Ever since we moved to our property we have been plagued with bad situations. Most of these situations occurred because the previous owners of our house did not keep up with the maintenance or found cheap (and wrong) ways to fix problems. Some of these issues were made worse by the fact that we were not prepared. Because of this we would like to slowly but surely build our preparedness arsenal. The first step for us is a functioning First Aid Kit.
Thankfully we don’t have kids so we’ve only been endangering ourselves by not having some of the items found in a First Aid Kit. I’m exaggerating I promise! We have a good number of items found in basic kits and if necessary we have fantastic health insurance and can go to the ER.
A Case ($19.39, Amazon)
This probably seems really basic but we’ll be thankful for it when we’ve cut ourselves cutting up a tree and we’re digging through the cabinet trying to find a band aid. This actually happened to me, don’t worry it was a hand saw!
My mom was a licensed daycare provider for many of my childhood years and had to have an extensive first aid kit. She had the genius idea to store everything in a tackle box! It’s not the cheapest method but easy to organize so this will be what we do.
Adhesive Tape
We already have a small roll which will be fine for now.
Gauze Pads (already have)
They are in that little first aid kit which might as well be called a bandage kit 🙄
**Ace Bandages **(already have)
For wrapping injuries
Bandage Scissors ($4.00, Walmart)
For cutting bandages
Tweezers
Splinters, debris and stingers
Thermometer($12.47, Amazon)
Triangular Bandage ($4.85, Walmart-comes with safety pins)
Sling, towel or tourniquet
Gloves (already have)
Activated Charcoal ($7.95, Walmart-1.2oz)
Food poisoning, intestinal illness, vomiting, diarrhea and toxin ingestion)
Cayenne Powder
Stops bleeding
Coconut Oil (already have)
I basically use this for any injury. Mosquito bite? Coconut oil. Got sunburn coconut oil. Cut your thumb open? Slap some coconut oil on that. Coconut oil is antiviral, antibacterial and antifungal so it’s pretty much good for everything
Witch Hazel (already have)
Anti-inflammatory, good for bruises
Raw Honey (already have)
Like coconut oil it is good as an antiseptic
Aloe Gel (already have)
This can be used for burns. We have a store bought gel which has chemicals in it. This is okay for now. Eventually I would like to keep some homemade stuff on hand but that has to be refrigerated or it goes bad quickly. So it is nice to have this on hand just in case, eventually this tube will go in the car kit.
Saline Wound Cleanser (already have)
This is just to help clear out any wound. I would like to eventually get a smaller container but this will do for now.
Ice Pack (already have)
We have a homemade rice ice pack that stays in the freezer full time. I would like to eventually get the kind you pop and it’s instantly cold for the car first aid kit and bug out bags.
Resalable Bags (already have)
For biological waste
Extras
I included a few extra things that I didn’t see on any First Aid lists but thought would be useful to have. Plus we already had them in the house so why not? Q tips, Nail Clippers and Self-Adhering Athletic Tape. Q tips are useful for all kinds of things. At the very least they can be used to spread ointments so the jar doesn’t get contaminated. You can never have too many nail clippers. The Athletic tape is specifically for me. I had surgery on my feet at 18 yrs old because I had juvenile bunions. They were pretty bad and limited my physical activities and my footwear severely. Even though the bunions are gone I have a screw in each foot and I have EXTREMELY high arches. This causes my feet to get sore more quickly than most and puts a lot of pressure on my big toe area (where I had the bunions). Sometimes it feels nice to wrap my feet after a really long day. If you decide to put together your own First Aid Kit make sure you account for your families personal medical needs!
(Look at those things!!)
And there you have it folks a functional BASIC first aid kit. This is not a SHTF scenario kit. It does not cover items to have in your house in case of illness. I did not include anything for allergic reactions as neither I nor my husband are allergic to anything. This is also not made with children in mind. Eventually we will build on this kit to to cover a SHTF scenario, children, pets and random people who come to our house. For now we want to be able to treat minor injuries on the homestead without too much trouble. Plus having it all together and organized will make it easier to tell when we need to stock up on something.
Let us know what you have in your All Natural First Aid kit! Have you used it? How'd it work? We are new to natural medicine and would love to hear your feedback!
What would you do with SBD? @greenacrehome/contest-what-would-you-do-with-usd50-sbd
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This Week on the Homestead 8.7.17
