It doesn’t matter where you’re hiking you should always bring along a hiking first aid kit. It’s on of the Ten Essentials that everybody needs to bring along on a hike. You can never pack everything that you could possibly need, but a good first aid kit should address all of the most common hiking injuries.
How to Make a Hiking First Aid Kit
Hopefully you’ll never need everything that’s in your first aid kit. It’s going to be a real bad day if you do. Unfortunately if you hike or backpack long enough you’ll slowly work your way through most of your gear.
You’ll likely go through a bunch of Bandages and Antiseptic Wipes on your first weekend trip. Hopefully you’ll never have to use some of the more advanced emergency gear. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t bring that kind of gear along.
Should You Buy a Ready Made Hiking First Aid Kit?
Almost everybody is going to be better off starting with a ready made first aid kit.(Don’t worry I’ll teach You how to build your own first aid kit below. Something cheap like this Swiss Safe First Aid Kit is going to have almost everything you need to start off. It has all the basics like bandages, tweezers, Emergency Blanket, and a small trauma kit. You even get a small compass and emergency rescue whistle.
On short day hikes a kit is probably going to have almost everything that you need. You’ll be able to treat all the basic blisters, bumps, scratches, cuts and bee stings. When you’re going out with a group or on a longer hike you’ll need to bring along some extra gear.
Supplementing Your First Aid Kit
Even if you buy the most expensive first aid kit on the market you’ll still need to supplement it with some additional gear. You need to build the kit around your own personal needs. Do you have any Allergies? Bring along your Epi-Pen. Maybe you want to throw in some sunburn gel or poison ivy cream. Are you backpacking with older people than you might want to bring along a CPR Mask(just make sure you know how to use it).
The one thing I always recommend throwing in your kit is an alternative water source. Toss in a Lifestraw or some cheap water purification tablets and you’ll have fresh water in 30 minutes. After losing my pack in some Kentucky rapids I learned just how important an alternative water source can be.
Why Build Your First Aid Kit By Hand?
Experienced hikers and backpackers will probably want to build their first aid kit from scratch. You’ll be able to pick and choose between all the best first aid supplies. You won’t have to deal with those cheap bandages that come off the second they hit moisture.
Another advantage to creating your own kit is that you’ll know exactly what’s included. It will give you a chance to think about exactly whats needed and what to use in an emergency. Without hesitating you’ll be able to figure out exactly what you need to grab.
With so much emergency gear to choose from how do you decide what needs to be included? Ultralight backpackers will need different gear than a standard backpacker. So how do you choose? You need to start off with a few of the essentials and work your way out from their.
Basic First Aid Kit Checklist
A basic first aid kit is going to include everything you need to treat basic injuries. You should be able to treat all those cuts, minor ailments, blisters, itches and basic injuries. Everything else you want to add to your first aid kit is just a added bonus.
- Antiseptic Wipes(Rubbing Alcohol Swabs): Bring along Antiseptic Towelettes to sanitize your wound after an injury. You’re going to use these a lot so you might as well throw in a few dozen Rubbing Alcohol Pads. Clean out your wound with rubbing alcohol pads before you use bandages, treat blisters or apply Antibiotic Ointment.
- Antibacterial Ointment(AKA Neosporin): Before you treat any wound you need to first clean it with rubbing alcohol and then apply Neosporin. I really like the new Neosporin Spray that both kills bacteria and numbs the injured area. A slight numbing agent really helps reduce the pain of those blisters and scrapes.
- Extra Prescription Medications: On long trips plan on bringing a few extra days worth of medicine along with you. You never know whats going to happen. Bad weather and minor injuries could slow you down and extend your trip a few extra days.
- Various Sized Bandages: Variety Packs of Bandages are really worth their weight in gold. You never expect to have to treat those random injuries. That random cut between your fingers or behind your ear that’s slightly irritating at home is a real pain in the butt miles into the forest.
- Moleskin Blister Treatment: If you hike long enough you will eventually get a nasty blister. I get horrible blisters when I don’t plan ahead. Check out my post on blister prevention while hiking for more information. Or you can just throw a roll of Moleskin in your bag and wing it. It’ll protect your skin from blisters, calluses and chafing.
- Medical Tape or Athletic Tape: You’re going to end up using your medical tape for just about everything. Don’t cheap out when buying medical tape. 3M Medical Tape is completely waterproof and will stick to absolutely anything. You can build a makeshift splint or apply gauze pads to close up a wound. In any type of emergency medical tape is going to be an absolute necessity.
- Gauze Pads and Ace Bandages: Gauze Pads in various sizes are extremely important. You’re going to use the gauze to stop blood loss around a wound. Use the Gauze and medical tape to treat blood loss that a bandaid just won’t fix. Ace bandages on the other hand are used to treat muscle sprains and strains by applying pressure thus reducing swelling.
- Pain Relievers: Bring along your preferred pain reliever to treat minor pain and discomfort. I always bring along some Tylenol PM to help me sleep on uneven ground. Remember that aspirin based medicine like naproxen and Advil reduces swelling and pain while Tylenol is just a painkiller. You can also use Aspirin to treat a minor fever and sprains and strains.
- Poison Ivy/Insect Sting Treatment: Anybody that’s allergic to poison ivy better bring along some Medication. I’m horribly allergic to poison ivy and tried just about every type of medicine out there. Zanfel is by far the best poison ivy medicine on the market. I’m not going to lie the stuffs expensive, but it works so fast. I never thought bee stings bothered me until I dug into a underground hive. I don’t know how many times I was stung, but I sure wish I through a Pac-Kit in my First Aid Kit. My leg was swollen and the rest of my trip was absolutely miserable.
- Antihistamines: Antihistamines are really a lifesaver if you have allergies. Personally I use Sudafed for my allergies, but some people might feel a little wonky. If you have allergies you probably have your own favorite. I also bring along a bottle of Afrin for when I just can’t clear up my sinuses. Dollar tree has a generic version of Oxymetazoline thats 1$ and is exactly the same as Afrin.
- Butterfly Bandages aka Wound Closure Strips: Unless you want to be left with a wicked scar bring along some butterfly bandages. They’re perfect for small-medium sized wounds that aren’t quite life threatening but are really gushing a lot of blood. Infection is one of the most dangerous threats on the trail so make sure you treat the wound carefully.
- Powdered Drink Mix: On extremely hot days water might just not cut it. You sweat out all of your salt which causes you to get sweaty and nauseous. Some people like to bring along powdered Gatorade, but Pedialyte works so much better. Learn how to prevent dehydration while Hiking.
Other Items You Should Probably Include
- Tweezers, Scissors and Multitool
- Safety Pins
- Various Splints-Finger Splint, Sam Splint Etc.
- Liquid Bandage
- Hand Sanitizer
- Anti-Diarrhea Anti-Nausea Medicine
- Sunscreen and Bug Spray
- Feminine Hygiene Products
- Eye Drops
- Cotton Swabs
- Thermometer and Mirror
- Surgical Gloves
- Surgical Sewing Kit: Only use in a absolute emergency
Optional Items
- CPR Mask
- Headlamp
- Emergency Whistle
- Emergency Blanket
- Emergency Locator Beacon
- Extra Contacts and Solution or Backup Glasses