First Aid Kits
It is important to have a well-stocked first aid kit in your home to deal with minor accidents and injuries.
Your first aid kit should be locked and kept in a cool, dry place, out of reach of children.
Medicines should be checked regularly to make sure that they are within their use-by dates.
Many people also keep a small first aid kit in their car for emergencies.
Your basic first aid kit
A basic first aid kit should contain:
- Plasters, in a variety of different sizes and shapes.
- Small, medium and large sterile gauze dressings.
- At least two sterile eye dressings.
- Triangular bandages.
- Crêpe rolled bandages.
- Safety pins.
- Disposable sterile gloves.
- Tweezers.
- Scissors.
- Alcohol-free cleansing wipes.
- Sticky tape.
- Thermometer, preferably digital.
- Skin rash cream such as hydrocortisone or calendula.
- Cream or spray to relieve insect bites and stings.
- Antiseptic cream.
- Painkillers such as paracetamol (or infant paracetamol for children), aspirin (not to be given to children under 16), or ibuprofen.
- Cough medicine.
- Decongestant tablets or nasal spray.
- Antihistamine tablets.
- Distilled water, for cleaning wounds and as an eye bath.
For information about first aid when travelling see the Department of Health’s health advice for travellers.
Further information:
(NHS Choices first Aid kit tool: http://www.nhs.uk/tools/pages/firstaidtoolkit.aspx)
