First Aid Kit
The are a lot of great suggestions for what to put in your first aid kit out there - St. John's Ambulance comes to mind. This is what we use. Some areas have specific challenges that will be reflected in the extra things we will pack in our first aid kit. We almost never use our first aid kit. David says that anything that a bandaid and iodine can`t fix, is worth a trip to the doctor. We would like to share some information about the medicinal benefits of wild plants under Wild Edibles, coming soon.
- Sterile Gauze Pads (x4)
- Cotton balls
- Band-aids (x10, different sizes)
- Iodine+
- Tea Tree Oil (small vial)
- Adhesive Tape (5m)
- Suture tape (better then sticking a needle in your flapping open wound)
- Scissors (folding)
- Electrolyte Powder, we make our own, 4 spoons of sugar, 1 spoon of salt and 1L water
- Anti venom for poisonous spiders, snakes and scorpions
- Paracetamol (x8, painkiller. We almost never use these but I get asked for them regularly. A great commonly found alternative to painkillers is found in the bark of Willow trees, more on this later)
- Loperamide (in case of explosive diarrhea)
- Tweezers (for slivers etc)
- Tick Tool (keeping us and Milo lime-disease free)
- Reflector Blanket (to get warm when you need to)
- Triple antibiotic ointment
- Candy (Sugar is the best thing to return the colour to your face after a good meeting with the ground, also good against exhaustion and if you just want a snack)
- Monthly worm medication for Milo
Bathroom Bag
- Toothbrushes
- Tooth Paste (mini tube, sometimes we use coconut oil and baking soda for toothpaste)
- Dental Floss (save lots of money on dentists by using this)
- Sun screen (SPF 50, 90mL)
- Muskol Insect Repellent (30% deet keeps away everything you worry about in North America, 50mL)
- Tent Repair Kit (glue, patch and a brush)
- Clothing Repair Kit with a bit of string, 2 types of fabric and 3 needles which are a bit rusty after a year in the jungle
- Spare earrings (I have my ears stretched and am guaranteed to loose at least 1 earring per trip so I now pack extras)
- Toilet Paper (1 roll without the cardboard in the middle fits perfectly into a zip-lock bag)
- Nail Clippers (last time we forgot these and it proved uncomfortable)
The Hair dilemma: David and I both shave our heads weekly or bi-weekly, this means no shampoo, hair products or brushes necessary. We have our own buzzers and can cut our hair without pricey trips to the barber but what to do on our migration? We have discussed bringing scissors and trying to snip down to the scalp but I suspect this will be time consuming and rough looking. Any suggestions? Is it worth another 3lbs of hair equipment? Should we throw self-grooming, with our caution to the wind?