I believe your IFAK should be the first gear you develop and how to apply its contents should be reviewed and practiced often. The rationale behind that statement is simple. What good is your BOB or homestead haven in the woods if you die from a treatable wound? Having something as simple as antibiotic ointment and ibuprofen can greatly improve your life in the field. Imagine you head out into the wilderness to set your traps and snares for food. You are casually strolling, looking for the trap you hid really well last week. BLAMMO! The trap closes on your foot. You cuss loudly but never panic. You simply access your CAT tourniquet from your IFAK, apply it, and go back to camp to your full medical kit. Without the IFAK, you could be in some serious trouble. Like anything else I talk about, it is up to you to make your IFAK suit your needs but here are my rules when I teach an austere medicine class.
My 5 rules for IFAKs
IFAKs should be on the outside of your main bag
The IFAK should be on the outside of your bag for obvious reasons. You do not want to dig through gear to find what you need to save your life. You want to undo the pack, grab the utensil, and apply it.IFAKs should not be completely camouflaged
You want your IFAK to be visible at all time. Either marking with a red cross or some other identifying feature tells anyone that pack is medical in nature. It is also really unfortunate to drop anything in the wilderness and lose it in the colors of the surroundings. Camouflage patterns add to the hard-to-see factor.The tourniquet is stored on the outside of the IFAK
For the same reason as Rule #1. You want to access that which can save your life with as little resistance as possible.The IFAK is for you and you alone
This rule is often overlooked due to the Good Samaritan nature of a lot of us. Your IFAK, however, is for you or someone else to treat YOUR wounds. Your IFAK’s contents are for your personal needs. Using them on someone else may result in forgetting to restock them for when YOU need them. The easiest way to combat the urge to use the contents on others is to ensure your entire party has theirs. Always.“Yes” is the only answer to “Do I know how to use this?” in regards to items in the IFAK
Again, you are the patient and this is your kit. You should know exactly how to apply each item or medicine in your kit. Not knowing could result in further injury or death. Until you have trained with the item in question, leave it out of the pack.
As far as contents are concerned, as mentioned above, they are largely up to you. Your resources, training, and comfort level will dictate what your carry. The following categories should help assist you when making decisions on what you can or should carry. The following contents make up my personal IFAK:
- Protective Equipment –alcohol prep pads, hand sanitizer wipes, and nitrile gloves. Having these items not only help you to ensure a sanitary procedure, you may not be the person treating you. Providing these precautionary instruments is a courtesy your medic will appreciate and keep you from introducing pathogens into your own wound.
- Blood Loss Control and Prevention – CAT tourniquet, 2 RATS tourniquets, Celox, super glue. roll of gauze, (8) 4x4 gauze pads, (2) secure strips, Band-aid and Curad adhesive bandages in multiple sizes, fingertip bandages, knee and elbow bandages, knuckle bandages, (2) tampons, (2) maxi-pads, and an Israeli Bandage. The range of capillary bleeding (Band-Aid) to arterial bleeding (Celox) should be considered when planning the items included in this category. Some people will coach you to use tampons for bullet holes but this can cause more damage to the wound. I take tampons for nosebleeds.
- Other Wound Dressings– Hyfin vent chest seal, WaterJel Burn dressing, and moleskin. Ensuring you have the proper bandages for your environment is paramount.
- Medication – Acetaminophen, Ibuprofen, Naproxen, Benadryl, Aspirin, Pepto-Bismol, Dramamine, Immodium AD
- Topical applications and ointments – (2)Petroleum jelly packet, Carmex tube, SALJET Bullet, BZK antiseptic wipes, Medicaine for stings and bites, Orajel, Povidone wipes, triple Antibiotic ointment, A&D packet, and Hydrocortisone cream.
- Miscellaneous – Electrolyte tablets, survival blanket, penlight, EMT shears, surgical scissors, scalpel blades (no. 10 & 11), scalpel handle, sutures, needle puller, chest decompression needle, waterproof tape, tweezers, 15 ft of 550 paracord, ammonia inhalant, splints for fingers, ACE bandage, NPA and lube, 3 non-lubricated condoms, Sharpie permanent marker, first aid card, and thermometer.
In conclusion, like all things “survival”, use your best judgment. If you do not know how to use something, it does not belong in your IFAK. Put it in your main medical bag and it will be there for training and familiarization or for someone to use who has the knowledge. If you think “it would suck if I had to use that", you probably need it in your IFAK. Finally, your IFAK is yours. If someone else is injured, use their kit. Worst case, use your kit and utilize the Sharpie to write a list of what was used so that you may replenish it.
Please feel free to list your IFAK items in the comments. I would love to learn what others are using around the world.