Natural disasters occurred in nearly every major region of United States last year. That means you could face an emergency with little warning. Do you have the home medical supplies you need? We usually have sure-fire ways of getting medical attention. An ambulance is always a phone call away, right? Well, that depends. What if services are stretched past their limit during an emergency? Of course, we've all had a friend who respects our opinion enough to ask, "is this infected?" If you had a dime for all the times you leaned over and answered, "Looks fine," I bet you could afford to buy top-notch home medical supplies.
Unfortunately, most of us don't get paid for our spur-of-the-moment advice, and It's not an option to spend hundreds of dollars on home medical supplies that, honestly, we aren't sure we'll need. So why even bother?
Emergencies Happen
The fact is that there are going to be moments when you need home medical supplies. A tornado storms through your neighborhood. Your phone is dead and you have an asthma attack. How are you going to get an ambulance? These are the times you wish you would have thought ahead. Do you want to risk your or your family's safety? Of course not. Home medical supplies are necessary. Luckily, there are cost-effective ways to compile an effective kit.
What Home Medical Supplies Do You Need?
Tailor your medical kit to meet your needs. You are a person with unique needs, and your kit has to reflect that fact. If you have diabetes, you need glucose monitoring supplies, test strips, insulin, and more, depending on your needs.If you have athsma, you'll need a backup inhaler and a protective mask to prevent inhalation of smoke. Research emergency precautions related to your illnesses and plan accordingly. Scrapes and bruises are no fun, but we need to be thinking about issues that can lead to disease or death.
Here are a few issues that are common to people in emergency situations:
Wounds:
Wounds are what we think of first when we imagine an emergency. A wound can be anything from a sprained ankle to a deadly cut. The odds you'll need to treat a wound at some point are high. A peaceful afternoon can turn into an emergency in the blink of an eye. Because wounds are so wide-ranging, it is important to prepare with a few items that have numerous uses.
Supplies for wounds:
Sterile Gauze - cheap, universal, and designed to stop bleeding.
Isopropyl Alcohol - low-cost, disinfects and sterilizes wounds.
Benadryl - treats allergic reactions, cough, nausea, and vomiting.
Hydrocortisone - treats allergic reactions and rashes(poison ivy, etc.)
Tylenol - treats pain, fever, sprains and swelling, and muscle pain.
Triple Antibiotic - Used after cleaning wounds, treats infected wounds.
Band-Aids and Medical Tape - used to cover wounds and prevent further infection.
Straps - Holds joints in place, extremely cheap and versatile.
Infection and Disease:
Although it is unlikely, there is a chance that an emergency leaves us out of the reach of health-care professionals. This can even happen in our own homes. Natural disasters can leave healthcare facilities in ruin, medics stretched thin between thousands of patients, and people injured or isolated.
Blunt-trauma and physical wounds are usually the first things that put us in danger, but treating wounds is only the first step; infectious disease comes quickly, beginning to spread days after a disaster happens.
Upper Respiratory Infections (URIs) are often first to come, and they spread quickly. URIs come in the harmless form of colds, laryngitis, or a sore throat, but develop quickly and are a leading cause of death after disasters.
Below are some things you should add to your home medical kit to combat these issues without professional medical intervention.
Supplies for URIs:
Mucus Relief Medicine - great for URIs, breaks down infection in the lungs.
Salt - drinking salt water thins mucus and clears nasal passages.
Honey - eliminates bacteria and helps to heal a cough.
Diarrhea:
Diarrhea, caused by bacteria and viruses, can often last for days and is sometimes life-threatening. People experiencing diarrhea can experience stomach issues, lethargy, achy muscles, and fever. If you're faced with diarrhea, do your best to rest, stay hydrated, and eat foods such as crackers and bread.
Supplies for diarrhea:
Ibuprofen - treats achy muscles and alleviates fever.
Crackers - bland and easy to digest, keeps your stomach at bay and allows recovery.
Things to Consider:
Preexisting Conditions
There are a couple things that you need to do if you have a preexisting condition:
1. Make sure you have a weeks worth of medicine.
This one goes without saying, but consider the possibility of isolation for a few days. You don't want to worry about medication while battling other life-threatening circumstances.
2. Make sure you have effective, easy-to-use equipment
Any needed equipment to monitor your condition should be in your home medical supplies. If you have larger equipment that cannot fit into a pack, make sure to place it near your medical pack. There are often lightweight, affordable products that are effective for use in a home medical kit. For example, some no-coding test strips for people with diabetes are lightweight, have long expiration dates, and fit perfectly in a compartmentalized kit.
You're probably thinking, "where am I going to put all of this stuff?"
Containers
Where will you be using the supplies? Are you backpacking through Europe? Climbing Mount Everest? Driving across the country with your kids? Most likely, your home medical supplies will be at, you guessed it, your home. In any case, you have to pack in a way that meets the needs of your situation. Something light, durable, waterproof, and accessible is always going to be your best bet.
Home Medical Supplies Are A Must
There's no question that it's important to prepare for disaster. It's a matter of common sense. If you look in the right places, all the supplies listed above is available for under $100.
Get out there and make the effort to prepare yourself, and feel free to contact us with any questions.
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On to you
What questions do you have about medical kits? Let us know in the comments below and we'll be happy to help!
-Marc Kaplan
CEO, Save Rite Medical
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Created with a vision of helping customers in anyway possible, Save Rite Medical CEO, Marc Kaplan, created the company and has grown it to become the leading internet provider of medical supplies. Through valuable products to educational information, Save Rite Medical is your number 1 resource for medical supplies.
