Personal medical supplies which are critical (insulin, heart and blood pressure medications, etc.) should be carried on your person. If you must deal with special medical needs, be sure to carry at least a week's supply, preferably more, of what you need. Remind your passengers to carry their personal medications at a point early enough for them to arrange to do so. If you *also* pack personal medications in the kit, be sure to keep expiration dates in mind and rotate as necessary.
If appropriate, a contact lens care kit and spare lenses and/or a spare set of glasses would be an excellent idea. Glasses or contacts can be lost or damaged during the crash or subsequent evacuation of the aircraft. Eye injury, even minor, can preclude the continued use of contacts. The wilds are often times not the best place for contacts in any case. Those who wear contacts ought to always carry a set of glasses as back up.
A small tube of toothpaste and small sample size bar of soap (anti-bacterial DIAL is a good choice) can provide welcome relief and improve hygiene, reducing the possibility of related problems. Waterless anti-bacterial hand cleaners are now readily available in small plastic bottles for personal carry. They work very well in the wilds or to clean up before performing first aid tasks. An alternative, not as good, are the foil packed wipes. They don't clean much, but for someone accustomed to daily showers they can make a huge psychological difference and they don't require water, which could be in short supply.
Finally, a small roll of toilet paper -- don't leave home without it! The alternatives are only just tolerable. Pine needles, leaves and the like just aren't what they are cracked up to be. Industrial style T.P. will give you more wipes per volume than the soft cushy stuff popular for home use. The simple solution is to just pack a small, perhaps partly used, roll. Stick it inside a zipper lock bag for protection or vacuum pack for considerably reduced volume.
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Publisher and Editor: Doug Ritter
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Revision: 08 August 22, 1999
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