Home First Aid

Diposting oleh Winaro

Minggu, 25 Juli 2010

Most injuries you and your family will sustain will be at or near your home. This isn’t because homes are dangerous, but because you spend the most time there. It’s easy to cut a finger while chopping vegetables, or trip and skin your knee, or any of a number of small things. Occasionally, a true emergency might arise, where getting immediate first aid might be the difference between life or death.

Whatever the case, it’s important to keep a home first aid kit handy, just in case. Making a kit is easy. In some cases, you might want to simply buy a premade one. Otherwise, here are some essentials for any home first aid kit.


1. Bandages
This includes everything from little band-aids to large swaths of gauze. It’s a good idea to have a few bandages of every size, to meet any occasion.
2. General Drugs
Mild painkillers, such as acetaminophen or mefenamic acid, are recommended to take the edge off of bade pain. These are also good for dulling aches and headaches. Some of these drugs, such a acetaminophen, are also good for reducing fevers.
3. Specialized Drugs
If you or anyone else in your house has a special health problem, you need to have an emergency reserve of medication for it. For instance, you might need an inhaler for an asthmatic, or insulin for a diabetic. Be sure to prepare for any special needs.
4. Medical Scissors
A small pair of tough scissors can be handy for a number of situations. You might need it to cut away clothing from a wound, or to cut off dead skin before applying a bandage. Scissors also make opening packages easy, and can be used to cut and shape bandages to your needs.
5. Plastic or Latex Gloves
You should always try to put these on before treating a wound. This protects you from getting any contaminants that might be in the blood. It also keeps your hands from infecting the wound.
6. Sterilizing pads
These commonly have alcohol or some similar fluid soaked into them. They can be used to disinfect scrapes and cuts before bandaging them.
7. Itch and Burn Creams
There are a variety of things that can cause itches: mosquito bites, poison ivy, rashes… the list goes on and on. Burns of course come from exposure to heat. Bioplacenton cream for burn, hydrocortisone (Esperson, Kenacort) cream for itch.
You should have these handy to treat mild itching and burns.
8. Tweezers
These are handy for removing splinters and insect stingers. They’re also good for cleaning wounds and grabbing anything that fingers can’t.
9. Antibiotic Ointment
This is a simple cream or jelly that can be applied to many kinds of wounds. It kills germs and prevents infection. This should be applied before putting on bandages.
10. Cold Packs
These are plastic packs with certain chemicals in them. When they are activated, they become very cold. This is good for soothing pains, reducing swelling, fever, and hyperthermia.