We have talked about a lot of things related to the “prepared” part of our title. There are many ways a family can be more prepared for an emergency situation that cost little to no money.
Today I want to talk about something every family should have: a first aid kit. You may already have several first aid items on hand, but it is important to remember to check your supplies and any expiration dates on your items on a regular basis. You don’t want to wait for an emergency situation to realize you are completely out of an important item.
Save your supplies
I’ll admit, I hate stuff. To me, happiness is getting together a garbage bag full of things we can get rid of. My time is too precious to spend on clutter.
One thing I do not get rid of is medical supplies. Now if I have a seriously expired bottle of cough medicine, yes I get rid of it. But a wrist splint or crutches we hold on to. You never know when you might be grateful to have those items.
Five items to keep on hand:
I spoke to a nurse friend of mine, and she gave me these suggestions of things you should always keep on hand. None of these items would cost a lot of money, and you might find that you already have a few of them in your home.
- Disposable gloves: You would obviously use these to help treat someone with a wound so you don’t risk infecting them.
- Gauze & bandages: For covering wounds, try to have a variety of sizes.
- Tweezers: We find ticks and splinters on our children more often than I would like. You can also use tweezers to help clean items from a wound. Be sure to use clean and sanitized tweezers to clean a wound!
- Aspirin: For possible stroke or heart attack victims. I’ll admit that we do not have aspirin on hand since we have so many asthmatics in our house and we cannot have aspirin. But I think it would be a good idea to have a bottle stashed somewhere less obvious for emergency situations like these.
- Ice packs that are snap activated. The obvious benefit here is that they can be used any place with or without power, or even if your ice tray is empty.
What would you add to the list?
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I would add an aloe vera plant. Great for burns.
Perhaps a sterile rinse or peroxide? You list sounds pretty good. I always like to have an antibacterial ointment on hand for the deeper wounds. Or those from animals.
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I would also have some antibacterial on hand.
A large bottle of water for flushing debris/swallowing that aspirin when you get it
. I also keep cough drops and fever reducers on hand all the time.
Great ideas, Jamie!
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Benadryl, for allergic reactions (which can be life threatening). And elastic bandages – for strains, sprains, etc.
Great suggestions, thanks for sharing them on Wildcrafting Wednesday. My first aid kit contains a few more essential oils, herbal tinctures, and homeopathics though.
(And never cough syrup that would “expire”.) 
A good sharp knife is always a key. From what ever Boy Scouts said to cooking to cleaning a wound (yeah I do when needed) to rope, gauze, a random package or opening the kids toys I am never without one, even at church.
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I’ve been keeping a list of supplies and am with you here!
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Thank you so much for sharing this great list at the Preparedness Fair. I so appreciate your coming! I hope you join in again today.
I guess I would add antibiotic salve. We don’t use it on every cut but it could save a digit or even worse by catching an infection early (animal scratches, etc.)