Your Med Kit

Yes, Even Medical Supplies Have a Shelf Life

- Dr. Dave Miller

If you put together a trauma medical kit or individual first aid kit (IFAK) five to seven years ago, you may need to update your gear. Whether you started with a simple first aid kit or a full 5.11 ALSI ELS medical bag, you should take the time now to review its contents. This article will look at what contents you should focus on and why you should replace each item.

Dressings

By now, your Band-Aid wrappers have fallen apart and, the Band-Aids have attached themselves to everything else in your IFAK. Any sense of sterility is gone and, these need to be replaced. Take a look at the Band-Aid brand Infection Defense impregnated with antibiotics (Neosporin) to reduce the risk of secondary wound infection. Band-Aid also has the Water Block covering that is “100% waterproof." Suppose you had 4x4 gauze in individually wrapped packages; these packages may have come apart as well over the past five years. The sterility is compromised and likely not a great option for wound cleaning or care. These are relatively inexpensive, so do yourself a favor and replace them now.

For those of you who carry Israeli dressings, or similar, they should be fine. Inspect the outer packaging to ensure it hasn't been compromised. The packaging is pretty stout and can take a beating. If there's any question as to the integrity of the outer package, replace it and use the old one for training purposes. Note that there have been improvements to these dressings over the years. That may be another reason to upgrade your stock.