In Croatia, most of us still don’t have a serious first aid kit at home. Although there are no recent studies on households’ readiness with first aid kits, according to available data, a small number of households in Croatia have taken basic measures to prepare for providing first aid in case of accidents at home.
All of us have standardized first aid kits (in Croatia that is norm HRN 1112) in our cars, regulated by laws (Road Traffic Safety Law) with prescribed penalties (otherwise we wouldn’t have them at all). It’s a different story at home. Home medicine cabinets often contain expired drugs, old first aid materials that are no longer sterile, or are incomplete.
On the other hand, there is no real choice of ready-made home first aid kits on the market (there are quite expensive kits for occupational safety), and what is available is often overpriced or poorly assembled. However, there are exceptions, and recently one well-known retail chain introduced a small, multi-purpose first aid kit to the market, priced at only 5 Euro. Even professionals do not always agree on the content of a home first aid kit, but it generally consists of similar contents.
- Home first aid kit:
Current medicine therapy you use
Box of aspirin
Thermometer
Regularly check and replenish the kit as needed
Check the expiration date and replace expired products
First bandage 12 cm x 5 m with a pad 12 cm x 16 cm
First bandage 8 cm x 3 m with a pad 9 cm x 11 cm
Sterile hydrophilic gauze (10 x 10 cm)
Calico bandage 8 cm x 5 m
Calico bandage 4 cm x 5 m
Bottle of disinfectant
Bottle of hydrogen peroxide
Aluplast for burns 80 cm x 50 cm
Cold pack
Sterile gauze pad 5 cm x 5 cm, 16 layers
Sterile gauze pad 10 cm x 20 cm, 12 layers
Band-Aids 10 cm x 8 cm, 5 pieces
Self-adhesive tape 2.5 cm x 5 m
Triangular cloth 100 cm x 100 cm x 140 cm
Safety pins, 10 pieces
Packet of sanitary cotton
Scissors with rounded tip, 1 piece
Disposable gloves (PVC)
Rubber band for tightening
Metalized polyester foil 150 cm x 200 cm
Protective foil for artificial respiration
List of contents of the home first aid kit
Reminder for providing first aid
On the global market, there are general and specialized first aid kits like General home kit, travel and hiking, kit for the sea (boats), for burns, for traffic (car, motorcycle, or boat), etc.
So we will describe examples on those product as well.
Amog other things we are preparing review of the professional kits used by Emergency medical services, Croatian Mountain Rescue Service, Firefighters, Civil Protection and other emergency professionals.