Body · First aid basics
Stocking a first-aid kit
Keep one kit at home and one in the car. Bandages, gauze, tape, antibiotic ointment, gloves, pain relievers, your own medicines, and emergency numbers. Check it a couple of times a year.
Do it like this
- Buy a kit or build one. Keep one at home and one in your car. Source: Red Cross
- Stock the basics: assorted adhesive bandages, compress dressings, adhesive tape, antibiotic ointment and hydrocortisone packets. Source: Red Cross
- Add nonlatex gloves, roller gauze, pain relievers, a small flashlight and your personal medicines. Source: Mayo Clinic
- Write down emergency numbers, including Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222. Source: Mayo Clinic
- Check it regularly and replace anything used or expired. Source: Mayo Clinic
Watch out Store kits where you can reach them fast, but out of reach of young children. Source: Mayo Clinic
If it doesn't work
- Can't find what you need when it counts? Check the kit regularly, test the flashlight batteries, and mark the date you last used it. Source: Mayo Clinic
- Someone swallowed something they shouldn't have? Contact Poison Control online or at 1-800-222-1222. Source: Poison Control
- Injury looks serious? Skip the kit and call 911. Source: 911.gov
Good to know
Take a class
Mayo Clinic suggests a first-aid course through the American Red Cross. Source: Mayo Clinic
Poison Control online
You can get help online or by calling 1-800-222-1222. Both are free and confidential. Source: Poison Control
Bigger emergencies
A disaster kit adds water (one gallon per person per day for several days), a flashlight and a whistle. Source: Ready.gov
Sources
- American Red Cross Anatomy of a first aid kit
- Mayo Clinic First-aid kits
- Ready.gov (FEMA) Build a kit
- Poison Control (National Capital Poison Center) Poison Control
Lesson B6.1 · Last checked October 2, 2026 against the sources listed.
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