Get First Aid Kit Fit

Monday 3rd March 2025, 12:00pm

Adapted from Scottish Mountaineer issue 101, by Ross Cadie, Senior Mountain Safety Advisor, Mountaineering Scotland.

Walking in the mountains of Scotland is a fantastic way to stay fit and healthy, both in body and mind. However, venturing into the mountains also comes with inherent risks. Whether you are a seasoned mountain goat or a hiking newbie, having an appropriate first aid kit is important.

While you can’t prepare for every situation, you can pack a kit to handle many common issues. Here’s what we recommend:

Essential First Aid Kit Items

  • Antiseptic wipes: For cleaning up wounds to prevent infection. 
  • Plasters: A variety of sizes for minor cuts, scrapes, and blisters. 
  • Blister foot care pads: More effective than a normal plaster and probably the most useful item for getting yourself off the hill! 
  • Gauze wipes: For mopping up and cleaning wounds. Non-adhesive dressings: Include small, medium, and large sizes for larger/ deeper cuts and grazes. Secure with tape or a bandage. 
  • Zinc-oxide tape or Gaffer tape: For sticking things in the wet, or to sweaty skin. 
  • Triangular bandage: Useful for supporting arm or shoulder injuries. 
  • Vet Wrap (self-adhering bandage): Really useful for applying pressure to help stop bleeding, covering and protecting a dressing, or supporting to a sore joint. 
  • Sterile Wound Dressing: include small and medium sizes. 
  • Tough-cut scissors/trauma sheers: For cutting dressings, tape and plasters to size. 
  • Drugs: Personal medication for any existing conditions, plus some over the counter pain relive such as paracetamol and ibuprofen. 
  • Tick remover: Essential for reducing the risk of Lyme disease by removing ticks as soon as possible. 
  • Nitrile gloves (2 pairs): Protecting yourself when giving first aid.

Other useful items

  • Waterproof paper and a pencil: To be able to take a few notes about location, other phone numbers in the group and nature of incident before calling. Having this written down will take some of the stress away and help with accuracy.
  • Whistle: Signalling for help from other hill goers or to help mountain rescue get to your exact location
  • Emergency head torch: Easier than needing to change batteries and less likely to forget if it’s part of your first aid kit!

Even a blister on the heal can be debilitating, but with the right items in your first aid kit and a bit of knowledge, many issues can be treated enough to get you off the hill.

Regularly review and check the contents to make sure they are in-date and replenished.  Consider adding specific treatments for different activities - for burns if you go camping a lot, for instance.

Upskill on a First Aid Course

Going on a first aid course is a really good way of making sure you have the skills, knowledge and confidence to be able to deal with most general first aid issues. There are a wide range of courses, but doing an outdoor specific one would be the most useful. One of the many benefits of Mountaineering Scotland membership is access to some great discounted first aid courses – check our website for more details.

Handling Major Issues

Broken ankles; dislocated kneecaps; big bleeds; serious head injuries. All these, I would argue, are showstoppers for being able to get yourself off the hill because there’s a good chance that you could do more harm than good. Use what you have to slow or stop the problem, then make yourself as comfortable as possible and call for Mountain Rescue.

Call 999 – Ask for Police, then ask for Mountain Rescue

Tell them:

  • Location of incident – ideally a six-figure grid reference and a named feature.
  • Number of casualties and others in the group.
  • What is wrong with the casualty(s)
  • What equipment you have in the group.
  • Telephone number of the phone you are using, plus any others in the group.

A group shelter and extra layers of warm clothes will make the wait for help much more comfortable…but only if you remember to pack them in in your rucksack!

For more about what you might want to include in your kit, click here. 


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