While bumps, bruises, and scrapes can happen year-round (especially for those of you who ski and such!), summer seems to be the time that lots of injuries take place. After all, we're barbecuing (burns), hiking (twisted ankles), and gardening (insect stings) - all that activity during the warmer weather and longer days means much more potential for First Aid kits to be needed.
When was the last time you re-stocked the First Aid kits in your home, office, and vehicles? (You do have one in each spot, right?) If your spring cleaning from a few months ago didn't lead you to it, now is the time to get cracking on those kits. If you already have one in each place, check the expiration dates of any medications and other perishable items in the kit, and replace any bandages whose packages have been damaged to preserve their sterile quality.
Don't have a kit yet, or need to grab one for your car or home? You can pick up one with most of the goods you need for an affordable rate (the one shown here is about $20 at Target). If you have a few minutes to pick up items at the drugstore though, you can build your own kit quickly and affordably as well. If need be, your kit can even be in an old purse or large Ziploc bag.
Once you've decided on a container for the supplies, take this list with you and stock up in one fell swoop. I'm going to mark the quantities you'd need to create kits for your home and one vehicle; just adjust the numbers as necessary for your family.
- Band-Aids of various sizes (one box of each size or a mixed box should give you plenty for two kits)
- Soap - 2 bars (check the travel size aisle for these)
- Antibacterial gel or foam - 2 (need I say travel size again?)
- Triple-antibiotic ointment -2 (we got this at Costco in a two-pack)
- Hydrocortisone cream -2 (Costco had a multipack so we are well stocked!)
- Sterile gauze pads (again, one box should cover two kits)
- Adhesive tape - 2 rolls
- Tweezers - 2
- Washcloths (pick up a pack of baby washcloths, you can get 6 or 8 and they will roll up small)
- Cold packs (check for a multipack)
- Motrin, Tylenol (I grab adult versions on the travel size aisle; don't forget to buy children's versions if you have kids or young visitors!)
- Oral antihistamine (again, travel sizes work great)
- Rubbing alcohol - 2 small bottles or pre-packaged wipes
- Digital thermometer - 2
Remember that if you have a baby or offer babysitting to friends with kids, you need to make adjustments to your First Aid kits to compensate for little ones. You may want to pick up "fun" Band-Aids for scraped knees; for some reason a character on a bandage makes the boo-boos better much faster. *chuckle*
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