Came up in this thread: Naked bleeding man on your porch at midnight: Let him in?
Yup, both in the house and in the car. The car one is a lot smaller than the home kit. I got the home kit at a gun show a long time ago and it’s basically a mobile trauma kit, so it’s pretty huge and contains way more things than I’d know what to do with.
I also have a mini in my fishing bag.
I do many things for my community, and being a CERTinstructor is one of them.
I have extensive FA kits at home and in the cars.
Emergencies happen everyday, from small to large. Generally the best response is a fast response. The CERT program gives anyone the training and tools to assess and help yourself, your neighbors, or anyone with basic first aid, seach and rescue, light firefighting and more.
I would encourage anyone over 18 to look for a CERT program in your county and get the free training that they offer. It will open your eyes, and even if you only use the training to help a family member, that’s worth something right there.
Naked guys on your porch are just a bounus!
Thanks for the poll. I think this is something everybody should have. If you have a home, you should have a decent first aid kit in your home. (If you’re homeless, you should have one in your backpack.) If you have a vehicle, you should have one in there.
The cost of first aid kits is very low relative to the scale of their potential utility on short notice. You needn’t be a chronic worrier, or accident-prone, for this to be a prudent small investment.
I have random first aid supplies in the house (um, basically some bandaids and some hydrogen peroxide, maybe), nothing that could be construed as a kit. Not even that in the vehicles. Oh, well, I’ve also never needed one.
Thanks for the link. Joining civic groups is not normally my cup of tea but that looks like a great and useful program.
How do they fit in with local fire fighters, police and other such professional groups? Don’t the professionals have a problem with amateurs messing around in emergencies?
I don’t have a “First Aid Kit” but I have most of the components in my house, and most are in one area (the bathroom cabinet).
My experience with First Aid kits is that they sit for years, only occasionally being opened at random to look for bigger band aids or the kids stealing the bandage scissors.
ETA: Here’s what some website said should be in it. Seems like a little overkill, but still, I have 80% of these things in my house anyway.
Nope. I have a medicine cabinet and that’s about it.
RE: Sateryn’s link
What the heck’s a tongue blade?
We have several: house, car and RV. In fact, we carry an emergency kit in both vehicles that includes blankets, heat packs, first aid kit, rope, flashlight, disposable camera, and other items.
Extensive kits both at home and at work. The truck has a trauma kit. The wife’s an RN, so I follow her directions in stocking and replenishing the kits.
Yes. In a kitchen cupboard.
It’s a little red box filled with ancient bandages, antiseptic cream, cotton wool and various other things.
When trying to do mouth-to-mouth, the tongue can get in the way. It’s used to cut it out of the mouth.
Not really, that was tongue in cheek.
FA kits in car and house, nothing major,though.
Yes, but it’s doesn’t have enough bandages to cover a naked bleeding man.
I have a very professional first aid kit purchased from a garage sale for dirt. It’s built into a medium size tool box that folds out in two directions. I thought it was a good idea to have with a kid around. We have used it mostly for practicing on stuffed animals and dissecting small dead creatures. Chances are the kit would never be present when needed. When the fish hook got in her finger, I ran over and pulled it out safely before she had time to get upset and cry. When I hit my hand with the chain saw, nothing was around except duct tape, which did a good temporary job by the way. I think of the first aid kit as a form of insurance to keep danger away.
…and in the boat.
Red Cross sells nice packages, which you can easily refill with your own bandaids, etc. as you use them.
Tongue blade = tongue depressor.
I have one in the house. I don’t have a car.
I have one at home and one in the car. I’m always surprised when I find out people don’t have at least the basics on hand.
Basically this ^ , minus the RN wife - for me it’s a sister-in-law.
Although the trauma kits for me are at work and in both mine and husband’s car. Been thinking about one for the house, but if we’re there, at least one car is in the driveway, so it doesn’t seem necessary yet.
I created and stocked the trauma kit and a separate basic first aid kit for work myself out of pocket - before I got there, they didn’t have ANYTHING. We’ve used it for everything from splinters to migraines to nosebleeds (none of which were mine) since I’ve been here, so I figure it’s a good investment on my part.
I’ve had at least one first aid kit with me constantly since I took my first lifeguarding classes at 14. I even take one on vacation with me.
The car has a basic first aid kit plus pocket CPR mask and space blanket. The home kit is a little more extensive because I originally put it together as a travel kit for Costa Rica. It also has a few extras that most people won’t have access to like lidocaine and suture material. I wish I had a kit as cool as one of the ancient surgeons at my hospital. He gave a lecture on the contents of his black bag that travels with him everywhere. He has thoracostomy tubes, endotracheal tubes, IV formulation morphine and benadryl, basic surgical instruments, and all sorts of other stuff. You could run a decent rescussitation out of this guy’s normal travel kit.