First aid kit

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First aid box is a collection of appliances and tools used to provide medical care. There is a wide variation in the contents of the first aid box based on the knowledge and experience of those who make it, the first aid requirement differs from the area where it can be used and the variation in laws or regulations in a particular area.

International standards for first aid kits are that they must be identified with ISO graphic symbols for first aid (of ISO 7010) which are the same white cross on a green background, although many kits do not adhere to these standards either because they are united by individuals or they precede the standard.

Video First aid kit

Format

First aid kits can be assembled in almost any type of container, and this will depend on whether they are commercially produced or assembled by an individual. Standard kits often come in durable plastic boxes, cloth bags or in cabinets mounted on walls. The type of container will vary depending on the destination, and the size varies from wallet size to large backpack.

It is recommended that all kits are in a clean, waterproof container to keep the contents safe and aseptic. The kit should also be checked regularly and recharged if any item is damaged or out of date.

Maps First aid kit

Appearance

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) sets the standard for the first aid box to be green, with a white cross, to make it easily recognizable by anyone who needs first aid.

ISO only supports the use of a green background and a white cross, and it has been adopted as a standard in many countries and regions, including the entire EU. First aid kits are sometimes marked (by individuals or organizations) with a red cross on a white background, but the use of this symbol by anyone except the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) or related agencies is illegal under the provisions of the First Geneva Convention, red cross as a protected symbol in all countries that sign it. One of the few exceptions is in North America, where despite passing the First Geneva Convention in 1864, and its ratification in the United States in 1881, Johnson & Johnson has been using the red cross as a mark on his product since 1887 and listed the symbol as a US trademark for drug and surgical plaster in 1905.

Some of the first aid kits may also feature Life Stars, usually associated with emergency medical services, but also used to indicate that the services that use them can offer the right maintenance point. Although not supported by ISO, a white cross in red back ground is also widely recognized as a first aid symbol. However, for very small medical institutions and domestic purposes, a white cross on a plain green background is preferred.

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First aid content

The commercially available first aid kits available through traditional retail routes are traditionally intended for the treatment of minor injuries only. Common contents include adhesive bandages, ordinary strength pain medicines, gauze and low grade disinfectants.

Special first aid kits are available for different areas, vehicles or activities, which may focus on the specific risks or concerns associated with the activity. For example, the first aid kit sold through a marine supply shop for use on watercraft may contain seasick medication.

Respiratory, Breathing and Circulation

First aid treats ABC as a good treatment base. For this reason, most modern commercial first aid kits (though not necessarily assembled at home) will contain an appropriate infection barrier to perform artificial respiration as part of cardiac pulmonary resuscitation, for example including:

• Pocket Mask
• Face shield

A sophisticated first aid kit can also contain items such as:

• Oropharyngeal respiratory tract
• Nasopharyngeal breathing line
• Mask valve pouch
• Manual aspirator or suction unit
• Sphygmomanometer (blood pressure cuff)
• Stethoscope

Some first aid kits, especially those used by first aid and emergency services, include bottle oxygen for resuscitation and therapy.

General Items

A common kit found in many homes may contain:

• Alcohol or non-alcoholic antiseptic tissue
• Bandaids
• Cotton Balls
• Cotton
• Iodine
• Bandages
• Hydrogen Peroxide
• Gauze
• Saline
• Dressing
• Wash your eyes

Injury trauma

Traumatic injuries, such as bleeding, fractures or burns, are usually the main focus of most first aid kits, with items such as bandages and pads found in most of all equipment.

• Adhesive bandages (band-aids, stickers attached) - can include those formed for specific body parts, such as knuckles
  • Moleskin - for blister prevention and treatment
• Dressing (sterile, applied directly to the wound)
  • Sterile eye pads
  • Sterile gauze
  • Sterile pads are non-compliant, contain non-stick teflon layer
  • Petrolatum gauze pads, used as an occlusive dressing (airtight) to suck chest wounds, as well as non-stick dressings
• Bandages (to secure bandages, not necessarily sterile)
  • Gauze roller bandages - absorbent, breathable, and often elastic
  • Elastic pads - used for sprains, and pressure bandages
  • Adhesives, elastic roller bandages (commonly called 'Vet wrap') - highly effective and durable pressure bandages, waterproof retaliation
  • The triangle band - used as a sling, tourniquets, to bind splints, and many other uses
• The butterfly closure strip - used like a seam to cover the wound, is usually only included for higher level responses as it can seal the infection on the unclean wound.
• Garine is used to clean wounds or wash foreign objects from the eyes Soap
• - used with water to clean superficial wounds after bleeding stopped
• An antiseptic syringe or spray to reduce the risk of infection in blisters or around the wound. The dirty wound should be cleaned so that the antiseptic is effective.
• Burn sauce, which is usually a sterile pad soaked in cooling gel
• Adhesive tape, hypoallergenic
• The hemostatic agent can be incorporated into the first aid kit, especially military or tactical equipment, to promote clotting for severe bleeding.

