An Integral Part Of Any SHTF Scenario Is Having An Up-To-Date First Aid Kit – Check Yours Regularly!

by S.E. Gunn, PhD, All News Pipeline:

When was the last time you checked your first aid kit supplies? I needed a bandage recently, so I pulled my container of bandages and found that the adhesive had dried out on most of them. Did you know that the adhesive on a bandage dries out over time? I guess I should have realized that would be the case, but it never occurred to me. Now I need to invest in bandages, again, because the ones in my first aid kit are no longer useful. Then I started thinking about first aid kits in general, noticing that many of the items in my kit had expiration dates that had passed and recognized it was probably past time to inventory and update my kit.

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When I started looking, I found there are a variety of folk who want to help you out by providing a list of what they recommend you include in your kit. I settled on the American Red Cross list of what they recommend be in a first aid kit for a family of 4 (yours will vary based on the size of your family and your activities). They recommend your kit contain the following items:

• 2 absorbent compress dressings (5 x 9 inches) – I find it is less expensive to buy a box of 20 than it is to buy just 2 luckily, these don’t actually expire as long as the seal on the individual packages stay intact
• 25 adhesive bandages (assorted sizes) – if you’re like me, you don’t use them very often, so a smaller package would be appropriate for my family. Personally, I’d go for waterproof finger & knuckle bandages since I am most likely to injure my hands when chopping food for meals while having just a couple of the other sizes
• 1 adhesive cloth tape (10 yards x 1 inch) – adhesive tape has the same problems as bandages, the glue dries out over time
• 5 antibiotic ointment packets (approximately 1 gram) – these definitely have expiration dates and the smallest box I found on Amazon had 12 for $3.10
• 5 antiseptic wipe packets – these, too, expire and/or dry out over time, the smallest box had 10 for $4.50
• 2 packets of aspirin (81 mg each) – in this case, it’s actually less expensive to simply purchase a small bottle
• 1 emergency blanket – I disagree with this count, I think there should be 1 emergency blanket for each person in your household
• 1 breathing barrier (with one-way valve) – this is for performing mouth-to-mouth resuscitation so having 1 for adults and 1 for infants would be recommended
• 1 instant cold compress – in a SHTF situation, it might well be worth having more than 1 – anyone who has ever needed to use ice packs will tell you that more than 1 is needed in most cases (they are normally applied multiple times a day for multiple days)
• 2 pair of nonlatex gloves (size: large) – I buy these by the case because I use them for cleaning, food prep, “dirty” jobs, or handling volatile chemicals (usually for the pool); and I keep both medium and large sizes on hand
• 2 hydrocortisone ointment packets (approximately 1 gram each) – these also have expiration dates
• 1 3 in. gauze roll (roller) bandage
• 1 roller bandage (4 inches wide)
• 5 each 3 in. x 3 in. sterile gauze pads
• 5 sterile gauze pads (4 x 4 inches)
• Oral thermometer (non-mercury/nonglass) – if you choose digital, make sure you can charge it or replace the batteries
• 2 triangular bandages
• Tweezers
• Emergency First Aid instructions – While the American Red Cross did not suggest any particular first aid book, these are the ones I have in my library:
  • First Aid: a QuickStudy Laminated Reference Guide
  • The Complete First Aid Pocket Guide: Step-by-Step Treatment for All of Your Medical Emergencies (I have this one in digital format for Kindle – that way, when I travel, it’s with me)
  • Bushcraft First Aid: A Field Guide to Wilderness Emergency Care (Bushcraft Survival Skills Series)
  • SurviveX First Aid Guide Booklet, Step-by-Step Instructions for Common Emergencies

Various sources suggest that you also include:

• medications that your household normally uses
• emergency phone numbers (doctor, family members, friends)
• a copy of your advanced directives for each member of your household
• whatever your health professional might recommend

And, of course, check your kit regularly. I’d recommend automatically checking your kit when you replace your fire alarm battery. Look for expired contents and replace those. Also, check that adhesive on your bandages has not dried out!

If you find, like I did, that trying to put together your own kit comes with buying way too much of each item you want to have in your kit, there are plenty of ‘ready-made’ kits complete with the container for the items and kits are as low as $8; but, remember that you will want to check what is actually in the kit. The ad may state there are 400 pieces in a kit; however, when you look at what is actually IN the kit you will find they count every item (like the 30 Q-tips count as 30 items and the 10 cotton balls count as 10 items). This image from Amazon for the TLIEAO 400 piece all purpose first aid kit shows this in practice. So choosing the kit with the most items is not always the best choice.

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