Wilderness First Aid Kit

Be Ready With Medical Supplies in an Emergency

The value of a well-equipped wilderness first aid kit cannot be overstated. During a backwoods emergency, you must have on hand the needed tools to treat injury and prevent it from becoming life-threatening.

Even without a life-threatening situation, a good wilderness first aid kit contains items that can provide comfort to keep your hike on course. Headaches, aches and pains, blisters—all these can interfere with your adventure enough to make it unpleasant at least and convince you to leave the hike entirely at worst. Simple first aid intervention can relieve these minor ailments and keep you on the trail.

What Should I Take?

A wilderness first aid kit is readily available for commercial purchase. You can also put one together item-by-item from the shelves of your local pharmacy or super-store. At a minimum, the following items should be included:

Adhesive bandages in assorted sizes
Elastic bandages
Moleskin
1% Hydrocortisone cream
Allergy relief tablets (dyphenhydramine)
Pain/fever reducer (acetaminophen/Ibuprofen)
Anti-diarrheal tablets
Gloves (latex and/or vinyl)
Triple antibiotic ointment
Survival blanket
Bandana
Safety pins
Liquid soap
Waterproof tape
2-day supply of prescriptions medications

These are your absolute minimums. There are many more items that you might wish to add.

Other Items

Many of the items that you may consider adding could, instead utilize other items that you will be carrying. For instance, you could add a pair of scissors….or you could use a sharp knife to cut bandages. You could add a sleep aid…or you could use dyphenhydramine. You could add triangle bandages for splinting or a sling…or you could use a bandana.

Prescription Medications

Of absolute necessity is a 2-day supply of prescription medications. This is in addition to the amount that you plan to use on your hike. Should you get lost or injured and your arrival to civilization is delayed, you don’t want to be without important prescription medications during the delay.

Diabetics and Children

A diabetic should always have a supply of glucose tablets or other concentrated sugar source available. Small tubes of cake decorating gel are good for this purpose. They are compact, light and in a waterproof container.

If you are hiking with children, consider carrying very small amounts of liquid pain/fever and allergy medications. Often, no matter how hard they try, children and even adolescents cannot manage to get a tablet swallowed. Also, tablets can provide a dangerously high dose of medication and dividing the tablet is inaccurate or even impossible.

Purchasing a commercially available kit helps you cover the bases of having the supplies that you need on hand. However, whether you choose to purchase a pre-packaged kit or make your own, be certain that you have it with you on every hike.

First Aid Training

Having a wilderness first aid kit with you will be of no value if you don't know how to use it. If you are unfamiliar with the use of the items listed above, please take a first aid class before your next hike. The American Red Cross offers classes for every level of knowledge.

Return from Wilderness First Aid Kit to Ten Essentials

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