If you are not a doctor, nurse, or first aid attendant building a first aid kit for your home can seem a bit frightening but we are going to tell you exactly what you need to put in home first aid kit to make sure you are prepared to deal with your family's first aid issues.
I recommend building two of these kits - one for the house and one for the car. You never know what might occur while you are in your car and since your busy building one tow will not be any problem at all.
In general these kits will contain the same content whether you live downtown New York or in a tiny village or in the rural countryside with a few exceptions. The farther you live from a major hospital or trauma center the more additional items you will need in your kit to compensate for the distance and increase evacuation time in the event of a major emergency.
First you need to decide whether you want a case that is portable or one that stays permanently mounted in the home. A portable case is harder to keep organized but it is definitely the choice that gives you the most flexibility. A square corner waterproof duffle sport bag works great if you choose one that's about 2 feet long, a foot tall, and a foot deep. This size is larger enough to hold everything in one case yet light enough for you to be able to carry.
You will need to make sure that your first aid kit has vinyl or latex gloves, a CPR mask or shield, and airways if you are trained in them. This equipment is needed to help protect you from transmittable diseases.
The trauma part of your kit is by far the most important part. Sure mostly you'll have to deal with those small cuts and bruises non of which are life threatening but you need to be prepared for those horrible injuries that can happen anytime and can truly be life threatening. For those moments your kit should have:
Bandages - two 3" stretchy, self-adhering roller gauze and two 4" stretchy, self-adhering roller gauze
Band-Aids - One box of cloth bandages with assorted sizes. Two roles band-aid adhesive where you can cut off the size you need.
Dressings - A variety of sizes of sterile gauze bandages
General-Purpose Gauze Pads - These have very versatile and can be used for many things. They vary in padding and absorbency that is what makes them so versatile. If you only choose one type of gauze pads these are the ones to have.
Combine and Trauma Dressing - These high-absorbency padded dressings should be purchased in the larger sizes. Your other general pads will work for smaller wounds but you want to be able to address larger wounds.
Tape - 1"roll tape. Have at least a couple of rolls in your kit.
Great now that takes care of the material items to deal with trauma now you need the medical items for cleaning and caring for the wounds and other issues.
Iodine - Good for cleaning wounds and preventing infection.
Betadine - is excellent for washing and sterilizing wounds and is a good choice for those with iodine allergies.
One Tube of Topical Antibiotic Cream
Include one small bottle of each Tylenol, Ibuprofen and Aspirin.
Include a small bottle of Benadryl and a packet of Sudafed capsules.
Antacid - Include one bottle of any one of the following: Mylanta, Pepto Bismol and Maalox.
Imodium is quick acting or any other preference you might have.
Anti constipation - Include one small bottle of Metamucil
One small bottle of Tinactin or Mystatin
For dental pain include a tube of Orajel or Orabase as well as Clove Oil.
Oral Electrolyte Replacement Solution such as Gatorade.
Activated Charcoal - Used to draw ingested poisons and other detrimental substances into itself, so it can be digested safely.
Ipecac Syrup to influence vomiting.
Hang on we are just about done. We just have the hardware items.
Tweezers - are very important for hard-to-reach splinters.
Pins - This includes safety and bed pins
Plastic Bags - Carry many different sizes are recommended.
Thermometer - This is necessary for conditions such as hypothermia.
Trauma Shears - Used to cut everything from bandages to splints.
BP Cuff & Stethoscope - They can be very necessary and useful in case of injury or sickness.
Survival Blanket - This is a necessary item for shelter and insulation.
Splinting - This is a necessary emergency supply.
That is an awful lot of items to organize. I recommend building dividers and using zip locks in various sizes then clearly marking them.
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Monday, May 31st, 2010 at
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