My First Aid Kit (Backpacking)

Background

I have two first aid kits: one that is in my bag when I go to work, and another when I go hiking. The one in my bag has more stuff in it, but overall the contents are pretty similar. In particular with the hiking kit I am only carrying what is likely to be used, items that cannot be improvised with what I can find, and items that I know how to use. It would be easy to pack my fears and include a tourniquet or triangle bandage or EpiPen, but if I allowed myself to fear that level of risk I would also wear a helmet while walking across crosswalks. The reality is I am much more likely to get blisters, minor cuts, and lots of sore muscles.

Drugs

So, what's it in my kit? Let's start with the drugs.

Lots of drugs

Pretty standard set of drugs I think. Here's why I have each in my kit:

• Paracetamol: normal headaches
• Ibuprofen aka Vitamin I: aches and pains
• Paracetamol + Ibuprofen: really bad headaches or pain
• Telfast: itchies, but mainly for other people
• Aspirin: heart attacks, but mainly for other people (very unlikely, but also weights nothing)
• Gastro-stop: self-explanatory

You will notice that I keep these in little coin bags with dosage and expiry. I have noticed people previously hiking with full bottles of each of these.

Other Stuff

Let's move on to the other stuff.

All the other stuff

And to walk through this stuff left to right:

• Tiny Westcott titanium sewing scissors with a set of tweezer wrapped in Velcro. Lighter than the smallest Swiss army knife, and more function on both items I might use. Tweezers are for both splinters and ticks.
• Two sewing needles with some thread. Need better storage mechanism.
• Some band-aids
• Lots of Leukotape
• Patch for inflatable
• Patch for puffy or tent
• One gauze pad
• One Antibiotic gel
• Some alcohol wipes
• One antiseptic wipes

I am always open to suggestions, but at this point I am not certain what else I would carry. I am contemplating getting rid of the gel/wipes, as I have never used them. The things I use most are the Leukotape, pain killers, and scissors. I am contemplating adding a snakebite kit if I go to more remote areas here in Australia, but if I was hiking in other countries I wouldn't bother.