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Tuesday, July 18, 2017

Have you checked your first aid kit?



You've got a first aid kit, right? Good for you. Have you checked it lately?

You're first surprise may be that it's not where you thought it was. Things get moved. The person moving it may have not told the rest of the household the new location. It's possible that nobody knows where the kit is now located, including the person who moved it.

Is is fully stocked? Over time, even small withdrawals can deplete your kit. The next thing you know you are out of large band aids and the triple antibiotic is gone. When you are cut and bleeding is not the time to make that discovery.

Have your medications expired? Many medications are still good after their expiration date, but why take a chance? Check the dates and change them. I like to cycle out the meds from the van to the house where they'll get used and restock fresh in the van.

Maybe your medication needs have changed? For example, if you find someone in your household has developed a need for an epipen, keep at least one in your kit. I keep a whole separate c-pap kit in case something happens to mine.

Is your med kit up for the job? Those all-in-one kits you can get at the store are better than nothing. You would probably benefit from a kit put together especially for your needs. I use a plastic fishing tackle box. There's plenty of room for all kinds of goodies. They are also easy to arrange so that everything is easy to get to. You don't want to be struggling with an unfamiliar kit in an emergency. Seconds count.

So, just a heads up about something that's easy to forget about.

-Sixbears

6 comments:

  1. I haven't checked our kits in ages. We keep one at home and one in each vehicle (the vehicle kits are kept in trunk, exposed to high Texas summer temperatures).

    Thanks for the reminder.

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    1. You are welcome. It's probably past time to check them.

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  2. Good reminder to check my kit at home. I recently went for a bandage in our first aid kit at work and they were so old, they no longer had any stick.

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    1. I had a kit that came with a car I bought. None of those band aids stuck either and all the creams were dried up.

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  3. I set an Outlook (calendar application) reminder to audit BOB, GHB, first aid kit, ammo, documents on USB and SD card, periodically. At least once a month, one or more of them gets physically inspected, reviewed and updated where necessary. You must know what you have, where, and its operational condition. Prepared is not a casual thing. Planning, budget, execution and still time for a good life.

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    1. You are super organized. Good way to do it. Better than my methods.

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