Accidents happen quickly in the household. A child scrapes their knees while playing, or a family member cuts themselves on a piece of broken glass. These are just two scenarios where a well-maintained home medicine cabinet proves its necessity. It contains all the utensils for self-care of wounds, burns, and other minor injuries. In addition to dressing materials, this includes various medications. Find out here what you should keep on hand for emergencies in your own home emergency kit.
Which location is recommended for storage?
Most owners of a home medicine cabinet keep it in the kitchen or bathroom. These are arguably poor places, as medications can lose their effectiveness or their chemical composition can change due to humidity. A better storage location is the hallway, the utility room, or the bedroom. The home medicine cabinet prefers a cool, dry, and dark place.
Increased safety is required when children are in the house. Lockable cases or cabinets prevent unauthorized access by little ones. It is not enough to store the box in the upper part of a cupboard, as children can reach it by climbing.
First aid dressing material also available online
You can order first aid kits from the pharmacy and replenish expired materials there individually. Alternatively, you can obtain the boxes from selected specialist retailers or well-stocked online shops such as Engelbert-Strauss. Here you can find, among other things, filled emergency cases and refill boxes with the most important dressing and care materials, as well as suitable lockable medicine cabinets. Individual dressing materials and eye washes are also available. If you already have a medicine cabinet, fill it yourself with the necessary materials and medications, such as first aid dressing material.
Which medications belong in the medicine cabinet?
To be fully prepared, it is advisable to keep various medications in the home medicine cabinet.
The standard includes:
- Ointment for sunburn and insect bites,
- anti-inflammatory ointment,
- wound disinfectant,
- remedies for frequently occurring health complaints, such as cold sores and heartburn, circulatory stimulants,
- medications for fever and pain,
- cold and flu remedies,
- remedies for coughs, sore throats, and flu-like infections,
- medications for constipation and diarrhea,
- remedies for vomiting and nausea or flatulence,
- medications for teething problems,
- gels for the treatment of sports injuries,
- creams for burns,
- anti-itch ointments as well as
- medications specifically for children, such as nasal and ear drops, wound ointment, fever suppositories, as well as remedies for teething problems or flatulence.
Prescription medications do not belong in the home medicine cabinet, as they were prescribed by the doctor exclusively for the patient. This prevents other users from taking the medication. You should also not store veterinary medicines, chemicals, or cleaning agents in the first aid cabinet.
Which dressing and auxiliary materials belong in the first aid kit?
To treat injuries, you need the following materials:
- Wound and burn ointment,
- gel for sports injuries,
- dressing material, such as plasters, elastic bandages, gauze bandages, gauze compresses, absorbent cotton, as well as scissors,
- wound disinfectant,
- tweezers,
- blister plasters,
- triangular bandage,
- cold-warm compresses,
- disposable gloves,
- first aid instructions,
- tick tweezers and
- safety pins.
What is the dressing material suitable for?
- With the help of sterile compresses, you cover the wound without germs entering.
- To fix the compress, use the gauze bandages. You can obtain these in different widths. You also use these for applying ointment dressings.
- For first aid, use the pre-made dressing packs, which you can also obtain in various sizes.
- Adhesive tape is suitable for fastening bandages and compresses.
- Use quick wound dressings or plaster strips for quickly covering minor injuries.
- Absorbent cotton is suitable for padding bandages.
- Use the triangular bandage to form an arm sling.
- Those affected fix the bandage with several safety pins.
- The scissors are used for removing or cutting the dressing materials to size.
Write down the most important emergency numbers
To react quickly in an emergency, users should note the most important phone numbers on a list in the medicine cabinet. At the very top is the number for the emergency doctor. In addition, there are the phone numbers for dental or medical on-call services as well as the pharmacy emergency service. The first aid instructions help in stressful situations.
Important notes for use
It is recommended to check the contents of the home medicine cabinet once a year. In addition to completeness, the shelf life of materials and medications is important. Buy replacement materials for used items and dispose of old medications at the nearby pharmacy. The trash can is not suitable for this. For many patients, medication changes, and pregnant women and small children also require different medicines. Adapt the home medicine cabinet to current needs. Patients who take medication regularly should note the dosage instructions on the package and keep the package insert.
