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!
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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.
How About You?
Leave me a comment and tell me what you will be adding to your kit. Why? Do you know how to clean a wound?
Skip to:
| Week #10: Sanitation | Week #13: Other First Aid | 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.
I have just been focusing on our car and 72 hours bags. I have a good kit in the car and and simple basic kit for the kids. I need to get a more detailed kit for my husband and my kit. I also would like to look into taking a first aid class.
There are so many things that I had not thought of. I have been thinking about putting several 1st aid kits together, but it seems to be making me feel very overwhelmed. The other day, at a garage sale I found a make-up bag from Mary Kay. The bag unrolls and it will hang from an attached hanger. It has 4 zippered clear plastic compartments that velcro. I think this will make a perfect lightweight/portable 1st aid bag for my 72 hour pack. It is soft and flexable so it will not take up as much space as a box type kit. I think besides the many things you suggest for a 1st aid kit, another grat item is MOLESKIN. It works so good for blisters and sore spots on your feet, but can also have many uses. It sticks to skin much better than any band-aid ever made. I think that in an emergency if somebody needed stitches for a cut, but nobody could stitch the cut Moleskin could hold the cut together and keep dirt out until the victim could get propper medical treatment. You wouldn’t want to use it for burns, but just about anything else would work.
I have various bandages around the house; I just need to collect them all in one place. I think my plan will be to buy a first aid kit and then supplement it with the additional bandages, quick clot, etc. I like the idea of a flat sheet or material that could be used in multiple ways too.
I actually implemented a fully stocked first aid kit at my work. Before I got there, they had items like band aids and antibacterial ointment. But nothing to be used as a splint, no large bandages, no burn gel, etc.
the best additional supply i have found is a biohazard clean up kit. we have an escalator in our building, and many times we have had serious accidents where blood needs to be touched. This kit has everything pre packaged to protect you from someone else’s bodily fluids (from booties, face shield, head to toe…. To the obvious gloves and gauze. Even has a marked biohazard bag to place all the trash into. It is great protection for you when you want to help someone out.
We’ve been trying to stock food and water for emergencies but can now see through this post that we have been derelict in other areas. We have some first aid kits on hand, but will start immediately to add things like Quick Clot and multi-purpose items like cloth diapers and sanitary pads. Thank you for these informative tips that are so encouraging and not simply overwhelming!
Good tips here. I’ll be adding more assorted gauze products to our kits this week.
We have the basics for each kids bag. Our older two have more, no quick clots but it is on the list.
I have three small children, so bandages are a necessity around here! Right now I just have the assorted box bandages. I really need to get some gauze and tape. I haven’t heard of triangle bandages. I need to look those up and see what they would be used for. I also have a few alcohol pads, but I need to stock some more. I really like the idea of packing a spare flat sheet. It could be used for so many things! It could also help transport someone with a hurt leg who couldn’t walk. Thanks for the ideas!
I think my next step will be to inventory all the various kits; main/linen closet, kitchen, 72hr bags, cars, work, and travel. I’ll then have one central list. I can cross-level, track expiration dates and restock more easily – most importantly, finally feel confident that I have what I need and I know what I have.
Yay! Thank you! We will. Be adding 2 quick clots and a first aid kit to our packs as soon as they arrive 🙂 we also have cloth diapers in our adult packs. We will be adding wound dressings this week.
I have pretty much everything on this list in my pack except the cloth diapers. I have a lot of cloth diapers, but they are not the rectangular shape. They are contoured with elastic in the legs. I could easily add some of the liners though.
I found recently in a catalog some reusable ice pack bandages (called Arctic Ease cold theraphy Wraps) that do not require refrigeration. It comes like an ace bandage. You cut it to what size you need and wrap it like you do an ace bandage. It cools with the sweat on your skin. When you are finished you roll it back up, put it back in the package add 2 tsp of water and its ready to go the next time you need it. I’ve not had a chance to try them out, but I purchased them to throw in the kids football bags just in case.
I would add butterfly bandages to my kit. And I would add character bandages to my kit as well because sometimes kids need an extra special bandaid.
I have lots of smaller band-aids, but I need to get serious about purchasing larger ones. Adding the money you suggested is something I don’t have in my kit either. Your site is very helpful.
I’ve already got Quik-Clot, band-aids, gauze, and butterfly bandages in ours. Our local Kroger had a /ton/ of the latex self-adhesive wrap on clearance, so we stocked on that for pressure for wounds. The only thing we didn’t have was a triangular bandage — AND we’re currently getting rid of our baby items (our youngest just turned three). That’s a perfect use for those cloth diaper/burp cloths we’d stockpiled over the course of two kids! So I’ll be snatching those out of the “garage sale” pile and into our kit.
I have several cloth diapers and band aid type bandages in our kit, and we have a first aid kit that stays in our car. I would love to buy (or win!) a second full first aid kit that could stay with the emergency kit.
This will undoubtedly be frowned upon by some…but we did it and I feel like its a good idea for us. I have chronic allergies and have been prescribed anti-biotics to prevent bacterial infections on numerous occasions..I had no intentions of taking them (whole other story)but did have the Rx filled and I put them in our BugOut Medical Bag. Yes they will eventually expire…but if put in a situation where an infection is present and there is no access to medical care..I would take or give my children ant-biotics that may have expired if that was my only option. An infection from a cut, bite or burn can potentially become deadly if untreated especially in assumed poor sanitary conditions. We’ve also packed the usual Tylenol, Motrin and basic first aid products..but also added an anti-diarrheal as diarrhea can lead to dehydration which can be very serious in small children. Not to mention the possible lack of bathroom facilities…….
i have a small first-aid kit, though i am looking to add to it since we are a family of six.
Tongue depressors(popsicle sticks) for splints (or kindling) and q-tips.
Having this done already was a blessing last night. My daughter fell and busted her lip pretty bad last night right before midnight, and the gauze I had just put into our FAK came in handy. I was able to get her cleaned up and stopped the flow of blood till we got her to the ER for stitches. Its amazing how these little things can make stressful situations a bit easier on the mind.
SO sorry about the ER trip, but so glad you were ready!
I’m jumping into this series today so I’m going to add a box of various size band aids to my kits.
Having all the supplies is great (and relatively easy) – we’ve even added an auto defibrillator. What is most challenging is getting all the info to use everything. Taking EMT classes at the community college, CERT, etc, but there’s SO much to learn / practice that this is one of the areas of preparing that can get to be the most overwhelming.
I’d like to add the quick clot bandages. They seem pretty important!
I already have many types of bandages, gauze, and antibiotic ointment. My goal for this week is to add larger bits of cloth for larger wounds, hygiene, keeping cool, etc.
I stumbled across a clearance sale at our local “big box” retailer and stocked up on bandages. Yay!