First Aid kit question, What's in the next level, & next.

[Sourdough]

Please pay attention, NOT talking about "Survival" kit. Only First Aid Kits. I think or hope we all know what is in the basic first aid kit. If kit "Level #6" is a fully stocked ambulance, and kit Level #10 is the mother of all hospitals.

What is in Kit "Level" #2, #3, #4 (what is in the advanced kit #2) What is in the super advanced kit #3, and so on.

[Rick]

SD - I don't have different levels of first aid kits. I have one kit that I carry regardless of where I'm going or what I plan to do. If you believe band-aids are important then they are important no matter where you are (that's an example). That being said, here is what I carry with me.

First Aid Kit – Condor Rip Away Pouch

Total weight including pouch is 2lb 9oz.
1 oz triple antibiotic ointment
2 bandage guage roller 2" x 6 yards
1 EMT shears
1 needle forceps
2 tweezers
1 nail clippers
2 closure strip 1/4" X 1 1/2"
4 6-0 Polyester Fiber Suture with 3/8" scalpel point needle (1 per pack)
2 Povidone-Iodine Prep pads
18 Alcohol Prep Pads (fire starter, too)
1 instant cold compress
2 Little Hotties hand warmers
1 4" x 4" sterile pad
1 5" X 9" ABD Pad Extra Absorbent
1 3" X 8" gauze bandage
3 Butterfly closure
11 regular bandaids
1 one inch self-adhesive bandage
4 sets of gloves
30 Hydrocodone 500 Mg tabs
12 Cipro 500 Mg tabs
30 Amoxicillin 500 Mg tabs
1 50 g QuikClot Sport
2 6" wooden splints
Assorted sizes of Moleskin Plus
1 Dressing, First-Aid, Field, 11 3/4 inches square
11 plastic snip bandaids
2 Insect Sting relief towlettes
12 antihistimines
2 twelve inch roles of one inch Velcro strapping (splints)
1 25-foot piece of paracord
1 box Luden's cough drops
1 Fresnel lens
1 BIC lighter
4 1 use size Triple Antibiotic ointment
2 antacid tablets
2 acetaminophen tablets
6 Loperamide Hydrochloride (anti diarrhea)
1 1" roll guaze
10 Q tips
1 tube chap-ez
1 splinter remover
1 single use tube of neosporin
2 single use tube of First Aid Burn Cream
1 Burnaid Burn Gel
1 NexTemp disposable thermometer
1 First Aid Pamplet
1 36” SAM Splint (the Sam Splint is folded into thirds and strapped to the bottom of the kit)
1 bottle Refresh Tears
12 Orajel medicated tooth swabs

[finallyME]

You put all that in a condor? I just wish Safe Zone sold a condor that was coyote brown or desert camo or multicam.

[Rick]

It has also been pointed out by others that knowledge is the most important component in a first aid kit. You can carry an I.V. in your first aid gear but if you don't know how to use it then it's of no value. Only carry what you are proficient in using and keep your training up to date.

[Rick]

Being married to an RN has it's advantages. She's my medical advisor and I follow her judgement closely (as well as all orders she dictates).

[LowKey]

Lucky for you to be able to talk a doc into writing you scripts. I can see someone like SD getting those but sure can't get them here. Doctors here are paranoid.

[crashdive123]

Not sure about levels, but my most basic is (now that I make knives) carrying 3 band aids in my wallet.

The first aid kit that accompanies me on my day hikes is as follows:

5 – 3X2 Non-stick pads
4 – 4X2 band aids
20 – 3X1 band aids
30 – 1-1/2X1/4 ban aids
1 – ace bandage
1 – small roll of gauze
2 – 3X3 gauze pads
2 – 3X2 gauze pads
1 – knuckle bandage
4 – tape closure strips
1 – 25g Quick Clot
1 – small Sam Splint
1 – roll med tape
1 – forceps
1 – tweezers
1 – wooden tongue depressor
1 – Neosporin
20 – alcohol prep pads
2 – sting relief pads2 – benzalkonium chloride towelettes (helps prevent skin infections)
3 – packs of Medi-Lyte tablets (electrolyte replacement)
3 – Neomycin Antibiotic cream
2 – iodine prep pads
20 - Ibuprofen
3 – packeks Medi-Phenyl (decongestant)
3 – packs (6 tabs) Tylenol
1 – moleskin
4 – eye lubricating drops
24 – tabs Loperamide Hydrochloride (anti-diarrhea)
10 - Benadryl
6 - finger cots
2 – pair Nitril gloves
1 – First aid guide
2 – pleated face masks

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I have a much larger first aid kit that stays in my "camping truck" and small ones that sit in work vehicles.

[COWBOYSURVIVAL]

This post was very timely for me. I ordered the 3 shoulder bags for each of my family. I plan to pack the basics for our outings so each of us has our own. Reality is someone dies in my swamp every year.

