Create a first-aid kit for day hiking with kids

After water, a first-aid kit is the most essential item you can carry on a day hike with kids.

A first-aid kit for day hikes with kids should include:
g Adhesive bandages of various types and sizes, especially butterfly bandages (for younger kids, make sure they’re colorful kid bandages)
g Aloe vera
g Anesthetic (such as Benzocaine)
g Antacid (tablets)
g Antibacterial (aka antibiotic) ointment (such as Neosporin or Bacatracin)
g Anti-diarrheal tablets (for adults only, as giving this to a child is controversial)
g Anti-itch cream or calamine lotion
g Antiseptics (such as hydrogen peroxide, iodine or Betadine, Mercuroclear, rubbing alcohol)
g Baking soda
g Breakable (or instant) ice packs
g Cotton swabs
g Disposable syringe (w/o needle)
g Epipen (if children or adults have allergies)
g Fingernail clippers (your multi-purpose tool might have this, and if so you can dispense with it)
g Gauze bandage
g Gauze compress pads (2x2 individually wrapped pad)
g Hand sanitizer (use this in place of soap)
g Liquid antihistamine (not Benadryl tablets, however, as children should take liquid not pills; be aware that liquid antihistamines may cause drowsiness)
g Medical tape
g Moisturizer containing an anti-inflammatory
g Mole skin
g Pain reliever (aka aspirin; for children’s pain relief, use liquid acetaminophen such Tylenol or liquid ibuprofen; never give aspirin to a child under 12)
g Poison ivy cream (for treatment)
g Poison ivy soap
g Powdered sports drinks mix or electrolyte additives
g Sling
g Snakebite kit
g Thermometer
g Tweezers (your multi-purpose tool may have this)
g Water purification tablets

If infants are with you, be sure to also carry teething ointment (such as Orajel) and diaper rash treatment.

Many of the items should be taken out of their store packaging to make placement in your fanny pack or back-pack easier. In addition, small amounts of some items – such as baking soda and cotton swabs – can be placed inside re-sealable plastic bags, since you won’t need the whole amount purchased.

Make sure the first-aid items are in a waterproof container. A re-sealable plastic zipper bag is perfectly fine. If you hike in a humid climate like the Midwest or Southeast, be sure to replace the adhesive bandages every couple of months, as they can deteriorate in the moistness. Also, check your first-aid kit every few trips and after any hike in which you’ve just used it, so that you can restock used components and to make sure medicines haven’t expired.

If you have older elementary-age kids and teenagers who’ve been trained in first aid, giving them a kit to carry as well as yourself is a good idea. Should they find themselves lost or if you cannot get to them for a few moments, the kids might need to provide very basic first aid to one another.

Learn about more than a hundred other hiking diversions for kids in Hikes with Tykes: Games and Activities.

Prevent, treat children's blisters on hikes

A blister is a small, painful pocket of fluid that builds in the upper layers of the skin.

You can avoid blisters by wearing good-fitting, broken-in boots and socks that provide cushion and wick moisture from the skin. If certain parts of a foot are prone to blistering, pretreat the area by placing mole skin or an adhesive bandage over it. Long and sharp toenails can lead to rubbing against a shoe and boot and thus blisters on the toes. Always remove tiny stones and twig pieces from a shoe. As soon as your foot or that of your kids’ feels any pain, check the foot for a “hot spot,” an area of inflammation that is on the verge of becoming a blister.

Always treat a hot spot as soon as you feel it by placing an adhesive bandage over the affected area. While you generally shouldn’t pop a blister, do so if hiking. Then clean the blister with antiseptic and dry it to help relieve pressure and to prevent the blister from spreading, which will occur if your keep walking. Place a piece of mole skin over it, secured by an adhesive bandage, so it does not continue to rub against the boot.

As a side note, place a little foot or baby powder in your boot before hiking. While this won’t prevent blisters, it’ll help reduce moisture on the foot, making the walk more comfortable.

Read more about day hiking with children in my guidebook Hikes with Tykes.