5 Things You May Have Forgotten To Include In Your First Aid Kit

If you’re a competent and concerned parent or caregiver, you probably have a home first aid kit. It may be a collection you put together yourself or it may be a ready-made kit you bought for a fixed price. No matter which kind of first aid kit you have, it could be missing some important components. Does yours have a digital medical thermometer? What about a magnifying glass?

When you or someone you love is injured, ill or in pain, seconds can be critical. You don’t want to be left looking all over the house for the items necessary to make things better or at least stabilize the situation until help arrives.

Here are 5 things you may have forgotten to store in or near your first aid kit:

A flashlight. Depending on where you keep your kit and where an injury happens, some task lighting may be required to find the right treatment and treat your patient well. It’s also useful to store a flashlight near your first aid kit so you’ll always know where to find it if the power goes out.

A magnifying glass. Whether it’s to read the fine print on one of those tiny packets that come in ready-made first aid kits or to see a splinter in your child’s foot, there’s no substitute for a magnifying glass. Even people with good eyesight sometimes need a boost in these situations.

A digital medical thermometer. A fever may be the first sign of a serious illness, and it can help you determine when an injury is becoming infected. Plus, if you have to call for help, the 911 operator may ask if your loved one has a fever so they will know what actions to recommend that you take while waiting for paramedics to arrive.

Benadryl. Often included in store-bought first aid kits but forgotten in homemade kits, Benadryl or a similar antihistamine containing diphenhydramine is great for treating poison ivy and bee or insects strings. For those not severely allergic to a particular bite, sting or plant, Benadryl can help ease itching, swelling and pain.

Aloe Vera gel. The perfect treatment for minor sunburns and scrapes, Aloe Vera gel is usually left out of first aid kits in favor of antibiotic ointments – which don’t do much good if the skin isn’t broken. Even when you don’t know what’s causing a skin complaint, aloe Vera gel can ease symptoms and make your patient much happier.

If you think about it, you may realize that there are other things you and your family could need in a medical emergency – and it never hurts to be overprepared.

An Affordable Digital Health Thermometer

You can find most of these items at your local drugstore or on Walmart’s website. While browsing Walmart.com, have a look at the DualScan Health Check Ear & Forehead Digital Thermometer with Medication Reminder, an affordable digital health thermometer that can also be used to keep a watch on room temperature and check food and bottle milk temperature.

For fever, it’s easy to take the temperature of anyone in the family – even a child who doesn’t like to sit still. Results from this digital thermometer take about 1 second. And since you can measure on the forehead or in the ear, there’s a way to get a reading on every member of your family. When it’s an emergency and every moment counts, it’s good to know that taking a temp won’t take a long time.

For added benefit, this thermometer also has a medication reminder alarm, built-in flashlight (so you can mark one more thing off your first aid kit list), fever indicator and auto shutdown to conserve the battery.

Being a responsible person means having a first aid kit in your home so that when something happens, you’re prepared. But so many kits are missing critical components. Perhaps this list will cause you to rethink what’s in your kit and make changes to make it more complete. After all, it’s there for you and your family, and you want it to be as comprehensive – and therefore as useful to you – as possible.