First Aid Kit contents

• Band Aids of various sizes (long skinny ones and short fat ones)
• 3x3 and 4x4 Telfa gauze pads
• Waterproof cloth tape 1" wide - It works for fixing tears in clothing, tents, and sleeping bags, as well as taping bandages.
• Scalpel blades or single edge razor blades - Nothing like them for cutting out big splinters, removing blisters, etc. Scalpel blades come in nice sterile wrappers.
• Tweezers (if not on your knife)
• Small bottle of betadine - for cleaning wounds (put this in a plastic bag, it stains!!)
• Tylenol
• Needle & Thread - mostly for repairing gear
• Benadryl capsules - antihistimine to suppress allergic reactions (i.e. hay fever) and as soporific
• Maalox tablets
• Alcohol swabs with Lidocaine - the Lidocaine is a local anaesthetic which takes a lot of the hurt out of abrasions and the like.
• Hemostat - works real well for pulling those Cholla spines through the side of your boot (or, God forbid, out of your skin). The needle nose pliers on a Leatherman makes a good substitute.
• Moleskin - absolutely essential
• Fever Thermometer (on multi day trips)
• Safety pins - although tape usually works better in a lot of cases, the pins are handy for some things, such as repairing clothing.
• Dishwashing soap in a little bottle. It cuts grease really well.
• Instruction card with first aid info and stuff like Ground/Air signals. It's better to read it than rely on your memory in a stressful situation.
• Water purification - I use a small bottle with water and crystalline iodine (Kahn Visscher technique).
• Piece of 1/4" hardware cloth about 6" x 24" for use as a splint or brace. Tape the edges with duct tape or waterproof cloth tape so it doesn't snag stuff.
• Super glue - A small tube can perform miracles. Just watch out when fixing broken eyeglass frames to let the fumes dissipate or your eyes will water something fierce.