How to Make a 40 Piece First Aid Kit

Every home should have a first aid kit, even if the home is not in an area that is prone to tropical storms or hurricanes. The most basic survival aid kit will enable you to deal with health health emergencies and injuries and can save your life if you are unable to seek medical attention right away.

The emergency aid kit should always be well stocked. If you use an item, you should replace it, in the event that you may need that item again. A checklist can be used to keep a record of the items in the kit as well as expiry dates.

Recommended First Aid Kit

Johnson & Johnson All-Purpose Portable Compact First Aid Kit for Minor Cuts, Scrapes, Sprains & Burns, Ideal for Home, Car, Travel, Camping and Outdoor Emergencies, 160 pieces

Best First Aid Kits on the Market

One of the easiest ways to obtain an emergency aid kit is to purchase one. If you’re interested in purchasing a kit until you can build your own, I would suggest the following kits which are available at Amazon:

	Item	Our Suggestion	Use
1	First Aid Bag	PrimaCare First Responder Bag	Houses all first aid kit items
2	Ice Pack	General Medi Instant Ice Cold Pack	Reduces swelling or pain
3	Bandages	Metene Self Adhesive Bandages	Wraps injuries and cuts
4	Dressings	Tubular Elastic Net Dressing	Help stop bleeding and apply pressure to wounds
5	Face Masks	KN95 Face Masks	Prevent contamination and infection
6	Cotton Balls	Curad Sterile Cotton Balls	Clean wounds
7	Cotton Swabs	McKesson Cotton Swabs	Clean wounds and apply topical creams and lotions
8	Plasters	Band-Aid Adhesive Bandages	Wrap small cuts and grazes
9	Sterile Gauze Pads	Dealmed Sterile Gauze Pads	Wrap wounds and injuries
10	Safety Pins	Fiskars Assorted Safety Pins	Affix and secure bandages
11	Disposable Gloves	MedPride Nitrile Exam Gloves	Reduce infection from blood and body fluids
12	Tweezers	Pefei Stainless Steel Tweezers	Remove splinters or other small foreign objects
13	Small Scissors	MEUUT Medical Scissors	Cuts bandages, tape or clothing
14	Small Knife	Swiss Safe Tactical Knife	Cuts bandages, tape or clothing
15	Cleansing Wipes	Care Touch Prep Pads	Clean hands and sanitize wounds and instruments
16	Isopropyl Alcohol	Amazon Basics Isopropyl Alcohol	Cleans and disinfects superficial wounds
17	Adhesive/ Sticky Tape	Nexcare Woven Tape	Holds bandages in place
18	Bug Bite Cream or Spray	After Bite Itch Relief	Relieves insect bites
19	Thermometer	Thermobio Touchless Thermometer	Checks body temperature
20	Antiseptic Cream	Neosporin Antibiotic Cream	Can relieve minor pain and soothe the skin
21	Painkillers	Tylenol Pain Relievers	Can relieve pain
22	Cough Medicine	Robitussin DM Max	Soothes coughs and provides chest relief
23	Distilled Water	Happy Belly Distilled Water	Cleans wounds
24	Thermal Blanket	Qio Chuang Thermal Blanket	Helps manage body temperature
25	Cold and Warm Compresses	TrekProof Hot and Cold Therapy Wrap	Relieve pain and swelling
26	CPR Breathing Mask	Primacare CPR Barrier	Protects against infection
27	Zipper Plastic Bags	24/7 Bags Zipper Storage Bags	Store small items
28	Duct Tape	The Original Duck Duct Tape	Tapes down bandages
29	Petroleum Jelly	Vaseline Petroleum Jelly	Soothes and protects minor cuts and burns
30	Medicine Dropper	EZY Dose Ear & Eye Medicine Dropper	Administers medicine
31	Calamine Lotion	Amazon Basics Calamine Lotion	Relieves pain from sunburn, insect bites and some plant poisons
32	Aloe Vera Gel	Seven Minerals Organic Aloe Vera	Reduces pain from burns, insect bites and cuts
33	Baking Soda	Arm & Hammer Baking Soda	Relieves upset stomach
34	Paper Bags	Perfect Stix Brown Paper Bags	Used to calm hyperventilation
35	Hand Sanitizer	Purell Hand Sanitizer	Used to clean hands in the absence of water
36	Antiseptic Soap	Dettol Antibacterial Soap	Used to wash hands as needed
37	Hydrogen Peroxide	Amazon Basics Hydrogen Peroxide	Disinfects wounds and scrapes
38	Whistle	LuxoGear Emergency Whistle	Can be used to attract attention
39	Small Flashlight	Hausbell LED Flashlight	Used to provide light in a power outage
40	First Aid Manual	ACEP First Aid Manual	Explains how to administer basic first aid.

How to Build a First Aid Kit

If you are ready and willing to build your kit, there are some rules of thumb to follow so that your kit is adequate and contains all of the items that you may need in an emergency. Kits like the Everlit 250 Pieces Survival First Aid Kit, include must have items such as bandages and antiseptic cleansing wipes. But when you build your kit, you can incorporate the same items and personalise it based on the needs of you and your family.

The starting point is to use a sturdy, waterproof container that will house items for the kit. This container should also be large enough to hold all items and it should be able to close easily and firmly.

Inside the container, you should include enough of the following items to at least tend to the needs of the members of your family. A survival kit built for one person, would be considerably smaller than a kit built for a family of four.

How to Make an Effective First Aid Kit

The best first aid kit is one that is well maintained and ready to use in an emergency. To ensure that your kit is as effective as it could be, you should:

Store the kit in a cool, dry place and out of the reach of children and babies.
Keep track of supplies and expiration dates, so that you can update the kit as needed
Wash reusable items (e.g. tweezers and scissors) after each use, and sterilize them with isopropyl alcohol

To get the most of your medical kit, you can take a first aid class if it’s available in your area. If you cannot find a course that’s close to you, the Red Cross offers online first aid courses.

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