Personal protective equipment

Use of personal protective equipment or PPE varies according to the kit, depending on its use and anticipated risk of infection. Additional for artificial respiration is covered above, but other general PPE infection controls include:

• Disposable and disposable gloves to prevent cross infection
• Goggles or other eye protection
• Surgical mask or N95 mask to reduce the possibility of airborne infection (sometimes placed in the patient rather than the caregiver.To this end, the mask should not remove the respiratory valve)
• Apron

Instruments and supplies

• Trauma cuts for clothing cutting and general use
• Scissors are less useful but are often included
• Tweezers, to remove debris between others.
• Lighter to clean the tweezers or pliers, etc.
• Alcohol pads for sanitary equipment, or unbroken skin. This is sometimes used to remove wounds, but some training authorities advise against doing so because they can kill cells that bacteria can then eat
• Syringe irrigation - with the tip of the catheter to wipe the wound with sterile water, saline solution, or weak iodine solution. The fluid stream removes dirt particles and debris.
• Torch (also known as a flashlight)
• Package cold chemical instant action
• Hand sanitizer or antiseptic hand wipes
• Thermometer
• Room covers (lightweight plastic foil blankets, also known as "emergency blankets")
• Penlight
• Cotton
• Cotton, to apply antiseptic lotion.
• Safety pins, to install plaster.

Drugs

Drugs can be a controversial addition to first aid kits, especially if used for community members. It is, however, common for personal or family first aid kits to contain certain medications. Depending on the scope of practice, the main drug type is life-saving drugs, which may be common in first-aid boxes used by first aid givers paid or assigned to community members or employees, pain relievers, often found in private kits, but can also be found in the general provision and the last symptom relief drugs, which are commonly found only in personal kits.

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• Aspirin is primarily used for central medical chest pain as anti-platelet
• Autoinjector epinephrine (brand name Epipen) - often included in kits for use in wilderness and in places like summer camps, temporarily reduces airway swelling in case of anaphylactic shock. Note that epinephrine does not treat anaphylactic shock itself, only opening the airway to prevent suffocation and allow time for other treatments to be used or help to arrive. The effects of epinephrine (adrenaline) are short-lived, and swelling of the throat may return, requiring the use of additional epipens until other drugs may be affected, or more advanced airway methods (such as intubation) may be established.
Diphenhydramine (brand name Benadryl) - Used to treat or prevent anaphylactic shock. The best gift as soon as symptoms appear when anaphylactic shock is to come is suspected - Once the airway is restricted, oral medications can no longer be given until the airway returns clean, as after epiphin administration. The general recommendation for adults is to take two 25mg pills. Non-solid forms of the drug, such as liquid or strip dilution, can be absorbed more rapidly than tablets or capsules, and are therefore more effective in emergencies.

Pain relief

• Paracetamol (also known as Acetaminophen) is one of the most common painkillers, either as a tablet or a syrup
• An anti-inflammatory painkillers such as Ibuprofen, Naproxen or other NSAIDs can be used as part of a sprain and strain treatment
• Codeine is a painkiller and anti-diarrhea

Symptomatic Help

• Anti-diarrhea drugs such as Loperamide - especially important in remote or third locations in the world where dehydration caused by diarrhea is a major killer of children
• Oral rehydration salt
• Antihistamines, such as diphenhydramine
• Toxic treatment
  • Absorption, such as activated charcoal
  • Emetic to induce vomiting, such as ipecac syrup although the first aid guides now suggest not to cause vomiting.
• Odor Salt (ammonium carbonate)

