Campsite Tips:

First Aid Kit Essentials for Any Camping Trip

A well-stocked first aid kit is essential for when planning your next outdoor excursion. Sure, you’ll want to make sure you have your camera ready for those once-in-a-lifetime shots, but you also don’t want to be caught out in the woods unprepared in the event of an accident. Make sure you have all the basics on hand and pack specialty items depending on your trip.

First Aid Basics

  • Bandages and Gauze: From butterfly to self-adhesive bandages and plenty of gauze, you’ll want it all. An open wound is a danger when you don’t have easy access to medical care.

  • Antibiotic Ointment: While a topical cream is no replacement for a round of antibiotics, covering a wound with this cream can help prevent infection until you can seek medical help.

  • Antiseptic Wipes: Before slathering on the antibiotic ointment, it’s always a good idea to clean the wound. These wipes offer a great solution in a setting where water might be limited and/or contaminated.

  • Allergy Medications: From a simple pack of antihistamines to an epi-pen, it is a good idea to have something on hand in case of allergies. Discovering a bee allergy while camping is a quick way for your trip to turn sour if you forget the allergy meds.

  • Pain Reliever: A cold might not keep you in bed at home, but it can be miserable while camping. Muscle aches, fevers, joint pain and other routine scrapes and bruises will all feel a lot less horrible with a steady supply of over-the-counter pain relievers.

  • Hydrocortisone Cream: Bug bites and other itchy spots are part of the camping experience. A little bit of hydrocortisone cream can help take away the urge to scratch so you don’t spend the whole trip doing the itchy dance.

  • Tweezers: Grit, gravel, splinters and other small debris can get embedded into a wound. A pair of tweezers is essential for quick removal.

  • Sunscreen and After Sun Treatments: Always have stuff on hand to prevent sunburn and treat it if you burn through. A bad sunburn can make a camping trip an exercise in pure torture without a little sunburn relief spray.

Along with these specific items, you’ll also want to bring some basic tools like duct tape, super glue, and emergency blankets. These extra tools let you handle most campsite issues, even those not related to an injury.