THE IDEAL FIRST AID KIT (CONTINUED)
The ideal first aid kit continued.
In my last post I talked about the ideal first aid kit from an industry insider and said that I’d list the kit contents in a later post. Well here it is a later post and for your consideration here is the list of items I chose for my Sister’s first aid kit.
- (2) Large instant ice packs
- (2) Sterile 5” X 9” ABD pads
- (2) Sterile 4” X 4” gauze sponges
- (1) Replacement bandage assortment
- (16) 1” X 3” elastic strips
- (5) extra-large fingertip bandages
- (5) elastic knuckle bandages
- (5) 2” X 3” lite elastic patch bandages
- (2) Blood Blocker Compress
- (1) each of the 2” X 6”, 4” X 4” & 8” X 8” sterile hydrogel burn dressings
- (4) Sting Thing Land pads
- (2) Sting Thing Marine pads
- (1) Bleed Arrest Clotting Powder 5 gram bellows
- (1) Saline wound flush
- (1) 5 pack Nasal Cease packing
- (1) triple antibiotic ointment, .5 gram 25/box
- (1) 4 oz. hydrogel burn gel
- (1) antiseptic wound wipes – 20/box
- (1) cotton tip applicators – 25/vial
- (1) each 3” & 4” ace type rolled bandage
- (1) each 3” & 4” rolled gauze bandage
- (1) emergency survival blanket
- (1) basic first aid guide
- (1) adult/infant combination CPR resuscitator
- (1) 1 oz. sterile eyewash
- (2) ½ oz. sterile eyewash
- (1) disposable eye cups – 6 vial
- (1) 2” X 3” non-stick pads – 25/box
- (1) 3M Micropore adhesive tape
- (1) 1” porous cloth adhesive tape
- (1) Waterseal Clear Bandages – 50/box
- (1) Waterseal Super Strips waterproof bandages – 50/box
- (1) antiseptic first aid spray – 2 ox.
- (1) paramedic shears
- (1) splinter liberator
- (1) splinter forceps.
It was only after I had everything in this list assembled in the warehouse that I could begin to consider which kit containers would accommodate this large assortment. It turned out that the best fit was our large emergency medical kit bag. It wasn’t a great fit but I went with it because it left room to add more stuff later on if you wanted to. It has always been our policy not to overstuff any first aid kit so as to leave room for our customers to decide if they want to bring along something in addition to what’s already in the kit.
Now that we have the kit assembled we could calculate the retail cost which came to around $180.00 which as I said in my earlier post on this subject is a bit high for many families. So in a future blog post I will put down my thoughts on how to economize this kit.
For now, let me lay out my basic strategy on this kit with the clear understanding that I am not giving professional advice on any level; these are strictly the musings of an old army medic. I won’t dwell on the old part but for the record I do have two adorable granddaughters so I’ve been around long enough to have raised a family in the real world and have that wealth of experience to draw from.
Thank goodness most of the first aid that happens in most households fall in to what I call the clean, treat and cover category. For cuts scrapes, abrasions and the like you clean it up with an antiseptic wound wipe, or saline flush, throw some antibiotic ointment on the wound and then cover it with the appropriate adhesive bandage. In some cases you might have to use non-stick pads (far superior to gauze pads in my book) and some adhesive tape to make a bandage but those should be rare.
A couple of thoughts on adhesive bandages. Like so much I’ve seen in the last 30 years or so adhesive bandages have come a long, long way. My advice to you is, don’t skimp on Band-Aids they are well worth spending your money on. Keep in mind we are treating family members here and we want all of these products to be as user friendly as possible. In the Band-Aid category that means you get a latex free product with a 21st century adhesive. By that I mean you get a bandage that sticks but doesn’t traumatize the patient when you change it at the end of the day.
I could go on and on and on, on this topic but suffice it to say that I’ve made some specific recommendations about adhesive bandages in my fill list. I can also heartily recommend just about any adhesive bandage from the big brand names like Johnson & Johnson, 3M, America White Cross or Coverlet. Don’t overlook the industrial brands either although they may be harder to come by. We feature both Hart Health and Medi-First products on our website and they both make quality adhesive bandages. The main differences between these and the consumer brands are that they come packed in first aid kit dispenser boxes are usually made of thicker woven fabric and have much more aggressive adhesives.