Welcome!
Welcome to week #12 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 you were able to add to the first aid supplies in your kit last week.
Week #12: Medicine
Even if you don’t take daily prescription meds, there are some “meds” you may consider including in your kit. Remember that “illnesses” that may seem small during everyday life (such as a headache or a cold) will be far more difficult to deal with in a disaster situation.
You will want to be your best self in every way possible, especially if you are a parent! This week, add medicines you feel are important for your family to your kit.
While many meds are important, prescription meds can be essential and life sustaining. If there are meds you must take on a regular basis be sure you have a supply of them in your kit.
Ideas / Options:
Other than prescription meds that you already know you need, consider the list below as you decide what to keep in your kit for your family. You may consider putting a 3 day supply of some meds in a small zip pouch (like the ones you can find at craft stores) with a label to save on space!
- Infant / children’s pain relief (with appropriate dropper if needed)
- Children’s Benadryl (for allergic reactions)
- Cold Meds
- Allergy Meds / Antihistamines
- Hydro-cortisone
- Antacid tablets
- Various types of pain relief (including Midol if you use / need it)
- Anti-diarrhea meds and Laxatives (when under severe stress the digestive
system doesn’t always function so well!) - Syrup of Ipecac OR Activated Charcoal (to induce vomiting from poisoning) DO NOT use both. I prefer Activated Charcoal
- High blood pressure meds (Your blood pressure will be higher during times of stress. If you have high blood pressure, include some!)
- Insulin if necessary
- Inhaler / asthma meds
- Birth Control
- Cranberry Pills (for urinary tract infections)
- Ear Drops
- Essential Oils (if you know how to use them)
- An Epi-Pen (if someone in your family needs one)
- Copies of eyeglass or contact prescriptions
What we have done in our family:
We have most of what is listed above. We do not need any prescription meds, blood pressure meds or insulin / asthma meds. We do not have a laxative or ear drops. I would like to get some cranberry pills, but have not yet.
How About You? /
Leave me a comment and tell me what you will be adding to your kit. Why? How are you going to “beef up” the supplies in your basic kit?
Skip to:
| Week #11: First Aid | Week #13: Personal Care & Hygiene | Week #1: Packaging Your Kit | Series Into: Survival Kit Series, A Week by Week Approach |
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.
Because I am an RN I have pretty well stocked first aid supplies. I hadn’t previously thought about sunscreen or poison ivy ointment but I think they would be great additions. I also do not have snake bite medicine, however, I live in Minnesota and they are not very common in our area. Poison Ivy on the other hand is extremely common and I think I will be adding it when I can.
Sounds good Laura!
I just picked up Moleskin this week. I’ve never heard of it, but it looks awesome. Got an extra one for everyday life as well. I’m pretty well set for this week except for a couple of things. I still need to get a pen light and CPR shield and super glue (that is a great idea!). I also have a bottle of liquid bandaid, which we like to use in everyday life.
Sounds like you’ve got most of it covered Karrie!
We definitely need to add some more moleskin (six of us…we’ll need more than one package!), the more pointy type tweezers, not angled, some more Triple Antibiotic cream, and I never thought about it, but the iodine tabs! As a mom of many, how to do make sure you have enough of what you think you might need for all the kiddos? It is something I’m always concerned about…will there be enough for all of us?
I don’t know that there is ever a way to be 100% sure Jill. I keep pretty minimal supplies in my kit and a LOT more in the house. In MOST emergency situations, I’d be able to either stay home, or come back after a few days. It helps me to know I have all that extra in our house.
I recently added flat and pointed tweezers to my first aid kit and replaced some bandages that had been used. I want to get some burn gel and a small suture kit (and need to learn how to use it- just in case) 🙂
Yes, learning how to use it is very important!
I need to add more first aid items to my hubby’s survival bag, as I am building ours up one at a time. We need to add activated charcoal to my kit too, as well as ace wraps and bandages. I hope I win!
Good luck!
I love this list! We have a few basic kits throughout our house but I am trying to put together a more comprehensive one for our survival kits. My husband is a big outdoorsman so some of these items would be good for him to take camping as well! We do not have a suture kit and although the idea of giving someone stitches scares me I know we need to add this as well as the burn cream. I am a new reader and very excited about your site and this series! Thanks so much!
You are very welcome Chelsea! I’m glad to have you join us!
I see a quite few things on this list I don’t yet have. Gotta add the pen light, disposable thermometers, burn gel, suture kit & dust masks. Just bought new superglue for another use, but I’ll add it now, along with moleskin I just happen to have & a needle. Probably need to add the poison ivy stuff, too. Also, love the popsicle stick splint idea from labbie. Thanks!
You are welcome Deb!
Hi Misty! Thanks for such a great blog! I am a beginner and on a limited budget trying to make 5 bags. I bought a little $5 first aid kit from Walmart and added some tweezers and small scissors. I plan on getting a bigger one when I have more money and moving the smaller one to another bag. Plus my mom said I could come and raid her bathroom closet this weekend. There is no telling what I might find in there! Might not even need to buy anything else!!!
Good luck with the raid Tiffany!
I’ve run out of space for everything. It’s time to start prioritizing. I guess that is a positive thing.
Yes, it is Sarah! Good job!
Being from Florida near the beach I’ve always been told to have vinegar in the car for jellyfish stings. I have been searching for other first aid uses for vinegar but haven’t found much. I may include a small spray bottle of it if I hear of anything. In the meantime I’ll be including gloves (I found out that latex gloves DO NOT last forever!) and masks. I need them for carpentry jobs anyway, so it works out!
