aid Kit is fairly similar to the kit recommended by the red cross but scaled down somewhat to reduce weight and has been specifically setup with my needs in mind. I have a few different kits for different scenarios such as my home kit, my BOB kit and my EDC and vehicle EDC. Each kit varies in its size, weight and contents but I will be detailing the contents of my BOB FAK below.
My BOB FAK contents: - First field dressings x 2
- Combat Application Tourniquet (Control a catastrophic bleed)
- Pack of 50 assorted plasters
- Quikclot clotting sponge
- Sterile gauze pad x 2 (5 x 9 inches)
- Sterile gauze pad (4 x 4 inches)
- Sterile gauze pad (3 x 4 inches)
- Sterile gauze pad x 2 (2 x 2 inches)
- Non adhering dressing (3 x 3 inches)
- Triangular bandage
- Dressing large
- Dressing medium
- Dressing small
- Eye pad
- Non latex gloves x 3 pairs
- Antiseptic wipes x 12
- Safety pins x 6
- After Bite x 2 (Wasps & Bees love me)
- Antibiotic ointment x 2 (Wound care)
- Diphenhydramine x 2 (Antihistamine)
- Moleskin Roll (For blisters)
- Vial of potassium permanganate (Multiple Uses)
- Sensi-wrap roll
- General medical tape
- Tweezer
- Steri Strip x 3
- Paracetamol/aspirin x 6
- Ibuprofen x 6
- Codeine x 4
- Antibiotics course
The whole kit packs done quite a bit and sofar has only had a few uses from minor mishaps but if the worst did happen when I was out and about I at least know I could control the situation until help arrived.
[x_alert heading="Check the dates !" type="warning" close="true"]Be sure to keep track of you dates of any and all perishable items in you first aid kit such as medication. [/x_alert]
I will be looking to do a few follow up posts when I get a chance going over my other kits but I figured I would start with what I think to be the most important first. Is there anything you would add/remove ? Post in the comments.
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