What goes in an IFAK kit?

What's an IFAK? (and why do you need one)

Individual first aid kits, sometimes called IFAKs, are equipped with supplies to treat a single person suffering from severe bleeding. The acronym “individual first aid kit” comes from military terminology for kits issued to soldiers in WWII.

What goes in an IFAK?

Choosing the contents of an IFAK depends on several factors—what is the level of training required, the willingness to learn and where will the kit be located? Regardless, every IFAKs should include some form of the following products:

1. Tourniquets - The single most critical piece of life-saving equipment in the event of penetrating trauma to an extremity, and probably the best investment in emergency medical gear for any trauma kit.

Selecting the best tourniquet for your needs can be confusing. Windlass style tourniquets such as the CAT (Combat Application Tourniquet) and the SOFTT-W are most popular in military and law enforcement, while products such as the SWAT-T may be more intuitive and faster to apply for untrained bystanders. Functionally, they all work to stem arterial bleeding from an extremity. Whichever you choose, it is recommended you become familiar with the tourniquet, practicing on others and yourself, before you need it.