First aid kits are an indispensible part of any home. There are challenges with keeping one and if your house is like mine, you have to go to it often, at least a couple times a week to care for one five year old daredevil or another. Also things expire, heat in a car causes some wrappers to separate and sterility of the bandages could be compromised. Despite these challenges, I encourage you to keep one up.
Many first aid kits are made by various companies. Johnson and Johnson and Curad come to mind as well as other outdoor products companies so what should you consider in a first aid kit? Is there any one kit that is better than another?
As I mentioned in an earlier post, first aid kits, like 72 hour kits need to be customized to your needs and your habits. Some items could be in the "gray area" between a first aid kit item and a 72 hour kit item. An example would be splinting material. Definitely a part of a first aid kit but they never show up in the little boxes you get in stores. If they did, they would no longer be "little " first aid kits. Think about where you go and what you do regularly. Do you often go hiking? swimming? canoeing? What items would you hope to have in those situations? Write them down. Your kit is your own and needs to reflect your needs.
For starters I would start with a regular base kit and customize from there. I would compare contents between kits and see how much of a given kit is stuff you would need and how much you may not need. How much would you need to add to the kit? What do you go through a lot of?
One other consideration I have made in recent years is the container the kits are in. I had been buying these "clamshell " plastic cases as I had found them at Walmart. Good idea normally but I found the cases after being kicked around in my van broke and would not stay closed. If the container won't hold up, it will spoil all of the contents. Eventually, I found a soft case zippered first aid kit, almost like an LDS scriptures case and it has done very well. It had good contents and was still fairly compact. I have had it for over two years now and remain happy with it.
Size of the kit. Variety should be based on who is involved and what you do as mentioned above but size of the kit should be based on how many people are involved and what they do. With my kids we go through standard adhesive bandages "band-Aids" like candy. Lets face it. Kids hate shoes, kids love wearing shorts and they have some sor t of fearless death wish with some of their activities. Then they have the gall to be surprised when it all comes to a screeching halt, sometimes literally as they go flying over their handlebars and slide across the asphalt for a few feet. That will take a few band-aids but sometimes some tape, gauze, and peroxide too. Be prepared for your little daredevils. Increase the size or number of items based on your needs. Don't put enough in for just one little incident. Make sure you have enough for more than one battle with childhood. Memos to self to refresh it right after you get home doesn't always happen. Just remember though, things expire so don't buy a box of 100 band-aids if you only use one or two once in a while. That leads us to...
Rotation/Refreshing. Like with a 72 hour kit, I would rotate items that need it every three months. This does not me an replacing the whole kit every three months. Some items like a roller bandage or splints, or moleskin do not need to be refreshed that often. However, anything in the paper covers like band-aids, 2 x 2 gauze, etc should be rotated. Any medications, especially prescription ones should be rotated every three months if not sooner. Peroxide for example breaks back down to normal water with light and heat exposure. that is why they come in brown bottles. Over time all you have is water and they aren't good for much, even in the house. They are cheap so replace them as they expire and as needed. I would replace them out of a car kit well before the expiration as they have been stored in the hot car. Medications are often affected by heat and moisture so Ibuprofen, Acetaminophen, Aspirin, etc should be rotated out every rotation. You don't want o accidentally poison yourself because a medication has gone bad on you. One cautionary note. Isopropyl alcohol or "rubbing" alcohol is flammable and could be dangerous if a bottle was broken or spilled. Invest in the alcohol wipes instead. The little foil packages they come in are durable and when there is just a handful in a ziploc bag, they stay safe and limit waste. A bottle in a home kit should be just fine.
Once you get your kits established, every three months, rotate the items out of your car kits, to the main home kit which should be larger. For example if you have two cars and each have ten standard band-aids, replace all ten with new ones from a package you bought new recently. Use them in the house and if they expire, throw them out and replace them. rotate them in the kit too so you know which ones are the oldest.
Remember your kit is your own and is that stepping stone between an injury and healing. It could make all the difference in a real emergency that requires an ambulance too. Remember that as you do different activities to add different items. I keep mentioning splint material. If you don't normally consider that as part of your kit but decide to go hiking in red rock country or four-wheeling on sand dunes or bridge jumping, (all of which I have done,) it might be a good idea to add them to the kit temporarily. Sand makes lousy splint material and sage brush just doesn't cut it either. Be creative and if anything overly cautious with what you put in.
