What Is in Our First-Aid Kits?

By Tatyana Meshcheryakova —

One of Nova Ukraine’s ongoing tactical medical initiatives includes sourcing and delivering, through our partners, first-aid kits in Ukraine, where the need for them is ongoing. A properly assembled first-aid kit can make a difference between life and death (or a grave injury), even if it’s packed with fewer than 15 items. 

It’s important to emphasize the use of standardized and certified first-aid kits, and it’s helpful to check for compliance with the Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC) Guidelines (but we cannot claim that we use only such components). Between September 2022 and August 2024, we’ve provided a total of 17,104 kits.

Did you ever wonder what is in a first-aid kit? Let’s take a look at what’s inside.

• Gloves for the safety of the person who is delivering the aid — Safety First!
  
• Since massive bleeding is one of the quickest reasons for death, the kits have:
  • Hemostatic agents to promote blood clotting
  • Bandages to apply pressure to the wound
  • CAT tourniquet to stop severe bleeding from the limbs
  • Marker that goes with a tourniquet to note the time of application
  • Compressed gauze, which is a regular gauze that is compact and easy to use

• Burn dressing for effective first aid in case of burns
• Chest seals for punctured lungs
• Trauma shears to safely cut off the victim’s clothing
• Thermal blanket to maintain the body temperature
• Self-adhesive bandages as an alternative to an elastic bandage for sprains
• Eye shield in case of eye damage

We are working on the best version of the first-aid kit and delivering the kits to those in the risk zones who have the proper skills to deliver first aid. This way we are maximizing the efficiency of each item and saving lives. 

Nova Ukraine would like to thank our partners Leleka, Patriot, Christian Medical Association of Ukraine (CMA), Tactical Medicine North, and Alarm Shtab.

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