First Aid Planning

This week we have an update to our General Advice section: first aid planning. This list is based on my experience and my wilderness medicine training that I take every 2-3 years and I updated it based on the course I just took in January. 

As always, we love hearing feedback from readers so we can make this page as helpful as possible.

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First aid planning is more than just building a good first aid kit. Our recommendation is for at least one and preferably both parents to take first aid and wilderness medical training to match what you would be expected to do if you were a trip leader on a professional course. This gives you peace of mind that you know what to do in an emergency and also gives your family the best chance of a good outcome. As a bonus, you are also able to help other people that you meet on your trip. All the classes recommended below include adult and infant CPR training/certification that is good as long as the overall certification lasts for, so you don’t need to spend time taking that as an extra class. 

If you just go on day trips or car camping, the recommended class is a 2 day Wilderness First Aid (WFA) class, making sure you get adult/infant/child CPR training.

If you take your family on multi-day backpacking trips, the recommended class is the Wilderness First Responder (WFR). This class also trains you on the use of epinephrine which can get you special certification depending on your state which may allow you to purchase epi-pens to carry on your trips (not necessarily needed if your kids are already prescribed epinephrine by their doctor).

We recommend recertifying on the schedule the provider requires. Hopefully, you don’t have opportunities to use what you learn (because you plan well and have good luck) so the hands-on part of the classes gives you good opportunities to practice what you learn.

The most well-known training organizations are:

Organization	WFA	WFR	Certification
Wilderness Medical Associates	2 day	5 day and 7 day and 8 day options (5 day options requires 3 days of preparation work)	3 years no grace period WFR – 3 day recert
SOLO	2 day (doesn’t include CPR)	8 or 9 days​	WFA: 2 years WFR: 3 years/2 day recert No grace period
NOLS Wilderness Medicine ​(formerly WMI)	2 day (doesn’t always include CPR)	9 or 10 days	2 years with a 1 year grace period   WFR – 2 day recert

​We have taken classes with all 3 of them (although over a 25 year time span). They are all excellent, but have slightly different approaches. Our recommendation is to start by finding the organization that offers the most classes close to home, to make recertifying easier. Otherwise, you can look at the information on their website to see if one of them appeals to you more than others.

Once you’ve completed your class, create your first aid kit and make sure you pack it with you at all times:

• Wound care:
  • Band-aids (with fun characters for kids)
  • Gauze pads / gauze roll
  • Betadine
  • Syringe for irrigation
  • Tweezers
  • Vet wrap or coban
  • Badger balm / triple antibiotic
  • 2nd skin
• Blister kit (Great link to blister care from a WFR instructor)
  • Moleskin
  • Molefoam
  • Tincture of benzoin ampoules
  • KT tape blister
• General:
  • Nitrile gloves
  • KT tape (video on how to use for ankle stabilization)
  • Blank SOAP notes
  • Thermometer
  • Children’s tylenol / Advil / Benadryl
  • Epinephrine (if you have authority to carry it)
  • CPR Mask
  • Scissors
  • WMA Field Guide
  • Pen
  • Triangle bandages
  • Tourniquet (they are recommended again)
  • Biodegradable soap
  • Ziploc bags 

And don’t forget to restock your kit before you go out on a trip and audit it once a year for expired supplies.