There are emergencies that could happen at home that will not need you to call a doctor or go to the nearest emergency room. Minor injuries that could happen inside your home can be done and catered to with the use of first aid kit items. It’s not that you anticipate for bad things to happen but they do happen unexpectedly and you rather come prepared than do nothing at all for such medical emergencies.
What to Do If You Feel Sick?
When you feel sick, the first thing you always do is to go home and take some rest. With the help of a medical kit, you can look for an over-the-counter medicine that can help you feel better. You can either take Ibuprofen for headache, carbocisteine for cough, or decongestant and antihistamines for cold. All these medicines should be included in your home first aid kit because without them you will only worsen your situation by not killing the bacteria that trigger your sickness.
You don’t need to be a doctor to know the best first aid kits that you need in your home. Keeping one will only save you from any worry in case of any medical emergencies. First aid kit items are not only for fever, but also for people with allergies, burns, and minor fall accidents that could lead to serious health problems when not attended right away. If you are still wondering why keeping a medical kit is important in your home, no worries, for we have compiled all the reasons why there is a need to have one and the supplies you will need to stock in it.
What Is a First-Aid Kit?
A first-aid kit is a bag of medical supplies that can be used to treat an injured person immediately. It contains important equipment that can help you save a person’s life by not making his or her situation worse. Although some serious accidents need to seek professional help, the people involved will have a bigger chance to live when basic first-aid treatment is performed.
You will often see people bringing their first aid kit supplies in their office and most especially in cars during a long trip, just in case any emergency happens on the road, they will have the right medical supplies that will cater to their concerns. What people often forget about is that their own home needs a medical kit too knowing they spent most of their time being at home than going outside to run their errands. Even a medical study cited that first aid assistance is one of the important life-saving skills.
Why Is a First Aid Kit Important?
Provides Immediate Comfort
When an accident happens or when someone feels sick in your home, the first thing that you want to do is to give them immediate comfort so that they won’t bear the pain for a long time. The person involved can only feel comfortable the moment they are relieved from anything that’s causing them pain and with the use of your home first aid kit, you can right away give them the help that they need without waiting for professional help or treatment.
For example, if you have a daughter or a sister that is always experiencing dysmenorrhea every time she is on her menstrual period, the first thing that you have to do is to ensure that you store a drug that is effective in treating dysmenorrhea. In case some medication triggers allergic reactions on their end, you can also settle for natural remedies like making sure that you include a heating pad in your medical kit so they can just put it on their belly or lower back for the pain to go away easily.
Gives Total Peace of Mind
Your home is the best place where you can totally feel safe and sound. So, whatever you do inside your home, you won’t feel any discomfort because you are surrounded by people and things you’re most comfortable with. However, there is no right or wrong place for accidents to happen and it is possible to occur right in the comfort of your own home. Oftentimes when accidents happen, fear will overrule you if you don’t know what to do and it will only hinder you from managing the whole situation well. The only thing that could give you total peace of mind is to acquire the best first aid kit for you and the whole family.
For example, people who are assigned to kitchen works are more prone to minor cuts, it could be acquired when a knife slips in your hand while chopping the food prepared for meals. If you don’t have first aid kit items you will surely be in a panic because cuts will lead to continuous bleeding when not attended right away. But with a first aid kit, you can be at ease because you can stop the bleeding by applying pressure as well as an antibiotic cream to avoid infection. To prevent exposure to any harmful bacteria, get a sterile bandage from your medical kit and cover it to your cuts.
Reduce the Depth of Burn Injuries
Burn injuries are the type of accidents that usually takes place at home. Children are more prone to this type of injury because they are the ones very curious about the things they can see at home such as chemicals and hot liquids or boiling water. Aside from making sure that these harmful things must not be placed somewhere easily reach out or access, you should always secure first aid kit items in preparation for this type of injury.
Burn injury is a serious injury that needs immediate treatment because it damages the skin causing skin cells to die. If you don’t know what to do, the burnt skin will reach third-degree burn that creates health complications to the victim or worst could result in death. There are a lot of things associated with mortality in burn injuries and taking parameters and steps for first aid will reduce the mortality rate.
With the use of your first aid kit supplies, you can treat burn by streaming running cool water in the burnt area and then apply an aloe vera cream or any antibiotic treatment for immediate relief that will reduce the depth of burn injury. Don’t forget to wrap it with a bandage to avoid exposure to bacterial infection. A medical kit is very beneficial for this type of injury because if your home is way too far from the nearest hospital, the victim will not suffer a lot of pain and the burn can be reduced.
Lessen Recovery Time
If you have the best first aid kit with you, the person suffering from an injury in your home is more likely to recover fast than wait for the ambulance to arrive. The best example of this is when one of your family members has tripped over or fallen, they will be able to recover fast if you can perform first aid with the use of your medical kit. Falls is not a minor injury if it damages or breaks bones because this will badly hurt the person involved. But with immediate medical care performed right in your own house, it will not be too complicated to treat.
