EDC Overland First Aid Kit

Disclaimer: Not a doctor, lawyer, or any profession that qualifies me to provide medical advice, or legal guidance on the legality of transporting medications across international

We try to be as prepared as possible. Especially since we have a food allergy allergy in the family, and love eating. We also have a little one so scrapes and such are a common occurrence. We assembled these tiny medical kits that fit into small Mylar bags to be on at least one of us at all times. We do have other first aid products / kits that reside in the Jeep, hiking backpack, and other luggage. But this is the stuff we either need most often or is small enough to fit in a tiny bag. 

I highly recommend that you do your own research and build an EDC (every day carry) first aide kit that suits your individual needs, but thought sharing ours might help with a few ideas. After many years of going without, buying a premade kit, or hoping that I still have X, Y, or Z in the glovebox or console — I made a decision to prepare myself for at least the bare minimum first aid situations I might encounter Overlanding far from home.

Also, its important to note… that you should do this before leaving your home country. We learned the hard way around Colombia. Fortunately Courtney’s mom brought us a substantial resupply of various hard to find items. We now have three Ziplock bags of various medications to resupply our EDC kits. 

Our Every Day Carry First Aid Kit

Pain Relievers

  • Ibuprofen (NSAID) 200mg (Motrin IB Travel Pack)
  • Acetaminophen 500mg (Tylenol Extra Strength for Adults Travel Pack) 

Digestion and Such

  • Bismuth Subsalicylate Chewable Tablets 262mg (Pepto-Bismol)
  • Loperamide Hydrochloride 2mg (Imodium or Generic 4 tablets)

Allergy Meds

  • Diphenhydramine HCI 25mg (2 Tablet Travel Pack - Benadryl)
  • Diphenhydramine HCI 12.5mg Chewable (Children’s Benadryl)
  • Loratadine 10mg (Claritin Disintegrating Tablets 3 tablets)

Cuts, Scrapes, Burns

  • 5 Adhesive Bandages (Band-Aid)
  • Lidocane HCI 2.0% 0.9g (Safetec Burn Gel)
  • Antiseptic Towlette

Other

  • Dimenhydrinate 50mg chewable (2 Tablets Dramamine)

So that’s it… all of that fits in a bag that (depending on the person) is just a little larger than a wallet. These have come in super handy while traveling and we’ve actually given more meds to friends and fellow travelers than we’ve used on ourselves. DIY-ing your first aid kit is pretty simple. It gives you control over what goes into the kit (high quality brand name or generic, instead of random Amazon / REI kit pain killers). These are far cheaper — especially if you buy them in bulk and split them up with friends and family.