While accidents on the hiking trail are thankfully few and far between they certainly do happen from time to time and you need to be prepared. Here we look at some ideas for packing an essential hiking first aid kit.

Every year literally millions of hikers travel around the world’s wilderness areas without any real problems and without injury. However, from time to time, accidents do happen and a little preparation can go a long way towards ensuring that the results of any injuries sustained leave you ready to head out on the trail again without delay.

For anything other than a simple hour or two of hiking in your local area you need to do a little preparation and that should include packing a first aid kit. You kit should of course take into account the area in which you will be hiking and the sort of injuries which you could possibly encounter but, in all cases, your first aid kit should contain at least the following items.

Elastic roll bandages and gauze
A variety of different sized adhesive bandages
An anti-bacterial spray or cream
Either Aspirin or Ibuprofen, depending upon your stomach sensitivity
Moleskin to be used in the treatment of blisters
A knife (a Swiss Army knife or something similar is ideal)
A pair of tweezers
Anti-itch cream
Burn cream
Hydrocortisone cream
Sunscreen

The other items that you might want to add to this list are very much a matter of personal preference and you should use your own judgment here. Continue reading →