happyheathenmom
February 28th, 2005, 07:10 PM
A good first aid kit is more than just bandaids and triple anti-biotic ointment..
Here's a few good ideas, beyond just the bandaids and ointment (which should be in there too)
Oral or ear thermometer, one that works in 10 seconds is pretty good, and beeps.
Gauze, different sizes, and silk or paper tape made for bandaging up the gauze.
Ace bandages for sprains.
Tylenol, and ibuprofen. For high fevers, and pain, get on a six hour schedule, you can take one, three hous later take the other, then at six hours take whatever you took first. This is also a good way to bring down a toddler's fever. Use the syrup versions of tylenol and motrin for children (handy to have oral syringes, available at drugstores- squirt into the side of a child's mouth, a little at a time, also easy to measure exact amounts of the syrup) Follow the directions on the bottle for dosage amounts.
Electrolyte drinks for kids who aren't drinking enough (pedialyte)
Ipecac syrup to make a child vomit if he has drank something he shouldn't have (some times they don't recommend vomiting, if the label says "induce vomiting" that is when you give them the ipecac, othertimes they just recommend drinking milk, contact your family doc)
A one-way valve CPR mask. Availabe at your local red cross, usually not very expensive, sometimes they want like 3 bucks or so for it. Right now you can get a defib machine for personal use (that thing with the paddles that shocks the heart) but it's pretty expensive.
Taking a CPR class is a good idea though, contact your local hospital they usually know when classes are going on.
Flashlight for checking the eyes if a head injury is suspected. Watch the pupils, they get bigger without the flashlight, and smaller when the light is on them.
If you have an asthma sufferer in the home, it's also a good idea to keep a stethoscope around, to listen to their lungs. You don't really need one, but I use the one I use at work to listen to my kid's lungs to check for wheezing before and after a nebulizer treatment to make sure he sounds like he's breathing better. Many models are available in most medical supply stores, from around 10 bucks to hundreds of dollars. Mine is really good, and I got it for about 16 bucks.
Vicks vapor rub is handy for chest colds.
You can use vaseline (petroleum jelly) on minor burns, or if you have an aloe vera plant (I had one but it got infested with aphids) they're good for burns too.
Anti-itch lotion (Calamine, or the generic version) for mosquito bites
popsicle sticks and rolled gauze to make a make-shift splint til you get to the doc's office.
Phone numbers of your doc, poison control center, emergency numbers (in case 911 isn't available in your area), etc.
Those nifty ice-packs you squeeze to break the inner seal and get icy cold to apply to sprains til you get to the doc's office..
Of course there's more.. right now I have to give my kid a bath because he's in the bathroom yelling.. ROFL.. how many toddlers love their baths SO much they scream til they get it?? heh.. silly kid..
Here's a few good ideas, beyond just the bandaids and ointment (which should be in there too)
Oral or ear thermometer, one that works in 10 seconds is pretty good, and beeps.
Gauze, different sizes, and silk or paper tape made for bandaging up the gauze.
Ace bandages for sprains.
Tylenol, and ibuprofen. For high fevers, and pain, get on a six hour schedule, you can take one, three hous later take the other, then at six hours take whatever you took first. This is also a good way to bring down a toddler's fever. Use the syrup versions of tylenol and motrin for children (handy to have oral syringes, available at drugstores- squirt into the side of a child's mouth, a little at a time, also easy to measure exact amounts of the syrup) Follow the directions on the bottle for dosage amounts.
Electrolyte drinks for kids who aren't drinking enough (pedialyte)
Ipecac syrup to make a child vomit if he has drank something he shouldn't have (some times they don't recommend vomiting, if the label says "induce vomiting" that is when you give them the ipecac, othertimes they just recommend drinking milk, contact your family doc)
A one-way valve CPR mask. Availabe at your local red cross, usually not very expensive, sometimes they want like 3 bucks or so for it. Right now you can get a defib machine for personal use (that thing with the paddles that shocks the heart) but it's pretty expensive.
Taking a CPR class is a good idea though, contact your local hospital they usually know when classes are going on.
Flashlight for checking the eyes if a head injury is suspected. Watch the pupils, they get bigger without the flashlight, and smaller when the light is on them.
If you have an asthma sufferer in the home, it's also a good idea to keep a stethoscope around, to listen to their lungs. You don't really need one, but I use the one I use at work to listen to my kid's lungs to check for wheezing before and after a nebulizer treatment to make sure he sounds like he's breathing better. Many models are available in most medical supply stores, from around 10 bucks to hundreds of dollars. Mine is really good, and I got it for about 16 bucks.
Vicks vapor rub is handy for chest colds.
You can use vaseline (petroleum jelly) on minor burns, or if you have an aloe vera plant (I had one but it got infested with aphids) they're good for burns too.
Anti-itch lotion (Calamine, or the generic version) for mosquito bites
popsicle sticks and rolled gauze to make a make-shift splint til you get to the doc's office.
Phone numbers of your doc, poison control center, emergency numbers (in case 911 isn't available in your area), etc.
Those nifty ice-packs you squeeze to break the inner seal and get icy cold to apply to sprains til you get to the doc's office..
Of course there's more.. right now I have to give my kid a bath because he's in the bathroom yelling.. ROFL.. how many toddlers love their baths SO much they scream til they get it?? heh.. silly kid..