Falls are most common to older people and their impact on their health could be too much for them to bear. Therefore, getting the best first aid kit will create less pain and burden on their end. The first thing that you can do is to apply a cold compress to the affected area to reduce swelling and elevate the leg or the part of the body affected if the person can still lift it. If it is bleeding, use a clean pad from your kit to apply pressure, and then give acetaminophen for pain relief. Try not to move the person if you think that their spine is broken.
Limit Health Expenses
If it is just a minor injury or health problem, you can make yourself and the people around feel better if you have first aid kit supplies. In this way, you don’t need to spend a lot of money to go to a clinic and have yourself checked. Stock your first aid kit with the right equipment and medicine that are meant for cuts, burns, body pains, and more. So, if you can do it all by yourself, there is no need to seek professional help and pay for their services.
The best example of this is when you have a fever. Before you take your medicine, you should also check your body temperature to see if it is still normal or beyond that. You can only do this if you use a digital infrared thermometer that is more accurate in reading in less than a second. Check out the steps in using a digital infrared thermometer for the ear and forehead below.
- Press the “on” button of the thermometer.
- Wait for the screen to stop showing temperature.
- The moment you hear two consecutive beeps, place the probe into the ear canal or forehead and press “scan”.
- Remove the thermometer after you will hear another long beep.
- The screen will light up and will show your body temperature.
- You can perform the same procedure at least three times if you want. The thermometer will automatically switch off after 60 seconds.
The normal body temperature must be from 97.5°F to 98.9°F (36.4°C to 37.2°C). If it reaches 100.4°F (38°C) or higher, it is an indication that you have a fever and that’s when you have to proceed in taking over-the-counter medication such as Advil. The most important thing in your home first aid kit must be a digital infrared thermometer that needs to be in contact with your skin to determine the temperature than handheld infrared thermometers which still require individual validation according to a study.
The good news is that you don’t have to let out a single sweat because you can find the most accurate digital infrared thermometer on Amazon. It features an updated high-accuracy sensor probe and the latest smart chip that will give every parent the most reliable fever tracking at home.
Responds to Health Problems Immediately
The important thing about getting the best first aid kit is that you always have a helping hand when you encounter minor health problems or injuries. You can’t expect all the time that someone is at home with you, so even if you are alone, as long as you know where you can locate the medical kit, you will always have something to lean on. It is essential that you also inform the people living with you about the location of first aid kit supplies, for them to know where to get them in case of any emergency.
You can place the medical kit in a place accessible or reachable even by the children in your home. Just don’t forget to separate the supplies that are consumable or dangerous for them to use without guidance. As early as now, these children must know the usage of supplies in a medical kit so they will know which of these things they are allowed to use or consume.
Protect Everyone Around
When you have first aid kit items you are not only protecting yourself and your family but also the community you belong to. In case emergencies arise in your neighborhood, and they need urgent help, the use of a medical kit can save someone’s life. You don’t have to let everyone know about your medical kit but if they see how beneficial it is for urgent treatment, it will serve as a wake-up call for them to get one too.
The most common community emergency is injury from falling objects, most especially during a storm because the strong wind will often lead to falling trees and other debris. When a person is injured during this time, he or she may experience cuts and you can only stop the bleeding if you have the right equipment and medicine with you. It is time that you make it a habit to lend a helping hand to others when an accident occurs because we are talking about precious lives here and nothing is more important than that.
Avoid Blood Loss
We only have enough blood inside our body so when an accident happens and this involves blood loss, it is important that you know how to make it stop. Every second that the blood flows out is a big risk to the life of the victim. Blood loss will often result in brain hemorrhage because the main function of the blood in the body is to carry the oxygen and nutrients to your organs, when the blood is not enough, your body will run out of oxygen too.
But if you have first aid kit items and you know how to use them, you will be able to stop the bleeding right away. When you apply pressure on the wound, make sure you are using a clean cloth, with your hands wrapped with gloves to avoid infection. Continue adding pressure not until the bleeding has stopped.
Time is Precious
You will never appreciate the importance of time not until there is an emergency that needs urgent help and attention. Just like the examples given above, everything that a person loses after an accident must be catered to so that his situation will not worsen. Having a medical kit that you can turn to every time people are in danger is everything that you need to save a person’s life. Time is really precious and if you neglect to give first aid treatment to an injured person because you don’t have the right supplies with you, it will only result in further damage that is life-threatening.
Conclusion
You can only consider a home safe if you have the right equipment that will save you from any emergencies. Because no matter how well-built and well-organized the things in your home, if accidents happen, it is only the medical kit that you need the most and nothing more!
Having a medical kit gives you enough confidence to take on everything you want to do. Also, if you are interested in building your self-esteem, you can learn all the useful tips from famous people here.