First Aid Kits and their Importance

How prepared are you to face emergency situations? Do you think that you can confidently help people when they are faced with the most troublesome kind of situation? What are you most likely to do when you see a person who trips and falls and ends up with a bloodied face? How about if someone gets caught in a fire or when there is this person who suddenly gets an asthma attack and stops breathing? How will you revive him? All of these things can be done by you if you have a good and ample background in first aid training. Sure enough, accidents form part of the most common things that occur in this world.

They are not wished for but they do happen. No one can also predict the time and place that a mishap will take place. Simply put, being trained in administering first aid will somehow help out in lessening the occurrences of the most unwanted events and likewise increase the chances of saving lives. Much more, having undergone the first aid training will prepare you for this.

A Background on the Necessity of First Aid Kits

Simply put, first aid is a type of an urgent care that is immediately provided to the victims of accidents prior to the arrival of the trained medical people. The act itself includes the use and application of the simple yet rapid measures like that of putting on pressure as necessary, clearing the air passage, or that of dousing some chemical burns on the eyes and skin. While it is impossible to predict the occurrence of any of these mishaps, it is always better to prepare yourself and anticipate what may come.

It is never fun to be caught off guard and pay a high price due to negligence. Therefore, whether you are simply chilling out within the confines of your home or waiting for your turn to be given way in a heavy traffic condition, it is best to keep your senses alert.

As the cliche goes, prevention is better than cure. Meaning to say, every emergency situation that has to be cared for must be coupled with a first aid kit. This is a special pouch which you always have to bring with you. You should know its importance especially when emergency cases arise.

Types of First Aid Kit Materials

So what should comprise your first aid kit? Your bag must always be filled with bandages, antihistamine tablets, alcohol, painkillers, thermometer, adhesive bandages, surgical gloves, and disinfectant cream or spray. You may either collect them individually or purchase a ready to go emergency kit that is very much available in the stores. The bags vary according to size so it is your own call to choose one that will easily fit into your handbag, drawer, bathroom cabinet, or car luggage area. If you secure a reliable first aid kit, you can readily tend to those who need immediate medical attention and you raise your potential of saving lives.

There are three important categories that should be present in your first aid kit contents namely antiseptics, instruments and medicines. Antiseptics are used to cleanse and disinfect wounds and are ideal for cuts, insect bites and scrapes. Examples of antiseptics are alcohol solution, antibacterial ointments and hydrogen peroxide. Meanwhile, there are different over the counter medicines for various conditions. For instance, analgesic can help provide pain relief, while antihistamine can relieve skin discomfort as well. Decongestants can clear clogged or running nose to boot.

On the other hand, examples of instruments that should be present in your first aid kit contents include good, quality bandages in adhesive, elastic and triangular variants which come in different sizes to dress different types of wounds; gauze pads, adhesive tape, tweezers to remove splinters, non-latex or disposable latex gloves, soft-tipped scissors, breathing barrier when performing CPR, thermometer, eye patches, instant cold packs or ice bags, oral medicine syringe among others.

Moreover, make sure to update your first aid kit contents once a year to ensure that it is well stocked, the instruments are in good condition and that medicines do not fall beyond the expiry date. Regularly note the items that you use so you can easily replace them as well as to keep items from running out.

In addition, store your first aid kit contents in a clean, dry plastic container or tote bag and put them in a safe yet accessible place, in which you and the others can easily locate them should they be needed.

The Role of the First Aid Manual

Apart from being prepared with your kit and all, you should at all times take a look at the first aid manual to update yourself on how you should apply the treatment. There are times when you will panic and be confused when the time itself comes so it pays to continually check out what remedy is defined for every emergency case.

Your first aid training may have been years ago so it is always advisable to keep yourself well abreast of the new and modern techniques.

Learning First Aid Through First Aid Books

First aid is a very essential method for handling medical emergencies. There have been so many lives saved by the proper application of first aid on the scene of life-threatening situations. Face it, accidents and injuries don’t choose a time of day or place, they can happen anywhere and anytime. So are you ready to handle a medical emergency situation? Are you equipped with the knowledge to save a victim in front of you? Do you know what to do if you yourself get severe injuries?

If you answered no to all the questions, then it might be the right time to learn first aid. While the best way of acquiring first aid knowledge and first-hand training is through attending first aid courses, you can learn it through first aid books. If you don’t really have the time to go through a training course, then your best tool would be through the information that first aid books can provide you.

There are many first aid books available on the market today, and some even come complete with CDs that show the exact way of doing first aid methods. These types of first aid books with CDs can be your best choice, as it’s a “dual way” of learning –the book provides you with the knowledge, while the CD gives a comprehensive “vision” of how it’s correctly done.

On the other hand, there are also simple and easy-to-follow first aid books that tackles on common injuries at home. It discusses basic first aid, and gives its readers helpful information on how to handle some of the most common accidents and home emergencies. These books can serve as one’s guide for managing minor medical situations in the home, and are very useful.

Among the most common topics that first aid books discusses are handling situations like choking, bleeding, burns, scalds, shock, strains, sprain, danger response, and other basic first aid techniques. Some also discuss the most essential first aid supplies that you need to have in your home, as well as their importance and how to use them.

The helpful information contained in first aid books can be your first step to learning first aid, but it must be supplemented with hands-on training before you can really handle emergency first aid. There's still a big difference between taking training courses and getting the knowledge first-hand compared to just reading them. Nevertheless, first aid books are helpful and useful materials to learn some basic first aid.