More Than Bandaids - A perfect First Aid Kit

Most families are ready for minor cuts with a box of bandaids in the rehabilitation cabinet, but having a good first aid kit is much more than having bandaids! Most foremost for your first aid materials is that they can all be found in one place. You shouldn't have to rummage through three different drawers and run into two bathrooms to get everything you need to handle minor medical emergencies.

In expanding to the typical medical items, it's a good idea to have a disaster rescue kit, as well- and keep both together in a box or duffle bag that can in fact be grabbed if you must evacuate your home quickly.

Home First Aid Kit

What should your first aid kit and disaster rescue plan include? The American Red Cross provides a complete list of what you should have in both your first aid and distaster rescue kits, and recommends that you have sufficient supplies on hand to reserve your house for 3 days, and includes such things as:
A gallon of water per person, per day, for drinking, sanitizing and food preparation. Food: ready to eat, canned varieties that need no making ready are best. Keep infant food on hand if necessary. It's also good to keep ease foods on hand, and high energy foods- like cereal bars Vitamins Non-prescription drugs- like pain relievers and syrup of ipecac to induce vomiting if directed by the Poison control Center. Various tools, flashlights, batteries, etc. Sanitation items, like toilet paper, feminine supplies, soaps, toothepaste and brushes Blankets and a change of clothes for each house member. Important house documents (kept in a waterproof container). Battery powered radio (so you can hear updates on emergency in event of power failure). Bandaids, antiseptic, gauze pads, cold pack, scissors, tweezer, germ-killing hand wipes.

Once you have your emergency first aid and disaster rescue kits put together, you'll have to remember to rotate items usually so that nothing is expired when and if you do need to use them. Stored water should be rotated every six months, while canned goods need to be replaced before the expiration dates. An easy way to do this is put food items in your emergency kits that you would use regularly; and every so often, take one from your emergency kit to eat that day, and replace it with one from your pantry. It doesn't have to be a huge, complicated process. Rotate your stored water in the same way, and you'll all the time be ready with fresh items.

You may also want to get a book about how to survive in a disaster or emergency. A good one would include information about how to generate safe drinking water from natural water sources, and how to conduct if you're instructed by emergency personnel to remain in your home.

Having an sufficient first aid kit and disaster rescue kit is much like an guarnatee plan that you purchase: you have it so you are as ready as possible, but hope that you will never need to use it!

More Than Bandaids - A perfect First Aid Kit