Improvised Supplies

Part of First Aid

When the last bandage runs out, you need to know how to make medical gear from whatever is around you. Everything here uses materials found in nature or scavenged from ruins.

The Mindset: Clean Over Clever

Every improvised supply must satisfy one rule above all: it must be as clean as possible. A brilliant improvised bandage made from dirty cloth will cause an infection that kills the patient. Boil what you can. Wash what you cannot boil. When you cannot wash, use the cleanest material available and change it frequently.

The order of preference for sterilization:

1. Boiling — submerge in rolling boil for 10 minutes. This kills virtually all bacteria, viruses, and parasites.
2. Dry heat — hold near fire (not in flame) until too hot to touch. Less reliable than boiling but useful for tools and needles.
3. Alcohol — soak or wipe with spirits above 60% concentration. Effective for surfaces and small items.
4. Sunlight — spread materials in direct UV sunlight for 6+ hours. Partially effective, use as a supplement to other methods.
5. Nothing — if sterilization is impossible, use the material anyway if the alternative is worse (uncontrolled bleeding, exposed wound). A dirty bandage that stops fatal bleeding is better than no bandage.

Bandages and Dressings

Cloth Strip Bandages

The most common improvised bandage. Any clean fabric works.

Sources: T-shirts, bedsheets, pillowcases, curtains, towels, undershirts. Cotton is ideal — it absorbs well and is easy to tear. Avoid synthetic materials like nylon or polyester if possible — they do not absorb fluids and can stick to wounds.

Preparation:

• Tear or cut the fabric into strips 5-8 cm wide (2-3 inches) and at least 60 cm long (2 feet)
• Boil the strips for 10 minutes if you can, then wring out and air dry
• Store dry strips rolled up in a clean container or bag
• Pre-make at least 10-15 strips and keep them in your medical kit

Application: Wrap around the wound in overlapping layers with moderate tension — firm enough to hold the dressing in place and apply light pressure, but not so tight that you cut off circulation. You should be able to slide a finger underneath.

Absorbent Wound Pads

You need something under the bandage strip to absorb blood and protect the wound.

Material	Absorbency	Availability	Notes
Sphagnum moss	Excellent (20x its weight)	Boggy areas, wetlands	Naturally antibacterial. Squeeze out water, use damp or dry. Used in both World Wars as wound dressing.
Cotton cloth (folded)	Good	Clothing, household textiles	Fold into a pad 4-6 layers thick
Sanitary pads / tampons	Excellent	Scavenged from stores, homes	Designed for absorption, often individually sealed. Keep any you find.
Dried grass (soft species)	Moderate	Fields, meadows	Must be clean and dry. Short-term use only.
Paper (clean)	Low-moderate	Books, office supply stores	Crumples well into an absorbent pad. Not ideal but functional.
Spider silk (gathered webs)	Low (used as covering)	Barns, undisturbed structures	Contains antimicrobial compounds. Use as a thin wound covering under a proper pad.

Butterfly Closures (Wound Closure Strips)

For wounds that need to be held closed but are not deep enough to suture.

From adhesive tape or duct tape:

• Cut strips approximately 6 mm wide and 4 cm long (1/4 inch by 1.5 inches)
• Apply perpendicular to the wound, pulling the wound edges together
• Space strips 3-4 mm apart along the length of the wound
• Leave gaps between strips so the wound can drain — a fully sealed wound traps infection

From tree resin (pine pitch):

• Collect fresh, sticky resin from pine, spruce, or fir trees
• Warm gently near fire until pliable
• Apply in thin strips across the wound to hold edges together
• Pine resin is naturally antimicrobial — it was historically used exactly this way

Splints

A splint immobilizes a fracture by preventing movement at the break site. It must be rigid enough to resist the pull of muscles and long enough to span the joint above and below the fracture.

Rigid Splint Materials

Material	Best For	Limitations
Straight sticks/branches	Arms, lower legs	Must be strong enough not to flex under muscle tension
Bark slabs (birch, poplar)	Forearms, wrists	Can be shaped when fresh, hardens as it dries
Boards, plywood	Any limb	Heavy but very effective
Rolled magazines/newspapers	Arms, wrists, ankles	Surprisingly rigid when rolled tightly. Tape or tie to maintain shape.
Trekking poles	Legs	Already the right shape. Extend to needed length.
Metal rods, pipes	Legs, severe fractures	Excellent rigidity. Pad heavily to prevent pressure sores.

Critical rule: Always pad between the splint and the skin. Bare rigid material against skin causes pressure sores within hours, especially on bony prominences (ankle bones, wrists, elbows). Use cloth, moss, grass, or any soft material.

Buddy Splinting

When rigid materials are not available, strap the injured body part to an adjacent body part:

• Broken finger → tape or bind to the adjacent finger
• Broken leg → bind the injured leg to the uninjured leg with cloth strips at the thigh, above the knee, below the knee, and above the ankle (never directly on the fracture)
• Broken arm → bind the arm to the torso using a sling and swathe

Slings and Swathes

Triangular sling: Cut or tear a square of cloth (approximately 1 meter on each side) diagonally to form a triangle. The long edge goes along the forearm, the point wraps around the elbow, and the two ends tie behind the neck. Pad under the neck knot to prevent chafing.

Improvised sling from a buttoned shirt: Unbutton the shirt to mid-chest. Place the injured arm inside the shirt with the hand near the opposite lapel. Pin, tie, or button the shirt over the arm to create a cradle.

