Build a Pocket First Aid Kit in a Mint Tin
A tiny kit that fits in your pocket, backpack or bike bag, ready for scrapes, blisters and slivers. Here’s what goes in it and how to use it.
In Simple Terms
Small bumps and scrapes happen: a scraped knee at the park, a blister on a hike, a sliver from a fence. You don’t need a big first aid box for those. You need a few of the right things, close at hand.
An empty mint tin is just the right size. It’s small, it closes tight and it’s tough enough to ride in a backpack.
This is a pocket kit for small stuff. It doesn’t replace your family’s full first aid kit at home or in the car. You can read about that on our first aid page.
How to plan a kit that fits a small space, what each first aid item is for, and the basic steps for caring for a small cut or scrape. These are real skills that first aiders use.
What you need
- An empty, clean mint tin with a lid that closes well
- A small zip-top bag that the tin fits inside
- A marker or label for the lid
- The kit items in the list below (ask a parent to help you gather them)
Some tins have sharp edges inside the lid. Run a finger along gently, with a grown-up. If anything feels sharp, a strip of tape over the edge fixes it.
What goes in the tin
You won’t fit a lot, so pick small sizes. Here’s a good list, and what each thing is for.
- Adhesive bandages, assorted sizes (about 6 to 8): to cover small cuts and scrapes so they stay clean. Include a few small ones and one or two bigger ones.
- Two small gauze pads: to press on a cut to stop bleeding, or to cover a scrape that’s too big for a bandage.
- A little first aid tape, wrapped around a small piece of card: to hold a gauze pad in place. Wrapping it on a card saves the space a whole roll would take.
- Two or three antiseptic wipes: for cleaning your hands, or the skin around a scrape, when there’s no tap nearby. Clean running water is still best for cleaning the cut itself.
- A blister bandage or a piece of moleskin: for a sore spot or blister on your foot. Put it on when a spot first starts to rub, before it turns into a blister.
- A pair of nitrile gloves, folded small: to wear if you’re helping someone else who is bleeding. Gloves protect you both. Nitrile gloves are a good choice because some people are allergic to latex.
- A safety pin: to pin a bandage or fix a broken zipper or strap.
- Small tweezers: for slivers. Use them only with a grown-up helping.
- An emergency card: a small card with your name, your parents’ phone numbers, 911, and any allergies (fill this in with a parent).
Don’t put pills, creams with medicine, allergy medicine or pain relievers in your pocket kit. Medicines are for adults to manage. If you have a medicine you carry for a health reason, your parents and doctor will tell you how to carry it.
How to pack it
- Lay everything out on a table. Check that it will all fit before you start.
- Put the flat things in first: the emergency card on the bottom, then the gauze pads and the tape card.
- Add the wipes, moleskin and folded gloves.
- Tuck the tweezers and safety pin (closed!) along one side.
- Lay a bandage across the top to fill the gap. This stops things from rattling.
- Close the lid. If it won’t close easily, take one thing out.
- Label the lid: “FIRST AID” in big letters, so anyone can find it fast.
- Slip the tin into a small zip-top bag. That keeps out rain, snow and puddle splashes.
A tin full of loose things rattles like a maraca. Filling the last bit of space with a bandage makes it quiet, and it also keeps the gloves and wipes from getting crushed or poked.
Caring for a small cut or scrape
These simple steps follow the basic cuts and scrapes guidance in the Canadian Red Cross first aid guide.
1. Clean hands. Wash your hands with soap and water if you can, or use a wipe. If you’re helping someone else, put on the gloves.
2. Stop the bleeding. If it’s bleeding, press a gauze pad on it gently but firmly until the bleeding stops.
3. Rinse it. Rinse the cut or scrape with clean running water for about five minutes to wash out dirt.
4. Cover it. Put on a bandage, or a gauze pad held with tape.
5. Tell a grown-up what happened, even if it was small.
• the bleeding doesn’t stop when you press on it
• the cut is deep, wide open, or has something stuck in it (don’t pull it out)
• it came from an animal bite
• someone hit their head, feels dizzy, or is badly hurt
• a few days later the cut gets more red, swollen, warm or sore
Call 911 right away if someone is bleeding a lot and it won’t stop, can’t wake up, or is having trouble breathing. If a grown-up is nearby, shout for them too. Calling 911 is never the wrong choice in a real emergency.
Want to read the real thing? The Canadian Red Cross shares its First Aid and CPR learner guide (PDF) ↗. The cuts and scrapes part is in the wound care chapter. It’s written for teens and adults, so it’s a good one to read with a parent.
Weather and your kit
Lethbridge summers can make a parked car very hot, and winter can freeze everything solid. Heat makes bandage glue go gooey and weak. Cold makes wipes freeze. Keep your pocket kit in your backpack or jacket, not on a car dashboard. Check the forecast before a long hike, and pack an extra blister bandage if your shoes are new.
My pocket kit checklist
Print this out and keep it with your kit. Check your kit every few months, like at the start of each season, and after every time you use it.
- ☐ Adhesive bandages (6 to 8, different sizes)
- ☐ 2 gauze pads
- ☐ Tape wrapped on a card
- ☐ 2 or 3 antiseptic wipes (not dried out)
- ☐ Blister bandage or moleskin
- ☐ Nitrile gloves (1 pair, no holes)
- ☐ Safety pin (closed)
- ☐ Small tweezers
- ☐ Emergency card (phone numbers still right?)
- ☐ Lid labelled “FIRST AID”
- ☐ Tin inside a zip-top bag
- ☐ Used anything? Replace it today
Take it further: a kids’ first aid course
A kit is great. Knowing what to do is even better. The Canadian Red Cross runs a course called Stay Safe! ↗ for kids aged 9 to 13. It teaches basic first aid and how to stay safe at home and in your community. When you’re a bit older, the Red Cross also offers a Babysitting course for ages 11 to 15.
Ask a parent to look for a course near you. Lots of community centres and schools host them.
For parents
This kit is meant for minor scrapes, blisters and slivers. Please help your child fill in the emergency card and add any allergy or medical notes. Keep all medications under your own management, even in a child’s kit.
Practise the cuts and scrapes steps together, and talk about when to come get you or call 911. Tweezers and the safety pin are included for supervised use. If they don’t suit your child’s age, simply leave them out. A quick kit check at each change of season is a good habit for the whole family, including the main kit at home and in the vehicle.
Ready for more? The Red Cross Babysitting course ↗ (ages 11 to 15) teaches child care, safety and first aid. See Programs and Clubs for where to take it in Lethbridge.
Keep exploring
- Programs and clubs for kids and teens: courses, after-school programs and sports clubs
- Kids’ Science Corner
- First aid — the family first aid kit and more
- Everyday carry and vehicle kit
- Preparedness
- Family adventures — take your kit along
- Lethbridge forecast
This page shares general information for kids and families. It isn’t a first aid course or medical advice. For anything serious, get an adult or call 911.