FIRST AID KIT


First aid kit is mainly intended for minor injuries that you can treat yourself, but it should also be equipped to deal with more serious injuries until the victim gets professional medical help. It should be kept in a well-sealed plastic box, such as an old ice-cream container, the box on the top shelf of the hall cupboard or some other place out of the reach of children. 

Do not keep first aid materials in unsealed containers in the bathroom or kitchen. It may deteriorate in the damp air. 

When you go on family holidays, take the kit with you. 

Write the address and telephone number of your doctor and the address of the accident and emergency department of your local hospital on a piece of paper and fix it to the inside of the first aid box. Tape it to the underside of the lid for instance.

Do not keep old medicines left over from a previous illness. Flush them down the lavatory .

First aid kits can be bought ready-made from the pharmacy, but you can make up your own from anywhere. And at the same time become familiar with what your kit contains.

Content

  • A box of adhesive dressings (plaster) of different sizes for covering small wounds.
  • A roll of plaster (cloth-backed, plasticized or micro-pore tape)  Blunt-ended scissors for cutting bandages and plaster.  
  • Some triangular bandages and several safety pins for making a sling or emergency bandage
  • Antiseptic lotion to use with the cotton wool when cleaning wounds, and antiseptic wipes.  
  • Cotton wool for cleaning cuts and grazes
FIRST AID KIT FOR HIKERS
On country walks – particularly in remote areas, take a small first aid kit which includes a foil blanket (also called a space blanket).  The blanket can be wrapped around a casualty to preserve warmth in freezing temperatures.

The kit should also contain a trigular bandage, a crepe bandage for ankle injuries, and a packet of antiseptic wipes for cleaning a wound when no water is available.  Store the kit in a small plastic box.

How to improvise a dressing

If you have to treat a wound when no first aid kit is available, you can improvise dressings and bandages from a range of materials.

*for a dressing, take a clean handkerchief and fold it inside out so that the side that was protected from direct can be placed on the wound.  For  a larger dressing, use a clean pillowcase or towel in the same way.

*Another way is to strip the wrapping off a packet of paper handkerchiefs and put the pad on the wound.  Alternatively, discard the first few sheets of a toilet roll, then make a Pad.

*Do not put fluffy material such as cotton wool directly onto a wound because the fibers will become embedded in  it.

*Whatever you make the dressing from, avoid touching the surface that will be in contact with the wound.  Otherwise, direct on your fingers could introduce infection

*An improvised dressing can be bandaged on with any piece of reasonable clean material such as a scarf, tie or ld linens

Materials first aid kit
  • Sterile dressings (also called field dressings) of various sizes for covering wounds. Sterile eye dressing with bandage attached for eye injuries
  • Two or 3 crepe or conforming bandages for sprains, and for wounds in awkward places such as elbows and ankles.
  • Aspirin or paracetamol preferable sealed in foil to give longer life
  • Tubular gauze bandages for finger injuries and applicator tong
  • Tweezers for removing splinters


Disclaimer: Information on this website freefirstaid.info is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice, emergency treatment or formal first aid training. Don't use this information to diagnose or develop a treatment plan for a health problem or disease without consulting a qualified health care provider. If you're in a life-threatening or emergency medical situation, seek medical assistance immediately.