Worldwide, hundreds of thousands of people lose their lives everyday. Unfortunately, a big chunk of these deaths is due to preventable causes. Motor accidents, falls, poisoning, exposure to mechanical forces, or fires etc. In situations like these, it is crucial to take preventive measures so you don’t end up fatally injured. However, you must also be on your feet if such a situation strikes.
It is always advised that you carry a first aid kit with you at all times, especially when you’re in your own vehicle. The same rule applies to when you’re out on a vacation or even at home. Having some medical essentials can be your saving grace during periods of medical emergencies.
Before buying any medication, ensure the quality of the product by going through the manufacturer’s quality control methods, compliances as well as the detailed information about the medication on its label. Medical suppliers and manufacturers like Vivaceutical clearly specify how qualified their products are. Products that you add into your kit must comply with the GMP and WHO quality standard.
Here are 7 such essentials that you should keep:
Clotting Gauze and Pads
In most situations, a fall, a motor accident or one involving any machinery will result in a physical wound or gash. Which in turn will bleed. Clotting gauze can help put the bleeding to a stop by speeding up the clotting process. While this does not equate to professional assistance, it can prevent your wound from bleeding out in excess. Apart from a gauze you should also have adhesive bandages, sterile eye pads, gauze roller bandages, butterfly closure strips and medical tape.
Wound Cleaning Supplies
Something as simple as sterile saline solution, antiseptic wipes or hydrogen peroxide can help clean out your wounds before you apply any ointment over it. You can even pile on sterile cotton swabs as they take up less space and are easier to transport. Apart from this, you can carry antiseptic creams to prevent your wounds from getting infected.
Support for Bone and Ligament Injury
With a broken bone or ligament, you need to provide constant support to ensure you don’t injure yourself any more than you already have. While you’ll require professional medical help, that might not be an option at all times. Instead, you should have some medical supplies stocked that can help you in this situation.
These include triangular bandages which can be used as a sling, ace bandages for moderate support, finger splints, flexible splints, and some safety pins to hold these in place.
Burn Gel
Small accidents at home or serious ones outside can lead to more than just wounds. Fires at home, at manufacturing sites or somewhere else can lead to serious burn injuries on your body. However, the best thing you can do in such a situation, before rushing to the hospital is applying a burn gel on your injury. While these gels are only for temporary effects on minor injuries, these should help you find relief while on your way to the emergency room.
Medications, Ointments and Creams
These include all pain killers, anti-inflammatories, anti-itch, anti-fungal medications that you must stock on. Basic medication like anti-fever or cough and cold medicine can ensure that you do not get extremely sick. Antifungals and antiseptics ensure that no open wound or gash gets infected. Apart from these, anti-histamines can help when you’re allergies start acting up. This medication can also help manage a runny & itchy nose, insect stings etc.
Epi-pen
An epi-pen is a last resort for extreme allergic reactions that you can stock up at your place or in your personal first aid kit. The epinephrine gets injected into the body and blocks the blood vessels fore the allergic response progresses. It’s best remembered that using an epi-pen is not a common sight and you do need a prescription to add this to your medical kit. If you don’t have any allergies or only mild ones, you don’t have to add this into your kit.
Prescription Medications
Apart from the medications we’ve specified above, having your prescribed medications with you at all times is crucial. Even when away from home, you should have atleast two doses of your medication. Even if you don’t require the medication on a regular basis, it can be required in an emergency situation.
While you start stocking up on these medications, make sure that they have been manufactured keeping all quality standards in mind. You can find the information about the manufacturer on the label of your medication and pay them (or their website) a visit.