Healthy Habits: Family First Aid Kit

A family emergency, health crisis, or accident can be a terrifying thing to think about. But, if such a situation occurs, you'll be much more calm knowing that you've prepared adequately by putting together a first aid kit with remedies for any potential problem. Depending on the age of your children, the contents of your first aid kit might differ slightly. For example, kids under age of five are the most accident prone of any age group, especially boys; burns and scaldings are much more common among younger children; and fractures, sprains, or broken bones usually occur in slightly older children. Your first aid kit should reflect their ages and these potential conditions. Regardless, it's best to be prepared for any accident that may take place. 

The Kit's Must-Have Items

Your family's first aid kit should, at the very least, contain sterile gauze pads of a variety of sizes, adhesive tape and bandages, scissors, soap, antibacterial wipes, tweezers, bandaids, antibiotic ointment, a breathing barrier, compress dressings, a thermometer, and some aspirin. 

To treat burns at home, you'll want to run the burned area under cool water and then apply a hydrocortisone cream and cover the burn to prevent infection. If you're planning on going to the doctor for the burn, don't put on the hydrocortisone cream until after the burn has been looked at. 

If your child has a fracture, sprain, or break, you'll want to seek medical care. If your child has an open break, or a break that causes the bone to protrude through the skin, you'll want to use a gauze pad to apply pressure to stop or reduce the bleeding. If you suspect a sprain, you can have your child wear a compression bandage for 1-2 days, which should help to significantly reduce any swelling.

The More the Better

While the list above covers the basic items you should keep in your first aid kit, there's no harm to having more than the bare necessities. For example, it's a good idea to have a blanket, a flashlight with extra batteries, a first aid manual, a list of emergency numbers, calamine lotion, safety pins, extra medications (if your family requires prescription medications), a splint, and a good amount of differently sized band-aids in your first aid kit. For a list of what should go in your first aid kit and where you can purchase a pre-made kit, visit: http://www.redcross.org/prepare/location/home-family/get-kit/anatomy. If you have a child who has severe allergies, you should also put an epi-pen within your kit for an emergency situation. 

Proper Storage of Your Kit

After you make your first aid kit and have familiarized yourself with all of its contents, be sure that you store the kit in a place that is easily accessible in the case of a crisis, but can't be reached by your children. The top shelf of a closet or pantry is an ideal location. Avoid storing your kit in a bathroom drawer or under the sink, as items within the kit can be dangerous or poisonous to children if swallowed or played with. 

This article was written by Laura Green, who understands the importance of finding medical care for your family in urgent situations is very stressful, and is happy to help you be prepared.  She loves blogging as much as she loves nursing, and that’s a lot.