What do you carry for First Aid?

[Max Dilthey]

There's probably a more appropriate happy medium, but I can picture myself with 2 inches of a drinking straw filled with neosporin and a 5-inch gash, thinking "What now?"

I'm glad I'm not the only one who occasionally reads between the lines of the UL bible, though. Party on, newton!

[Jake D]

Then it becomes a matter of getting out rather than fixing yourself. There are things that you will not be able to fix and will then need to rely on your other preparations.. knowing bail out points and/or contacting rescue.

If you have a large laceration the best you can do is close it up and minimize bleeding. A whole tube of neosporin won't help much.. but steristrips, gauze and tape will.

Avoiding accidents is generally easier than dealing with one. In rock climbing we have "don't fall" zones.. sometimes you can't protect adequately and you can either back off or go up knowing you're unprotected. If you are far from rescue or rescue contact it is best to know what risks you should avoid. Descending steep terrain carefully.. crossing rivers at safe areas etc.

skills vs gear.

[Mobile Calculator]

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[Max Dilthey]

I think my luxury item is my 3lb DSLR Camera and chest pack, haha…

[Sean Passanisi]

Has anyone tried the Adventure Medical Kit line? REI sells the .5 model that comes in under 4 oz.

[Stephen M]

I have the .5, I took some items out of it and added a few others.

[Kevin Schneringer]

When I was 7 I laid a thumb open that later required stitches. My dad thru some paper towel and electrical tape on it -good to go
You don't need as much as you think.
Chances are you won't be able to use it correctly anyway.

By far duct tape and Benny 's are the most used IMO.

[Eric Blumensaadt]

I would add 4 butterfly bandages to close bad cuts.

Small amounts of meds for toothaches, sore throat, etc. and a good widespectrum antibiotic for week-long trip would be wise.

[Brian Lindahl]

Most of my stuff is focused on still being able to continue your route in the case of most minor medical problems in comfort. Shit happens, and it's nice when you can just roll with it and still enjoy the trip you intended on going on (rather than bailing because you got a deep gash).

Bandaging:
0.2oz Coban/Vet Wrap 2"x6' – SO MUCH BETTER than tape (reusable) for compression, gauze, sprains, splints, broken ribs
0.15oz ea 4x 3"x3" Sterile Gauze Pads
0.15oz ea 2x Steristrip packs (or similar)
0.2oz Neosporin – repackaged

With Coban and gauze, you can create a bandaid for just about any sized scrape/cut/wound, even knuckles. The reason you don't want to rely on tape, is the last thing you want to do is realize you can't bandage a wound because most of your tape was used to repair gear (i.e. won't stick anymore).

Pills for 3-5 days:
18x 200mg Ibuprofin – when you really need it, the correct dosage is 600mg
6x Immodium – so you can keep moving (no pun intended)
4x Aleve for altitude

Other gear:
Dermasafe Razor – knife
Lightload Towel – cheap sling
Safety pins – making a sling
Trekking poles – traction device or stretcher
Gorilla Tape – blisters, making a stretcher
Guylines – making a sling or traction or stretcher

Major injuries (added depending on terrain):
12cc Syringe
Sterile Gauze Roll 2"x? – for multiple wounds
Feminine Pad – for major bleeding
4x Percoset – for major injuries (i.e. broken bones) while waiting for help
Spot PLB – for getting help

I've found Superglue to be unnecessary. Either it's a small cut and Coban and gauze works fine, or it's a major cut and Steristrips can close it up (add Coban and gauze on top). Superglue is also worthless in a repair kit – Seam Grip works way better, as it's flexible.

[Mike M]

I've been whittling mine down, even further since I started trail running

knife is only for scale :)

small roll gauze, duct tape w/ two safety pins, steri-strips, triple antibiotic, small meds (ibu, acet, benadryl, immodium), leukotape & benzoin, sak tweezers

1.3 oz :)

[M B]

Couple days worth of ibuprofen, tylenol, loperamide, and benadryl.
Couple of oxycodone pills
Couple of 2×2 gauze pads
4 butterfly closures
4 bandaids
6' duct tape
small piece moleskin
needle
About 5' of unwaxed dental floss (also for pack/clothing repairs)
3 small packets triple antibiotic
REAL tweezers , 0.3 ounce

Superglue can be used for blisters. Pop blister and drain, squirt glue under skin, press down, yell and scream for 30 sec. Permanent repair.

[Author]

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