Great Little Gadgets for the Medical Kits

As Christmas is just around the corner, every preparedness and survival blog will have their list of gifts to buy, along with handy links.  And, oh yeah, if you buy whatever it is they're hawking, they get a little percentage of the deal.  So do those guys really like and use the products they're recommending, or does it just happen to be a way to bring in some cash?  I don't know.

What I do know is that I like and use what I recommend here.  I don't get any benefit from Amazon or anybody else, everything is pretty inexpensive, and there's something for everyone's budget.

Sugar packets.  These are a super convenient way of carrying sugar to sprinkle on nasty abrasions.  And super cheap!

There are dozens of choices on Amazon.  Just put compressed washcloth in the search box.

Compressed washcloths.  I really love these.  They're so cute!  About the size of a Life Saver.  We put a few in each medical kit, depending on the size of the kit.  They rehydrate quickly, and they take a lot less space than a package of baby wipes.

Credit card magnifier.  Instead of a bulky magnifying glass, put one of these in your kits.  They run about $5 each if you get one with an LED light in it, which I highly recommend.  These are great for finding tiny slivers and debris in wounds, as well as reading the fine print on pill bottles.

Penlights.  When you need strong light for examining a wound, you don't want a big flashlight.  Streamlight makes some very nice penlights, and you have a lot of options.  We chose one that recharges with a USB, since we have a little rocket stove that is also a USB charger. However, do not use a strong light to check pupils.  You need something much less intense for that.

Tweezerman tweezers or Uncle Bill's Sliver Grippers.  You want tweezers that come to a point, not a slant.  Uncle Bill's has one option that comes with a tube for storage.  These are the best choices for removing slivers and dirt from a wound.

Klever Kutter.  This is marketed as a disposable box cutter, but I find it super handy for removing bandages.  There's no way to accidentally injure the patient.  It's lightweight and thin, perfect for the medical kit. 

Cosmetic Bag Travel Kit organizer.  This is the best thing ever for organizing a large medical kit.  There are probably hundreds of tiny items we like to include in our kits, and this travel cosmetic bag makes it so easy to keep them neat and organized.  I chose this particular one because it folds flat to fit well in my backpack-style medical kit.  And it has a hanger, which we have also found to be quite handy.  It is currently $14.99 on Amazon. 

This is just an example of what I'm talking about.

So there you have it.  I really like all of these.  In fact, even though I have all of them, and some of them in large quantities, I would still like to have more.  Most of them would make great stocking stuffers for the preppers in the family or nice gifts for under the tree.  You've got three weeks!

Links to related posts:
Medicinal Uses of Sugar
Compressed Washcloths
Klever Kutter

Cosmetic Travel Bag for Organizing Medical Kit

 11.28.19