Hi susannah, A very good question. I believe we should have a number of first aid kits and have them dedicated to certain roles. As you say we should also have the knowledge to apply them in a given situation. A home kit should be broken down into a number of parts. First would be normal first aid. That is cuts and scrapes and minor burns. It should also include disinfectant and topical antibiotic cream. You would use this on a daily basis for whatever needs arise. Secondly you should have more of a major trauma kit. I am not advocating having all the equipment that a full paramedic would carry but to have on hand in ONE PLACE and portable what you would need for major injury. A large laceration, arterial bleed, amputation, gunshot wound, airway compromise etc. This kit would remain in place until it was needed and never touched other than to replace any outdated items. If you have an EDC bag and a bug out bag it would be good to have a blow out kit plus a separate "scrape and blister" kit. A "blow out kit" is what you would have on you pretty much at all times to deal with a gunshot or stabbing wound... on yourself or someone else. It would contain the basics... a battle dressing, tournequit as well as celox or other similar blood clotting agent. This is not going to cure the problem but will buy you time and can save a life. Just a few thoughts.

Just a Bear, pretty much said, what I would.. I really like making mobile large handheld tool box health kits..

I have small little bags for everyday carry, plus kits for the van etc, but on the farm itself, I have five main mobile kits.. Peaple, House and Barn, Critter- House and Barn and the fifth is a birthing kit, having read what Justabear and thinking about it, I should put together a major injury kit, while there is a fair amount of cross over in the kits, there is not as much as you would think.. I do also have a medical cupboard and I keep a supply of extra's upstairs, like canes, walker, riser for the bathroom, gripes for the tub etc etc for when family comes to visit, I am always on the look out for different things in good condition at the farm sales, I want to be able to have everything needed to have a old fashioned basic "sick" room if required.

http://livingmydreamlifeonthefarm.wordpress.com/2011/09/24/making-mobile-health-kits/

Shouls just touch on the "sick room" example the bedroom furnishes are picked so they have no cloth, clean and simple lines that can be wiped down, lots of hard surfaces, no rugs, floors that can be easily wiped down, windows open for fresh air but also picked a room that if I really had to, that you could create a second "outer doorway" in front of the room itself for cleaning and prepping to go in and out of etc..

I like the idea of a sick room. I believe it would only be worthwhile in a larger fixed community. It will be a very different environment if the grid goes down and we have to rely on our own resources and those of us near us. We will not have the current resources related to diagnosis and treatment... nor the skill level or materiel that exists in hospitals etc. What that will mean is that we will have to adjust our thinking and expectations as to what can be honestly treated and accomplished. A sad thought but I believe a REAL reality.

It used to be that every home had its own and I think that if you really had to "step back in time" that way, that it would be a very good idea for each home to consider how they could in fact have one again.. but that's just my thinking on it.. I don't think for a second that we will be able to provide the level of care that folks now take for granted but within the core group of the folks that are planning on coming, we have more with both basic and wildreness medical training then without.

When I was stationed in Germany, it was LAW that every vehicle had a Standard Vehicle First Aide Kit. When I bought my first NEW car in Canada, I was shocked that it didn’t come with one. When I asked why there wasn’t one, the sales guy asked “why would there be?” Dah! Since I first started driving, many years ago, I have assisted in 3 vehicle accident, one was a multi car. Standard response for me was to park my car in a safe place, put on my vest and grab an emergency response kit that I had in the car. That consisted of a triangle, FAK, a break down crow bar, and fire extinguisher. Why? Just in case. Could/would you do the same. In Germany it is the law.

Lately I've started to wonder about what we should keep in our home First Aid kits. What do you keep in your First Aid kit? Do you have enough knowledge to be able to use it effectively?

Go to this you tube channel. Some good info on what to have in your medical preps

http://www.youtube.com/user/ThePatriotNurse?feature=g-all-u

Great responses, thank you.

Lately I've started to wonder about what we should keep in our home First Aid kits. What do you keep in your First Aid kit? Do you have enough knowledge to be able to use it effectively?

Go to this you tube channel. Some good info on what to have in your medical preps

http://www.youtube.com/user/ThePatriotNurse?feature=g-all-u

I started watching her last year, She's a hoot. Very informative lady, highly recomended.

I have a shoebox sized rubbermaid container we take with us on trips and it is the one I use the most at home.
In the basement, I have a larger rubbermaid container with a more extensive variety. I made that one up after draining my lil one (I sliced my leg open in March I think it was, tiling a floor. Knife gashed my leg). I used up all the bandages and gauze in about 4 days. So much for being prepared!
So, I made a larger kit with over 200 bandages (various sizes), various tensors, alcohol, peroxide, cotton balls, scissors, tylenol, advil, vicks vapo rub, Pine sap cough syrup (I swear by it!), ice packs, heat packs, couple of liters of water, facecloths, papertowel, baby wipes and a liter of extra virgin olive oil (great for lots of stuff!!). For the most part, my kit is filled with stuff from the buck store with a few things from Army surplus and then the ever dreaded WalMart (a necessary evil).
I also have a couple of garbage bags and sealable freezer bags in there for old bandages. Germs freak me out for the most part.

My wife and I each have a first aid kit in our bug out bags. I have a small one in my tac vest. We have larger ones in each vehicle and extensive first aid kits in our condo and our cabin. I even carry one in my saddle bags when I'm on my horse.

I do indeed have a home first aid kit (in fact, there's two. One in each bathroom) As well as an equivalent first aid kit in the car. I built them all myself, using a kit I found on the mountain equipment coop site as a guide for what should go in it, and shopping for contents at medical supply stores like what you'd find attached or near a hospital, sports clinic or university with a medical program. This lets you buy things in individual sizes or small lots instead of having to get a box (nitrile gloves being a great example. I need 3 pair per kit, not a box of 50 or 100)

http://www.mec.ca/AST/ShopMEC/HikingCamping/HealthSafety/FirstAidKits/PRD~5003-384/adventure-medical-backcountry-first-aid-kit.jsp

The above is the kit I based mine on. It retails for $91 but I put it together piecemeal for about $60, and I tweaked a few of the item counts to better match what I felt necessary. I also keep a stock of medications with the car kit and near the house kits in the medicine cabinets. Tylenol, Advil, Benadryl, Gravol, Immodium, Aspirin, Afterbite.

I also take the St.John's ambulance first aid course every other year, and the wilderness first aid course in the off years. It's designed for first aid when medical help isn't immediately available.

I do like that fold out first aide kit. Makes it a lot easier/quicker to see what you need.

I think it was on this forum a while ago but someone posted that you could buy a kit suitable for remote places that had everything you need for serious trauma.... question is... that myself for instance has only ever taken a regular first aid course offered through the local ambulance company. What if you want to learn more? Are there courses for the average joe to go and learn how to use the items in such a kit? I think back to last year I was up at the hunt camp and I had an accident with a chainsaw and I was very lucky that it didnt end up worse... I had a chainsaw cut into my leg and foot as it fell when running and I jumped back and still got bit. Luckily I opened our kit and did what I could but if it was more serious I would have been in big trouble and a long way from a hospital. I would like to get a bigger kit and learn how to use it. But i remember reading what was in the kit and had no idea what each item did...