First aid

[tinkywinkyshandbag]

What first aid stuff do you keep in the house? Is it better to buy a kit or get to boots and buy individually?

• Triangular badages
• Gauze dressings + bandages [for bigger cuts/wounds]
• Plasters
• Zinc oxide tape [helps secure bandages/gauze etc]. Micropore tape is less sticky. Other tapes are stickier - experiment and see which ones you like.
• Scissors designed for cutting through clothing / bandages www.amazon.co.uk/Scissors-Tough-Shears-Paramedic-Emergency/dp/B00AKE20PE/ref=asc_df_B00AKE20PE/?hvlocphy=1007060&linkCode=df0&hvptwo&psc=1&hvnetw=g&hvadid=309940318982&hvpone&hvlocint&hvpos&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl&hvqmt&tag=mumsnetforu03-21&hvtargid=pla-539901636689&hvrand=8378672862399248808
• Tweezers
• Magnifying glass would be useful too (to see tiny splinters etc) [how much I'd poke around would vary depending on where in the body the splinter was / whether it was me or someone else / how available proper medical care was]
• Safety pins
• Metalic space blankets
• Gloves

Other stuff that's less pure first aid:

• Peas/sweetcorn in the freezer to ice injuries (wrapped in a tea towel)
• Cohesive bandage - this sticks to itself and is good for compression
• Steristrips - for when a plaster won't do.
• Cling film - for covering large burns
• Hot water bottle (for period pain / alternating hot + cold where this helps relieve pain)
• Blister plasters
• Anti-DVT socks for flying / long journeys
• Sun cream / after sun / Sun hats / sun glasses
• Gloves/hats/scarves/winter coats / hand warmers
• Anti-chafing cream

Food

• Kitchen taps [or alternative supply of water] for drinking / for burns / for cleaning cuts etc - in some situations it's worth considering specific eye wash solutions.
• Sugar/salt to make an oral rehydration solution [or commercial oral rehydration sachets]
• Full sugar coke /jam [for diabetics experiencing low blood sugar]
• Tea bags / coffee [hot caffeniated drinks potentially good for mild asthma]
• Honey & squeezy lemon [sore throats, coughs]

Medicine

• Aspirin - heart attacks

Everything else here is stuff I'd use for myself but isn't first aid

• Paracetamol (standard tablets + dispersible ones)
• Ibuprofen
• Diclofenac gel
• Naproxen (sold as Feminax ultra)
• Paracetamol + Codeine
• Asprin (standard + dispersible - good for gargling)
• Anti nausea tablets - sold as travel sickness tablets
• [I don't get migraines but an anti-migraine drug would be good if you do]
• Gaviscon (or own brand)
• Loperamide (for diarrohea)
• Some sort of laxative - probably lactulose
• Antihistamines - tablets/nasal sprays / eye drops
• Emergency contraception
• Glycerine cough medicines
• Emollients - creams + thicker ointments
• Hydrocortisone cream
• Barrier cream (eg. sudocream)
• Fluconazole (for thrush, cheaper to buy an oral tablet than a vaginal pessary)

Wow thanks, very comprehensive! I do have some of that in but not all. A great checklist.

I would add to that

• saline (easily made but sachets are very handy on the spot)
• antiseptic
• Vaseline
• safety pins
• mercury thermometer (no batteries)
• sanitiser

Candle and matches
Head torch
Bleach

I'd add a device for measuring blood oxygen levels, a tourniquet and an Israeli bandage and a good first aid book.

I buy my own. It means the kit is targeted for my family and the situations we may find ourselves in.

Generic kits have never had enough of the right type of bandage for us. Or the right quantities or brands of medicine. Or the space to enable me to resign the original kit in my favour.

I’m not going to type the list out for you but I can say it was originally based on a survival first aid course I did many years ago and has evolved from that.

You mentioned that this is for your home rather than a mobile or portable kit. I would suggest that you consider keeping things grouped together depending on what they do. This makes it easier for you to find what you want in an emergency and also makes it easier to give instructions to others to get what you need if you are in a rush. For example ‘get the box labelled bandages’ and the box includes bandages, scissors, gauze, haemostatic agents etc - everything you would need to deal with an injury that calls for bandages.

Consider something like the ideas on this page:
www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwiRq_K-zZz2AhUaxDgGHeZQCNUQFnoECFcQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pinterest.co.uk%2Fpaulaferreirasi%2Fideas-to-best-organise-medication-first-aid-suppli%2F&usg=AOvVaw1QQigpSJI61RsL7MxGbUYs

Burn-shields - saved both me and DH from A&E visits. Burn gel for smaller burns.

