An IFAK kit can make the difference in life or death in traumatic first aid emergencies. While no kit can completely prevent the loss of life, having one with you that you know how to use can make all the difference. 

On July 13th, 2024, former President Donald Trump was shot at while speaking at a rally near Butler, Pennsylvania. Along with the former president, three other people were shot, one of them fatally. Additionally, earlier this week on September 4, 2024, there was a school shooting at Apalachee High School where four people lost their lives and 9 others were injured. Horrible events like these seem to be happening more often in our world, making it necessary to prepare for such emergencies. The people at that rally never expected to be a part of a shooting that day. You don’t expect to be involved in a shooting, serious car accident, or severe burn injury, but these incidents still happen. You may not expect them, but you can be prepared for them. 

What is an IFAK?

IFAK is an acronym which stands for Individual First Aid Kit. An IFAK is a personalized kit which allows a person to respond effectively to life threatening or non-life-threatening injuries. 

We would encourage preparing two types of IFAKS: one is designed to treat minor injuries such as cuts, abrasions, bug bites or stings, and 1st or 2nd degree burns. We call this our boo-boo kit. The second kit is designed to respond to traumatic injuries like a mass shooting. This kit’s primary job would be to stop the number one cause of traumatic death: bleeding! 

Boo-Boo Kit

Truthfully, you will dive into this kit more often than your trauma kit. I offered mine in a class just a few weeks ago when one of my students needed a fresh bandage and burn cream. The components of this bag should be tailored to your specific environment. For instance, if you go camping or hiking often, you would want anti-itch cream and benadryl in case someone comes into contact with poison ivy or is stung by a hornet. But there are key items you need to have in all your boo-boo kits. 

Boo-Boo Kit Checklist:

• Gloves (non latex)
• Assorted First Aid Creams
  • Triple Antibiotic 
  • Hydrocortisone 
  • Burn Cream
• Assorted Band Aids (non latex)
• CPR Barrier Device
• Sterile Gauze Pads

These are the bare necessities for your basic first aid kit. There are many items you can add to supplement further your preparedness. I always carry an assortment of OTC medications like ibuprofen, benadryl, and Dayquil in my boo-boo kit and find myself or friends needing these often. Buy a boo-boo kit on our website.

Trauma IFAK

A trauma IFAK can mean the difference between life and death during a life threatening bleeding injury. This kit needs to be small enough to be easily carried on a daily basis but large enough to contain the necessary items to stop life threatening blood loss. Some would also refer to this as a bleeding control kit. Necessary items in this kit: 

• Tourniquet
  • We recommend the C.A.T. Generation 7 Tourniquet, which has been shown to be 100% effective in occluding blood flow to the upper and lower limbs by the U.S Army’s Institute of Surgical Research. Purchase this tourniquet here.
• Gauze
  • Gauze can be used to apply direct pressure or to pack a wound. The two types of gauze we recommend are packable z-fold gauze and Quickclot. Quickclot has a hemostatic agent embedded in the gauze which aids in stopping life threatening blood loss. Here is a bleeding control kit that included gauze, Quikclot and a tourniquet. Here is the same kit for a little less without the tourniquet. 
• Gloves
  • Nitrile gloves are necessary to protect from bloodborne pathogens. Check out why using universal precautions is so important.
• CPR Barrier Device
  • This device has a one-way valve that allows you to give rescue breaths during CPR but does not allow saliva or vomit to enter your mouth. Purchase your CPR barrier device here.
• Pressure Bandage
  • A pressure bandage allows you to keep direct pressure on a wound without having to hold it in place, which allows you to treat other injuries or victims. 

The items listed above are the bare minimum for a Trauma IFAK. Obtaining multiples of these kits and placing them in different vehicles or frequented environments is recommended. Other items you could add are chest seals, NPA’s, SWAT-T tourniquets, and extra gauze and gloves. We always recommend obtaining training on all the items in your kit. Obtaining training is important for properly applying the equipment in your IFAK. Purchase your IFAK on our website. Be prepared and get training so that you can respond effectively to any emergency you encounter! 

For CPR and First Aid training to get hands-on training with these types of skills, sign up for one of our CPR and First Aid classes or request a training to be held at your facility. We provide training across Georgia and South Carolina.