While there could be almost a hundred components

When you purchase commercial first aid kits, you can almost have complete inventories of the things you need. However, should you opt to make your own and just buy the things you really need during emergencies or accidents, here are the main components a first aid kit should contain:

1. Cotton Pads/Balls - these could be the lightest component in a kit and most often the most necessary for minor and major injuries. You can buy a pack of cotton balls in your local store and include in your medical first aid kit.

2. Bandages - for open wounds, bandages are very important to cover your broken skin and prevent infection. You can buy finger-size bandages up to the bigger ones.

3. Medical Tape - medical tapes are also a necessity for wounds as they will basically hold gauze bandages. They can also hold light splints especially the ones used for the fingers.

4. Alcohol wipes - you can either buy a bottle of alcohol or ready-made wipes or you can have both. In any accident that includes wounds and open skin, antiseptics are needed for cleaning and preventing infection.

5. Medical Scissors - you don't need a bigger one for your first aid kit. More often you can buy 4 to 5 inches long medical scissors which are very helpful in cutting through bandages and tapes.

6. Pain Relievers - for immediate relief during injuries, it is always a good idea to keep an assortment of pain relievers in your survival first aid kit. You can bring with you some ibuprofen, aspirin or acetaminophen, or any of them will do.

7. Antibiotics/Antibiotic Ointment - to help you prevent internal or external infections, antibiotics are very helpful. Antibiotic is anti-bacteria so to prevent swelling of the wounds you can take one antibiotic tablet or apply some antibiotic ointment on injured areas, at least before applying bandages and after cleaning with alcohol or antiseptic.

8. Instant Cold Pack - for sprains, joint and closed injuries cold packs are necessary. You can purchase these plastic packages in any pharmacy or drugstore. You can also use this to lower down very high fever.

9. Tweezers - for splinters or thorns, a good quality pair of tweezers is always helpful. You can choose to have a plastic or metal whatever suits your needs well.

10. Rubber Gloves - just to cover your hands and ensure you cannot infect the wounds you are treating on, these gloves are also important. For injuries during adventure trips or during the times there no enough water around to wash your hands after treatment, rubber gloves will make you feel comfortable.

Depending on your needs, there could be other components which should be included in your first aid kit. This list, however, suggests only the things you should make sure to be included in your kit or the ones you should make sure to have enough supply. Again, you can make your own emergency first aid kit or purchase one.