I pride myself on having an excellent and well stocked first aid kit, but it's way too big, and I could use some input on which items to remove. The kit is completely self assembled, but uses an AMK 'Backcountry' container, which currently measures roughly 10"x7"x7.5", including the significant bulge. This is fine for the house or car, but for backpacking, camping, and even dayhiking, which are the primary uses for this kit and where it would most likely be needed, it's huge. After my sleeping bag, it's probably the largest item I carry, and also one of the heaviest(although I'm not concerned about reducing the weight). I would like to keep the same container but decrease the bulk, mainly the bulge of that last dimension.

I've tried to make this suitable for a wide range of conditions, with a main focus on treating minor and major trauma, and some minor medical conditions. As it will be used on some multi-day trips(generally a week or less) I want to have enought supplies to treat mild to moderate injuries and change dressings for several days. I should note that I will often be travelling with relatively inexperienced people, who of course tend to have more avoidable injuries and need the kit far more often than myself. I've also included a few items that are more
survival than first aid oriented, but they take up minimal space.

I've spent a lot of time going through the inventory, trying to streamline it and remove superfluous items. Currently I can't think of anything I would remove that would significantly reduce bulk without compromising the kit's usefullness(except for the sawyer extractor, which I do remove depending on the circumstance). I really do need to reduce the bulk of this kit, as it reduces how much of my own and group gear that I can carry, and it usually gets left behind on day hikes, including segments of backpacking trips. Of course it is sometimes the subject of ridicule from friends, but these are the same people who either never carry their own kit, carry a cheap kit they've never opened, or whose idea of a first aid kit is a couple of bandaids and bottle of tylenol. The inventory is below:


Dressings & Bandages
4 - gauze 4x4 8ply
3 - gauze 4x4 12ply
3 - gauze 2x2 8ply
2 - eye pad
3 - Teflon dressing 2x3
2 - Spyroflex dressing
1 - WaterJel burn dressing 4x4
1 - WaterJel burn dressing 4x16
1 - Xeroform petrolatum dressing
1 - 5x9 compress
1 - Trau-medic field dressing
1 - Pkg. Molefoam padding

2 - 4" gauze roll
3 - 3" gauze roll
1 - 2" gauze roll
1 - 4" adhesive elastic bandage
1 - ace bandage
2 - triangular bandage

1 - roll paper tape
1 - roll plastic tape
1 - roll duct tape

10 - butterfly closure strips
5 - foam band aids 3/4"x3"
7 - foam band aids 1"x3"
4 - foam band aids minis
4 - foam band aids spots
5 - fingertip band aids
5 - knuckle band aids
4 - waterproof band aids, assorted


Topical Meds
12 - benzalkonium chloride wipes
12 - povidone-iodine pads
18 - alcohol pads
2 - Bactine antiseptic/analgesic wipes
12 - triple antibiotic ointment
8 ml - Bactine (BZK/lidocaine 2.5%)
18 ml - silver sulfadiazine cream RX
3 - cotton tipped applicators

4 - burn gel w/ 2% lidocaine
1oz - aloe gel w/ .5% lidocaine
4 - sting relieve swabs
2 - sting relief pads
11 - hydrocortisone 1% cream
2 - Tecnu ivy skin cleanser
6 - Ivarest lotion (calamine/benadryl)
1 - tea bag

2 - eyewash 15ml
1 - saline eye drops
2 - Celluvisc eye lubricant

2 - ammonia inhalant
2 - benzoin tincture swab
2 - Quik-Clot 1.75 oz hemostatic agent


Tools & devices
Trauma Shears
Penlight
Pen/knife
tweezers
nail clippers
magnifying lens

venom extractor
SAM splint
tongue depressor

Misc
2 - Slide lock bags
2 - condoms
2 - coffee filters
3 ft2 - HD aluminum foil
4 - chlorine dioxide tabs
1 - iodine tabs(50)
6 - NaCl packets
dental floss
lip balm
superglue
1 - pr. latex gloves
1 - pr. nitrile gloves
1 - pr. foam earplugs


Meds
Qty Drug Usage Dosage Max dosage Expiration
~25; 3(2) ibuprofen 200mg anti-inflammatory, analgesic 1-2 per 4-6 hrs 6 tabs/1200mg per 24 hrs 6/04; 11/07
~30 naproxen sodium 220mg anti-inflammatory, analgesic 1 per 12 hrs, 2 @ first dose 3 tabs/660mg per 24 hrs 10/07
~10 acetaminophen 300mg/codeine 30mg RX analgesic 1 per 4 hrs 6 per 24 hrs 11/02
1(2) aspirin analgesic 1-2 per 4 hrs 12 per 24 hrs 5/04
4, 6 diphenhydramine HCL 25mg antihistamine 1-2 per 4-6 hrs 12 per 24 hrs 7/06; 3/08
~10 Zyrtec 10mg RX antihistamine 1 per 24 hrs 1 per 24 hrs 6/04
8 Pseudoephedrine HCL 30mg decongestant 2 per 4-6 hrs 8 per 24 hrs 4/08
~12 chlopheniramine maleate 2mg/
phenylephrine HCL 5mg/acetaminophen 162.5mg antihistamine/decongestant/analgesic 2 per 4 hrs 12 per 24 hrs 11/02
8 loperamide HCL 2mg anti-diarrheal 2 @ first loose stool, 1 per additional loose stool 4 per 24 hrs 5/05
12 bismuth subsalicylate 262m anti-diarrheal/ upset stomach 2 per ½-1 hr 16 per 24 hrs 2/06
7(2) calcium carbonate 420mg antacid 2 per 2-3 hrs 19 per 24 hrs 3/08
2 dimenhydrinate 50mg Dramamine 4/02
6(2) electrolyte tabs treat/prevent dehydration 1 tab w/ glass H2O 10 per 24 hrs 1/07
1 50g electrolyte powder treat/prevent dehydration dissolve in 1 liter H2O
1 tube glucose paste treat hypoglycemia ingest orally 8/03


Sorry for the long post, I have a bad habit of doing that. Also the meds section may be hard to read, I just pasted it from the word file I use for my inventory.