[Rick]

@ Lowkey - That's one more reason why it's important to have a good working relationship with the right doctor. In my case, my PCP has hiked several different continents as well as military time and fully understands what can happen under the right circumstances. He also knows me and trusts that I'll use them for what they are intended. When I go in and ask for a refill I take the original container with me so he can see first hand that what he wrote is still in the bottle. Trust is a two way street. You have to trust your doctor but they have to trust you, too. If not, then you need to find another doctor.

[Rick]

CS - Try to research what the majority died from and that's what you need to focus on. At least it's a starting point.

[Highhawk1948]

Cody Lundin,(TV show Dual Survivor), has a couple of good books on Urban and Wilderness Survival. Good lists of first aid and survival kits and pretty much does what Rick suggests. Find out what kills people in different enviornments and works from there.

[LowKey]

Rick, that's very true with docs.
But due to the circumstances of mandated care in MA, I've had very little chance to build a relationship with a doc. I've changed PCPs 3 times in just the last 7 years due to shifts in health care availability. It really Sucks.

I'm happy to say though, that with a few exceptions, my kit is pretty much like yours. One in the house and one in the truck. A much smaller one in my hiking/fishing kit, a small one in the range bag, and one in the desk drawer at work that goes in the tool box when we get driven in a company vehicle to a jobsite.

[Rick]

I was asked to post some pics on my first aid kit and how I jammed all that stuff in there. In reality, I probably have more than that right now because I added a bunch of bandaids for softball tournaments my grand daughter was in. It sort of became the defacto first aid kit for the team. Anyway, here it is.

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The kit is a Condor Rip-Away EMT Pouch and I've stuck a velcro red cross on it. On the bottom of the kit you can see a SAM Splint folded up. There was no more room inside so the exterior strap holds it on.

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This is the kit laid open. You can see there are three sections. One zippered section on the left and two other sections that have pockets and loops.

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The right hand section contains: (top to bottom, left to right)

4 pairs of gloves
EMT shears
suture tweezers
2 standard tweezers
nail clippers
needle forceps
2 one-inch gauze
1 triple anti-biotic ointment
Abdominal pad
4 sutures (6-0 with 3/8 scalpal point)
1 cold compress
1 4x4 pad
two little hotties hand warmers
2 alcohol prep pads
2 iodine pads
2 closure strips

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The middle section contains (top to bottom, left to right)

25 feet paracord
30 Hydrocodone 500 Mg tabs
12 Cipro 500 Mg. tabs
2 wooden splints/tongue depressors
1 Field Dressing
Assorted mole skin
1 role colflex tape (sticks to itself)
1 50g QuikClot

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Left hand zippered section contains. (top to bottom, left to right)

1 box Ludens cough drops
1 BIC lighter
1 Tums
1 Chapstick
1 30 Amoxicillin Tabs
Tylenol
10 Q-tips
Steri-Strips
1 Neosporin
4 inch bandages
1 inche bandages
1 Fresnel magnifying lens
2 insect sting relief wipes
12 antihistimines
2 velcro straps (splints)
Another steri-strip
1 roll gauze
triple antibiotic
1/2 inch bandaids
pencil with duct tape
Loperamide Hydrochloride (anti-diarrhea)
2 antacid tablets (upper)
NexTemp Thermometer (lower)
Burnaid Burn Gel
Splinter remover (upper)
Iodine pads (lower)
1/4 inch band aids
1 bottle Refresh Tears (added after this posting)
12 Orajel tooth swabs (added after this posting)
First Aid Pamplet

I think that's everything. If anything is unclear just ask.

[Sourdough]

So Rick, Not counting the dope. If you made up those kits for sale and assuming a profit for the time and effort, what do you think you would have to charge for a kit like that.....???

[Rick]

Off the top of my head about $150....give or take. A stupid bottle of Tylenol is about $12.

[BENESSE]

Thanks Rick, I always enjoy seeing what others carry and adjusting my own kit accordingly. One thing I carry and have found useful is sterile eye wash/artificial tears. I'd get trash/dust/bugs my eyes and it helps to have something to wash it out.

[Rick]

That's definitely good stuff. Just watch the expiration date on it. Refresh Tears is good but doesn't last long on the date.

[BENESSE]

No way around this, but I sure hate the waste of expired meds; or maybe I should just be grateful for not having needed them (so far) very frequently.
But it always hurts throwing away bottles of Advil, Tylenol, Zyrtec, antibiotics, cold & flu meds, eye drops, brittle Band Aids and dried out towelettes of one sort or another.

[Sarge47]

I actually ordered one of the Condor EMT pouches from Rick and it arrived today! I called him and asked him if he could post some pics revealing the contents and how they are packed. Great job Rick! While I'm sure I won't be carrying every little thing you do, you've given me some great ideas!

[Rick]

B - I've always told my wife that my great wish is I've wasted my money on preps. If I never have to use them for anything I will have lived a very blessed life. I try not to look at as sunk costs but rather disasters that didn't happen.

Sarge - That's what it's all about. Sharing ideas and creating sparks for new ones.

Crash has some good ideas up above as well.