Home First Aid Kit: Is Your Home Ready?

Some of the most common accidents like burns, cuts, and other injuries can happen at home. Thus, the importance of having a home first aid kit that’s close at hand. All homes, particularly those with little children, should practice safety and preparedness, as it’s unpredictable as to when and who can get injured.

The basic contents of a home first aid kit must include the following items: adhesive bandages of different sizes; sterile dressing; triangular bandages; conforming roller gauze bandage; sterile gauze pads; cohesive bandage; hand sanitizer; antiseptic wipes; non-latex gloves; adhesive tape; anti-bacterial ointment; tweezers; scissors; cold pack; CPR breathing barrier; over-the-counter medicines like aspirin, ibuprofen, and pain relievers; antacid; laxative; syrup of ipecac; and first aid manual.

Basically, one can acquire home first aid products in two ways: buying prepared kits or making you own. Purchasing a ready-made home first aid kit has its pro’s and con’s.

First, you may end up with items that you won’t really be using. This is inevitable, as you can’t choose what’s inside the kit.

Second, you’ll quickly finish the items that are most useful; nevertheless, this isn’t a problem as there are suppliers who replenish first aid products that run out. An advantage of a purchased home first aid kit is that you can also end up with items that are surprisingly useful. Take for instance the pointy small scissors included in the kits become ideal for dealing with several first aid cases.

On the other hand, creating a home first aid kit will need items that will treat non-emergency situations appropriately, as well as have useful supplies that will allow effectively treating serious situations until medical assistance arrives. It will also be useful to include in the kit a list of every family member’s medical conditions and medications such as insect or food allergies.

It is also wise to list down all the contents of the kit, so it’ll be easy for you to keep it stocked, as well as keep track of the expiration of medicines. Expired medications must be discarded and not kept inside the kit to avoid wrong use during emergencies.

Lastly, choose a durable and portable container for the first aid supplies. Place the kit where older children and adults can easily access it, but keep it out of reach from the little ones.

A home first aid kit can be personalized, but it must have the basic supplies needed for first aid treatment. Make your home ready for emergencies by having a home first aid kit on hand.