5. Keep an emergency medical kit.
This is a must for when roads are blocked by flood or snow, or destroyed by earthquake. There are many choices, but the one I recommend is Adventure Medical Kits, and I chose the Outfitter model because it contains four useful sections: first aid, detachable field trauma, wound/burn care, and fracture/sprain. It’s well-organized, lightweight, and ships with recently dated items — not cheap items near their expiration date.
At a minimum, your emergency medical kit should contain the following items:
- 2 – 5″ x 9″ trauma pads
- Antiseptic towelettes
- Flexible bandage wrap
- 4 – sterile gauze bandages
- Triple antibiotic ointment
- 10 – Adhesive bandages
- 2 – Triangular bandages
- Cotton swabs
- Tweezers
- 1 Sam Splint
That’s a minimum medical kit. Your top priority should be to prepare a kit that contains these items, and then add to it. One thing the Outfitter kit doesn’t ship with is a suture kit, but you can buy one separately. I have a tube of superglue in my kit for cuts, but NOTE that superglue is not recommended for wound care. Although it’s good at sealing cuts, some experts claim it’s potentially toxic when used in deep wounds. Maybe it is. Do your own research and make your own decision.
If you haven’t had first aid training, go ahead and get some. It’s fun, and the skills you learn will come in handy soon, especially if you have children.