Essential first aid kit

A carefully stocked first aid kit is a necessity in every home. Ready-made kits are now available, packaged for your home or car, for sports or for taking on holiday, but you can easily and cheaply make your own that is suitable for all these purposes, with the products you'll really use.

These essentials will ensure you are prepared for any minor injuries that happen around your home, although you may want to include additional items depending on your personal preferences and what you need to use regularly.

• Small pair of scissors
• Tweezers for removing splinters and other small objects such as insect stingers.
• Cotton wool
• Selection of different sized plasters
• Sterile dressings and bandages
• Safety pins
• Antiseptic solution such as TCP. This all-purpose liquid can be used for everything from cleaning cuts, grazes and stings to gargling with if you have a sore throat. It can also be used as a treatment for pimples- just dab on with cotton wool every four hours.
• Eye bath or drops to soothe dry, gritty or irritated eyes and wash out debris.
• Antihistimine tablets are staple items for hayfever sufferers, but can be useful to relieve itching and swelling from bites/stings and nettle rash as well as creams/lotions.
• Aspirin- to relieve pain and fever. For children you should keep a child-friendly version of a painkiller such as ibuprofen (e.g. Nurofen for children).
• Stomach settler- antacid tablets or chews can be used in adults and children over 6 for relieving indigestion, wind and upset stomachs.

Keeping it safe

Your first aid kit should be kept in a labelled container, placed in a dry spot and out of the reach of children. It is worth re-checking the contents every so often (a couple of times a year should be enough) to throw out medicines that have passed their use-by date and restock items that have been used up. It's awkward and ineffective trying to cover a bleeding papercut on your finger with a plaster the size of a bread slice, and it's always the practical-sized plasters that are used up first!

First aid guides

It can be helpful to keep a small, easy to use first aid book next to your first aid kit, to refer to as needed. A good book for families is Pocket First Aid by British Red Cross and St John's Ambulance.