Build a Great EDC First Aid Kit
As I began writing about First Aid kits in general, I started to realize it was a pretty big topic, and that even I had MANY different kits. The home kit, the kids first aid kit for their bugout bag, the First Aid kit in the trunk of the car, and I realized I also carry an EDC kit.
EDC is a common “phrase” in the world of preparedness, and it stands for Every Day Carry. You can go very VERY deep in the world of EDC. What flashlight people carry, and what knife, and which watch, etc. I am using EDC a little loosely here when it comes to First Aid. I don’t actually carry a first aid kit on my person all the time. But I work in an office (and sometimes from home also) but I sit in front of a laptop a lot, and carry that around in a laptop bag, so this first aid kit is always with me, more or less. It is at my desk at work with me, at my desk at home, it comes on vacations, it is in the passenger seat of the car, etc. So I have, over the years, built a first aid kit that works pretty well for me, and I wanted to share it.
Before we start, I’ll caveat all of this by saying that I change things all the time. I add thing, or take things away as needed. And if, for example, we are doing something specific, like skiing, or hiking, I might make changes up front to the kit, or bring a different one. This isn’t designed to be some EMT-in-a-bag. It is designed to handle situations I normally encounter.
Parameters and Requirements for an EDC First Aid Kit
In designing (and I designed mine kind of organically) my first aid kit, I set out some requirements the kit needed to follow. You should do the same, because if you cannot explain what a tool is supposed to DO (and First Aid Kits are tools) then how can you know if it is working or not?
Here are mine:
There can be nothing in the kit that cannot fly in carry on. No weapons, no large liquids, no sharp, pointy things. I travel by plane a lot, and I don’t want the hassle of wondering if I forgot to remove those expensive edged tools before going through airport security.
It needs to be small enough to nestle in the bottom of my backpack. I use a backpack for my laptop, and my EDC First Aid Kit obviously needs to stay in the bottom of that bag.
It needs to have soft sides, so it can “smush” a little.
It should account for the other things I always carry. For example, it doesn’t need a ton of medical tape if I always carry a roll of small duct tape in my bag also. In a pinch, I can use that if I have gauze.
It cannot be heavy. First Aid kits aren’t usually all that heavy, so this one is easy, but I am not carrying around a brick.
It isn’t the same thing as a FAMILY kit. I keep that stuff in the trunk of the car, or in the glovebox, or at home, or in the kids own backpacks. This is mostly for me. As a result, I don’t have much in the way of insect bite treatment, as I don’t really get bitten much. So I don’t carry Sting-Kill Benzocaine, for example, but I make sure that is in the kids’ packs.
The EDC First Aid Kit I carry with Me!
Here is a picture of the kit I carry all zipped up.
First, let’s talk about the carrying case. You can use whatever you want. I used to carry a kit in a ziploc bag (cheap, easy to see what I have) but it kept ripping. I then upgraded to a really (really) nice Orange MYFAK Kit from MyMedic. Click that link for current pricing of the whole kit. I actually had an older version than the one shown in that link, but I loved it. It was GREAT for the stuff it came with, but it was juuuuuust a little too small for me. And I wanted less pouches and more of a kit I could stuff things in as needed.
So I now use the flexible sided grey one in the pictures. I cannot actually remember where I got it, so I cannot give you a link, but it is SUPER basic. You can find things like it on Etsy, or Amazon, or Target. The point here is that the container is way less important than how it fits for you.
Let’s go through each thing, and I’ll explain why I chose that item, and you can decide if you might want that also.
Starting at the Upper Left:
Blister “Kit” - I reused the Moleskin bag (notice my labels. I Love Label Makers!) and filled it with:
Moleskin
My Medic SuperSkin (the stuff with the + signs on it)
Compeed Blister Care kit (that green plastic clamshell)
Goody’s Headache Powder - This is Caffeine, Asprin and Acetaminophen in a powder. I get lots of caffeine related headaches and I live on this stuff. The baggie holds those powder packets.
My Medic Topical Mod - Antibacterial gel, wipes, etc
Tick Check Tick Removal tools. We have a dog, and ticks are everywhere. I keep this, because they seem to like biting my wife. Now, I know I said earlier that this kit is for me. But if a tick bites my wife, I prefer being FULLY prepared. The Tick Check tools in the picture are Tick Check Deluxe which are nice because they come with a nice little identification card.
Flashlight - it also has a label on it, as you can see. But it is a single battery light, and pretty bright. That particular one is an OLIGHT I3T EOS, which is 180 Lumens and runs on a single AAA.
Small “Squeeze” light. This is the little LED light on the metal clip. I like this because it is VERY light and I can easily hold it in my teeth and shine at something while using my hands. I don’t really have room for a headlamp in this kit, so this serves that purpose. The light in the picture is a Nite Ize rechargeable Squeeze LED light.
Small Glasses Repair Kit. This is the clear plastic tube with the red cap. I keep this in here because I wear glasses and have needed these a bunch of times, and it is nice to have. I don’t think this is a requirement for a First Aid Kit, but I am showing you what I choose to do.
