1. First Aid Essentials Slideshow Pictures
2. First Aid Bandaging Injuries Slideshow Pictures
3. First Aid Sprains & Strains Slideshow Pictures

Medical Author:

Ron Fuerst, MD

Medical Editor:

Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD

Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD

Dr. Charles "Pat" Davis, MD, PhD, is a board certified Emergency Medicine doctor who currently practices as a consultant and staff member for hospitals. He has a PhD in Microbiology (UT at Austin), and the MD (Univ. Texas Medical Branch, Galveston). He is a Clinical Professor (retired) in the Division of Emergency Medicine, UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, and has been the Chief of Emergency Medicine at UT Medical Branch and at UTHSCSA with over 250 publications.

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You can buy all items for your first aid kits at a well-stocked drug store. Ask the pharmacist for help in selecting items.

Home kit: A household first aid kit should include these items:

• Adhesive tape
• Anesthetic spray (Bactine) or lotion (Calamine, Campho-Phenique) - for itching rashes and insect bites
• 4" x 4" sterile gauze pads - for covering and cleaning wounds, as a soft eye patch
• 2", 3", and 4" Ace bandages - for wrapping sprained or strained joints, for wrapping gauze on to wounds, for wrapping on splints
• Adhesive bandages (all sizes)
• Diphenhydramine (Benadryl) - oral antihistamine for allergic reactions, itching rashes. Avoid topical antihistamine creams because they may worsen the rash in some people.
• Exam gloves - for infection protection, and can be made into ice packs if filled with water and frozen
• Polysporin antibiotic cream - to apply to simple wounds
• Nonadhesive pads (Telfa) - for covering wounds and burns
• Pocket mask for CPR
• Resealable oven bag - as a container for contaminated articles, can become an ice pack
• Safety pins (large and small) - for splinter removal and for securing triangular bandage sling
• Scissors
• Triangular bandage - as a sling, towel, tourniquet
• Tweezers - for splinter or stinger or tick removal
• In case of a medical or trauma related emergency, a list of family member's medical history, medications, doctors, insurance company, and contact persons should be readily available.

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