There's also some really good pump aerosol spray-on antibiotic that is made with silver. I wish I could remember the name of it. We use it on ourselves often, to help heal minor wounds, and it works great. We stole it from our horse locker! You spray it on like Bactine and just let it air dry in place.

In case anyone is wondering, yeah, if you have horses, you learn a lot about wound care!

I'm familiar with that improvision.

I have a twenty-five count box of 5" x 9" trauma pads, thus far one has been used for a first aid kit. Also, trauma pads are not hard to find; they may if the brimstone hits the fan.

Jeanette Isabelle

Boiling? Other than using feminine hygiene products as trauma pads, I'm not well educated on improvising.

Jeanette Isabelle

It would be difficult to list every first aid item I have. I have two ten packs of 4" x 4" gauze.

I have two 2" rolls of CoFlex. Do I need more?

Jeanette Isabelle

That sounds similar to what I have, silver sulfadiazine cream. It's prescription only and it works miracles. It cuts the healing time of burns in half. I also used it on a sunburn and I was pain-free in two hours!

Jeanette Isabelle

Teaching ones own self is always a good start, and Weiss is not a bad book. However, since first aid seems to be a primary interest of yours, I strongly recommend you try to get some additional formal training. There are many aspects of first aid that can be learned better in a group, with a good instructor.

I'm very partial to the Wilderness First Responder course (WFR, often pronounced "Woofer"). The great thing about these classes is the emphasis on practical scenarios, where one gets to try out what you have learned. Also, a lot of emphasis on improvisation. The instructor may set up a scenario, in which you have minimal first aid supplies, but there is a whole pile of gear of the sort one might have while camping or hiking. Your problem is to improvise a solution to the problem using available materials. Then everyone in the group debriefs, about how well it worked, and alternative ways one might solve the problem. Also a lot of emphasis on decision making, like can this injury wait until daylight or better weather? Or do we need to evacuate the victim right now? Also emphasis on long term care, when it isn't practical to evacuate to a hospital. Many of the people taking WFR are outdoor professionals (guides, SAR, etc), who have dealt with some really gnarly stuff, and you will also learn a lot from the group discussions.

The downside to WFR is that it is about a 70 hour course, and costs around $600 (last time I checked). There are also 2 day Wilderness First Aid (WFA) classes that cover the same material, just in less depth. Because it is a shorter class, WFA tends to be a good deal more affordable than WFR.

There are several national outfits that sponsor these courses. Wilderness Medical Associates (WMA) is one. Wilderness Medical Institute (WMI), affiliated with NOLS, is another. I've had personal experience with classes from both these outfits, and both are good. Another organization that sponsors wilderness medicine classes is SOLO, I have no personal experience with them but have heard they are good.

However, I would stay clear of Red Cross "Wilderness First Aid" classes. In my experience they tend to be very watered down and not nearly as good as those from WMA, WMI or SOLO.

I hope you can find a way to get some formal training. I think you would enjoy it, and learn a lot.

+1 Most of what gets used in non emergency situations is Ibuprofen and band aids.

I have four boxes of self-adhesive bandages:


Jeanette Isabelle

I don't use alcohol prep pads much; they are good for use on unbroken skin before drawing blood and giving injections. They're also good for quick cleanup of unbroken skin and reusable medical devices. For wound cleaning they're definitely not the best choice, as the alcohol damages good cells and retards the healing process. BZK wipes are what I stock instead.

In addition to analgesics consider OTC meds for allergies, congestion, and digestive issues.



For significant wounds a box of 3x3s will go in a flash. Consider rolled gauze as well.



I think of one roll as being good for one wound, maybe two. Accordingly my largest home-based kit has quite a bit more



Consider training for trauma. A TCCC-based class for firearms instructors and/or law enforcement personnel will give you more life-saving capability than most first aid classes that I've taken. I've taken TCCC-based classes from several instructors now and I've learned more and better each time.

If you're preparing for longer-term emergencies consider _The Survival Medicine Handbook: A Guide for When Help is Not on the Way_ by the Altons. Be sure to get the Third Edition rather than one of the older ones, there's a lot more content in it. I was privileged to take a class from them on suturing and they're amazing in person.

Also consider the Hesperian books, starting with _Where There Is No Doctor_.

If you can (and I haven't yet) consider a Wilderness First Responder class taught by NOLS or another reputable provider.

Classes that include hands-on practicing of skills are dramatically more useful than lecture-only classes and book learning.