Tag: emergency kit

Disrupted by a thief

Art of Womanhood

I rarely have anything stolen from me.  I can thank three factors.  Caution, luck, and until recently, not having anything of value to steal!  However, that changed recently.

I was at work, busily making a living, and someone decided to take advantage of that fact (and my inattention) by getting into my trunk.  My car hadn’t been locked that day.  My trunk is messy and not all that interesting, so the only thing convenient to grab was my emergency kit.

I learned a couple of things.  One, I rely on that kit quite a bit.

“Hey, do you have any glue?”

“Sure, it’s in my…. oh darn.”

“I need some duct tape.”

“No can do, not unless I restock.”

And so on.

As I was rebuilding the kit, I learned how disorganized the old one was, and realized most of the over the counter medications needed to be rotated anyway.

As I shopped, I had some fun imagining the thief opening the unassuming backpack.  What treasures are inside?  Electronics?  CDs?  Maybe medications?

Nope.  The first thing he’ll find is a big pack of Maxi pads.  They make great semi-sterile compression bandages.  And there are medications all right – aspirin, generic Benadryl, and some oh so exciting Dramamine.  Gauze, tape, glue, emergency candles, and more.

I learned a third thing by this experience.  You can put the different items of your emergency kit into gallon sized plastic bags, the kind that zip with a little plastic tab so they are easier to open and close.  Bandages can be in one, disinfectants in another, small tools in still a third, and so on.  things stay cleaner, more organized, and much easier to get to in an emergency.  I removed the outer packaging on the individual itemsBird of Paradise crop as well, which saved a great deal of space.

I also included a bottle of water, an ounce or so of beef jerky for protein, and some dried mangoes for quick energy.  The kit isn’t meant to sustain a person for days, but rather to get you home safely.  I sometimes have problems with low blood sugar, so having that small amount of provisions could make a big difference if I needed to function at my maximum.

Despite the expense, and the annoyance caused by this major disruption, I know that my kit is much more organized and complete than it was.  I’ve also changed where I park and I always lock my doors.

 

via Daily Prompt: Disrupt

Your strategy for an effective first aid kit

Healthy Living

I never buy commercial first aid kits.  They either contain too much junk I’ll never use, too little of what I will use, are too expensive, or all three at the same time!

I like inexpensive and effective.

Luckily, it’s not that hard to build a decent first aid kit without breaking the bank, having to go to EMT training, or sacrifice quality.

Start by identifying  your basic needs.  What does your kit need to treat?  Where are you going to carry it?  How tough does it need to be?  Who are you going to help with it, and for how long?  I have one kit for my trunk, another for my closet, and I carry basic necessities in my purse, sans case.

Once you know what you want to treat, who you are using it for, and where you are carrying it, break it down a little farther.

Basic medical needs include wound care, illness treatment, and protection against germs.

Therefore, you want to pick good things to clean a wound or irritated area with, like alcohol, peroxide, wet wipes, saline, etc.

You need gloves to protect your hands – nitrile is good to prevent latex allergy and you can get them cheaply at any drug store and even most dollar stores.

You need something to treat and cover wounds with, such as antibiotic ointment, gauze, tape, band aids, etc.

You need to be able to treat basic health issues – allergies, diarrhea, pain, inflammation, and nausea at a minimum.  Luckily, that’s easy and cheap to do.

You can safely ignore useless items like tiny band aids, itty-bitty alcohol wipes that dry out quickly and are useless anyway, or anything that comes in a quantity too tiny to use.  That’s what makes up half of the commercial first aid kits I’ve seen.

Finally, you need cutting implements for dealing with tape and gauze, as well as a tweezers and a good container to put everything in.  That container should be sturdy and organize things well.  I use a small backpack in my trunk and plastic tubs in my closet.  Tackle boxes and tool bags are good too.

Here are some suggested kit items for Car, Closet, and Pocket.  You will find that they are quite available at your local 99 cent only store, Dollar Tree, grocery store, and pharmacy.  Buy generics freely except for the Neosporin – that truly is better in the brand name.

 

Closet Kit

Isopropyl Alcohol

Hydrogen Peroxide

Hand sanitizer

Bottled water or saline

Gloves

Epsom Salts –  for foot soaks or as a laxative

Calcium based Antacid –  for both helping stomach trouble and for muscle cramps

Aspirin – anti-fever and pain treatment

Neosporin or similar ointment

Anti itch gel – I like Calamine lotion, and Benadryl anti-itch gel.

Allergy medicine – Benadryl or generic (good for treating allergies and as a sleep aid)

Other medicines for diarrhea, nausea, allergies, pain, etc

Band-aids, including butterfly bandages, 2 inch giant bandages, etc

Gauze – both squares and roll gauze

Tape – both medical and athletic, plus at least one Ace bandage

Finger splint

Scissors

Tweezers

A good, sharp knife

A flashlight for seeing dark areas of the body

Plastic tubs or tackle boxes to put it in

Car Kit

For your car, you can pack smaller versions of most of the above and put it in a day pack for easy carry.  Some bulky items can be left out or reduced.  I wouldn’t worry about the epsom salts, for example, but would replace them with a portable ice pack.  Focus more on wound care and cleaning items.  Rotate items regularly since everything is being exposed to extremes of temperature.

Pocket

An Altoids tin with a few aspirin, a couple allergy pills, some band aids, and a wet wipe or two is good for starters.  That with your pocket knife can go a long way.

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This has been a very basic overview of the beginnings of creating a first aid kit.  I wanted to give you a start, and if there’s interest I’ll go much more in depth in the future.

 

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