National Preparedness Month - Emergency Kit #4 - First Aid Kit

Being foster parents, we are required to have a first aid kit in each car and one in our house. However, Homeland Security suggests we have one in our emergency kit, which makes sense. Should we have an emergency and we shelter in our basement closet, we may not be able to get to the first floor where our first aid kit is located.

If you’re like me, you have extras in your medicine cabinets. I decided to clean out the cabinet that houses my meds, vitamins, and first aid supplies. I was able to put several duplicates into my emergency kit.

These are the items Homeland Security advises us to have in our first aid kits.

- two pairs of Latex (I put in more), or other sterile gloves (if you are allergic to Latex)
- sterile dressings to stop bleeding
- cleansing agent/soap and antibiotic towelettes to disinfect
- antibiotic ointment to prevent infection
- burn ointment to prevent infection
- adhesive bandages in a variety of sizes
- eye wash solution to flush the eyes or as a general decontaminant
- a thermometer
- scissors
- tweezers
- petroleum jelly or other lubricant
- aspirin or nonaspirin pain reliever
- anti-diarrhea medication
- antacid
- laxative
- prescription drugs you take every day such as insulin, heart medicine and asthma inhalers. They suggest periodically rotating medicines to keep expiration dates current. (I, however, have started a list of things to grab in case of an emergency, with medicine included. I’m going to keep my list in my drawer with my landline phone and radio info.)
- prescribed medical supplies such as glucose and blood pressure monitoring equipment and supplies.

With these basic supplies you can prevent loss of blood or infection and care for burns or cuts. I was able to find a lot of the above at the dollar store.

As foster parents, we are also required to take first aid and CPR classes. If you haven’t taken either of these, you might consider contacting your local Red Cross to do so. They are usually around four hours long, and if you pass the test, you get your very own card saying you’ve received that training.

In either case, I would suggest having a First Aid book on hand. I’m adding that to my list of things to grab out of my first floor medicine cabinet.

I gathered a couple of those tins that you get cookies or candies in at Christmas and am using them for my first aid kit. They are waterproof and somewhat sturdy.

There are more items we’ll want to add to our emergency kit, but we’ll cover those in the next couple of days so as to not overwhelm you.

Anything else you have in your first aid kit?


Related Posts: National Preparedness Month - Making a Plan, National Preparedness Month - Determining Potential Emergencies, National Preparedness Month - Emergency Kit #1: NOAA Radio, National Preparedness Month - Emergency Kit #2: Landline Phone, National Preparedness Month - Emergency Kit #3 - Water