Always Carry a First Aid Kit
Most parents, when they first become parents, get into planning mode for any trip. A trip to the grocery store still includes a giant bag with diapers, food, rattles, etc to get through the hour. As the kids get older their resiliency as well as ours grows and we feel confident leaving without all the essentials. But sometimes that lack of planning puts us in bad situations.
Recently I took the kids on a very short hike, not too far from civilization and I was pretty sure it had cell phone signal the entire way. As we got out of the car, for a moment I thought “maybe I’ll just leave the backpack here”. I grabbed it thinking it just doesn’t hurt. Towards the midpoint of the hike we stumbled upon a situation where a woman had passed out on the trail somewhere. She had sent a message and a group was looking for her. As we all quickly spread out and found her I realized there were 6 adults and I was the only one with a first aid kit, extra food and water.
The following day we headed out for some back country hiking which included long stretches of lava rock bouldering. Enjoyment factor was high! Risk was also higher and one of the kids did have a lava boulder fall behind and hit him in the leg. At first the Achilles pain was intense enough that I worried about having to carry him out. While the bleeding was strong, the pain subsided and he was able to walk out. A small but deep cut that needed more than a band aid for sure.
The further we go from immediate help, the more important it is to carry supplies. The more excessive the adventure the more important the first aid kit becomes. For big situations, it generally takes two hours to assemble a Search and Rescue team and that doesn’t include travel time up the trail. While this definitely is not the ultimate guide on what to pack, here are the items I never leave home without:
Electrolyte tablets
Extra water and high sugar foods like dried pears, dried bananas and dried strawberries
Advil and Tylenol
My first aid kit. The basic first aid kit sometimes gets beefed up for bigger adventures with splints and slings. The key items I make sure I have include bug bit treatment, gauze and tape, these amazing wound coverages, blister band aids, and of course antiseptic and antibiotic cream. And of course gloves. When treating others I use them and sometimes to have clean hands when I’m treating my kids.
To get my kids in the habit they also have a small first aid kit. While this is rarely enough for family outings and bigger adventure I want them to be in the mindset of having a kit when they need it.
