When traveling or going on vacation or camping, a first aid kit is a must. There are many different scenarios a mom can find herself in with her family or others around. Knowing the basic things you can bring with you and knowing which scenario you might be dealing with while traveling can be of tremendous benefit for the people you are with.
But most times hospitals are very far away and cell reception is scarce!
The purpose of this article is to help you prepare for many different scenarios you might find yourself in while in the middle of nowhere or while traveling.
These items I always pack with me in either a small backpack or a first aid kit box that I make myself which will not take up a lot of room.
Packing
First I wanted to talk about the must have items that I always pack and then break down each category that you might be faced with and how to use each item. Some buy special backpacks to hold all their items but if you are hiking taking another backpack would be another load for you to carry. What I found helpful is to get a metal box or a wood box that can fit into your backpack or an empty makeup bag so you can carry it with you where you go.
Here is what I always pack:
- Lavender essential oil (I use Plant Therapy brand)
- Calendula Tincture
- St. Johns Wort tincture
- Valerian tincture
- Echinacea tincture
- Willow Bark tincture
- Aloe vera gel
- Epsom Salt
- Activated Charcoal
- Colloidal Silver
- Gauze
- Vet Wrap
- Bandage tape
- Small Scissors
- Tweezers
- Bandana
- Gloves
- Emergency Laceration strips (get these on Amazon or CVS)
- Boiron Allergy Calm tablets
- Belladonna 30c (homeopathic remedy)
- Arnica 30c (homeopathic remedy)
- Apis 30c (homeopathic remedy)
- Carbolicum acidic 30c (homeopathic remedy)
Think about how much you might need in an emergency situation. A lot of things can be put into a smaller container and you do not have to carry the whole bottle with you. I use either plastic sandwich bags for the activated charcoal that I measure out ahead of time and also for the epsom salt that I measure out ahead of time.
The homeopathic remedies I always wrap together in foil so if I need it for emergencies then I know where all the homeopathic remedies are. This also prevents the remedies to be destroyed by any heat or sunlight that they might get exposed to.
Burns and Lacerations
If you find yourself camping, this is what is likely to happen and you do not have a hospital nearby, things can get infected real quick. I use the same formula for burns and wounds with one small difference.
For severe burns, lacerations and cuts:
Use 1 pint pure sanitized cool water, add a dropper full of each St. Johns wort tincture and Calendula tincture to the water.
Clean the area as best as you can then soak the gauze in the tincture mixture.
Place wet gauze over the wound to completely cover it.
Keep the injury moist.
If the injury is a burn you must keep it moist, if the injury is a cut, the gauze will need to be changed out and wound cleaned if needed in between dressing changes to prevent infection.
This is where the emergency stitches packs come in handy that you would have in your bag. They close the wound fast and are easy to use.
For minor burns or wounds:
Use the aloe vera gel with lavender essential oil (5ml of aloe with one drop lavender) to put directly on the area.
A lot of times you do not need a gauze over it, the main thing is to keep it clean so do not hesitate to use gauze or bandaids if needed. If there is a tree with resin that you can get from the bark, then you can use a little of the resin to cover the cut and it works like a bandaid.
I always give Arnica 30c right away after anything happens which helps with any type of shock to the body. If my patient needs it and is in pain I look at giving them Arnica more or if they are in pain from the laceration or burn I give the St. John wort tincture to them internally with about 2 droppers full as needed. St. Johns wort is a great tincture to use for any sort of nerve pain.
For nighttime pain, your best go-to would be Valerian tincture to relax the patient and have them be able to get a good nights rest or until you can get down some trail. Sometimes I like to include Willow Bark tincture in my kit for pain relief, it really depends on the amount of space I have to carry extra things or how isolated we will be as a family.
Always know your doses ahead of time and the precautions when giving tinctures internally. Kids have lower doses, so you always want to start small and see how they respond to the herb if they have never taken it before. Some people do not like Valerian. Some people take Digoxin or Aspirin on a regular bases and cannot be given Willow Bark. Do your research ahead of time for any precautions if you are not sure.
Look at the affected area, if it looks infected and you know its a bacteria infection and your patient is getting a fever, colloidal silver is what will help in a tight spot as it pulls all the bacteria out.
When giving colloidal silver, it pulls the good bacteria and bad out so to replace the good gut bugs you need to think about probiotics and giving them once you have access to them.
