Out on the backside of beyond, a good First Aid Kit is an absolute necessity.
A proper First Aid Kit is not an optional RV Accessory. It's a requirement!
There are times that you are the one who just has to be equipped and able to take care of yourself or somebody else. Someone's gotten themselves all banged up and without you to take care of business, a bad situation will only get worse.
Imagine you're RV Boondocking way up a dirt road, a long way from the end of the pavement.
On a late morning hike, you slip on the muddy trail, as you step over a log that's laying across your route. Losing your balance, your butt hits the dirt. whump! Raking your leg across a sharp snag on the side of the log on your way down.
The gash on the side of your leg requires some care right now ............. not two hours from now when you can get to town. It's a long way and it'd be much better if that wound was not sittin' open for the long ride ............... let alone the mess it'll make of the upholstery in your flashy new toad!
You'd better have a proper RV Boondocking First Aid Kit handy to take care of yourself until you can get to the sawbones down in the clinic!
If you've looked at the rinky dink little First Aid Kits mostly available, you probably have the same opinion of 'em that I do. Just fine if all you get is a paper cut. Get banged up any worse than that and they're pretty much useless.
My answer to the scarcity of decent kits has been to assemble what I figured to be necesssary to deal with more serious wounds myself.
In addition to having the proper hardware and supplies, you've got to know what the heck to do with 'em! Thanks to the U.S. Army and just a few years of doctoring livestock and an occasional two legged critter with an injury, I pretty much have that handled.
If you don't, and you'll be spending any significant amount of time way out yonder, you need to deal with that missing knowledge now! If you're going to be where you can't get quick emergency care, you have got to be able to give proper first aid yourself.
I would strongly suggest you contact the Red Cross or some other such outfit to take a First Aid Course.
You don't want to put yourself in the position of reading a First Aid Manual, tryin' to figure out what to do, while some poor, unlucky, hiker is layin' on your floor, leakin' all over the place!
Kind of a panicky situation to begin with, so do yourself a favor and get a little good training now. You'll benefit yourself as well as all the lucky buggers around you who'll benefit from your new found skills!
Anyway, here's the kit I assembled for us. If you can find a ready built setup, great, otherwise wander on down to the Wal-Mart or maybe Walgreens and build your own!
In addition to what's in the First Aid Kit itself, there are a few other things, not a direct part of the kit, that are always around when needed. Things such as blankets (for prevention or treatment of shock), rope for tourniquets, scarves for slings, even parts of our Dog Agility jumps can do double duty as splints!
RV Boondocking First Aid Kit
- Large case
- Personal Prescription Medications
- First Aid Guide (To support your knowledge or classes)
- Ibuprophen
- Aspirin
- Band-aids (variety of types and sizes)
- Butterfly strips
- Bandage, roll
- Military pressure bandages
- Bandage, squares (plain for cleansing and non-stick for primary bandage)
- Moleskin
- Bandage Tape
- Self sticking athletic wrap
- Burn ointment
- Toothe ache drops (example - Orajel)
- Sweet oil
- Irrigation syringe
- Anti-septic ointment
- Anti-itch ointment
- Burn/Itch spray
- Corona! (A Cowboy/Ranch ointment - great for cracked, dry hands!)
- Desenex (creme and powder for foot care)
- Q-tips
- Small disposable sponges or bandage squares for cleansing
- Cleansing / anti-septic wipes
- Medicated soap
- Soap case
- Thermometer
- Scissors
- Tweezers
- Eye loop - good luck finding one - I cannot find a replacement for a lost one!
- Latex gloves
- Alcohol
- Iodine
- Hydrogen Peroxide
- Anti-diahreal medication
- Anti-nausea medication
- Laxative
- Day/Nyquil for colds/flu
- Cough Suppresant
- Cold packs
- Hot packs
- Sewing needles and Dental floss - (actually works pretty good if the two of you are up for it!other wise I would say just wrap it up and get to town!)
This works well for us. Make sure you have the training you need to take care of yourself and a minor injury need not turn into something worse!
You may even gain a story, that given a mite of time, you'll be able to tell around the campfire and put everyone in "stitches" ................ sorry, I just couldn't resist that one!
Be prepared build a proper RV Boondocking First Aid Kit and travel safe!
To download a pdf file for easy printing of the First Aid Kit contents click
here!
If you don't have Adobe Reader to download the file, click over to the RV Checklists page. There are instructions there and a link to get your FREE copy of the Adobe Reader program.
Rerturn from First Aid Kit to Goin' RV Boondocking
