[Updated!] What’s In Your First Aid Kit?

Update! After a lot of response on this post, I have added a few things to my basic kit below.

Shoelaces, for a tourniquet, if necessary
Mirror, mostly for vanity
Super Glue, to get skin back together in a hurry
Sewing kit
A fun new bag to stuff everything into

Feeling ready for anything now!

The original post:
It feels doomsday-ish to put a first aid kit together. You have to sit and think about what might be useful in urgent situations. Even further, you need to recall something unpleasant and remember what you would have wanted in that situation, and then prepare for it to happen again. This exercise is not the light summer beach read. It’s the Winter of our Discontent. But, it must be done, like washing the car, or reading Steinbeck in high school. So, on an already gray and chilly Venice day, I went to the store to buy new first aid provisions and a decent bottle of wine. As I put my kit back together, I drank to my health.

cotton pads, cotton-tipped swabs

Acts of motorcycling, camping, backpacking and living in an earthquake zone have made me more vigilant about keeping my kit updated. It is our portable mini-hospital, and I keep just one, because the gels, creams and pills have assorted expiration dates, and I don’t want to keep replacing duplicate kits. So, our little problem-solver goes from backpack to motorcycle to car to bathroom and back as needed.

Class of First Aid
Not shown: extra zip-top bags, Dramamine, cotton pads, cotton-tipped swabs, bug spray, sting gel, matches

I break the kit contents up by situation. Perhaps not the best method, but it is mine.

Universal

Multitool, multitool, multitool. This has scissors, a straight and serrated knife blade, screw head bits, an awl, pliers, etc. Next to my wallet, it’s probably the most used thing in my bag.
Bug spray, bug spray, bug spray. We nice fleshy city-folk are hungry bugs’ PowerBall number. Almost every time I go outside and end up waiting somewhere, I wish I had it. Now, it’s a permanent fixture in the kit.
Mints. I keep them in my kit for one very important reason. I absolutely believe the most important thing one can do in an urgent situation is to stay calm. Mints are my reminder. If it’s not a life-threatening situation, I pop a mint, make a plan, and get to work. No big. Just a scrape/cut/sting/burn/bear mauling. Also, if you’ve ever tasted blood, you know they come in quite handy.

Irritations
blisters, hot spots, splinters, etc

Cotton-tipped swabs
Cotton pads
Earplugs – usually for nights out camping
Cough drops
Safety pins
Paper clip
SPF rated lip balm
Small tube of sunscreen
Hair ties
Blister prep pads
Moleskin
Extra plastic zip-top bags – puke, contaminated gauze, bandages, etc
Facial tissue
Homeopathic sting gel for insect bites and stings – mostly arnica and I swear by this stuff. It works better than hydrocortisone (for my skin). Side note: the reason I swear by it is because my burden in life is to be extra-tasty to bugs.

Bug spray, sting gel, matches

Systemic
pain, inflammation, diarrhea, upset stomach, motion sickness, allergies

Aleve
Buffered aspirin
Ibuprofin
Acetominophin
Dramamine
Claritin
Benadryl
Immodium A-D
Pepto Bismol chews

Injuries
cuts, rashes, small breaks

Multiple bandages in varying shapes; rounds, small, medium and large strips, finger bandages, butterfly strips
Moist prep towelettes
Alcohol pads
Neosporin spray
Plastic tweezers for pulling out splinters, stingers, rocks from skin
Plenty of gauze pads
Eye patch – I imagine nothing else really does the trick. Really, really hope I don’t need this one, for any reason.
Ace self-adhesive bandage – holds all dressings in place, help restrict movement
Self-adhesive netted wrap – holds multiple pieces of gauze in place
1″ roll of medical tape
Zip ties: When folded in half, they seem strong enough to use two as a finger splint. I’ve never had to do this, but in a grim moment of picturing that situation, in my mind that would totally work. Otherwise, zip ties are always useful for cinching something down on the bikes, or while camping.

Et, voila!

This isn’t really a kit for big stuff like larger bone breaks or major/multiple lacerations, etc. When I’m backpacking in remote areas, I add a few things to accommodate an environment where access to medical help could take a while:

hand warmers
emergency blanket
cold pack
storm matches
needle and heavy-duty thread
unwaxed dental floss
heavy Ace bandage

Things that always come out of this kit and go into a smaller pouch in my handbag:

Hair ties
Ibuprofin
Aleve
Mints
SFP lip balm
Tube of sunscreen
Safety pins
Facial tissue
A few bandaids
A few antibacterial wipes

Cost: It varies. I started with a basic over-the-counter first-aid kit for $10, which provided all of my gauzes, bandages, etc, and I built on that. By the time I added full-sized boxes of all the medications, creams, and extra bits to store in your bathroom, it totaled well over $150, but I’m now stocked for a small village. If you would like to reduce cost and/or waste, look for travel-sized packets of pain relievers, wet wipes and gels/creams, all great because of their small sizes.

Most Used Items: Multi-tool, pain relievers, mints and sunscreen. Let’s hope it stays that way.

Least Used Items: Dramamine, Immodium A-D. I always end up throwing these away after their expiration dates and subsequently replacing them.