What are the essentials that you have in your kit especially those who have a 1 year old in the house? I have one but need to get more stuff so thought I'd see what you all thought was essential before I went to the shops.
Hmmm, good question - I need to restock mine. No 1 year old in this house yet but this is what we have been known to use on a reasonably regular basis:
bandaids/sticking plasters - variety of sizes or the sort you cut off the roll as you need it
antiseptic cream/wipes
hot/cold packs and covers
compression bandages
sports strapping tape
eye-bath
saline solution
scissors
tweezers
cotton wool buds
cotton wadding
wound dressing pads
triangular bandage (at least 2)
panadol/nurofen
calamine lotion
aloe gel
insect bite cream
current list of phone numbers - healthdirect, poisons info, gp and dentist.
That's about it, although I was regretting the lack of saline the other day. The gauze is great as you can use it to clean a wound, and also to dress a wound (holding it on with the tape) until you get a more appropriate dressing. I figure anything that can't cope with just a gauze dressing for a short while probably needs a trip to a doctor so I don't keep a type of dressing for every occasion.
Thanks for the replies. I will also add
*numbing patches that you can get to numb a local area (great for getting splinters out)!
* Burn cream
* Butterfly wound closure strips (stiches)
* magnifying glass
* snap lock bag (heaven forbid you need to put a digit in it!) plus for rubish
* Gloves
I googled sites that sell first aid kits and got a pretty comprehensive one in the end. I looked at all the things in the kits and worked out how much I could get everything for individually (through a wholesaler that I could use through work) and it still worked out cheaper just to buy the kit. Plus it came in it's own little kit with everything labelled so it was easy to find things in a rush.
bandaids
saline
alcoswabs
gauze
tweezers
opsite/tegaderm
sling x 2
plastic bags
spew bag
bandages of various sizes
face mask
scissors
sterile needle tips (great for splinters!)
steri strips
my spare stethoscope and BP cuff
notepad
pen
neuro torch
kidney dish
ice pack (the kind you snap to activate)
panadol
one of those thin silver blankets
themometer
regular torch
my house one has:
bandaids
savlon
dettol
bandages of various sizes
sling
panadol
children's panadol
neurofen
themometer
saline
alcoswabs
needle tips (sterile)
opsite
steri strips
neuro torches
I think that's it. I have a medicine cabinet choc full of stuff in the house so my kit isn't as comprehensive as my car one.
Bookmarks