How to customise a 1st aid kit

Safety 1st

1: Get some clear resealable bags to organise items into categories like: trauma, wound management, blister kit, burns, topical medications, over-the-counter medications, and prescription medications. I have worked for many years as a paramedic and I can tell you how important it is to organise your kit well. When something goes wrong and you need your first aid kit, you really don't want to spend time searching for things. The resealable bags keep the contents of the different categories together, are pretty well waterproof and are transparent, allowing you to see what's contained inside.

2: Consider the following items for your wound management kit:
    * Irrigation syringe & sterile saline (for wound irrigation)
    * Tweezers, needles & scalpel ( to remove splinters, or to pick foreign objects out of wounds)
    * 10% povidone-iodine ( to disinfect wounds and cuts)
    * Antiseptic ointment (as a antiseptic dressing of a wound)
    * Alcohol swabs (skin disinfection, they double as fire starter)
    * Gauze pads, rolled gauze, adhesive dressings/bandages, sterile wound dressings, non-adherent dressing, BPC combine dressing (for wound dressing)
    * Athletic/ adhesive tape (to secure dressings or to tape something up)
    * Butterfly bandages or super glue ( to close deep cuts and to bring the wound edges back together)
    * Safety pins
    * Cut a roll of glad wrap in half and pack it. (It is useful to fix sterile wound dressings on wet skin, and waterproofs a wound to a point as well)

3: Consider the following items for your trauma kit:
    * Disposable one way gloves (a must for personal protection, doubles as water bladder)
    * Scissors
    * Roller bandages
    * Triangular bandages (cotton, one of the most universal things in your kit)
    * Permanent marker (to write on where ever needed, like dressing & skin, or to monitor infections (make dots around, does it grow?))
    * A face shield (barrier foil with valve for resuscitation)
    * A small torch or pupil light ( to check pupil reaction ,or to inspect throat, ears or nose)
    * Plastic bags ( to pack or dispose things)
    * Emergency/space blanket ( to preserve body heat, create shade, as windbraker, signalling device or to collect water)
    * Chemical cold packs ( for strains and swellings as well as stings/ bytes)
    * Sam-splint (small & lightweight splinter, very universal to use)

4: Think about personal heath problems, e.g. allergies, diabetes, asthma, motion sickness and take the appropriate treatment out with you.

For a normal one day paddle close to civilisation you wouldn't need to go any further than that but for several-day trips, or trips well away from civilisation I would consider the following steps:

5: On a several-day-long trips it pays to take a blister kit which should at least include the following items:
    * Adhesive bandages
    * Gauze pads, molefoam, moleskin, second skin (to dress and cushion a blister )
    * Athletic tape (to secure a dressing, or to tape an area up, to protect sensitive skin against rubbing & new blisters to form)
    * Benzoin tincture (to clean the skin so the adhesives can stick to it)
    * Duct tape

6: Over-the-counter medications to consider:
    * Aspirin (mainly as painkiller, but doubles as blood thinner (angina) and against thrombosis)
    * Paracetamol ( painkiller, lowers fever )

   *Antacids (against hartburn and reflux)
    * Voltaren / Diclac (acute muscle and back pain relief)
    * Deep Heat ( against muscle aches or strains)
    * Ibuprofen (painkiller)
    * Antihistamines (against / suppresses allergic reactions)
    * Diarrhoea medication
    * Anti cold medications
    * Activated charcoal ( “sucks” poisons up in the stomach, and neutralizes them)
    * Oral re-hydration salts ( to replace minerals, salts and sugars during diarrhoea, also very effective as “sport drink” and against muscle cramps)
    * Calcium & magnesium (to recover and against muscle cramps)
    * Medication for motion sickness
    * Eye & ear drops (eye and ear infections are often encountered in bright, windy or sandy conditions)


7: Think about the particular dangers/hazards of your trip, that may require special medications, immunisations or supplies: cold or hot climates, insects or parasites, snakes, poisonous plants, malaria regions, young children, or long expeditions. For example: does it pay to bring a small bottle of vinegar in a box-jellyfish area? Don't forget things like sunscreen and insect repellent. (You may choose to pack these separate, not as part of the first aid kit.)

8: The following medications should be considered in the tropics:
    * Antiseptic ointment (even small cuts or mosquito bites get easily infected)
    * Talcum powder ( against rubbing and to put on rashes )
    * Calamine lotion ( bites)
    * Aloe-vera after-sun gel (sunburn- relief)
    * Anti-fungal cream ( fungus love warm and humid conditions)
    * Hydro-cortisone cream (skin problems)

9: Get a doctor to prescribe you some broad spectrum antibiotics. They'll treat the following infections: skin, urinary tract, gastro-intestinal, sinus, ear, eye, respiratory and soft tissue.

10: Consult a doctor for any additional needed prescription medications like:
    * Strong pain killers
    * Anti-inflammatory medications ( Tenosynovitis/ kayakers arm)
    * Steroid creams
    *Immunisations or any other drugs needed in your situation.( allergies, diseases..)

Stick to tablets instead of liquids when ever you can. Tablets are lighter and easier to store, need no cooling, can't freeze solid or leak, and normally have a longer shelf life than liquids. Another advantage is that tablets are packed individually & waterproof, and stay usable even if the surrounding package gets wet.

11: For extended or group-trips you might want to include:
    * A thermometer ( to measure the body temperature/ monitor infections)
    * Chemical heat packs
    * Face mask & filter (resuscitation)
    * Airway extractor ( to manage /clean airways)
    * Plastic resealable bags ( to store or dispose)
    * Trash bags
    * Teeth cement ( for temporary fillings)

12: Pack a good emergency first aid manual, and have a list with the appropriate local emergency numbers.

13: I personally like to have some “survival” type things in my first aid kit as well, like:
    * A signal mirror (even though the space-blanket doubles very effectively as one)
    * Lighter (sterilises a needle, and lights a (signal) fire)
    * Magnifying glass (helps to clean wounds or to remove splinters, but can make a fire too)
    * Water disinfectant tablets
    * Light/glow sticks
    * Ear plugs (noisy surroundings)
    * 1m of a flexible,small-diameter tube to be able to drink fresh water out of the shallowest pools or out of cracks

Pack the resealable bags into a waterproof container, a roll-up bag, box or a hard case. Store your first aid kit in moderate conditions and store it easily accessible. Don't allow it to bake in the back of the car, or mistreat it in other ways, and it will last you a long time. Check regularly for use by dates, and replace items after they run out. Let others in your group know where you store your first aid kit in the kayak, so that they are able to find it if necessary. Take your first aid kit out with you, every time you go! Remember the old rule: You will only need a first aid kit, if you don't have one!

Stay safe.

---