What To Put In Your Home’s First Aid Kit

Every home should have a first aid kit. Accidents and injuries happen, and it’s important that if and when they do you have the right items on hand to address them. While a first aid kid isn’t a substitute for professional medical care, it is often sufficient for dealing with everything from minor scrapes and burns to bug bites and mild allergic reactions. Like a home emergency kit, a first aid kit is one of those things that you won’t know you need until you do, so it’s smart to have it ready to go in the event that something happens.

First Aid Kit Essentials

About one-third of all injuries in the U.S. happen at home. And when they do, effective first aid can make all of the difference.

The following items are all necessities for dealing with a wide range of potential and urgent at-home medical needs. You won’t use all of them for every instance (and some you might never use at all), but having them handy means that if you do need them they’re right there—and that you won’t be digging around in your medicine cabinet when you don’t have the time to do so.

Here’s what to include in your home’s first aid kit:

    • Latex gloves, for safely handling wounds
    • Dressings, gauze, and bandages
    • Medical tape
    • Instant cold packs
    • Super glue
    • Small scissors
    • Tweezers
    • Safety pins
    • Eye shield or pad
    • Hydrogen peroxide
    • Hydrocortisone cream
    • Antibiotic ointment
    • Petroleum jelly
    • Hand sanitizer and alcohol wipes
    • Calamine lotion
    • Sterile eyewash saline
    • Aloe vera gel
    • Cotton balls and cotton-tipped swabs
    • Aluminum finger splint
    • Thermometer
    • Magnifying glass
    • Lighter or matches, for sterilizing steel instruments
    • List of emergency numbers, including your primary care physician and the American Poison Control Hotline (800-222-1222)

    Another good item to keep in your first aid kid is a first aid manual. These include basic, need-to-know information on how to deal with things like bites and stings, soft tissue injuries, and sudden illness due to extreme heat or cold. If you don’t have one, you can print out this free manual provided by the American Red Cross.

    First Aid Kit Medicines

    In addition to the items above, it’s also smart to stock your first aid kit with a variety of medicines that could be useful to have stored in one place. If a member of your household has a necessary prescription medication such as an asthma inhaler or blood pressure medicine and you can get extra to store in your first aid kit, do so. Just be sure to swap them out if they’ve gotten past their expiration date.

    Here are the other medications that you’ll want to keep on hand in your kit:

      • Over-the-counter pain reliever
      • Fever reducer
      • Epinephrine auto-injector, if someone in your home is prescribed these by a doctor
      • Antacids
      • Laxatives
      • Cough and cold medication
      • Anti-diarrheal medication
      • Anti-nausea medicine
      • Antihistamine
      • Nasal decongestant
      • Naloxone (available for purchase from a pharmacist without a prescription)

      Medications that you should not keep in your first aid kit include narcotic pain relievers and any medications that require refrigeration.

      Using Your First Aid Kit

      Not all at-home accidents and injuries can be treated with a first aid kit, but many can. Your first aid kit can also be a first-line defense prior to seeking out professional medical care. It’s important that you familiarize yourself with the items in your first aid kit and that you know how and when to use them. Here are some common scenarios and the first aid essentials that can help you address them.

      Cuts and scrapes

      This is probably the most common reason you’ll be turning to your first aid kit. Wash your hands and/or put on your latex gloves and then rinse cuts or scrapes with cold water to help remove any dirt or debris that might have gotten trapped inside. If you need to, use tweezers to gently remove any dirt from the wound.

      If the wound is bleeding, apply pressure to it with a clean piece of gauze. Hold it on there until the bleeding stops, being sure to replace the gauze if the blood has soaked through. Once bleeding has stopped, apply antibiotic ointment and a bandage. If the cut or scrape is in an area that will not be exposed to the elements—such as somewhere that’s under clothes—you can skip the bandage, so long as the bleeding has fully stopped.

      Fevers

      Use your first aid kit thermometer to determine how bad the fever is. Fevers between 100 and 103 degrees can usually be safely treated at home, but fevers over 103 necessitate a visit to emergency care.

      If the fever is in a range that you can treat, provide an over-the-counter fever reducing medication such as acetaminophen and a cold pack for the forehead. From there, plenty of rest and relaxation should do the trick, just monitor the fever regularly to ensure that it doesn’t go up.

      Household burns

      From spilling boiling water to sitting out in the sun too long, there are a lot of different ways that burns can happen at home. Your first step when dealing with a burn is to figure out how bad it is. Burn severity is measured in degrees, with first-degree burns being the least dangerous and third-degree burns requiring immediate medical care. So how do you tell what you’re dealing with?

      First-degree burns are red and tender to the touch, and often turn white when you press on them. Mild sunburns are a good example. To treat, apply cold water (or a cold pack) to the burn and then soothe the area with aloe vera gel. An over-the-counter pain reliever can help with any discomfort. Most first-degree burns peel (and then heal) after about 1-2 days.

      Second-degree burns are thicker and more painful, and will often present as blisters. They may get quite swollen as well. Rinse the burned skin well with cold water and then cover with a secure (but not too tight) bandage. These burns can take 2-3 weeks to heal, and should be checked on regularly for progress.

      Third-degree burns are the most serious type of burns, and involve damage to all layers of the skin, including nerves and tissues. They often look white or black and charred. It is advised that you do not touch third-degree burns or apply water but instead head to the hospital right away. Most third-degree burns require skin grafting to heal.

      Always wash your hands thoroughly before addressing a burn of any level. It’s a good idea to wear your latex gloves as well.

      Final Takeaways

      Some of the essential items in your first aid kit will get used more than others, and some you may never end up using at all. The idea is to have the supplies that you need to deal with a wide range of potential at-home emergencies. Things like eye patches and finger splints are only useful in very specific situations, but when they are, you’ll be very glad that you have them.

      Rather buy a pre-made first aid kit? There are a lot of options for doing so, from the Red Cross to stores like Amazon and Home Depot. If you do end up buying a pre-made first aid kit for your home, go through it thoroughly so you know exactly what’s in there, and supplement the supplies with any essentials that aren’t already present.