72 Hour Kit Series Week #11: First Aid

Welcome!

Welcome to week #11 in the “72 Hour Kit Ideas: A week by week approach” series.

This series is all about making it simple and do-able to get a 72 hour kit put together for you and your family.

Creating such a kit can be overwhelming and financially difficult to do all at once. But through this series, I’ve broken it down for you into 26 small steps! You can see all the steps here. Just take one small baby step each week and in 6 months you will have a well stocked, personalized kit!

You can even go through the series a few times over a year or two adding just the most basic supplies the first six months and then a few more “extra” supplies each time you cycle through it again.

Want even more help?

This series is also available as an e-book. Purchasing the e-book gives you a few additional benefits over just reading the free series:

• Additional details and tips
• The ability to print the entire book!
• Pictures of my own kit showing just how I pack each week.

Download “Your Own 72 Hour Kit Plan” E-Book Now!

*Some links in this post are affiliate links meaning, at no additional cost to you, I may get a small commission if you make a purchase. Some links (those to Thrive Life) actually provide you with a discounted price. Thanks for your support in this way!

Last Week:

I hope all of you were able to add some bandages to your kit last week.

Week #11: First Aid

Now that you have supplies to keep your family sanitary and supplies to clean their wounds if necessary, you will need items to care for other injuries as well.

This is an area of your kit where it can be easy to get carried away. The list below is very comprehensive. Prioritize what is most important and add more expensive things when you are able. There may be some things you never add, such as the snake bite kit if you don’t live near snakes!

If you are just starting your 72 hour kit, add just the most important first aid supplies to your 72 hour pack. If you already have a kit, add just a few additional things not in your kit yet.

Suggestions:

I’ve found that the least expensive way to build your first aid supplies is by buying one or more pre-made first aid kits. I have looked into purchasing things separately or in a pre-made kit many times, and it is always less expensive to order the pre-made kit. Check Walmart, Galls.com, and Amazon.

Once you have a basic kit, consider adding to it. If your basic kit does not include some of the following items, decide how important they are to your family. Prioritize things and add what you can separately a little at a time.

There is only one item I believe you should absolutely have in your kit and that is a good first aid book. Here are a few other ideas:

• Butterfly bandages
• Various sized “band-aid type” boxed bandages: from 1 in x .25 in up to 4 in x 2 in, circular, square.
• Various size gauze dressings and adhesive tape
• Large wound dressing (feminine need supplies are great for this).
• Triangular bandages (I just use a cloth diaper…also good for other uses).
• Quik Clot (this is incredible for stopping severe bleeding, but be careful. It is extremely hard to remove from the skin. Only use it in a true, severe bleeding emergency when you don’t have access to an emergency room).
• Sting Relief Gel / Cream.
• Antibiotic Ointment
• Finger Splints
• Soft Splints
• Moleskin.
• Tweezers
• Iodine Tablets (very important if you live near a nuclear power plant).
• Scissors (I got a simple pair at the dollar store)
• Cold Pack
• Suture Kit
• Snake Bite Kit and / or Poison extractor.
• Exam Gloves (blue nitrile would be best in case you need to help someone with a latex allergy).
• Burn Relief Gel or Dressing (or both). The one I’ve linked to is amazing…..seriously a miracle worker!
• Disposable Thermometers
• Dust Masks.
• Poison ivy treatment.
• Sunburn ointment
• A pen light to check pupils.
• Super Glue (can help hold wounds together and keep them clean)

What we have done in our family:

We have most of what is listed above. We do not yet have a soft splint or a pen light. I’m using the antiseptic towelettes and alcohol pads that came with my first aid kit. I’ve separated them out into the 4 packs we have. I have Clorox wipes, hand sanitizer, and soap that I found in the travel section at Target in each kit. I purchased boxes of distilled water and latex gloves separately. We have gloves in each adult kit and water in all four kits.

Many have asked why I have additional water here in my kit. My answer is that I simply like to have it separated out in my mind: some water is for drinking; other is for cleaning wounds if needed. I like packaging it with my first aid supplies so that it would be easily accessible were I to need it quickly. Most of our drinking water is at the very bottom of our packs while this water sits with our first aid supplies right at the top.

Rebecca Britton

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Becky is a wildlife enthusiast and pet and livestock care expert with a diploma in canine nutrition. With over a decade of experience in animal welfare, Becky lends her expertise to Simple Family Preparedness through insightful info about pets, livestock, bee keeping, and the practicalities of homesteading.

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