Swathe: A band of cloth wrapped around the torso and over the sling to prevent the arm from swinging outward. Tie or pin at the back. This is essential for upper arm and shoulder fractures where the sling alone does not provide enough immobilization.

Antiseptic Solutions

Warning

Improvised antiseptics are better than nothing but not as reliable as modern disinfectants. Use them to reduce infection risk, but monitor all wounds closely for signs of infection regardless.

Antiseptic	Preparation	Application
Raw honey	Use directly from the comb. Must be actual honey, not sugar syrup.	Apply a thin layer directly to the wound, cover with a dressing. Change daily.
Boiled saline	1 teaspoon of salt per 1 liter of boiled water. Cool before use.	Irrigate wounds by pouring or squirting through a small hole in a container.
Dilute alcohol	Any spirit above 60% ABV. Dilute to ~70% for best antimicrobial effect.	Pour over wound or soak a cloth and wipe. Burns significantly.
Garlic poultice	Crush 3-4 raw cloves into a paste.	Apply to a dressing, place over the wound. Contains allicin, a natural antimicrobial. Replace every 8-12 hours. Can cause skin irritation — do not leave on for more than 12 hours.
Plantain leaf	Chew or crush fresh broadleaf plantain leaves into a wet paste.	Apply directly to wound as a poultice. Mildly antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory. Common weed — found in lawns, roadsides, disturbed soil.
Charcoal paste	Grind hardwood charcoal (not briquettes) into fine powder, mix with water.	Apply to wound as a poultice. Absorbs toxins and bacteria. Useful for insect bites and infected wounds.

Stretchers

When a patient cannot walk and must be moved.

Pole-and-Shirt Stretcher

Materials: 2 sturdy poles (2-3 meters long, 5-8 cm diameter), 2-3 large jackets or shirts.

Assembly:

1. Button or zip the jackets closed
2. Turn the sleeves inside out (push them into the jacket body)
3. Slide the poles through the sleeves so each pole runs through the sleeves of all jackets
4. The jacket bodies form the bed of the stretcher between the poles

Weight capacity: Supports up to approximately 80-90 kg if the jackets and poles are sturdy. Test with a heavy object before loading a patient.

Blanket Stretcher

Materials: 1 blanket or tarp, 2 sturdy poles.

Assembly:

1. Lay the blanket flat on the ground
2. Place one pole one-third of the way from one edge
3. Fold the short side of the blanket over the pole
4. Place the second pole on top of the folded blanket, at the halfway point
5. Fold the remaining blanket edge over the second pole

The patient’s weight pins the folds, locking the blanket around the poles. No knots or ties needed.

No-Pole Stretcher

If rigid poles are not available, a blanket or tarp alone can serve as a drag stretcher. Roll the edges inward to form handles. Two people grab the handles and drag the patient along the ground. This is rough on the patient and the terrain but works when nothing else is available.

Improvised Tools

Needle and Suture

For emergency wound closure when butterfly strips are not sufficient.

• Needle: Any thin, rigid, curved piece of metal — a safety pin, fish hook (file off the barb), sewing needle, thorn from a hawthorn or honey locust tree. Sterilize by holding in flame until red-hot, then cooling.
• Thread: Fishing line (monofilament) is ideal — strong, thin, and relatively smooth. Alternatives: dental floss, thin natural cordage, hair from a horse’s tail (surprisingly strong). Soak in boiling water or alcohol before use.
• Technique: See the parent article First Aid for wound closure guidance. Suturing is a last resort — most wounds heal better open and clean than closed with improvised sutures that trap infection.

Tweezers

Two thin, flat sticks bound tightly together at one end with cord, with a small wedge between them near the bound end. Spring tension creates a pinching action at the free ends. Useful for removing splinters, ticks, and wound debris.

Irrigation Syringe

Punch a small hole (2-3 mm) in the bottom of a clean plastic bottle or animal bladder. Fill with clean water and squeeze firmly. The narrow opening creates a pressurized stream that flushes debris from wounds far more effectively than pouring.

Building a Medical Kit from Nothing

Once you have a base camp, begin assembling a dedicated medical supply cache.

Priority 1 (make immediately):

• 20+ cloth bandage strips (boiled, dried, rolled)
• 10+ absorbent wound pads (moss or folded cloth)
• 1 liter of boiled saline solution (replace weekly)
• A collection of straight sticks suitable for splinting
• 2 triangular cloths for slings

Priority 2 (make within the first week):

• Honey supply for wound dressing (if bees are accessible)
• Charcoal powder in a sealed container
• Improvised tweezers
• Irrigation bottle
• 2-3 butterfly closures pre-cut from tape if available

Priority 3 (ongoing):

• Gather and dry medicinal plants (plantain, yarrow, garlic) as you identify them
• Collect pine resin for wound sealing
• Prepare sterilized suture kits (needle + fishing line, stored in a clean container)
• Build or designate a clean, dry storage area for all medical supplies

Key Takeaways

• Sterilization is more important than sophistication — boiled cotton strips outperform an elaborate unsterilized bandage every time
• Sphagnum moss is one of nature’s best wound dressings: absorbent, antimicrobial, and widely available in damp environments
• Every survival camp needs a pre-built medical supply cache — do not wait until an emergency to improvise
• The pole-and-shirt stretcher can be assembled in under 2 minutes and carries an adult — practice building one before you need it
• Honey, garlic, and plantain are your best field antiseptics — learn to identify and stockpile them early