Having a well-stocked first aid kit is always helpful, no matter the situation. You can further this by creating a custom first aid kit that ensures you can handle any emergency. No matter if you are preparing for a hiking trip or home emergencies, a first aid kit helps ensure safety. While purchasing a pre-packed kit is convenient, they may not have all the supplies you need. The process of building a custom kit takes time, but providing that extra assurance of safety is worth it. Before choosing your own kit and beginning to stock supplies, you must do some minor research.
What Goes In a Custom First Aid Kit?
The first step is to research common injuries based on the environment and medical conditions. You will gain an understanding of the usual hazards and what tools to stock your kit with. This research stage can also teach you how to treat injuries and identify potentially dangerous situations. For example, a kit for a hiking trip should be able to treat sprains and fractures and prevent infection. You can also see what premade kits usually contain and use those as a baseline.
Choosing a Case
One significant detail is actually the case for the first aid kit. Depending on where you need to store the first aid kit will determine whether you need a hard or soft sided case. A soft-sided bag is a good way to go if you are traveling light and don’t have space for a hard-sided plastic or metal case. However, if the kit is for home, office or automotive use, a hard-sided case may be the better option. Hard-sided kits are also easily to recognize, and will keep the supplies from being crushed or getting wet. Depending on the kit you choose and what you need it for, a first aid kit label, organizer, or pouch set might be convenient or necessary.
Stock with Supplies
When creating your own kit, shopping wholesale stores is your best option. Convenience stores may have a lot of the basic supplies, but not in the quantities you may need, and certainly not for the best prices. Bandages, antiseptics, cold packs, and pain relief are the supplies you want to have the largest supply of. These items can be used in almost every single first aid scenario.
Practice and Preparation
Running through common injury scenarios and making sure that you and anyone else who may be using the kit are familiar with its contents and first-aid practices can improve response time and treatment quality. It is also good to always think of ways you can improve your kit, especially after a scenario that you weren’t prepared for. Over time this will help you narrow down your case to the most important supplies.
In Summary
Building and maintaining a custom first aid kit and taking first aid courses are great ways to provide safety in hazardous situations.