Animal Bites
Spider bites, snake bites, random animals around the area this might be likely to happen if you are camping or hiking. What is one to do? My go-to is activated charcoal for these things. When someone has a bite, there is always the area that you are dealing with initially and that area has a chance to spread. If there is poison you’re dealing with then it has a chance to travel and infect other parts of the body, so I always have to work fast.
Arnica is always given right away in this case also.
I try to mark the area if I can so I can monitor it and see if its spreadin.
Activated charcoal can be used with water. I mix a teaspoon with water, put it on a gauze or maybe even directly on the area and cover with a gauze, then wrap it with the VET WRAP (so it doesn’t irritate the hair if you need to change it and the bandaid tape will rip hairs out mostly).
The activated charcoal pulls everything out and works really well while you are trying to get to a hospital even. A lot of the time the activated charcoal is all you might need and won’t need to travel.
I also give Echinacea tincture to my patient to support the immunity system about a dropper or two full, 3 times a day.
Allergic reactions
Sneezing, coughing, hives, bee stings! In a situation like allergic reactions it can be a bit scary because sometimes we do not know what our kids might be allergic to until it contacts them and then you have an emergency on your hands.
If you have to have your Epipen, do not forget this as it will save your life in an anaphylactic reaction.
For bee stings Apis 30c is the go-to as it is made from bees. So if you are walking and your child or your spouse develops swelling right away think of your homeopathic aluminum foil kit and reach for Apis. I give one pellet every few minutes if they start swelling up, of course remove the stinger if you can see it, and put lavender essential oil one drop directly on the area to bring the swelling down.
A side note here, homeopathic remedies are cancelled out by strong odors like essential oils, so give the homeopathic remedies first to see if swelling goes down and then use the oils.
Food allergies, one of my sons has a bad reaction to tree nuts, he does go into anaphylactic shock with cashews so I personally always carry Carbolicum acidic and Apis because I do not know when he might get in contact with any tree nuts.
For respiratory allergic reactions, different herbalist will carry different things, but look at things that open up the lungs. Some carry tinctures like Ragweed or Lobelia tinctures which must be used with moderation as they can cause issues with kids and adults. I personally stay away from them because I don’t want a bad reaction on top of a bad situation and use a great Boiron homeopathic mix for allergic reactions like this one that I buy ahead of time along with lavender essential oil on the chest if needed.
Side note, eucalyptus, tea tree, peppermint essential oils will cancel out any homeopathic remedies as they contain camphor, this is why I stick with lavender which calms and opens at the same time.
Punctures
You or your child is walking and bam…you step on something. Maybe a sharp object hits you accidentally causing a puncture wound. Or maybe you step on a nail! This is where your tweezers and epsom salt come in handy. Epsom salt pulls everything out from dirt to bacteria up from the wound and your tweezers will come in handy when those foreign objects come to the surface to be pulled out.
If you can, its always best to try to pull it out first with the tweezers if you need to.
Again, looking at a risk of infection once the object is out and take care of it as you would with a cut or laceration once the object it out.
When there is a puncture wound, I like to soak the area in warm water (or as warm as the person can tolerate) along with a cup of epsom salt to soak until water cools to pull that bacteria out. Then soak it in a Calendula and St. Johns wort tincture afterwards. This can be hard to find in a camping area or a hiking area so work with your surroundings to soak if you can. Using bowls that one would use for oatmeal in the mornings can be washed out and the water/epsom salt solution can be put in that if you need to.
Other campers around might have containers that they are willing to donate for the soak or a sink can be used if you really need it in an emergency at a local restroom when you know there might be an infection.
Follow the above protocol for wounds once soaks are done.
Final Thoughts
This can be a lot to take in if you are just getting started with natural first aid and have not had any medical training. I would encourage you to start small, choose one thing that you might be dealing with and be prepared for that one thing. Get some wins under your belt dealing with natural remedies and herbs. The more you use these materials, the more confidence you will gain in helping yourself and those in your care.
When I was working as an RN, keeping ourselves protected from infections was highly encouraged which is why I try to also pack gloves just in case of dealing with other people and blood and a bandana can be turned into a sling if there is an injury that needs a sling.
I hope you found this helpful on your own journey!
If you have specific herbs or illnesses you are dealing with and are wondering what to pack, do not hesitate to reach out for your free consultation here.
