Most home first aid kits are a tin of assorted plasters, several of them from the previous decade. A useful kit is not much larger and it is organised around what actually happens at home.
What Actually Happens
Small cuts, grazes, minor burns, splinters, blisters, insect bites, sprains and headaches. That is the overwhelming majority of domestic first aid.
Kits sold in shops are frequently weighted toward dramatic scenarios and thin on the things used weekly.
The Core Contents
- Plasters in several sizes, including waterproof ones
- Sterile dressings and gauze pads
- Micropore tape and a cohesive bandage roll
- Antiseptic wipes and a saline wash
- Tweezers and blunt-ended scissors
- Disposable gloves
- A triangular bandage or sling
- A digital thermometer
Where Cohesive Wrap Fits
It holds a dressing in place without adhesive on skin, which is useful over hair, on fragile skin, and on awkward places like fingers and joints.
It is not a dressing itself and does not go directly on a wound. Packs of rolls, of the kind at juvale.net, suit a household that uses it occasionally, since a roll opened for a finger is largely wasted otherwise.
The important caution is tension. Elastic wrap applied too tightly restricts circulation, and the material stretches easily enough that this happens without intent. Apply loosely, overlap by half, and check for swelling, numbness or colour change below it.
Check It Twice a Year
The step nobody takes. Dressings have expiry dates, adhesives perish, and antiseptic wipes dry out in their sachets.
A kit checked when the clocks change is a kit that works when needed. This matters more than the contents list.
Medicines
Painkillers and other medicines have expiry dates and should be checked at the same time. They should be stored out of reach of children, which frequently conflicts with keeping the kit accessible.
Two locations solves it: dressings accessible, medicines secured.
Where to Keep It
Somewhere everyone in the household knows, reachable without a chair, and not in a bathroom where humidity degrades the contents.
A second small kit in the car is worth having, and one in a bag for anyone who walks or cycles regularly.
Know the Limits
This is general information rather than medical guidance, and a first aid kit is for minor injuries.
Deep wounds, heavy bleeding that will not stop, burns beyond small and superficial, suspected fractures, head injuries, breathing difficulty, chest pain and any injury to an eye all need professional medical attention rather than a kit.
Knowing when not to treat something at home is the most useful part of first aid.
Learn the Skills
A short first aid course is worth considerably more than any kit, particularly the parts covering choking and CPR, which differ between adults, children and infants.