Without a doubt, when campers are well-prepared for the tip, they reduce nearly all the risk. It’s a great idea to try to prevent various accidents and to be prepared for the worst. That’s why most campers prepare and take a camping first aid kit.
You might think you don’t need it, for instance, if you are going not far from civilization or in some other cases. But think about it in this way – if someone trips over and gets a nasty cat, you will be happy that you took a first aid kit for hiking or camping.
The first aid kit is especially important if you are planning to go camping with kids. Children have a lot of energy and want to play, especially when there is a river or a lake. Anything bad can happen so it’s best to prepare a first aid kid. Even if you end up getting a small scratch, imagine all the dirt and bacteria penetrating the wound. You can end up fine, but you could also get a nasty inflammation on the cut spot.
If you are planning to organize a trip, consider preparing a first aid kit. This article is about a first aid kit checklist – what to include in your kit, what factors to consider, what medicine to take, etc. Read the article to figure out how to prepare a kit considering your type of trip and the guests who go with you.
Before Purchasing First Aid Kit
Of course, you don’t have to go to a local drug store and buy all the drugs that are sold without a prescription. You don’t need everything, you just have to consider the needs of individuals who join the trip, the type of trip, and several other factors.
For example, you have to take enough medicine, especially if one of the guests is prescribed certain drugs. You want your kit to be sufficient to treat every guest who goes on a trip with you, etc. All important factors to consider are described below.
Number Of Planned Campers
Whether you are planning to go hiking to enjoy nature, or you are interested in hiking, you want to take enough items in your basic kit. For example, if a group of 5 individuals goes hiking, one adhesive bandage won’t be enough for all the hikers. Yes, there might be no incidents at all, but what if all five individuals get hurt? So, consider taking enough items.
If you are taking an insect repellant in a form of a spray or a cream, make sure you get enough for every trip participant. You might think that insect bites are annoying, but they pose no danger to your health, but here are a few things to remember:
- Ticks spread Lyme disease and spread encephalitis.
- Mosquitoes can carry malaria, Zika virus, Chikungunya virus, West Nile virus, dengue, etc.
As you see, it’s essential to prepare yourself for every situation, especially if mosquitoes or ticks in your area carry one or several of the mentioned viruses or diseases. And of course, you need a sufficient number of bandages, antiseptics, sterile wipes, etc.
Type Of Campers
When you are going through a camping first aid kit checklist, consider the types of campers. For instance:
- the age of all campers;
- campers with specific needs;
- campers with prescribed medicine;
- allergic campers.
When planning a trip, ask all participants whether they are allergic to certain plants, mosquitoes, etc. When camping, they may get into contact with something that causes allergy, so it’s extremely important to take specific medicine to treat any potential issue. Even if a person’s reaction is sneezing, they will be grateful to take their medicine so their trip won’t be ruined.
If you go camping with kids or older people, consider taking enough bandages and antiseptics. Kids are extremely active and tend to get into trouble, so make sure you have enough supplies. Older people, depending on their age, might also need more medical supplies.
The Duration Of Your Trip
It was already mentioned that you need enough items in your first aid kit depending on the number of participants. But the duration of the trip is also very important. Take enough prescribed medicine if someone needs them. Make sure you have enough supplies to treat someone who got injured. Even the spray or cream repellant needs to be used every 3-4 hours to be effective, so consider it if you are planning to go camping for an extended period.
Trip Type
When you just go camping to enjoy the local lake or a river, or to go fishing, etc., it’s hardly a dangerous type of trip. But the situation changes if you are going hiking in the mountains. One of the participants might get hurt, and you will be happy that you went through your first aid checklist and took enough supplies to treat possible injuries.
Personal & Prescription Pills
It’s clear that if your doctor has prescribed you medicine, you have to take it regularly. If you or other participants are prescribed certain pills or medicine, make sure to take enough to your trip. Even if you go hiking for a day or two, consider taking a weekly supply of pills, because you don’t know what might happen.
Camping First Aid Checklist
Depending on the factors mentioned above, you could use basic, specific, or serious supplies kits as described below.
