One secret to managing the many kinds of stress that can come with being a caregiver is taking the steps to feel prepared. And while you can’t predict every accident, incident or disaster that might come your way, you can take the steps to make sure that you have a solid idea of the basics you might need by building out and maintaining an at-home first-aid kit for you and your family.
As part of our first SK Conversations, we got the chance to talk with all sorts of experts in the realm of caregiving. During our Healthy at Home panel, we caught up with Dr. Cara Natterson, pediatrician and best-selling author of The Care and Keeping of You and Decoding Boys, and Global Research & Development Leader, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc. Jenny Du-Soriano, who shared their pro-tips for building a first-aid kit for your home that’ll help you feel a bit more prepared for cuts, bruises, boo boos and more.
In between talking about the realities of 21st century caregiving — easy access to google (for better or worse!) or the wonders of telemedicine (a pediatrician on speed dial to reduce panic!) — Natterson and Du-Soriano gave us a glimpse at what their own family first-aid kits look like. From BAND-AID® Brand adhesive bandages of all shapes and sizes to keeping a few different cleansing options on deck to finding your trusty pair of tweezers, we compiled these professionally rec’d first-aid supplies to help you stay on top of your emergency response game (and get in the habit of checking your supplies regularly).
“You know, when every six months you change your batteries on your fire alarm thing which everyone should do, go look in your first aid kit,” Dr. Natterson told SheKnows. “Things expire in there so go take a peek and dig it out, especially, if you live in an area like I live in, like an earthquake area. My first aid kit is very much part of my earthquake supply kit — and we should be checking all of our home first aid resources pretty regularly.”
Whether you’ve got a first-aid kit you trust already or are new to assembling anything beyond a random box of bandages in your medicine cabinet, these products will help you stay ready so you don’t have to get ready.
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Bandage Scissors and Tweezers
A solid set of tweezers can be your best friend in case of splinters or ingrown hairs (or a stray eyebrow hair you want to pluck). This First-Aid Only pack comes with a pack of bandage scissors and the tweezers, which make it a two-fer for useful tools.
Neosporin
Keeping your cut clean, moisturized and covered are three major takeaways that Du-Soriano swore by when it comes to selecting products for your first-aid kit. Neosporin (this one with infection protection and maximum strength pain relief) is a great way to keep any wound protected and keep some of the pain at bay.
Assorted Sized BAND-AID® Brand adhesive bandages
Du-Soriano recommends having bandages of various sizes and shapes in your arsenal. You never know exactly what your next cut or scrape is going to look like or what (potentially inconvenient) place it’ll be in, but you can make sure that you have the appropriate size and shape bandage to keep it totally covered.
Basic Bar Soap
A simple basic product Natterson recommended keeping on hand: Bar soap! While there’s all sorts of cleansers that are definitely useful and worth keeping in-stock, a simple soap and water wash is always a good way to get started. Plus, if you’re doing first-aid and don’t have rubber gloves on hand, you’re going to want to wash up before handling anyone else’s broken skin.
Gauze Pads
In case you can’t cover your wound fully with one of your bandages, gauze pades with some tape can help keep the wound comfortably covered and safe.
Hurt-Free Medical Adhesive Paper Tape
A tape designed for skin (and designed not to hurt you on your way on or off) is a must if you’re using gauze or non-adhesive bandage forms of dressing.
Antiseptic
A antiseptic wash is a great tool for getting a wound clean and ready to be dressed. This “Hurt-Free” formula from Band-Aid is great for keeping cuts, scrapes and burns clean (without the sting).
Hydrogen Peroxide
An old reliable that you probably already have in your medicine cabinet, Hydrogen Peroxide is maybe not as sting-free as some of the other products but gets the cleaning job done.
Saline Solution
A saline solution wound wash is yet another cleaning option to keep on hand that’s sting-free and super gentle.
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