Part of what makes medical emergencies so scary is that, by nature, they can happen completely unexpectedly.
Staying prepared with a fully-stocked first aid kit, supplemented with other potentially life-saving essentials, can be a great way to manage your anxieties, save you a trip to the emergency room or, at the very least, act fast while waiting for professional help to arrive. But just purchasing a first-aid kit from a local store and calling it a day might not be enough.
Ernest Grant, president of the American Nurses Association and a leading expert in burn care, said one of the most common mistakes people make when it comes to stocking their at-home first aid kits is that they fail to keep it up to date, allowing the contents to expire and thus be less effective.
“Take a quick inventory of what you have and the dates on the packaging to see what you may need to restock,” Grant said, adding that having a natural disaster bag is also a very good idea. He said you should stock these packs with things like quick cash, personal medications, duct tape, transistor radios, whistles and a Swiss Army knife.
Melanie Gibbons Hallman, an emergency nurse practitioner and an assistant professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Nursing, added that you should also be highly aware of things like age and existing health conditions of all of the people in your home in order to have the most effective kit.
“Some over-the-counter medications may react with prescriptive medications; for example, aspirin or ibuprofen may interfere with blood thinners. Therefore, all drugs in the kit should be approved by a healthcare provider familiar with the medications that every potential user of the kit may be taking,” Hallman said.
Grant also stressed that it’s important for people to familiarize themselves with the difference between what requires an ER visit, urgent care or home care when it comes to injuries. This will help you know what first aid product to use and when, along with what requires you to seek additional medical treatment.
For example, “very small burns within the size of a quarter can be handled at home, as well as things like bug bites and small cuts once bleeding has been managed,” Grant said. Even though this might seem obvious to some, Grant said these can be among the most common non-life threatening visits that urgent care centers see, which might possibly have been managed at home with the correct materials.
According to Hallman, serious circumstances such as chest pain, shortness of breath, significant falls, motor crashes and other potentially high-risk situations warrant a trip to the ER where more care can be provided. Issues like upper-respiratory infections with cold-like symptoms, when free from a notable fever, can be handled at home or in urgent care if the condition persists.
Regardless of the medical situation, a well-curated first aid kit could make a difference. Whether you are treating a dog bite, skin abrasion or something more severe, Hallman and Grant helped create the following list of items to keep you and your loved ones prepared in case of a medical related emergency. (But, again, an important note: Always seek the expertise of a healthcare provider if you’re unsure, and none of these items listed should be considered as complete substitutes for the care of a medical professional.)
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Hallman also recommended that if you are going to invest in a bleeding control kit, you should take part in the Stop The Bleed training course to help you be more effective in these potentially life-threatening situations.
That said, Hallman did stress that more severe cases of allergic reactions may require an up-to-date epinephrine injector prescribed by a doctor. But if you need something to keep on hand for minor issues,these multi-symptom relief tablets are 25 mg each and can even be suitable for upper respiratory allergies.
Hallman said that CPR training is often advised, which you can receive through the American Red Cross along with basic first aid skill development.
This pack of 50 non-adherent pads (pictured left) are sterile and individually wrapped. They are bonded on both sides with a non-adherent film to avoid sticking to wounds and disrupting healing tissue. The ultra-absorbent gauze pads (pictured right) contain antibacterial properties that kills off bacteria like staph and MRSA. The ultra soft material is also good for gently cleaning minor wounds and absorbing wound fluid.
