It is a good idea to keep a first aid kit in all of the places that you regularly spend time. To be on the safe side, keep a first aid kit at home, at work, and in your car. Also, if you spend a great deal of time outdoors, it is a very good idea to keep a first aid kit in your backpack or satchel. You can purchase a complete first aid kit at most drug stores. However, it is quite easy to put one together on your own.
Typical first aid products include a disinfectant such as rubbing alcohol or swabs that have been soaked and packaged in rubbing alcohol. These are used to clean a wound before bandaging it. Other typical first aid products are adhesive bandages and gauze. These are used to cover and protect a wound after it has been cleaned.
It is also common for an over the counter pain medication to be included in first aid kits. You can easily purchase a wound disinfectant, bandages, and pain medication to make your own first aid kit. In fact, you might already have most of these first aid products at home and work.
Depending on the intended usage of the kit, it may include first aid products specific to the place where it will be used. First aid kits that are packaged for use on seafaring vessels, for example, often come with medication for seasickness. Kits that are packaged for people who will be working or traveling outside might include insect repellent, sunscreen, aloe vera to treat sunburn, and possibly even topical fluid for poison ivy.
Other common first aid products include tweezers, which are used to remove splinters or foreign objects from wounds, and rubber gloves, which are used to protect the person administering first aid. Rubber gloves also help to keep a wound clean while it is being treated and dressed. First aid kits might also include a small flashlight to be used if there is no other light source while the first aid is being administered, a lighter which can be used to sterilize metal tweezers, and a thermometer which can be used to check for a fever. In the event that hypothermia is suspected, a thermometer can also be used to make sure that someone's body temperature is not too low. First aid kits that are outfitted to care for hypothermia often include thin but warm blankets.
