Packing Medical Supplies for Summer Camp

Going away to summer camp is a milestone in a kid’s life. It’s where they’ll create memories that will last a lifetime. From days spent making new friends, learning new skills, swimming, playing games, and building their self-confidence; it’s a rite of passage no child should go without.

But what happens when they accidentally trip on a rock or are exposed to something they didn’t know they was allergic to? The importance of a comprehensive medical kit is absolutely crucial for a camp. When you sign-up your child up for camp, you give your trust and confidence that the staff will take care of your child, and that no harm will come to them. And in the event that it does, that they’ll be able to handle the situation properly and professionally.

Before you send your child off to camp, make sure these essential medical supplies are available. If not, be sure to pack them in your child’s bag.

1. Bandages - Make sure you have many different sizes and shapes for different kinds of wounds.
2. Wound cleanser - To clean and treat wounds before they’re bandaged up.
3. Tape - To keep bandages in place.
4. Ice pack - For mosquito bites, bee stings, or sunburn.
5. Hot pack - To reduce joint stiffness, pain or muscle spasms.
6. Calamine lotion - For skin irritation and itching.
7. Hydrocortisone cream - For bites, bruises and other skin conditions.
8. Aloe vera gel or after-sun cream - For nasty sunburns.
9. Rubbing alcohol - To sterilize needles and general cleaning.
10. Baby wipes - To clean and wipe away dirt or blood.
11. Cotton balls - To use to apply cream, lotion or rubbing alcohol.
12. Cotton swab
13. EpiPen (Epinephrine autoinjector) - For serious allergic reactions.
14. Decongestant
15. Ibuprofen - For kids who are down with the flu.
16. Anti-histamine - For allergic reactions.
17. Cough drops
18. Cough syrup -
19. Insect repellant - To keep pesky mosquitoes and various other insects away.
20. Sunscreen
21. Tweezers - For splinters or other situations
22. Eye drops
22. Contact lens solution - For kids who use contact lenses.

Camp Tamarack is fully equipped to handle health and safety situations. We have a qualified doctor, a registered nurse and a health care provider on staff. The camp staff is also trained in emergency first aid care and a number are certified in Standard First Aid and CPR-C. There is a health centre, first aid kits around camp and access to local Bracebridge hospital just 8 minutes away.

During registration to summer camp, it is important that you ensure that the staff have a record of your child’s medical history. If he has specific medical conditions, dietary restrictions, asthma or allergies, this needs to be discussed. If he takes medication, provide your child with enough supply to last the duration of the camp. If the medication needs to be administered by a medical professional, this also needs to be divulged during registration.

As a good precaution, you may want to take your child to a doctor a week before camp starts for a check-up and to ensure that everything is okay health-wise.