All about First Aid and First Aid Box(Day 1).

Daily Health: What do you know about First Aid or First Aid Box?

Welcome to Daily Health. Have you ever been in a situation where something happened e.g a wound or a cut and you needed to do something before going to a clinic or been in a situation where you needed to do something without having to go to the hospital, at least not immediately? I’m sure you have. This forms the basis of our new topic, First AID.  First aid is that health intervention you do to arrest a situation or prevent it from worsening before professional help arrives. There are many situations first aid becomes useful e.g injuries, poisoning, choking etc

Have you had any training in first AID?

First Aid Box

Let’s start at the basics. A first aid box. What is a first aid box? It is simply a box or other container in which important health or life saving items are kept. You don’t have to break a bank to have a first aid box. You can make one at home with simple materials like plastic, light wood, tin or metal container, for example old biscuit tins. Just make sure it is something water won’t spoil or rodents or cockroaches won’t have access to or spoil.

Next you have to label the box. Again you don’t have to be an artist, all you have to do is draw or write first aid box or #first aid kit very boldly on it, and you’re done! If you don’t want to go through all this stress you can simply buy one at a pharmacy. Do you have one at home? 

First Aid Kit Contents

Now let’s talk about the contents. There are many items you can put in a first aid box, from the simple to the not so simple. Some of these items include adhesive tape or plaster, cotton wool, small scissors, gauze, bandages, ointments, antiseptic solution, alcohol wipes, iodine, disposable gloves, paracetamol or aspirin for pain, a digital thermometer, cream for skin rash, cough medicine, ORS satchet.

All These should be available in a basic first aid box. You may also keep a blood pressure machine inside if you so wish. A first aid box may come in useful indoors or outdoors so you may consider having one in your car. Have you made or bought a first aid box? join me tomorrow as we discuss the usefulness of these contents