Tweezers
Nail Clippers. This is a big one. Good nail clippers are important. I figure most any disaster will involve a lot of walking, and having trimmed toenails is vital. These also help fix a hangnail, and can be used to trim loose threads, etc. Handy all around. My very favorite nail clippers are these Victorinox Nail Clippers. The ones in the picture above are actually a different set, which fold flatter. These ultra thin, folding nail clippers are what is in that picture.
Thermometer The Thermometer is honestly optional. But with Covid, figuring out if you actually have a fever is important, and this is a small one that works well.
Hydration/Electrolyte powder. This can be a hydration Mod from My Medic, or you could also use Pedialyte packets as well. But something to rehydrate you is important. Some electrolyte powder of your choice is important.
AquaTabs. These are water purifying tablets. Obviously, I’d prefer to have a sweet water filter with me at all times, but they are a little bulky, so I find it important, especially when travelling, to have water purifying tablets. AquaTabs are by far my favorite. They don’t taste horrible (like Iodine) and they work very well. Read about AquaTabs and how they work (and buy some if you want).
Rolled Gauze. This pack happens to be from CVS, but you can get it anywhere.
SplinterOut. These are SUPER handy little buggers. They are sterile packs, that have a little pointy blade type thing to help get the end of a splinter out of the skin. VERY helpful. I love these things. Check out SplinterOut packs here.
Glass Breaker/Seatbelt Cutter. This is a bit of a weird place to put this tool, but I keep one in the first aid kit because you can use the blade to slice bandages safely in a pinch, and having a glass breaker is always a winner.
Sunscreen. I have nicer Sunscreen in my Kids First Aid Kit, but here in my kit I carry these pouches of SPF 30 from My Medic.
Small Bic Lighter. Always a winner. You just never know.
WoundSeal, QuickClot, and BloodStop. All three of these things serve slightly different needs, but I like all of them.
Woundseal is a little tube of powder that works great for small nicks, and can be used in larger amounts in a real disaster. It is very light, so I added it. WoundSeal comes in a two pack, and is cheaper than QuickClot.
QuickClot is the gold standard, and is for sure expensive, but I learned the real value of this in my kit when I attended to a fairly nasty ice skating injury (hand meets skate) at a kids’ birthday party. The little boy eventually had stitches, but QuickClot made the bleeding (and hence the screaming) stop. Win. You can get Quick Clot in lots of different sizes, like this two pack.
Bloodstop is sort of a mini version of QuickClot. It is cheaper and comes in smaller sizes. This is what I use when I nick my face shaving and it won’t stop. Bloodstop comes in a box of 10 sterile packets. Only two shown here.
A Whistle. Any Whistle will do, but I have a particular Fondness for the Fox40 Whistle with the rubber teeth grip.
Ben’s Bug Repellent. I hate the smell of this stuff, so I only use the pre-packaged packets, because I have had these leak before. Gross. I like the packets of Bug Repellent including DEET from Ben’s.
Compression Bandage
My Medic Super Strips. These are sort of like mini-stitches. I am not a surgeon, and I am not going to stitch myself up, but I have cut myself very deeply working on cars and trucks before, and these are what I would use if I couldn’t get myself to a hospital. Hopefully never need these, but if I do, at least they are small and light. You can get My Medic Super Strips here.
Sting Relief. This little pouch came in a first aid kit from My Medic, and has the stuff for bug bites.
Benadryl You can’t see it very well, but I have packs of Benadryl (along with Anti-Diarrheal medice etc) in that little mini ziploc. You need Benadryl
NPA Airway tube. That plastic hose thingy is an NPA, or NasoPharyngeal Airway. You put that tube in someone’s nose to help them breath if they are in big trouble. If you aren’t comfortable with this, you can skip it. You can get NPA tubes from My Medic.
My Medic Micromend Kit. This is similar to the Super Strips, but has some glue in it.
Nose Bleed Plugs. I REALLY like these. I get a lot of bloody noses, in many scenarios. The shower, on planes, in the winter, in Arizona… you name it. These are plug you stick up your nose and they stop bleeding. These have bailed me out many, many times. Check out my favorite brand of Nose Bleed Plugs here.
A whole Bunch of BandAids. I reused the “Bandage Pack” pouch from My Medic, but that just holds a whole assortment of Band-Aids. I spread them out for the picture, but normally they are in that pouch.
Rubber gloves. In the Ziploc Baggie
Tourniquet. The one in the pictures is a RATS Tourniquet. They aren’t the best, and I prefer CAT style, but I usually have one of those in my bag more accessible anyway, so this is more like a backup.
Portawipes Compressed Towels. I have two types here. The Portawipes Compressed Towels in the sleeve, and the individually wrapped Big Otter Compressed Towels. They work really well to clean up. Check out the Topic I wrote on the Best Bugout Bag For Kids where I talk more about these.
Hand Sanitizer. Those packets are Purell Personals, which are a nice way to prevent leaking. Purell Personals come in boxes of 125, and are good for all kinds of locations.
Chest Seal (in the middle). This is VERY debatable. Honestly you probably don’t need this, but I had one, and it is light and thin, so I figured I might as well.
Burn Gel (in the middle) I love Burn Gel. I burn myself more than I would like to admit reaching for things under hot car manifolds, or cooking, or whatnot. Burn Gel is a great thing to have.
None of this is set in stone, and I highly encourage you to customize your own kit. I would also love it if you gave me any feedback about ideas to improve.