A Guide to “At Home First Aid Kit”

An at-home first aid kit can help anyone come out of personal medical situations when emergency services are on their way and might take time to reach. So, check the basic first aid kit regularly because it can help a lot in the need of urgent medical care when such situations arrive. Your home must have a stocked first aid kit with the right items that empower you to respond accurately to personal medical emergency on time. Better safe than sorry – right? It’s time to be proactive as you check if you have stocked a first aid kit or not. If not, you can then start by building it at home from scratch, so you’ll always be ready when there’s an incident at home. One of the advantages of having a first aid box at home is that it will cut down on your trips to your local pharmacy every time something happens and enable you to respond to an emergency quickly.

Why is it important to know first aid?

When you have young kids or older family members at home, a first aid kit becomes a must. A minor cut while crafting, a small burn during cooking, or an injury during playing in the backyard – to keep yourself prepared, having a first aid kit at home is essential. However, it is also true that even if you have a fully-loaded first aid kit at home, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you know the right method of giving first aid. Therefore, by taking a first aid certification course, you can take the right action and prevent the situation from going out of control. Read and explore all the necessary items for an “at-home first aid kit” and how to start constructing your own in this blog post.

6 Reasons to have a first aid kit at home

You can make a first aid kit as complicated or basic as you wish when learning how to make it. The most important factor is that it should meet the demands of the circumstance for which it is being used. The shape, size, and contents might change from time to time, but the goal stays the same. Having a first aid kit at home has several benefits. These are: 

1. It allows you to act fast and immediately in case of an emergency.
2. Everything you need to give first aid is found in one place.
3. It saves you the time of going to the local drug store after every incident.
4. It’s cost-effective. If you can give timely first aid, then you might not have to rush to the hospital.
5. You can be a help to your family and a first aid kit should be an indispensable item in your home.
6. In case of serious injuries, you can help save a life until help arrives.

How to make a first aid kit at home?

There is a plethora of readymade first aid kits available in the market, but when the supplies get exhausted, you should know how to replace them with the right ones. Although, before you start thinking about making a first aid kit at home, keep in mind the following points –

1. Assess your needs and think about the reasons why you need a first aid kit at home.
2. Once you know why you might need a first aid kit at your home, make a first aid kit checklist of the items you will need.
3. Select a spacious yet compact storage box. If you wish to carry your first aid kit on your travels, then choose a compact pouch.
4. Organize and label items in a way that anyone can use the kit in your absence.

If you don’t know how to give first aid to someone, you can consider taking a first aid course to gain knowledge and confidence to help your family in time of need. The American HealthCare Academy’s first aid course will provide you with fundamental first aid skills that will enable you to act wisely in an emergency.

A list of the most important things for your home first aid kit

Your home first aid kit should have the following items – 

1. Plasters of different shapes and sizes
2. Disposable gloves
3. Bandages for sprains and injured joints
4. Adhesive tape for dressings
5. Gauze pads for cleaning wounds
6. Safety pins for fixing the loose ends of bandages
7. Scissors for cutting bandages or tape
8. Thermometer for measuring body temperature
9. Tweezers for removing splinters 
10. Instant cold and hot packs for fermentation to reduce swelling
11. Antihistamines for minor allergies
12. Gel for burn relief
13. Painkillers- paracetamol, ibuprofen or aspirin
14. Lozenges and cough syrup
15. An epi-pen to tackle severe allergic reactions, in case you have an at-risk family member

Conclusion

Keeping a list of emergency contacts along with the phone numbers for your doctor, pediatrician, and poison control in your home first aid kit is also helpful. The first aid certification course offered by American HealthCare Academy follows the latest AHA and ECC guidelines. It is carefully designed to provide you with the skills required for responding effectively in an emergency. Enroll today and protect your family.