How to Properly Stock and Maintain Your First Aid Kit

A first aid kit is an invaluable tool. Not only is it a legal requirement to have one in places of business, but it can also be useful in a wide variety of personal situations. It’s comforting to know that if someone gets injured, you have a way of treating them, either totally or just until professional medical help arrives.

However, it’s only useful so long as it’s properly maintained. With how infrequently some first aid kits might get used, it’s natural that some people might forget about this – but when an emergency strikes, you don’t want to be caught without what you need.

Stock Up Ahead of Time

You don’t want to find yourself in a situation where you’re in need of aid immediately but without the supplies to take care of the injured person. You should consistently check your first aid kit – whether something you use at home or at work – for supplies, and work to keep every element of it stocked up. It can be easy to assume that you have enough plasters, for example, but that confidence might mean that over time, you keep using them without checking your total supply amount. To avoid running dry at an inconvenient time, visit outlets like seton.co.uk and pick up a refill that can last you a good amount of time – even if that means topping up the first aid kit itself from a separate surplus.

Check Perishables

Certain elements of your first aid kit might not work as effectively over time. For example, when it comes to sanitising wipes or hand sanitiser itself, either of which you likely use for the vital work of keeping wounds clean, you might find that they become less effective once a certain date is passed over. If the wipes lose their moisture, they might not have much to offer in a situation where someone is injured.

Therefore, even if you’re in the habit of checking your first aid kit every time you use it, sometimes it’s important to look back over it even when you haven’t used it in a while – you never know when dates have elapsed.

Keep it Clean

If you do find yourself in a field of work that takes you outside regularly, it’s natural that this might also be the situation in your first aid kit gets used. That might then mean that it’s collecting a lot of grime and dirt over the course of its use. That’s natural, but it might eventually impact the quality of the care that you’re able to provide – even to the point of being more detrimental than beneficial.

This might also involve going through the contents of your first aid kit and checking if anything is dirty. Remember, avoiding a situation where you’re causing an infection is paramount. Therefore, even if you have to replace some of the contents while you’re cleaning the kit, it is still a worthwhile step in ensuring that the first aid kit continues to be effective.