First Aid Kits - a checklist
Everyone’s medical needs vary — thus so do first-aid kits. Pharmacies, grocery stores, outfitters, and even auto parts stores sell pre-packaged first aid kits. It's not a bad idea to have one of
these kits in your car. However we do not recommend buying one for a thru-hike, even those sold at outfitters. Instead we encourage you to create your own kit based on 2 considerations:
your personal needs & the Florida environment.
When assembling your kit, consider your personal needs and then assume the worst case scenario will happen. If you have asthma, suffer severe allergic reactions to insect stings, wear contacts, et cetera, then assume you will have an asthma attack, be stung by bees, or get an eye infection. Everything you'll need in that circumstance (inhaler, EpiPen, glasses) should be in your kit.
Florida's environment changes the equation, and as always moisture is the main issue. On the FT you will walk in water, it will be humid despite the winter dry season, and heavy rain is likely. Self-adhesive bandages do not stay on. A popped blister is regularly submerged in swampy water. Cuts and abrasions on legs get muddy. Keeping wounds clean and preventing infection can be tough.
For that reason we recommend that you do not bring adhesive bandages (normal Band-Aids, in other words). Instead the best solution is to use a combination of self-adhesive elastic gauze, sterile
pads, and a liquid bandage (like New-Skin). For example, if you get a cut or blister, first clean the wound then apply liquid bandage. The liquid bandage is similar to superglue, and dries
quickly to create a protective coating that is antiseptic, flexible, and waterproof. The liquid bandage can rub off, however. Wrapping self-adhesive elastic gauze around the wound protects the
liquid bandage from abrasion and thus keeps your wound clean. When walking through standing water, this method works far far better than Band-Aids, which — if they even stay on — soak up dirty
water and hold it against your wound.
Finally, a note about short hikes vs. long hikes. Your hike's length does not alter what goes into your first aid kit. What goes into a kit for a 2-3 month thru-hike is exactly what goes into a kit for a 6 month thru-hike, or a 3-day weekend trip for that matter.
General Checklist for a FT Hike
Bandages etc
- sterile gauze pads (aka absorbent compress dressings) to cover larger wounds or abrasions. Bring big ones & cut them down for smaller wounds.
- self-adhesive elastic gauze (aka an Ace Bandage) to wrap blisters, compress sprains, or hold a sterile pad to a wound.
- roll of Leukotape
- liquid bandage (like New Skin or a store-brand equivalent)
- alcohol wipes to clean wounds
- wound closure strips for pulling together the sides of a clean wound that gapes open.
Pills
- any and all prescription medications
- loratadine (generic name for Claritin) for mild allergy symptoms
- chewable Pepto-Bismol tablets for heartburn, nausea, indigestion, diarrhea
- Ibuprofen, which is both a pain killer and anti-inflammatory
- decongestant or non-drowsy cold medicine
Balms, Ointments, Drops
- antimicrobial/ antibiotic ointment that contain ingredients like bacitracin or mupirocin
- hydrocortisone/ antihistamine cream for insect bites, poison ivy, and mystery rashes
- hand sanitizer (like Purell)
- lubricant eye drops (never use products like Visine that contain vasoconstrictors)
- lip balm
- sunscreen
- aloe cream/gel for sunburn treatment
- iodine for cleaning around wounds
- superglue to seal puncture wounds or cracked calluses
Hardware
- scissors
- tweezers
- safety pins to secure bandage wrap or, after sterilizing, drain a blister
- a bag or case to carry everything in
- irrigation syringe
What Not to Bring
Does it do Double Duty?
As with other gear, you want things in your first aid kit to do double duty whenever possible. This saves weight and reduces the size of the kit. A few examples:
- We recommend Pepto Bismal because it treats heartburn, nausea, indigestion, and diarrhea. You could carry Tums, Dramamine, and Imodium but that would be 3 times the number of pills.
- Carrying a few large sterile gauze pads, which can be cut to fit small wounds, is more efficient than carrying an assortment of different sized pads.
- We recommend carrying lubricant eye drops because they can both treat eyes made red and dry from wind and sun, and flush sand and dirt from the eye. This saves you from carrying two bottles, one of saline and another of lubricating drops.
- If you carry self-adhesive elastic gauze, there is no need to carry a separate item for use as a tourniquet. Elastic gauze can be wound tight around a limb without tearing and thus act as a tourniquet.
Snake Bite Kits
We strongly discourage you from including a snake bite kit or suction products like the Sawyer Extractor Pump, as part of your first aid kit. Our article about venomous snakes discusses the issue in more detail, but in summary, the medical consensus on snake bite treatment has changed tremendously in recent years. Snake bite kits contain scalpels, tourniquets, and suction devices in order to perform the "cut and suck" method. Once widely taught to Scouts, hunters, hikers, et cetera, the cut-and-suck is now understood to do a great deal of harm for zero benefit.