Hi

I am preparing my first Aid Kit. What do others carry, apart from your medication if any, on a 14 day hike? How do you balance needs against weight?

William

Take what you need.
Weight is irrelevant and as far as I can tell medication is directly proportional to age.

Essential gear..?

Blister Plasters
Plasters
Steri strips
Pain Killers
Some micropore or medical tape?
Ibuprofen
Tick Puller
Tweezers
Scissors
Antiseptic Cream.
(I take some antibiotics just incase)
Anything else you know you need.

Compeed,
A few elastoplasts of different sizes
2/3 sterile gauze
Micropore tape
Tick tweezers
Small packet tissues
Ibuprofen
Imodium
Antiseptic cream though having read the advice that it's not much good, I'll leave it this year.

I also have a pack of baby wipes for general use and some duck tape. I work on the principle if necessary I'll use the gauze+duck tape to bind a wound.

What I would advise is to keep your first aid kit in an outside pocket of your rucksack. I tripped (not on a Challenge), my rucksack came over my head and my face hit the ground. I had a copious nosebleed and my 1st aid kit was at the bottom of my rucksack, so there was no way to get it out without getting everything covered in blood. From then on, my kit has always been on the outside.

Hi William.

You might find this useful - devised by Ali Ogden (one of the Mrs Os) and posted on my blog a couple of years back.

LINK

Everything you need to know there.