If you are blessed to not have a chronic
illnesses or in need of daily medication,
your kit will be more condensed.
It should include the following:
• If you have children with you, make sure
you have pain relievers and antihistamines
that are age-appropriate, as well as a
syringe (not one with a needle attached;
just the syringe part can be used for
administering medication to children, as
well as washing out deep wounds).
• You should also have aspirin or
non-aspirin pain relievers, anti-diarrhea
medication, antacids, benadryl and
laxatives in your kit.
•Cuts from flying glass and other ground
debris after a storm are the number one
cause of injury during and after a
hurricane. Make sure everyone in a
damaged area always wears sturdy boots
or shoes that cover the whole foot. Work
gloves are a huge bonus as well, but
whether you want to keep those in your
medical kit is up to you.
• Include sterile bandages, gauzes and
adhesive bandages: 20 adhesive bandages,
various sizes including 5 x 9 sterile dressings,
one conforming roller gauze bandage, two
triangular bandages, two 3 x 3 sterile gauze
pads, two 4 x 4 sterile gauze pads, one roll of
3-inch cohesive bandage, Ace bandages for
wrapping bigger injuries and a clean,
twin-sized plain cotton bed sheet to use for
extensive bandaging or for a temporary sling.
They fold up nicely in the bottom of a bag and
can be kept in a gallon-sized, sealable plastic
storage bag.
• Also include hand wipes or waterless
alcohol-based hand sanitizer, antiseptic
wipes, large medical grade nonlatex gloves,
adhesive tape (2-inch width), antibacterial
ointment, break-apart cold packs that don’t
need to be frozen, one regular pair of small
scissors, one pair of medical shears (they cut
cloth, seatbelts and other very heavy
material), tweezers and CPR breathing barrier.
You should also have at least two bottles of
hydrogen peroxide and at least one bottle of
medicinal alcohol. Eyewash is a good idea as
well.
Make sure all family
members on oxygen have
backup supplies and you
have a generator at home.