Boo-Boo Kits

There are lots of different levels and sizes of "first aid kits."  Search results on the first page alone of Amazon yielded kits ranging in price from $9 up to $574.  The latter probably has a few more items than the former, but it's not necessarily something you'd want to lug around with you everywhere.  So before any further discussion of first aid kits, we need to introduce a few terms and definitions to facilitate understanding. 

Boo-boo kit:  Personal first aid kit carried by everyone in in the family when away from home and when more than five or ten minutes from the car. 

IFAK (individual first aid kit):  Contains everything found in the boo-boo kit, plus additional items for treating gunshot wounds and other serious injuries.  It is carried by everyone who is carrying a weapon and away from society.

Modified IFAK:  Boo-boo kit plus tourniquet.  Anyone who is open- or concealed-carrying must always carry a tourniquet.

Family medical kit:  Contains a wide variety of supplies for addressing everyday medical conditions at home.  Generally kept at home, but also goes on vacations and outings.

Advanced medical kit:  Contains the supplies a physician might use in a non-hospital setting.  Also generally kept at home, but we take ours with us whenever we'll be more than half an hour from a hospital.

Precious few of the first aid kits commercially available are worthwhile.  The vast majority of them have an overabundance of Band-Aids and little to nothing in the way of medications or supplies that would actually be useful.  And they are substantially overpriced.  You're far better off to build your own kits.

This post will focus on building your own boo-boo kit.

I traded my purse in for a diaper bag when my first child was born.  But for some reason after we were done with diapers and such twelvish years ago, I wasn't able to force myself to carry a purse again.  I felt too scatter-brained to keep track of anything I couldn't put in my pockets.

Because I don't want to carry a purse or put a boo-boo kit in my pockets, I keep one in every vehicle.  There is an additional one for each member of the family that is kept in their 96-hour kits.  And we have one specifically compiled for the girls' archery tournaments with a couple items that would be more likely to be needed for archery.

The case/container needs to be able to hold everything you want to have.  When we started off, the regular size Altoids tins worked, but they eventually became a bit too small for all that we wanted to carry.  We now use the cases that come with the blood glucose meters my diabetic husband uses.  The meters are improved quite frequently and most diabetics will have at least a few.  You might be able to hit up someone you know for a spare kit case.  And these really are the best cases I've been able to find.  They're compact, somewhat water resistant, and often have pockets with zippers and Velcro or elastic bands for organizing small items.  Unfortunately for the fashion-conscious, the cases included with glucometers only come in black.  But if money isn't an object, you can check Amazon for blood glucose meter cases.

So what goes into our boo-boo kits?  Right here will be the explanations and usages for each item, if necessary.  For just the checklist without any explanation of the uses of various items, scroll down.

Abrasions, lacerations, bleeding:

• 3 Band-aids in various sizes
• 4 alcohol wipes (for cleaning around a wound and disinfecting the safety pin before removing splinters or the razor blade if you have to cut away some flesh—alcohol is never used to clean in a wound—alcohol damages tissue and hinders healing; alcohol wipes can also be used after exposure to poison oak, ivy, sumac)
• 1 benzalkonium chloride wipe (for cleaning around a more serious wound and especially one received in contaminated water or from an animal bite—effective against bacteria, viruses, fungi, and protozoa)
• 2 Q-tips for cleaning debris out of wounds
• 1 packet of triple antibiotic (just one—a wound needs only a very little bit for effective coverage—an amount the size of a grain of rice per ¼ inch of wound)
• 5 Steri-strips (or butterfly closures) for closing lacerations
• 1 tincture of benzoin (after the laceration has been cleaned, tincture of benzoin is applied in lines where Steri-strips will be placed—the tincture helps Steri-strips adhere much better)
• 1 Tegaderm (waterproof and transparent film that goes over the Steri-strips to keep Steri-strips in place, protect the wound from infection, and allow monitoring)
• 4 2x2 gauze pads
• 4.5" kerlix roller gauze
• 1" roll cloth tape
• pressure dressing
• triangle bandage
• moleskin

In our boo-boo kits, all the above items go into one of the inside pockets.  If you don’t have pockets, use a snack-size Ziploc baggie. 

Topical creams: 

• 1 Burn gel for burns
• 1 hydrocortisone for bug bites and stings
• 1 Benadryl for poison oak, ivy, or sumac

Oral medications: 

• Benadryl (two tablets, for bug bites, stings, or sleep aid)
• Imodium/loperamide (one, anti-diarrhea)
• Tylenol/acetaminophen (two doses to be used in case of a bleeding injury)
• Aleve/naproxen sodium (pain reliever for when bleeding is not an issue—they’re smaller pills that need to be taken less often)
• Jet Alert/Vivarin/caffeine (for a drowsy driver, or can also help a headache or an asthmatic)
• oral rehydration salts

All the medications and topicals go into a snack-size Ziploc bag.

Personal protection:

• exam gloves 
• N95 mask

Tools:

• safety pins
• super glue
• razor blade or scalpel
• Klever Kutter or small trauma shears
• splinter forceps

For the kits that go into our 96-hour packs, we also include:

• more anti-diarrhea meds; 
• personal medications for ailments each individual is subject to--ulcers, nausea, sleeplessness;
• moxifloxacin--antibiotic effective for 24 hours and has a broad range of coverage. 

Side note:  Almost all of the above medications and creams can be purchased in single-use/dose packets on Amazon (Benadryl cream is the exception). It’s nice to have everything clearly labeled and usage instructions. However, it can get a little pricey if you’re building kits just for your family.  A way around this is to use jumbo plastic drinking straws.  Using a candle flame and needle-nose pliers, seal one end of the straw.  Fill with a single dose of medication, cut to size plus about 3/8 inch, and seal the other end.  Label with a permanent marker.  Use the same color straw for each medication for everyone in the family.  That way, if the marker rubs off for one person, the straw color can be compared with other kits for easy identification of contents.  Use the razor blade (or a pocket knife) to open straws.

Abrasions, lacerations, bleeding:
     ▢     3 Band-aids in various sizes
     ▢     4 alcohol wipes
     ▢     1 benzalkonium chloride wipe
     ▢     2 Q-tips
     ▢     1 packet of triple antibiotic
     ▢     5 Steri-strips (or butterfly closures)
     ▢     1 tincture of benzoin
     ▢     1 Tegaderm
     ▢     4 2x2 gauze pads
     ▢     4.5" kerlix roller gauze
     ▢    1" roll cloth tape
     ▢     pressure dressing
     ▢     triangle bandage
     ▢     moleskin

Topical creams: 
     ▢     1 Burn gel for burns
     ▢     1 hydrocortisone for bug bites and stings
     ▢     1 Benadryl for poison oak, ivy, or sumac

Oral medications: 
     ▢     Benadryl, 2 tablets
     ▢     Imodium, 1 tablet
     ▢     Tylenol, 2 doses
     ▢     Aleve, 2 doses
     ▢     Vivarin (caffeine) 2 doses
     ▢     oral rehydration salts
Personal protection:
     ▢     1 pair exam gloves 
     ▢     N95 mask
Tools:
     ▢     2 safety pins
     ▢     1 super glue
     ▢     1 razor blade or scalpel
     ▢     1 Klever Kutter or small trauma shears
     ▢     1 splinter forceps

Links to related posts:
Boo-boo Kit checklist only
IFAK
Family Medical Kit  
Advanced Medical Kit 

10.23.18