Many first aid kits are general purpose. Essentially they are a collection of items that can be typically purchased at a pharmacy or drug store and are stored in a carrying case or a pouch. You will almost always find basic items such as band-aids, gauze, medical tape, and pain relievers.

Such items are useful for treating minor injuries such as scrapes, light cuts, or a light impact to the body. However, there are going to be times where you may want to get a kit that is specialized for a particular purpose. The nature of the kit will change depending on its intended use case.

For example, many gun and bow hunters run the risk of being accidentally shot. A bullet or an arrow will cause a deep puncture wound which will require stitches to treat properly. However, in the meantime, the patient will need a way to stop the bleeding from an injury or they will bleed out and die. A kit for this activity will likely contain clotting sponges, gauze, tape, and maybe even a tourniquet. Additionally, a hunting kit may include items such as bug spray and items to treat insect bites or poison ivy.

People who spend time on the water may want a different kind of kit. For example, a casual fisherman is unlikely to experience serious puncture wounds but may end up cutting himself on the fishing tackle. Drowning is a risk on the water and may require CPR so a first aid kit for fishing may have a CPR mask in it as well. So when you are picking out a first aid kit, you should consider the type of kit and the activities that you plan on undertaking so that you are properly prepared.

Size matters when it comes to first aid kits. A larger kit will hold more items which means that you are able to treat more injuries with it. However, as the size of the kit increases, so does its weight. A large kit is not always needed and may not be practical for what you need. As always, you should take into consideration the risks that you are preparing for in order to make sure that your kit has the right size. A couple of examples should help make this clearer.

For example, if you are purchasing a first aid kit to keep in your car, then you will want to consider the area of the car where the kit is going to be stored. If you plan on keeping the kit in the trunk or underneath a seat, then it can be larger. On the other hand, if you own a small vehicle and are planning on putting your first aid kit in the glove box, then you should look for a smaller first aid kit. In this situation, the type of items that are in the kit may be more important than the kit's size.

On the other hand, a hunter who is wearing BDU pants may only want to carry a small trauma kit so that he can treat himself if he gets shot on accident. In this case, the kit needs to be small enough to fit in a pocket. It's not necessary to bring a large kit with you in this situation and doing so will only mean that you have to carry more than what is necessary. For these reasons, you should consider the size of the kit.

Since first aid kits are made up of a variety of small items, it's generally useful to store these items in a carrying case. Just about anything can work as a carrying case but almost all commercially available first aid kits come with a carrying case. The cases are usually either a zippered nylon bag or a hard plastic container. When you are shopping for a first aid kit, you should take a look at the case that is sold with it in order to make sure that it meets your needs.

One thing that you should look at is the size of the case. Larger cases will allow you to carry more items but they also add bulk and weight. First aid kits that have small cases usually only have enough items for one to two people while a large case can store enough items for a small group. You will want to decide on the size of the case based on your needs.

Another thing that you should look at is the case's ability to resist water. Many items in a first aid kit will be damaged if they get wet so this is an important part of making sure that nothing is destroyed if the kit is exposed to moisture. Most first aid kits will advertise if they resist water and if they don't then you should assume that they are not water resistant and store the first aid kit in an appropriate place. Finally, you will want to look at the overall durability of the case. If the case is weak it can come open unexpectantly, break, rip, or tear. All of these events will require you to get a new case and could damage your supplies.

A common practice is to purchase a first aid kit and then put it someplace and forget about it. This is not a good idea because items such as medicines, creams, and clotting sponges have an expiration date and should not be used when they expire. Using expired items will cause them to be less effective when they are needed so a first aid kit that is expired will create a false sense of safety.

The best practice when purchasing a first aid kit is to get one that has a long shelf life. This will provide you with more value for your money since it means that you will not have to replace the kit as often. Another thing that you should check is the expiration date of the individual items in the kit. Certain items last for a longer period of time than other items so you will want to make sure that you are aware of the expiration date of the items in the kit. Additionally, first aid kits are a collection of items that are stored in a case so you may get a mix of old medical supplies along with new ones.

Once you are aware of the shelf life of the items in the kit, you will need to make sure that you check on your first aid kit on a regular basis and make sure that everything is still usable. The last thing that you want to have happened is to go to use your kit and find that items are missing, expired, or no longer usable so you should always do your due diligence and check on your first aid kit.

Ask yourself this question, "How useful is my kit's CPR mask if I don't know how to do CPR?". Having a first aid kit is only one part of being prepared for an emergency. The other part is knowing how to use the items in the kit to treat an injury or save a life. The best thing that you should do is take a basic class on first aid so that you are familiar with topics such as how to treat a wound and wrap it properly in order to prevent infection. CPR certification is also recommended especially if you are going to be around water a lot.

However, this knowledge doesn't automatically transfer to other people. There is always the possibility that somebody else may need to use your first aid kit and may not know how to use the items in the kit properly. This is why you will want to consider getting a kit that has instructions. Instructions are useful to reference in the event that you aren't sure about something while you are treating an injury. They are also handy to have if somebody else needs to use your kit and doesn't know much about administering first aid.

Many first aid kits will contain either a pamphlet or a small book in them that will offer advice on how to apply first aid. This should be considered a must-have item for when you are purchasing a first aid kit. Even if you are familiar with first aid, there may be something that you haven't seen before that you may need to reference. If your kit has directions with it, you should read them over and be familiar with them.