I have noticed some of my Search and Rescue students seem to get a false sense of security once they have prepared their personal first aid kit (PFAK). They seem to believe every medical situation can be addressed in the little kits. Most of the items in the kit are to take care of small everyday problems of cuts, blisters, headaches, and upset stomachs.

So my question is should we rethink our PFAK somewhat to aid in our survival or keeping the medical problem in check so it does not become more of a problem or trigger the domino effect of a true survival situation.

For instance consider the following survival scenario: A common reason or a trigger to a survival situation is an injury to our mobility, or in other words an injury to feet, legs or hips such that it removes your ability to walk. A hiker that is trekking through a very remote area that falls and fractures their foot or leg. This could be a serious survival situation. Now the hiker with no ability for mobility has to make shelter, fire and have water enough to survive. Now I know that all of the ETS readers will pick apart my simple scenario here and create ingenious remedies and solutions. But my question and point is; should we look at statistics of what medically creates survival situations and equip ourselves for those incidents instead of 2 gauze 2 x 2’s 3 aspirins, 2 adhesive bandages? I realize we must be realistic as well we can’t carry an emergency room in our packs either. Your Thoughts please!