For pets, thinks about what meds (digestive, ear cleaner, clippers, mini bandages,...) may be handy.

A simple and dirty guide to first aid, think what's broken and how to take its place. So for example, cut = broken skin, so put a dressing on it. Broken bone = unstable limb, so hold it steady. Burn = too hot, so cool it.

So your kit should help you do this. Basically gauze, strapping, gloves etc.

But only carry what you know how to use

Attend a first aid course.

To be fair I would be tempted to discuss First Aid Training in a separate thread

Funnily enough I'd been thinking about replenishing my first aid box today and have made an amazon list. Where do you all get your supplies fairly cheaply from?

I buy all my consumables from this bloke, reasonable price and good quality www.google.com/search?q=jax+first+aid&sxsrf=APq-WBsaTEoK9BOPC6cgJi5dwYVS0TjQcA%3A1646467627859&source=hp&ei=KxojYsbuMc3ygQadh5vQDA&iflsig=AHkkrS4AAAAAYiMoO6hZ1zyvx6bFJ7r1K3eKxdw432at&gs_ssp=eJzj4tVP1zc0zDAwT8-rzM42YLRSNagwsTBPSTE3MzCzNDUyNLEwtTKosDQzNUlNNjEyN001Sk1NSfLizUqsUEjLLCouUUjMTAEAkKMTxQ&oq=Jax&gs_lcp=Cgdnd3Mtd2l6EAEYADIKCC4QxwEQrwEQJzIHCAAQsQMQQzIHCC4QsQMQQzIKCC4QsQMQ1AIQQzIECAAQQzIHCAAQsQMQQzIECAAQQzIECAAQQzIHCC4QsQMQQzIECAAQQzoNCC4QxwEQowIQ6gIQJzoHCCMQ6gIQJzoNCC4QxwEQrwEQ6gIQJzoECCMQJzoRCC4QgAQQsQMQgwEQxwEQ0QM6DgguEIAEELEDEMcBEKMCOggIABCABBCxAzoICC4QsQMQgwE6BAguEEM6CAguEIAEELEDOgUILhCABFCVC1i9FWCwImgBcAB4AIABeIgBsQKSAQMyLjGYAQCgAQGwAQo&sclient=gws-wiz

The only thing I would advise people buying from Amazon, don't buy Tourniquets, there are far too many fake ones, and they have a high failure rate in use.

Thank you k9medic, I was a vet nurse many years ago and bought my supplies at cost price but they've dwindled now and I changed career!

Thanks for the link to Jax first aid @K9medic they do look reasonable. And they are in my area, so nice to support local business too.

Their haveing some work done on the warehouse at the moment so its either mail order or click and collect, but once its finished its worth a trip in.

Its just down the road from me so im guessing we could be classed as neighbours then 🤣😂

Thanks for the head up. I'm going to put an online order in. I'm 20 miles from there so not quite down the road, but always handy to have a NE prepper ally. (And let's hope for no more storms for a while!)

I'm about 20 miles North of them, and because I drive a lot for work that's just down the road.

I must admit the storms have made me reevaluate some of my plans

Also local-ish, hi to the NE allies 👋

Ah I'm 20 miles north too. So we are
neighbours.

Waves back to @FoolshapeHeart

I'm now officially worried :D

😂

Haha! Meant loosely in the Geographical sense. Can't imagine any of my real neighbours being preppers.

Can I just suggest getting something in for dental pain/emergencies?

There's an emergency filling kit you can buy in chemists.

Corsodyl mouthwash can often stave off a developing infection.

Sore throat spray can be used as a dental anaesthetic.

Clove oil can also be used as an anaesthetic. Keep it away from soft tissue though as it's an irritant.

Sensitive toothpaste can be rubbed directly on a painful tooth to relieve nerve pain.

Get some co codamol pain tablets in for in the event of an abscess.

From past experience, I want to say a very loud ‘yes’ to Barrow’s post.

An emergency dental kit is essential! Not easy to use but better than nothing at all.

I've been round some of the 'bargain' shops today and noticed some really big gaps on the medical shelves. No paracetamol in B&M. No savlon type creams either. Part of this could be due to folk buying supplies to send to Ukrainian refugees, but as we all know it's probably a combination of issues.

I've got most of what Barrow mentions above. Apart from clove oil as I have reactions to it (and it's in so many toothpastes!)

Yeah, clove oil can be a bit fierce.