My Camping First Aid Kit

Whenever we go camping I always make sure to bring a first aid kit and have it readily accessible. I don't like store bought first aid kits because I find the stuff they provide is usually cheap so I make my own. Here's what I bring:

• Band Aids
• Polysporin
• Tweezers
• Nail clippers
• Tylenol
• Gravol (normal and ginger kinds)
• Imodium Quick Dissolve
• After Bite
• Allergy medication

If we're car camping I also have a much larger first aid kit that I always keep in the trunk that has way more stuff in it. That kit has things like gauze, a tourniquet, and burn treatment. I don't think it's qualifies as first aid, more like safety, but we also always have bug spray and After Bite. If we're in bear country, which we usually are, we'll also have bear spray and bear bells.

I bring a lot of stomach type remedies because if I ever get sick I tend to get stomach issues and they hit me like a ton of bricks. I don't think there's anything worse than being camping and getting a bad case of diarrhea. Could you imagine trying to canoe and portage many kilometers while suffering from diarrhea? That's where the Imodium Quick Dissolve comes in handy.

Last year we were supposed to be backcountry camping at Grundy Lake Provincial Park but the same night we arrived I got hit with a really bad cold and sinus infection. I don't even remember setting up camp. Apparently we set things up, which only takes about half an hour, and I immediately went to bed without eating. All night I was shivering and sweating and in the morning it was clear I had a very bad cold. We packed up and cut our five day trip short - we were only there for about 12 hours! It was pouring rain when we left and I don't even remember packing up camp, leaving, and driving about five hours home. According to my husband I slept the entire drive home. Here's a video of us packing up in the rain:

No first aid remedies would have helped me stay longer on that trip. Sometimes you just need to cut your losses and go home. I needed a warm, comfortable bed, sleep, Neo Citran, lots of water, a dehumidifier, and cuddles from my cats. I actually ended up needed to see a doctor and I wound up off work for a week.

I hate being sick. I don't like that being sick normally knocks me out of commission for a day or two and I can barely function. In my first aid video I make it sound like my brain makes me think I'm more sick than I am but that's not the case. It's more like when I get sick I'm hit so hard I'm essentially comatose so if I do start getting sick it stresses me out because I know I'm in for a really rough ride for the next few days. Thankfully I very rarely get sick. But if I ever get sick I like to have some remedies close at hand.