5 Reasons Keeping First Aid Kit Refills on Hand Can Be Helpful
The United States saw 5,333 deaths due to workplace injuries in 2019. Falls, slips, hazardous materials, and fires all contributed to these casualties, and up to 59% of deaths could have been prevented with basic first aid. Lack of knowledge and insufficient first aid supplies can keep people in your workplace from getting the life-saving help they need. If your first aid kit is running low, don’t worry: replacing first aid supplies online is easy. Have you forgotten to restock your first aid kit? If so, keep reading. This article is your guide to understanding the most important reasons to keep your kit stocked with frequent first aid refills.
1. Keeps Medications Up-To-Date
Medications lose their effectiveness after their expiration date. Even if they haven’t expired, drug manufacturers can’t ensure that they will stay stable after the safety seal has been opened. If your medications have been exposed to humidity, heat, or other environmental extremes, they may not be as effective as they ought to be.
First aid kits often contain a few essential medications. One common first aid medication is aspirin.
Even though aspirin is used most often to treat pain and fever, it’s also an anticoagulant medication. It prevents platelets from forming clots in blood vessels. When a person is having a heart attack, aspirin can be a lifesaving medication.
Other emergency medications like nitroglycerine are notoriously unstable and prone to losing effectiveness after expiry. This means it’s not enough to buy medication once. Your first aid kit needs to be frequently checked for expired medications, and restocked with unexpired ones.
In an emergency, you don’t want to get stuck with medication that doesn’t do its job. Keeping fresh medication refills on hand ensures that you’ll always have the effective medication you need.
2. Keep Supplies Sterile
Emergency supplies like eyewash and saline solution for wounds must be sterile. Once the bottle is opened, there is no guarantee that the contents remain sterile.
Most first aid kit solutions come in single-use vials, but even if you have purchased a larger bottle of sterile solution, breaking the seal once can compromise its sterility. Even unopened bottles and bandages have an expiry label.
It’s not safe to cleanse eyes or wounds with a non-sterile solution — it can lead to further damage and infection. Keep extras of all sterile supplies on hand with first aid box refill kits.
3. Prevents Running Out of Supplies
Standard first aid kits come stocked with a variety of medical supplies to cover the most common emergencies. However, some emergencies need more supplies than others. Keeping first aid refills on hand prevents you from running out of the most important supplies.
For instance, cuts are one of the most common injuries sustained in the workplace. To prevent dangerous blood loss, you’ll need to apply layers of absorbent bandages to the laceration.
If a cut is deep enough, it may bleed so much that you need additional sterile bandages to staunch it. Keeping refill supplies of absorbent bandages and other common first aid kit items keeps you from running out in an emergency.
Class B First Aid Kits
Workplaces with a large staff can invest in a Class B first aid kit. Class B kits are designed to treat a wider variety of injuries. They contain additional first aid items, including a splint to immobilize sprained limbs.
As well, these first aid kits come with larger amounts of all the standard first aid supplies. Class B first aid kit refills come with all the supplies you need to keep a large workplace safe.
4. Avoid Compliance Issues
Expired or empty first aid kits can leave you frustrated in an emergency, but that’s not the only risk.
Your workplace first aid kit has to meet occupational health and safety standards. To comply, you must have all the first aid essentials on hand. You could face compliance issues and discipline if you fail to restock your first aid supplies.
The larger your workplace, the more supplies you will need to meet compliance regulations. Large staff may require bulk amounts of common first aid kit refill items like adhesive bandages. You can invest in a 50 person first aid kit refill to make sure you always have the required items on your premises.
5. Gives You Peace of Mind
Injuries are frightening, but they happen everywhere. You can’t always prevent them, but you can be as prepared as possible with the right supplies. There’s no substitute for the peace of mind of knowing that you have good-quality first aid supplies ready for any disaster.
Since staying stocked up on emergency supplies can be expensive, you can safely save money by only purchasing the ones that you are running low on. Use an OSHA-compliant first aid supply worksheet to track and order exactly what you need. That way, you’ll be certain that you’ve purchased the first aid kit refill items that you are missing without spending money on the ones you aren’t.
Get the First Aid Kit Refills You Need
From cuts and scrapes to burns and breaks, injuries can happen to anyone at any time. First aid kit refills ensure that you never run out of crucial supplies during an emergency.
When you’re ready to get prepared for life’s emergencies, create a first aid kit that’s personalized to you. Contact us today to order your cost-effective first aid kit refills.