Building a Personal Medical Kit

With a busy household, it seems like there isn't a summer that goes by without one of my kids getting some injury needing some medical attention. Even I am not immune from the effects of spontaneous trauma. When engaged in an intense nerf battle at a kids church group I ran and jumped through a doorway hitting my head quite hard on the top of the door jamb. Unfortunately the force of my jump on the door resulted in a nice sized scalp laceration. Fortunately in my truck I had my personal medical kit. With a little coaching, I handed one of the other Dads in the group my skin stapler and within minutes I was repaired, ready to re-engage in the evening's frivolity. Through these experiences, I have found that, as a physician, having a well stocked, personal medical kit is someing that is vitally important.

Why do you need a Personal Medical Kit

As you get started putting together a personal medical kit, it is always good to think through the reason why you are assembling a kit.  As a healthcare provider, when something happens, you are going to be called on to help.

I am sure you have heard the line, "Fortune favors the prepared."  A variation of this line is attributed to Louis Pasteur who is reported to have said, "Chance favors the prepared mind."  This is a general truism for life.  Preparation always results in better outcomes.  This is why we stock supplies in the ER.  This we meticulously checked off our trucks at the fire department and why we checked the bags with life flight. 

Medical emergencies can be stressful events.  But with a little forethought and preparation, you can turn an overwhelming and stressful event into a manageable thing.  And when it comes to healthcare, you have the potential of preventing unnecessary morbidity or mortality.

What do you need in your Personal Medical Kit?

As you start preparing your kit, the first question that you need to ask is what you need your kit to be able to do.  The answer to this question will determine what you stock in your kit.  This depends on what your intended purpose is.

Where is this kit going to live?

Where do you intend to keep your kit.  This will have a huge bearing on the size and weight of the kit.  For example, if this is a kit that you want to keep in a backpack, you will want to keep it small.  When you are carrying things, ounces equal pounds and pounds equal pain.  However, if your kit is going to be left in a vehicle or on a shelf at home, you have the flexibility to put more things in it and make it bigger and heavier.

What is your skill set?

In the event of a medical emergency or when medical attention is needed, what skills do you bring to the table?  In other words, what do you know to do and feel comfortable doing?  This will impact what supplies and equipment you may want to keep in your kit.

Who are you trying to treat?

The people you are intending to prepare for will have an impact on what supplies you stock and how much.  Is your kit designed to be used only for medical events that happen to you?  Is this a kit that you are throwing in a hiking pack?  These kits, called IFAKs (individual first aid kits) can be small and simple.  However, as you include the number of people that you are intending to treat, the variety and quantity of supplies will increase.

What emergencies are you trying to prepare for?

The first question that you need to ask is what type of situations do you need to prepare for?  This is based on what is the likelihood of certain scenarios and what scenarios do you think you will find yourself in?  You also have to ask yourself, what can you reasonably do when you are in the out-of-hospital setting.  You may be skilled at performing resuscitative procedures but if you need a hospital to back you up, you just can’t do that in the field.

With these considerations in mind, here are a few common scenarios that you may need to consider.

Wound Care

Wound care is probably the most command and most basic function of a first aid kit.  And your management can range from definitive care all the way to temporizing care while you get more definitive medical attention.  I like to have basic bandages but also supplies to be able to do some more advanced laceration care.  This has saved me a number of trips to the ER.

Fracture Care

The next most common think that you will likely encounter is bone and joint injuries.  While many of these may only be a strain or sprain, they will often eventually need some form of imaging to determine the presence or absence or fracture.  Additionally, you will likely need to stabilize a joint or extremity while you get yourself to more definitive medical attention.

Hemorrhage Control

Bleeding is the number one cause of death in trauma patients.  But with proper management, it is potentially one of the most salvageable emergencies.  A good medical kit that stocks for more than simple wound management should have supplies to manage bleeding.

Airway Emergencies

Airway emergencies can be the scariest medical emergencies in the hospital, and especially in the field.  We have had several airway scares with our kids.  And nothing made me feel more helpless, even as an emergency physician, than facing a compromised airway at home. For this reason, I like to keep basic airway management supplies.

Thoracic emergencies

Certain thoracic injuries (specifically tension pneumothorax) can become quickly life threatening but are also very amenable to intervention in the field with the proper training and equipment.  This certainly gets into the advance level of prehospital care, but I like to carry equipment to prevent and manage tension physiology.

What to include in your Personal Medical Kit?

What you decide to keep in your personal medical kit will ultimately depend on how you answer these questions. Below are a few of my personal medical kits at I keep in different places. Each kit has some basic supplies, but each kit also has some supplies unique to that kit. For example, the large kit has more advanced supplies including airway supplies. The middle kit is my general purpose kit which is geared primarly for wound care and hemorrhage control. The kit on the right is a smaller personal IFAK that is geared toward single person use.

As you think through what you want in your kit, here is a list of supplies to download that you may want to consider. If you have put together a kit and want to share your thoughts, feel free to share those in the comments below.