Building a First Aid Kit for Your Car

This post is part of a sponsored series. All opinions are my own. 

Every fall, I try to go through my car and make sure I have all the necessities that I would need in case of emergency. With winter around the corner, I know the likelihood of something happening while driving could easily be worse if I’m not prepared in the frigid conditions. Thanks to our friends at the Washington Mitsubishi dealer, we have some great ideas on how to create your own first aid kit for your vehicle. It will ensure that if anything happens and you need help (or need to help others) you will be prepared as best as you can be. So let’s get started!

Find Your Storage Container

First, start off with what you’re going to use as your storage unit. It could be a little storage bin, an old lunch box, or an actual designated first aid case which you can often find at your local big box retailer. It does help in case of emergency, if the kit is red in color, or at least bright so that it can be found easily.

Pick Out the Essentials

Now that you have a container, it’s time to fill it up! Here are some items that are recommended for vehicle first aid kits.

• Hot/cold pack
• Rubber gloves
• Antibiotic cream
• Aspirin or Ibuprofen
• Gauze pads
• Band-aids (large and small)
• Vaseline
• Tweezers
• Hand sanitizer
• Antihistamine
• Hydrocortisone cream

For a very thorough list, SureFire CPR has a great itemized breakdown for things you can include.

Other Items to Carry

Outside of the first aid kit, it’s also important to carry a few other essentials in your vehicle in case of emergency. This includes a blanket, an extra hat/coat/mittens in the winter, flashlight, bottled water, non-perishable food items (such as granola bars) and any items that you would need if you were stuck for a few hours unexpectedly. This could be baby items (diapers, formula) or medicine you might need (allergies, etc.).

Being prepared in the event of an emergency is the best thing you can do for yourself and others. Having the right tools at the right time could make a bad situation, much better.