Deep Field Travel First Aid Kit

[col-sect][column]I’m planning a trip this winter and that means getting my field kit back in order. As a recovering Boy Scout, I struggle with the idea of “being prepared.” It feels like that sort of thing always takes the “thrill of life” out of my adventures and leaves me with less cool scars than I thought I would have by this age. On the other hand, it’s nice coming home without infectious diseases most Americans haven't thought about since the Gold Rush.

I’m planning a trip this winter and that means getting my field kit back in order. As a recovering Boy Scout, I struggle with the idea of “being prepared.” It feels like that sort of thing always takes the “thrill of life” out of my adventures and leaves me with less cool scars than I thought I would have by this age. On the other hand, it’s nice coming home without infectious diseases most Americans haven’t thought about since the Gold Rush.

The trick about a first aid kit is that it’s only helpful if it’s on hand when you need it. So my work-in-progress is always to find a way to pare down my kit without leaving out something that could save someone’s life.

I’m not really a war photographer, so I don’t usually end up around a lot of wounded people. But, when I’m out, I’m usually pretty far out. So, I like to have enough on hand to soften the blow if something big were to happen.

The problem with kits you buy at outdoor stores is that there’s a lot of stuff in there you don’t really need. On the other hand, the bag that it all comes in is actually pretty handy.

Below is my kit as it stands; it fits in a pretty small bag.

• 3 pairs latex gloves (more if you’re going to be out longer than two weeks )

Your hands are dirty and you don’t know where someone else’s blood has been. Keep your hands wrapped up whenever you are working on yourself or anyone else.


• 2 or 3 four-inch trauma pads


Get the big ones and cut them down as needed. Three big pads are less clutter in your kit than twelve little ones.


• Gauze

• Butterfly wound closures

Super useful for their size, but they don’t hold well on joints or if there is a lot of blood. I also like to use butterfly clips to hold a deep cut for a few days if I have the slightest chance that I might be able to get into a clinic and have someone actually sew me up.


• Med tape

I’ve substituted gaff tape before, but it hurts a lot more when you take it off and the adhesive can irritate some people’s skin.  Some guys swear by duct tape, but the rolls are too big for me.


• Suture syringe kit



A suture syringe kit is a courtesy to the med who is patching you up and a precaution in case your doc is not well supplied. It should only be used by amateurs as a last resort.

I don’t like going into the field as an observer and expecting the village clinic or the MSF camp to spend their limited supplies on someone who is supposed to be a non-participant. Mostly, however, I don’t like the idea of going to a clinic, bleeding out of my leg, and finding that they don’t have the right supplies or that they aren’t sterile.


• Superglue

Ah… Superglue. Invented during World War II as a liquid suture for the field, it’s the best way to hold a deep clean cut together without stitches and the surest way to protect it from getting infected.

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It’s also the best way to get a really nasty infection underneath closed skin and wind up with a slow death if you don’t have antibiotics, not unlike the man in The Snows of Kilimanjaro. If you leave even the smallest bit of nastiness in your cut, locked away forever beneath the seal of glue, you will regret it. Under-skin infections are painful and can leave bad scars.

If you’re using an adhesive or stitches to close a wound, treat it just like an ER surgeon would: CLEAN IT OUT!!! Get a sterile syringe, like the one in your suture kit, some very clean water, and jet out everything. This will hurt. Wipe every corner of the wound (in and around it) with iodine, hydrogen peroxide, or rubbing alcohol (whatever you can find) and then glue your 3-inch flesh valley up.  I like to use butterfly bandages as prep to help hold a cut together if I’m short on hands or if the wound is long.

• Polysporine

Apparently something in Neosporine sits in your kidneys for the rest of your life. It’s not found to be harmful, but still… get Polysporine.


• Iodine tablets

Because you never know when you’ll need to disinfect 5 gallons of water. See, this is that Boy Scout thing again….


• Cypromax

Sooner or later, I always seem to pick up a GI infection in the field.


• Doxycycline

Doxy is great. It still protects against malaria in most of the world. It’s easy to find and cheap to get. It also fights blood, skin, and upper respiratory infections. Just watch the sun exposure. I burn pretty good every time I take it.


• Z-Pack

A five day salvo of antibiotics–and who knows what else–designed especially for colds and all things upper respiratory. It’s the fastest way to beat back that stupid cold that shows up 14 days into a 20 day project.


• Tylenol, Ibuprofen, Aleve

Notice I don’t have bandaids on here. I do keep a few on me, but they aren’t in my first aid kit because I don’t need them right away. I have my polysporine and that usually does the trick for an afternoon and then I can patch up that evening.

• Tweezers

Cause, you know...

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