Whether your home has toddlers, old or young alike there is never any good excuse for avoiding a first aid box at home. You would surely never want to come across a situation when you could have given first aid to your child or any other family member but the non-availability of a first-aid kit nearby prevents you from providing it. This situation can land the patient in trouble as research has shown that many complications can be prevented from becoming a night mare if you have a health kit at home. Talking of first aid and the next thing that comes to your mind is bandages, band aids, antiseptics and the like, but there is more to it than what is the common conception.
What Should Your First-Aid Box Contain?
Don’t ignore even the minute essentials as they can come in handy at situations of crisis as you would never want your kit to fall short of any of those essentials. So make take a note of the list below and start filling your box with them for a safer living and remain care-free:
First Aid Manual:
Always keep your first aid manual near the kit as it will show you how to apply dressing to the information that you need in case of emergency situation. It is also important that your first aid manual is up to date as new methods are adopted with each passing day. You can also make a list of important emergency numbers or other related specialist information which comes handy at the time of an unfortunate situation.
A Bundle of Adhesive Dressings and Bandages:
You should have a whole package of adhesive bandages in your closet which come in a variety of shapes and colors. If you cut yourself at a place that you need to cover up from dirt like those of a paper cut or a knee cut, then you should be smart enough to have an adhesive bandage in your first-aid box beforehand.
Antiseptic Solution or Cream:
Make sure that you apply an antiseptic immediately after you get a wound or a cut as it helps disinfect the minor wounds and prevents infection. Two most common antiseptics to be kept in a first aid kit are hydrogen peroxide and isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol) which wipe out bacteria on contact. Moreover having the latter one at home is useful for cleaning your bathroom equipments, doing away with the hairspray on the bathroom mirrors and even for your thermometer and tweezers.
Medical Tape and Sterile Gauze:
When you have injuries that are bigger to be treated than an adhesive bandage, then in that case your kit should have a medical tape and sterile gauze. Cut the gauze or roll it to fit he size of the wound and then use the tape to keep the material in place. You should keep a check on whether the bandage gets dirty or wet. Moreover if on un-wrapping the gauze, if some part of it sticks onto your wound, then use warm water to loosen it up.
Tweezers:
Tweezers are multi-tasking in the sense that they help remove with perfection the many things that are stuck up beneath or on your skin. Use them for removing the hair from your brows or that extra hair from your face. Not only this, splinters which have only one end showing out from your skin can be effectively removed by tweezers. Pull the foreign body slowly without leaving any stray pieces behind. You might be thinking to use petroleum jelly, nail polish or hot matches to remove those ticks but the fact is that they are only myths with no results. Use tweezers slowly and gently, instead for this purpose from your kit.
Nail Clippers:
To keep the nails healthy and free from infection, you should keep a pair of nail clippers in your first-aid kit. Cut your nails straight, round them slightly at the tips and make the edges smooth to prevent hitching and tearing. Make sure that you keep this kit somewhere near so that the next time you begin to chew on your nails (which is reason behind many of your diseases), there is a better option available that you can use.
Muscle Balms:
You had a very hectic day at the office and it has taken a toll on your muscles. All you need to do is to go to your first-aid kit for help. A muscle cream, a balm or a heating balm is a must for any hoe first aid kit. You can even keep some tropical medications in your kit for this purpose. However it is recommended that you don’t use anti-inflammatory products in excess as they might prove harmful.
Dental Floss for Your Mouth:
You brush regularly at morning and before sleeping, but this cleans only 60% of your mouth. This missing link is dental floss which can be found in your first aid box and make sure you keep it there. When you brush you only remove the plaque from the surface of the teeth but giving them floss means that you are removing the plaque from gum line and between the teeth, preventing you from gingivitis which does much of the harm to your teeth. So here comes another reason why you need to keep a first aid box at home.
Thermometer:
Although it might sound basic but everyone should have a thermometer at home to check the temperature of your body. However the mistake that people usually make is that they don’t keep their thermometers in a safe place where there is no threat of their breakage, rather they end up spilling the mercury present in it. This can have serious health implications as mercury can damage our nervous system, kidney and liver. Make sure that if you have a thermometer in your kit, you handle it carefully.
Cling Film for Burns:
In case of serious you should keep a cling film in the kit to prevent the exposure to open air. This helps to alleviate the pain and prevents the burn from getting infected. Thereafter a professional help can be sought.
Sling:
A triangular piece of cloth, sling, is used in case of limb injuries to provide support to the affected region. It is advisable that you keep two or more of them in you kit as they come in handy.
Disposable Hand Gloves:
It is necessary that when you deal with a person suffering from any injury or burn, you put on gloves as it can help prevent the cross-spread of infection and you can safely tend to the person in need.
Medications:
Although you don’t need to necessarily keep medications in your first aid box, they can be helpful in times of need. Put some analgesic tablets like paracetamol or soluble analgesics for children to treat pain and fevers. For insect bites and stings keep antihistamine cream while for the removal of rings or itchy sensations you can keep any petroleum jelly in your kit. If you wish to reduce the effects of some allergic reactions, then you can use antihistamine tablets. However it is essentially important that you check out on the date of expiry of the drugs before consumption.
Every individual has different needs when it comes to assembling the first aid at home, you can add more items to the above list as per your requirement. However for people suffering from prolonged ailments like diabetes or asthma or having certain life threatening allergies, they can keep extra strips of their medicines and other related things in their first aid boxes, so that in case of emergency others can locate these easily and any misfortune might be avoided. However keep in mind that in case of complications do consult your doctor and don’t prefer self-medication.
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