Basic Kit
The basic first aid supplies list includes the following items:
- bandages (adhesive type) of various sizes;
- butterfly bandages;
- moleskin packs and medical patches.
- gauze rolls or pads;
- antiseptics;
- hand sanitizers;
- sterile wipes;
- painkillers or anti-inflammatory medicine;
- hydrocortisone solution;
- sharp knife and scissors, tweezers;
- gut treatment pills (like anti-diarrhea pills, etc.);
- antihistamine medicine to treat allergy;
The items could vary, but usually, the mentioned supplies are sufficient to avoid any issues while camping or hiking.
Specific Treatments
The specific treatment kit includes all mentioned above items, plus additional supplies:
- asthma sprays;
- eye drops;
If you or camping participants have any specific illnesses that they need to treat regularly with medicine, should take enough medical supplies. You can also add the following items to a specific treatment kit:
- sunscreen;
- spray or cream for treating sunburns;
- sprays or creams to treat insect bites.
If you will be exposed to the sun while on a trip, sunscreen and sunburn relief sprays are extremely important.
Serious Supplies
A serious supply may include the following items:
- duck tape;
- emergency blanket;
- super glue;
- rope;
- flare;
Of course, these items aren’t always necessary, but in some situations, you might want to have them.
How To Properly Pack A First Aid Kit
Sometimes people go on very short trips that don’t even take a day, so they might not need a fully supplied kit. Travelers also need more supplies if they go on extended trips, or with people who have illnesses, so the standard kit might be not sufficient.
In such cases, it would be a good idea to create a personal first kit that meets all your requirements considering the type of trip or number of participants. If you choose to prepare your kit, rather than buying a pre-packaged one, then make sure to properly pack all the supplies. Here are some factors to consider.
Use Ziploc Bags
Ziploc bags are great for storing pills and other items from the first aid kit. First, you can avoid the mess by packing each item in a Ziploc bag. Second, consider typing the name of an item on top of a Ziploc bag. It may save you time in case of an emergency – instead of opening each Ziplock while searching for a specific treatment, you can look at the names on each bag. You can store every item in Ziploc back in a specific bigger bag or box.
Expiration Dates
Whether you have a pre-packaged or own first aid kit, make sure all supplies do not pass the expiration date. Yes, they might not be damaging for your health if you by accident use an expired supply, but they won’t treat the issue as well.
Pre-Packaged Kits
The easiest way to prepare for a trip is to buy a pre-packaged kit. When purchasing a pre-packaged kit make sure to check out all the items inside. They shouldn’t be expired or damaged. Consider pre-packaged kits approved by healthcare organizations.
How To Use A First Aid Kit
The first thing to do after you buy a pre-packaged kit or create your kit is to check whether you know how to use all the items. For instance, some people might not know how to apply bandages, or how many pills to use in certain situations. To make sure you are well-educated, you can find various video tutorials on the internet about applying bandages.
As for medicine, it’s a good idea to preserve all the instructions on how to use the drugs, what is the dosage, etc. One important thing, if you go on a trip with people who have serious illnesses like asthma, diabetes, etc., it’s essential to know how to use the prescribed medicine.
The person with the illness might be out of consciousness, and one or several participants should be aware of how to help the person in danger. Before you go camping, consider watching video tutorials or subscribe to first aid help classes to be aware of how to properly give first aid.
First Aid Courses
If you and your friends or family love camping, hiking, traveling, etc., it’s a good idea to invest in a first aid education. There are many interesting courses people can subscribe to – from standard first aid education to survival courses. You can choose any course you feel might be useful for you and the people around you.
Final Thoughts
The saying ‘better safe than sorry’ has been created for a reason. Countless campers regret their decision to not invest in first aid kits. Many problems could’ve been solved if people took first aid kits with them on a trip.
Even the basic kits are helpful, especially when you don’t know what might happen. If you and your friends or family members are planning to go camping, consider taking at least the basic medical aid kit. It will save you from a lot of troubles and dangers.