Apple cider vinegar help a sore throat. It does taste aweful though. I don’t know if it would be effective on jelly fish stings or not, but Apple cider vinegar has many health benifits. It will bring a fever down temp. Help clear up ear infections. I know it sound wierd but its what we use. I haven’t given my child antibitics for an ear infection since I discovered it. They also go away quicker in my opinion.
Thanks Christina! I use it alot in cleaning, but didn’t know about all the health benefits!
I just discovered another use for Apple cider vinegar thought I would share incase your still looking for other uses for vinegar. . It clears up pink eye. After 3 days of my eyes just getting worse over the weekend and not willing to sit in a walk in clinic for 2 hours to be seen, I searched Google. I was skeptical at first with this one, since its my eyes were talking about but decided to try it. It really works. It burns but it worked. Use 1/2 teaspoon to 1 teaspoon per 1/2 cup water and rinse eyes with it / put drops in every 30 min. Of course there are many reasons why your eyes could get red so I would suggest making sure that u actually have pink eye, most doctors would probably tell you not to do it cause its not a” drug” but it worked wonders for me. With no side effects and much cheaper or mystery ingredients. Make sure u get organic acv with the “mother”
I added the iodine tabs since we live by a nuclear plant (about 30 miles as the crow flies). Seems as if each time we move the 5th wheel, we end up rather close to a nuclear plant–go figure! I found some cold packs at Dollar Tree for a dollar ea and bought several as they can also be used to keep meds like insulin cold when kept in the insulated lunch bag that I included as well. I also saved my popsicle sticks this summer for use as splints on fingers. Free! I love that! That burn gel that you have listed sure looks interesting. I may have to look into that! I want to add the disposable thermometers as soon as I have enough points from my Q. I love the way that we can go through this several times to keep tweaking our kits! Thanks Misty!
Stay away from those nuclear plants! (-:
I’m impressed with that burn gel story! Will definitely have to get me some of that for our kit!
It is amazing stuff Amy!
I really need to get some burn cream. There are several things on this list I need, but I think the burn gel would be highest priority. Thank you for another great list.
You are welcome Vicki!
Love your site, check it everyday. Am telling more people about you all the time.
Thank you Sandra! I really appreciate that!
Thanks for the great list! I am looking to add sutures. Do we need some kind of topical anesthetic to go with that?
I guess that is up to you. I’d prefer someone had it if they had to suture me! But, even if they didn’t I’d prefer being sutured period!
Adding the tweezers today, thanks for telling us about snake bite kit sure would have missed that one. What about aloe vera, good for multiple uses? Love your site by the way.
Yes, Aloe Vera is a fabulous idea Sandy, thanks!
I am just starting this series and I am already addicted. We just recently had a snow storm to our area and most were unprepared to go without electricity for over a day let alone a week. We never usually get even 1/2 an inch of snow a year in this area. In light of this we have learned a lot about what we need to stock up on. This week we ordered a really good first aid kit. It will have most of the things mentioned, but I will have to add a few things to it. Hopefully I will be able to keep up with each week and get the supplies we need for any future emergencies. Thanks so much for your blog.
You are welcome Jennifer! Sorry about the crazy snow storm!
New to your site, good info! I would add a tube of super glue to your first aid supplies. It’s very good for open wounds. After cleaning the wound as good as possible, close it up as small as possible and apply the glue and hold untill the glue sets. Apply a bandage or peace of tape to help hold it close and to keep it clean. The glue not only holds the wound together, it’ll also help to keep it clean and waterproof.
Great tip Larry! THANK YOU! I will add it now!
I include benadryl also because my children have bad allergies!
So do I Crissy! I just included it int the meds week instead, but maybe I should list it in both places….
My favorite way to remove splinters is to use a piece of tape. Cover the splinter and pull the tape off in the direction exactly opposite from the way the splinter went in. Voila!
Perfect! Great idea!
i still need to get a first aid kit and when i do ill check it with this list and add in what is missing
For the time being funds are super tight so I will not be able to purchase anything extra. I do have the burn gel and any kind of raw honey works on burns. My granddaughter touched a hot burner and had severe burns to her hand. I applied honey and covered it loosely with gauze the pain was gone almost immediately and the next morning it was nearly healed!
I will be adding a needle to my kit, I don’t know why I did not think of it before with as many splinters as I have pulled out. 🙂 I want to add a snakebite kit very soon.
Lots of things you can do for free Brenda! I will be compiling a list soon as part of the “Paying it Forward” deal I’ve got going on this month!
I have a pretty extensive first aid kit, thanks to buying one pre-made. I don’t know that I would have thought of sting-kill or burn ointment on my own. I do need to add some soft splints, and more sting-kills. I also need to get a better set of tweezers. The ones that came with my pre-made kit just don’t do the job, and with tick season in full swing, they’re getting a lot of use. Thanks again for this wonderful blog. It’s been so helpful to me and my family. I feel so much more prepared, and that’s such a wonderful feeling.
I’m glad it is helpful Katie!
This is a great addition to the kits. Target has a special here that if you boy 3 products worth $7.00, you get a softside zip first aid kit with pockets to keep it in, I like the idea of having more than just 1 first aid kit, you have reminded us in the past to have one in our vehicle and each emergency kit or go bag. thanks for all your suggestions, the shelf reliance stuff seems very practical and reasonable, thanks for the link to your homestore.
Yes, more than one kit is never a bad idea Kelly!
i have alot of this stuff in my pack already. but i definitely need a suture kit. the CPR mask is a great idea. i had one in my first aid kit growing up. i don’t know why i didn’t think to get one for mine now. lol well it’s on my shopping list now 🙂