I want to bring up a pretty serious topic that, just on the outside chance that you are faced
with an ill-fated incident, needs to be planned for in advance.
You
will be driving through some pretty remote areas where cell phones won't work and help may be hours
away. Should medical assistance be needed by you, by someone in your party, or if you come upon
an incident such as an accident you will need to have the necessary items to effectively deals with
the situation to the best of your abilities. For this reason I thought we should go over some of
the nominal items found in the basic first aid kit that everyone should carry when traveling in
the remoteness found along the Alaska Highway.
Roadside First Aid Checklist
Developed with the help of the American Red Cross, along with 35 years of driving the Alaska Highway,
we have come up with the essential minimum list of item you should have with you while enjoying
the serenity of the Last Frontier.
For the basic first aid and emergency supplies we have come up with the listed below:
First Aid Kit Emergency Response Trauma Bag Complete
First Aid Kit - This is a place we feel that more is truly better. A well equipped
first aid kit needs to be versatile in composition and inclusive of the items you may need if an
unforeseen incident should arise. Sometime by having items at hand a passerby can lend a hand in
areas they are trained in. For this reason important items for backcountry travel include things
like a Blood Pressure Cuff and a Stethoscope need to be included.
JSK ProMed CFAK100 Comprehensive Medical and First Aid Kit
This is by far my favorite roadside medical kit the ProMed CFAK100 is about as complete a roadside
first aid kit as they come.
Versatile well equipped first aid kit designed by medical professionals. Bag features a carrying
handle as well as a shoulder strap and has multiple internal and external dividers and pockets.
The contents of this first aid kit are well organized and easily accessible which is important
as your kit needs to be ready to use at all times.
Overall the ProMed CFAK100 first aid kit measures a manageable 17x10x8 inches and weighs just
5½ lbs.
Road
Ready First Aid Kits
Our minimum recommended first aid kits for the remoteness of Alaska and the Alaska Highway should
include the following:
- emergency windshield hammer and seat belt cutter tool
- QuikClot
Advanced Clotting Sponge
-
speeds coagulation of blood resulting in a stable clot that stops bleeding.
- 2 absorbent compress dressings (5 x 9 inches)
- 5 sterile gauze pads (4 x 4 inches)
- 5 sterile gauze pads (2 x 2 inches)
- 1 roll gauze bandage (3 inches wide)
- 1 roll gauze bandage (4 inches wide)
- 2 triangular bandages
- 25 adhesive bandages of assorted sizes
- 1 adhesive cloth tape
- 1 roll self-adherent wrap, (2-inch x 5-yard roll)
- hydrogel burn dressing (4 x 4 inches)
- sam splint (36 inch)
- aspirin
- 1 emergency blanket
- 1 instant cold compress
- scissors
- tweezers
- 5 antibiotic ointment packets
- drawing salve (1 oz)
- hydrocortisone anti-itch cream
- 2 pair of non-latex gloves