First Aid Kit

Over the weekend I went down to the city for a 5K race my wife was running. We went with another couple and another friend. On the walk to the starting line one of the women fell on some rough sidewalk and managed to tear open both of her hands at the lower palm. My wife, her husband, and the friend were many paces in front of us and focused on the job ahead.

I assessed her injuries by asking her a series of questions and then took a look at her bloody hands. The injuries were fairly minor but would require some attention.

I pulled the first aid kit from my pocket and offered her an alcohol wipe to clean out the wounds. Next was a sachet of Neosporin and, finally, a couple of band-aids. Before dressing the wounds she asked me to cut the loose skin so I pulled the scissors from my SwissTool and cut as much as I could. We never did get back to the Neosporin and band-aids...

The kit I carry is made by Johnson & Johnson and comes in a small 4" X 3.5" plastic box. The basic kit contains:

• 2 - Johnson & Johnson Cleansing Wipes
• 2 - Johnson & Johnson First Aid Gauze Pad - one 2-pack - 2 x 2 in
• 2 - Band-Aid Brand Knuckle Adhesive Bandages
• 2 - Band-Aid Brand Adhesive Bandages - 3/4 x 3 in
• 2 - Band-Aid Brand Adhesive Bandages - 5/8 x 2-1/4 in
• 2 - Band-Aid Brand Butterfly Closures - 1-3/4 x 3/8 in

To this I've added the following:

• 1 - 0.9g sachet of Neosporin
• 2 - small tubes of Instant Krazy Glue
• 2 - 3.5g sachets WaterJel Burn Jel
• 2 - Bausch & Lomb single dose eye drops
• 2 - Bayer Aspirin
• 6 - Benadryl
• 4 - Immodium
• 1 - WetFire Tinder cube
• 1 - Uncle Bill's Tweezers

All of this fits into the same plastic box and gives me a level of preparedness much greater than any of the other adults last weekend or most any time I'm out in public.

Sure, this isn't an EMT-level blow out kit but it has handled the many minor "emergencies" I've encountered both in the woods and on the streets. It also provides me with some peace of mind. That's definitely worth something...

Thanks for reading,

B