What to include in a first, first aid kit...

Ok, after spending the last few days looking through the plethora of information on this board I've decided to begin my first BOB. Actually, since I'm working in Afghanistan this will be a bag that my wife can load the kids, grab the bag, and hit the road.
In regards to first aid kits, is it better to just buy an off the shelf kit or build a DIY kit? I know basic things like bandages, gauze, pain releif, peroxide, alcohol, etc... but what are some other things a newb like me should include?

Also, just to add, this part of arfcom has really opened my eyes. What started all this really was that back in '04-'05, when hurricane Rita was heading towards Houston, (home for us), my wife loaded up and headed to Dallas to stay with family. I was in Kuwait at the time. We didn't have a BOB, or any preps, so they pretty much just packed a little stuff and left. She said it took 12 hours to make a 4 hour trip. There were cars out of fuel or broke down all over the place she said. I can see that situation getting out of hand real quick.

I don't what them to have to go through that again without being better prepared, especially if I'm working overseas.

Thanks guys and thanks for all the information!

I just found Chainsaws post on one of the other boards with a looong list of stuff in his kit so if you want to disregard this post, go ahead.

Here's an idea I just had: If you have kids, then every time you use something during the day (diapers, band-aid, etc), put another one in a bag. Do this for a week or two. This will give you an idea of how much stuff you use that you don't ordainarily think of.

Packing for small kids, and evacuating them, can be a real chore. Your wife deserves a medal for doing it under those conditions!

Thanks! I'll let her know.

At that time we only had 1 kid, she was about 5 or 6 then. Now we have 2 kids. One is 12 and the other will be 4 in April so I guess prepping a BOB for kids is similar, but not the same, as a BOB for an adult. Good point.

Can you put a link to that thread in here for reference?

Thanks!

Sure thing! Here it is.

There are far more medically qualified people than me on this list but here are my opinions on the subject. Most commercially available kits are just for boo boos. That's not necessarily a bad thing as minor cuts, scrapes, and bodyaches are what most people are going to need in a first aid kit (FAK). Unless you get a FAK geared to police/military/emt you will be lacking the ability to deal with severe traumas you may encounter from car accidents, gunshot wounds, chainsaw accidents, and such.

Considering this is for a BOB you need to weigh cost, volume, weight, and usefulness to any decision. I would look to a mid-size pre-built kit as a base. This should have a variety of bandages, OTC medicines, and such to cover most of what you need a FAK to do. Something like Adventure Medical Kits. Be careful on some of these FAK you see on Cheaper Than Dirt and other discount sites as well as "soldier" kits that have bulk but lack substance.

Once you have the base you can add the extra stuff you deem important. Things I would look to are moleskin (if you think you may have to walk any distance), Olaes/Isreali dressing for the big bleeders, and tourniquet. If anyone is on special meds you must include some in your BOB FAK plans.

I am here in Kabul, I keep in my blow out kit:

2 3 1/4" 14ga catheter needles
2 quik clot gauze
2 metal handle torni's
2 IZZY bandages
2 H&H gauze rolls
2 Nasel airways
1 pack oral airways
rehydration salts
2 Asherman chest seals
1 Cravat

Yes, I plan for the worst, hope for the best.

Sorry man, thought you were asking for you. Would go with some basic stuff for the wife and kids

That is a great kit, but please guys: Do not forget about the dangers of BBP (Bloodborne pathogens).

I agree for a state side kit when time is on your side. In a war zone, there is no time for putting that stuff on.

Not a problem. Thanks for the reply!
I'm asking in regards to a kit I will build back home for the wife and kids to use until I can get back permenantly and build a bigger kit.

What's her training level? Most COTS stuff is fine if you're totally clue less in the medical field. You really want someone reading a manual and trying to figure out a tourniquet? To a commercial kit, I'd add a bunch of 4x4 gauze and some gauze rolls, maybe an ace wrap or 2. Gloves are a good idea.

Agree w/ the kid-specific suggestions so far.

OP, what's YOUR training level? If you are like most people, you have had no formal 1st Aid/CPR training. (*I am NOT dogging you, I'm just telling it like it is.) There is a LOT of info you pick up in a basic 1st Aid course that most people don't know. Also, there is a lot of false information about first aid procedures floating around*.

A little training goes a long way. And 99% of the time, unless you are a first responder, you will be treating a loved one or friend, not some skanky stranger who likely has a dozen STDs for you to avoid. Get the training!



*For example, if you find someone unconscious, you do NOT put something between their teeth to "keep them from biting their tongue off." This is "old" First Aid; it hasn't been taught for decades. 1st Aid is constantly changing.

Read this yet? http://www.theplacewithnoname.com/blogs/klessons/ Right up your alley.

Very little "real" training. I am a deployed contractor working in Afghanistan so we did go through a basic, (few hours), first aid course prior to coming over. The showed us how to use tourniquets, (sp?), sucking chest wounds, and things like that. Also how to check for wounds and to NOT move someone who may have a back injury.

http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_10_18/644558_For_the_uninformed___Base_Level_Med_Kit_explained__Initial_Pricing_2_post__.html
http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_6_10/247358_Let_s_talk_med_pouches.html
http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_10_17/651988_Okay_SF_people_school_me_in_IFAKs.html

I want to address the back/neck injury thing. We are way overcautious about that. For the most part that's okay for normal emergency medicine, although there's been talk about the amount of time spent on scene packaging a patient for transport, and that immobilization causes more problems than it solves, and that there has never been a shred of evidence that immobilization actually works. There have been studies that compared the US with our strict spinal immobilization vs a country like the Phillipines where if you get in an accident and spiderweb the windshield their EMS protocols involve the back of a pickup truck, and there's no difference in the rate of spinal injury. What really should have happened five years ago was we should have started teaching medics to clear cspine injuries in the field, but no one wants to take on the legal liability, so we will continue to delay transport to fully immobilize anyone who the mechanism of injury remotely suggests may need it.

Anyway, all that to say this- in an emergency, don't think more than twice about getting someone out of harm's way because they might have a neck or back injury. Don't let someone get more injured/lose more blood/get more hypothermic (that's an important one in trauma) just because you're afraid of what MIGHT have happened. And again, this is only for when there is no access to EMS for whatever reason.

I once x-rayed a guy's neck who vaguely complained of neck pain. His lateral view showed a fracture of the fourth vertebra that had slid forward and forced his spinal cord forward into almost an "s" shape. The cord went up, hit the fracture and took a hard left, then a hard right and continued up as normal. After an inquisition from someone higher ranking he admitted that it happened months previously during flight school, diving into a lake. Not wanting to get dropped, he never told anyone and waited until he'd not only graduated but also gotten qualified at his unit before getting x-rayed. Part of his qualification included shipboard landings wearing NVGs.

The spinal cord is not a delicate structure.

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