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Wednesday, October 29, 2014

31 Days 16: First Aid Kit



Every person needs a first aid kit in their car.  ESPECIALLY if you are a mom.  But really, everyone needs one.  You never know when a headache, indigestion, or even a dreaded paper cut could creep up on you or someone near you.

As part of my emergency preparedness, I have a first aid kit in every vehicle.  Today I will share mine with you.

Let me first share an important piece of information with you.  Don't but the pre-made corner pharmacy first aid kits.  Ya'll, these things are so useless.  They have a few bandaids, a couple individual packs of antibiotic ointment, and some burn cream.  Pretty limited on what you can treat with those things, and they are pricey to boot.

Kits are not all bad, you just need to know that it's not all-inclusive.  To make life simpler, you could start with a good kit and add to it.  I like this one.

Now that we've established that it is better and more cost efficient to make your own, we will address what you need to put in it.

Wound Care

  • Cohesive Wrap - I love this stuff, it replaces medical tape, ace bandages, and athletic tape.
  • Butterfly sutures
  • Gauze/dressings
  • Antibiotic ointment
  • Burn cream (substitute Honey and Lavender)
  • Antiseptic wipes
  • Alcohol or peroxide
  • Superglue
  • Vaseline (substitute coconut oil & beeswax mix)
  • Bandaids

Pain Management

  • Aspirin (also good for heart attacks - but must be chewed!)
  • Tylenol (substitute Rosemary or Peppermint)
  • Motrin (substitute Frankincense, Bergamot, or Chamomile)
  • Lidocaine spray (substitute Tea Tree or Clove oil)
  • Instant ice pack
  • Baby medicine syringe

Allergies

  • Benadryl (I prefer keep the drug version on hand for use in emergencies only.  I've linked a reference article for your knowledge.) 
  • Cortizone (substitute Lavender)
  • Epi-pen (if you have a prescription)

Tools & Other

  • Scissors
  • Tweezers
  • Popsicle sticks (for emergency splints or tongue depressors)
  • Q-tips
  • Fingernail clippers
  • Hand sanitizer (I like this Honest Company spray style)
  • Thermometer (I prefer temporal)
  • Gloves
  • Safety pins
  • Feminine products (also useful for wound dressings)
  • Any prescription that your family cannot go 72 hours without.  During the 2014 Birmingham Snowpocalypse, I had a friend who had to get the police involved to get her baby girl seizure medicine that she desperately needed.  While I'm glad that the community banded together and got her what she needed, I can't imagine the desperate feeling of that poor mama.  Carry some with you, just in case! 
**Make sure all oils you include are pre-diluted with carrier oils for easy grab-and-go use.  The rule of thumb is 1% for children, 2% for adults, and 3% for medicinal use.  I keep mine in little glass roller bottles with labels.  I am not a homeopathic medicine practitioner and can only recommend to you what has worked for my family.  Please do your research before you treat your family with any natural remedies.  

Now that you've got everything together, what do you put it all in?  So many options.  You could use a baby wipe box, if you can fit everything in it.  If you started with a good basic first aid kit and added to it, you already have the bag it came in.  Or you could put it in a cute owl lunchbox that you got for $2 at a consignment sale.


Cute and functional.  What else would you include in a DIY first aid kit?

31 Days of Organizing Projects Using What You Already Have





7 comments:

  1. What a great idea! And I have a skip-hop bag just like yours to use, too. Thanks for the great tips!

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  2. What a great reminder! We have a new car and I had tossed all the old stuff when we got rid of the old minivan. Thank you!

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  3. That's a great first-aid kit list! Thank you!

    Anastasia Rose
    #write31days
    walk-in-the-rain-with-me.blogspot.com

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  4. love this! i gotta add this to my to do list! :)

    and, ugh. the snowpocaplyse... we SO better not have one this year... that was just a nightmare!

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  5. I would add contact solution, only because I wear contacts, and maybe a squirt bottle, to put water in if need to wash out a cut. I was on a trip with our youth students at the beach she cut her foot on a shell in the ocean and had to walk to shore she had sand all in the wound. My husband grabbed a bottle of water poured over to try to rinse the sand out and could get all of it out. He then put the water in his mouth and sprayed it all in the cut to get the sand out. LOL probably added more germs to the wound but it worked. :)

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  6. I saw your question on Facebook about your header. I wish I could help! I know I had the exact same thing happen. To be honest I think I googled it :( I hope you get the help you are looking for. I wanted to comment because A.) I almost helped my husband do a speech on this exact topic (for a college course) and B.) I love your About Me. PERFECT!

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  7. Thanks Natalie! I will try a Google search, that should always be my first source :)

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