Lastly, get some training. I will post an article about this later but if you haven't ever had CPR or First aid training, get it. It is offered often and is quite simple. You could be the difference between someone living or dying, between someone having a superficial injury or having it degrade to a life-threatening infection. I have seen both scenarios. Knowledge is key. Make a first aid pamphlet part of your kit if it did not already come with one. Practice splinting arms, legs, etc. on occasion to stay up on it. Practice bandaging up wounds with a triangular bandage. Practice!
Here is another about.com article on first aid kits. http://lds.about.com/od/preparednessfoodstorage/a/first_aid_kit.htm
Many first aid kits are made by various companies. Johnson and Johnson and Curad come to mind as well as other outdoor products companies so what should you consider in a first aid kit? Is there any one kit that is better than another?
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| A typical backpackers first aid kit. Courtesy of REI.com Item # 832243 |
For starters I would start with a regular base kit and customize from there. I would compare contents between kits and see how much of a given kit is stuff you would need and how much you may not need. How much would you need to add to the kit? What do you go through a lot of?
One other consideration I have made in recent years is the container the kits are in. I had been buying these "clamshell " plastic cases as I had found them at Walmart. Good idea normally but I found the cases after being kicked around in my van broke and would not stay closed. If the container won't hold up, it will spoil all of the contents. Eventually, I found a soft case zippered first aid kit, almost like an LDS scriptures case and it has done very well. It had good contents and was still fairly compact. I have had it for over two years now and remain happy with it.
Size of the kit. Variety should be based on who is involved and what you do as mentioned above but size of the kit should be based on how many people are involved and what they do. With my kids we go through standard adhesive bandages "band-Aids" like candy. Lets face it. Kids hate shoes, kids love wearing shorts and they have some sor t of fearless death wish with some of their activities. Then they have the gall to be surprised when it all comes to a screeching halt, sometimes literally as they go flying over their handlebars and slide across the asphalt for a few feet. That will take a few band-aids but sometimes some tape, gauze, and peroxide too. Be prepared for your little daredevils. Increase the size or number of items based on your needs. Don't put enough in for just one little incident. Make sure you have enough for more than one battle with childhood. Memos to self to refresh it right after you get home doesn't always happen. Just remember though, things expire so don't buy a box of 100 band-aids if you only use one or two once in a while. That leads us to...
Rotation/Refreshing. Like with a 72 hour kit, I would rotate items that need it every three months. This does not me an replacing the whole kit every three months. Some items like a roller bandage or splints, or moleskin do not need to be refreshed that often. However, anything in the paper covers like band-aids, 2 x 2 gauze, etc should be rotated. Any medications, especially prescription ones should be rotated every three months if not sooner. Peroxide for example breaks back down to normal water with light and heat exposure. that is why they come in brown bottles. Over time all you have is water and they aren't good for much, even in the house. They are cheap so replace them as they expire and as needed. I would replace them out of a car kit well before the expiration as they have been stored in the hot car. Medications are often affected by heat and moisture so Ibuprofen, Acetaminophen, Aspirin, etc should be rotated out every rotation. You don't want o accidentally poison yourself because a medication has gone bad on you. One cautionary note. Isopropyl alcohol or "rubbing" alcohol is flammable and could be dangerous if a bottle was broken or spilled. Invest in the alcohol wipes instead. The little foil packages they come in are durable and when there is just a handful in a ziploc bag, they stay safe and limit waste. A bottle in a home kit should be just fine.
Once you get your kits established, every three months, rotate the items out of your car kits, to the main home kit which should be larger. For example if you have two cars and each have ten standard band-aids, replace all ten with new ones from a package you bought new recently. Use them in the house and if they expire, throw them out and replace them. rotate them in the kit too so you know which ones are the oldest.
Remember your kit is your own and is that stepping stone between an injury and healing. It could make all the difference in a real emergency that requires an ambulance too. Remember that as you do different activities to add different items. I keep mentioning splint material. If you don't normally consider that as part of your kit but decide to go hiking in red rock country or four-wheeling on sand dunes or bridge jumping, (all of which I have done,) it might be a good idea to add them to the kit temporarily. Sand makes lousy splint material and sage brush just doesn't cut it either. Be creative and if anything overly cautious with what you put in.
Lastly, get some training. I will post an article about this later but if you haven't ever had CPR or First aid training, get it. It is offered often and is quite simple. You could be the difference between someone living or dying, between someone having a superficial injury or having it degrade to a life-threatening infection. I have seen both scenarios. Knowledge is key. Make a first aid pamphlet part of your kit if it did not already come with one. Practice splinting arms, legs, etc. on occasion to stay up on it. Practice bandaging up wounds with a triangular bandage. Practice!
Here is another about.com article on first aid kits. http://lds.about.com/od/preparednessfoodstorage/a/first_aid_kit.htm