Topical medicine

• Antiseptic/Disinfectant
  • An antiseptic liquid, a wet cloth or a spray- To clean and disinfect the wound. Usually benzalkonium chloride, which disinfects the wound with minimal sting or harm to the open tissue. It can also be used as an antibacterial sweep for people who provide assistance.
    • Povidone iodine is an antiseptic in liquid, swabstick, or towelette. Can be used in weak dilution of clean water to prepare irrigation solutions to clean wounds.
    • Hydrogen peroxide is often incorporated into the first aid kit at home, but it is a poor choice for disinfecting wounds - killing cells and delaying healing
  • Alcohol pads - sometimes inserted to disinfect an instrument or unbroken skin (eg before blister drying), or cleanse the skin before applying adhesive bandages. Alcohol should not be used on open wounds, because it kills the skin cells and delay healing.
  • An antiseptic ointment-to prevent infection of minor injuries, after cleansing. Usually not used in heavy bleeding wounds. Ointments usually contain one, two, or all three of the following antibacterial ingredients (containing all 3 commonly called 'three antibiotic ointments') Neomycin, Polymyxin B Sulphate or Bacitracin Zinc.
• Burns water-based gels that act as cooling agents and often include mild anesthesia such as lidocaine and, occasionally, antiseptics such as tea tree oil
• Anti-itching ointment
  • Hydrocortisone cream
  • the antihistamine cream contains diphenhydramine
  • Calamine lotion, for dermatitis.
• Anti-fungal cream
• Tinctures from benzoin - often in the form of an individually sealed swabstick or ampoule, protect the skin and aid adhesion of adhesive bandages, such as moleskin, bandaids, or wound closure ('butterfly' strips). Benzoin swabsticks are very vulnerable to leak and make a mess when stored in a portable first aid kit, the ampoule is a more durable choice. If using swabsticks, it is recommended to store them in a sealed zip lock bag.

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Enhanced use

In addition to regular use in first aid, many alternative uses can be an important consideration when selecting items for kits that can be used in the wilderness or survival situations. But the alternative can also be the use of additional kits with tools such as Survival kits and Mini survival kits.

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First aid kit in the Workplace

In the United States, Occupational Safety and Health (OSHA) requires all workplaces and workplaces to provide first aid equipment for use by injured employees. While providing regulations for some industries such as logging in general, the regulation is less specific to the content of the first aid kits. This is understandable, because the regulations cover all the ways of working, and different jobs have different types of injuries and different first aid requirements. However, in the non-mandatory section, OSHA regulations refer to the ANSI/ISEA Z308.1 Specification as the basis for suggesting the minimum contents of the first aid box. Another source of modern first aid kit information is the US Forest Service Specification 6170-6, which sets the content of several different sized devices, intended to serve different size groups.

In general, the type of first aid facility required at the workplace is determined by many factors, such as:

• the laws and regulations of the state or territory in which it is located;
• the type of industry concerned; for example, industries such as mining may have special industrial regulations detailing specific instructions;
• the types of hazards present in the workplace;
• number of employees at work;
• the number of different locations where the workplace is spread;
• its proximity to local services (doctors, hospitals, ambulances).

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Historic first aid kit

Since the understanding of first aid and life-saving measures has advanced, and the nature of public health risk has changed, the content of the first aid box has changed to reflect the prevailing understanding and conditions. For example, previous US Federal specifications for first aid kits include incision/suction-type snakebite kits and antiseptic mercurochrome. There are many historic components that are no longer used today, of course; some important examples follow. As explained in the article on snake bites, the historic snakebite device is no longer recommended. Mercurochrome was removed in 1998 by the US FDA from a generally recognized category safe due to concerns over mercury content. Another common item in the first aid kits at the beginning of the 20th century, picric acid gauze to treat burns, is now considered a dangerous material for forming an unstable and potentially explosive entanglement when in contact with metal. Examples of modern additions include CPR face shields and specific body fluid barriers that are included in modern kits, to assist CPR and to help prevent the spread of blood-borne pathogens such as HIV.

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See also

• First aid
• Bag bug-out
• Medical bag
• Injuries

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References

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External links

• How to create first aid kit, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• The Anatomy of the Red Cross of the First Aid Kit

Source of the article : Wikipedia