Getting your first aid kit from the Dollar Store

silenthunterstudios

silenthunterstudios

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No, this is nothing like the pregnancy tests I see in the checkout aisle at the local Dollar Store :D.

I'm talking about tossing a Dollar Store bottle of Ibuprofen in your pack, or your glove box. Maybe a box of bandaids or gauze. Antibacterial ointment and hand cleanser. Liquid bandage. A pill box for my diabetes meds. Some of this stuff is actually brand name, others look to be manufactured in the same plant, but sold under a different label.

I'm putting together a little kit for my Jumbo bag, and my car. Nothing to save my ass in a SHTF situation, but a little something if I am injured hiking, sick etc. It's kinda funny I have this stuff in a $12 Otter box, but hey.

What are your thoughts? Most of this stuff would be more expensive at Walmart. I have used some of the bandaids, and they were the same as the generic stuff I buy at Walmart or Rite Aid. I have a first aid kit that was on sale at Walmart several years ago. Still using some of that stuff.
 
You cheapskate! Go to L.L. Bean! Just kidding. It doesn't matter what label is on the Ibuprofen, as long as it keeps the swelling/fever down. :thumbup:
 
If you're keeping it in your car, get one from Home Depot, the Red Cross Store, or somewhere else where the kits aren't mainly bandaids and ibuprofin. I was in a situation where I opened up the back of my thumb and the corner store (CVS, I think) first aid kit I kept in my car was near worthless. I ended up staunching it with a paper towel while driving to the ER.

http://www.homedepot.com/Tools-Hard...ce_|0&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053&langId=-1
 
i buy the BIG bottles of Ibuprofen at Costco or WalMart and put that into 35mm film cans for packs or in the truck. or i recycle and refill old bottles.

the inexpensive, store brand fabric bandaids stick GREAT. i can't stand the plastic ones.

i'm sure you could find some generic "tupperware" box for $1 to hold your FAK if that Otter box is "too good".

in my truck i keep a big FAK that i got from Costco and i've added some other goodies to it. i had to use it one night to patch up a guy who got his finger bit at the dog park while breaking up a fight. he went to the quick care clinic afterward and reported back that the doc there seemed impressed with my work and had positive comments about it. and when i broke the kit out those who saw what i was doing were obviously NOT expecting anyone to have a FAK at the park.

fortunately, it's not something i need often, but when i need it it's VERY handy thing to have. it's just part of the BOB/GHB and other gear i keep in the truck. cut a rope, dig a hole, pry, hammer, plug and inflate a flat tire? no problem.
 
There is nothing wrong with buying stuff at a dollar store for a FAK.

When I made the kit that sits in my truck, a few of the things I purchased from dollar tree. Some triple-antibiotic ointment, a couple of ACE style bandages. Some "sample" tylenols (four packets of two pills), a couple gauze bandage rolls.

I got the first aid kit that I added onto, and some stuff from target; some 3"x3" gauze pads, and I don't remember what else.

Then I got a couple of things from walmart, and a couple of things from rite-aid.


My truck FAK is pretty much a couple things short of a full EMT kit. (no stethescope, not BP cuff, no O2)

(I am a certified EMT, so I know how to use everything I have in the kit, plus I have a couple of things in there that are only for me (the pain pills, some allergy pills, etc...)




Pretty soon, I also plan on building a small FAK to put in with my hunting/survival kit.
 
Most useful item in my kit are small gauze rolls. When I get the occasional nasty cut just wrap it up and secure with a piece of duct tape. I get a foot or so long piece of the duct tape and roll it and then flatten it. Takes up very little room. That method is more secure than band aids.
Bill
 
Even cheap medical supplies should be good enough/sufficient, since they're all subject to the same minimum standards as the high-end stuff.
I also have a small first aid kit for just a few bucks, nothing spectacular like being able to do open-heart surgery with my kit, but just some basics like wound cleaning, gauze, burn dressing, rolls, some asprin, ibuprofen and some small other things, it is a small kit after all.
 
I was just in a Dollar Tree the other day and got some medical grade superglue -- two little tubes of it for a dollar.
 
some are good deals some are not
i like curad bandaids flex cloth and they are 97cents at walmart
the dollar trees arent good
i bought the liquid skin also(see post above)
the antibiotic ointment is not good
it works but its 1/4 oz get the 3 oz from target same size tube
etc etc
deals to be had but look carefully because its first aid
 
don't forget to add a few Tampax and tampons great for stopping heavy bleeding from a auto crash etc.i keep a both in our cars and truck.
 
dulledge2 said:
don't forget to add a few Tampax and tampons great for stopping heavy bleeding from a auto crash etc.i keep a both in our cars and truck.
Click to expand...

very good point
first heard of this in a johnny ringo book "ghost"
good book.
any way i carry a multi size pack in my bob, light days to super
good for deep puncture wounds especially, mabey kindling? oh and for a womens period i guess.
that guy that stabbed his arm cutting wood with his knife could have used one, cant remeber exat title of his post sorry but the pics were :eek:
 
Read your labels and examine the products. Not all of dollar store stuff is the same. Look at the percentage of alcohol in the rubbing alcohol products for example. It might be 65% instead of the standard 70%. Meds might be smaller or lower concentration. That's the experience I've had here. Some of the bandages, roll gauze, etc. are skimpy and not very usable. Other stuff might be OK. Personally, for med supplies, I prefer to have good stuff rather than cheep stuff.
 
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