first aid essentials

[paraAdams]

Here's a simple question.

What goes into a first aid kit you take backpacking?

Obviously it needs to be light weight, but also worth having. I'm heading to the Uintah's in two weeks, and my first aid kit looks a little sparse .

Snake bite stuff? Benedryl? Can you buy a good one somewhere?

[stefan]

pain killers.

i bring two kinds. the mellow stuff (acetaminophen/ibuprofin) and the real stuff (hydrocodone/codeine)

[Jaxx]

Here is a list of my stuff. I add or take away depending on length, remoteness, etc.

Poncho
mylar sleeping bag
ace bandage
gauze/tape
duck tape rolled on a pen
water purification tabs
signal mirror
headlamp
batteries
matches/lighter
knife
pain killers

Thats more of my "emergency bag" than a first aid kit

[Rev. Coyote]

Benedryl is a good one.
Emetrol is a POWERFUL anti-emetic (kills the pukes)
Neosporin
4x4 patches and tape
Tylenol or advil
Oxycodone (for long rainy nights)
Water purification tabs
Assorted bandaids
Defibrulator
Dialysis machine

[stefan]

[Alex]

It sounds odd, but I also bring two tampons in my first aid kit. It's very light, works great to stop a fast bleeding and if I run into an unexpected female, it can come to use.

I also bring a floss with me to use as obvious to floss my teeth and also it can work as a string to tie something (like a bleeding female) .

[Mtnman1830]

Rev, I make dialyzers, if you run out of them, let me know!

Suprized that nobody has a flask of Bicardi 101 or some Jack....

Excellent multi- purpose from disinfection to a sleep aid.

[stefan]

my understand of the use of alcohol as a disinfectant, is that there is a small range about 70% where it's REALLY effective. outside of this small range, its effect is marginal.

[asdf]

Coban Self Adherent Wrap - this stuff is a must have.

I also take....

Tweezers
Small Scissors
Gauze
Double Antibiotic Ointment
Super Glue
Emergency Glow Stick
Popsicle sticks
Alcohol and Iodine prep pads
And a variety of bandaids .... yeah....

[Rev. Coyote]

Mildy off-topic, but I take duct tape whenever I go canoeing. It will patch a small hole or rupture in most hulls -- enough to get you home, keep you dry.

[asdf]

Mildy off-topic, but I take duct tape whenever I go canoeing. It will patch a small hole or rupture in most hulls -- enough to get you home, keep you dry.

Same here.
I warp a few feet of tape around the waist straps of every back pack I own. You dont notice its even there until you need it.

[caverspencer]

New Skin (antiseptic superglue) Is a must for me also. drain a blister with pinhole and coat the entire blister, glue over cuts etc...

Then as others have said, an assortment of ibuprofen and acetaminophen, and a small thing of icy hot to help kill the pain in the knees coming down off the peaks.

suncreen for white boys like me is also important