Family Survival First Aid Kit (Part 2)

By: Sebastian Berry

Here at Family Survival Farm, in my little slice of paradise, I have been given a very wide berth when it comes to what topics I present and how I write them. As I and others have written our total view count continues to climb and the view count on the posts I have written continues to climb. I want to thank you, our/my readers. Sincerely, I believe that we have a good thing growing here (pun intended) at Family Survival Farm and you, the reader are a very important part of that. I can only hope that you continue to like and share our content here with your family and friends.

And now, for the rest of the story...beginning with my standard disclaimers.

DISCLAIMER: Instructions and information here is not a substitute for professional medical care and treatment. If you are having an emergency call 911 or your local emergency number for assistance.

I do not claim credit to any of the images used unless specifically indicated. All rights and credits remain with the original owners.

In my last post, Part 1, we discussed the following:

• The first-aid mindset
• Making your kit fit your specific needs
• The container
• General supplies

I promised in part 1 that I would show you my kit and its contents. It worked out really well because I just came back from a 10 day vacation with the family and it needed reorganized desperately. Some photos do contain duplicates, I'm not the best photographer, sorry.

THE CONTAINER

Credit: Sebastian Berry

Credit: Sebastian Berry

I'm sure some of you didn't believe that I actually used a tackle box for my family survival first-aid kit. I have a couple of different reasons behind using something like this.

1. It's hard plastic-my kids beat the crap out of this thing and its held up well.
2. Lots of organizing slots
3. Space in the bottom for large/odd shaped things

THE STUFF

In part 1 I wrote about the purpose of your family first-aid kit and some of the things your kit should help you take care of.

• Cuts and scrapes
• Aches and pains
• Bug bites
• Splinters and slivers

Below are individual shots of the contents of my kit. I want to note that you will see several different kinds of band-aids, including Band-Aid brand. Personally, I am partial to no brand in particular. 

In the brown bottle is a product called new skin. It is a polish type covering for very small cuts and scrapes. It burns like hell to put on but I like it for tricky spots to put a band-aid, like a finger tip. The clear bottle is hydrogen peroxide, my kids peeled the label off of it. You will also see moleskin, steri-strips and chloraprep.

Credit: Sebastian Berry

Credit: Sebastian Berry

Foot and general wound care items. Having served in the Army, I know what it is to have bad feet. I have seen some bad feet in my time. Foot care is definitely one of those things where the ounce of prevention is worth the pound of cure. There is almost nothing more miserable than having to carry on with injured feet. When your feet are your main mode of transport, you have to take care of them. The items above can be used to care for feet before, during, or after.

Like was mentioned in part 1, your first-aid kit should not be a replacement for your medicine cabinet. Keep enough items that you specifically prepare for. In my family, my wife and I both suffer from sinus issues, the kids get canker sores in the mouth, and I specifically have several fillings in precarious places. This is the part where you can really think about your specific situation. You have to think about some things that might happen before they happen.

Credit: Sebastian Berry

Here are some things that I think people forget about. Three things stand out to me here.

• Cutting tools in the razor knife and scissors
• Nail clippers
• Small treats

Credit: Sebastian Berry

We can all think of reasons why cutting tools and clippers are good ideas. I don't think I really need to expound further. I keep only a couple of small treats in the family first-aid box-again for obvious reasons. However, there is almost nothing better in this world to take away the ouchies in both kids and us bigger kids than a little bit of chocolate..

You may notice some things not included in mine-like tweezers or a needle. That's because on our most recent survival family adventure my kids lost those items. I typically keep a sewing kit and tweezers together in the very bottom. 

A couple of other things not shown are cough drops and iodine. Keep in mind that if you keep cough drops in your kit you have to keep them in a sealed bag so that your kit does not take on the smell and flavor of your preferred cough drop. I love iodine. Yes, the brown stuff that your grandma poured all over your cuts and scrapes. My bottle leaked and luckily it did not get everywhere. That is also something that needs to be stored in a sealed bag or two.

Credit: Sebastian Berry

 I wanted to take this picture to show just how much you can fit into a kit. This is not terribly heavy or bulky. My kids, other than the baby, are able to carry and open this on their own.

Credit: Sebastian Berry

Yes, it all fits. The lid closes and when you are done you can place your cold beverage of choice in the cup holders on the top. 

What do you put in your family survival first-aid kit? What different things or things that you think are specific for your family do you include? Tell us all in the comments...