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.
This may seem kinda silly but I am planning to add some of those starbucks instant coffee packets to my food supply because, like most adults, we start our day with caffine. Everytime I give up caffine, I get terrible headaches for about 3 days and most people struggle with it even longer. I had to shovel heavy snow in that condition a few weeks ago and I thought I was going to throw up…or die. I don’t want to be in that condition in a bug-out situation. I think there are iced coffee mix ins, so I will try to get those for the ease of not needing hot water. We love these little packets for weekend camping trips.
Sounds like a good idea for those who start their day with caffine Caitlin!
Since this post went around last I discovered D-MANNOSE. Instead of cranberry pills. It’s basically just the part of the cranberry that fights the infection. It is a lot more exspensive. But It works much faster and better. And u can costomise the dosage . Like for children. I found it when looking for something formy three year old. Since I couldn’t exactly give her an adult dosage of cranberry pills. Also Apple cider vinegar is great for a lot of things. From pink eye to yeast infections.
Awesome Christina! Thanks for the tip!
These are helpful tips for emergency preparedness. These are Important things that we need in order to be ready for any emergency, disaster, or earthquake.
Be ready or suffer the consequence.
I would add a small lighted magnifying glass – very helpful for splinters, reading small print on things and even can be used to start a fire.
I am slowly getting all my things together and plan to supplement a store bought kit. There are several things on the list I hadn’t really thought about and need to get. The burn gel sounds like something I need for the kit and for now, I usually end up with a burned finger or two if I am cooking in a hurry. I know we talked about gloves last week and I mentioned that I would trade out the latex gloves for non-latex due to my latex sensitivity; I would recommend that for this week too in case there are others that have it.