What's In your First Aid Kit?
 
By Vice President Chris Schoon
May 12, 2021
 

What’s in your first aid kit? Do you have one? Does it have more than an assortment of band-aids?
Do you know where it is?
It is spring cleaning time and more time to be crawling around inside and outside with a chance of coming across sharp edges, splinters and biting/stinging critters.

The Basics: gloves/eye protection CPR pocket mask
Roller gauze 4/4 gauze
Medical tape 2 triangular bandages
Sam splint Trauma shears

If anyone in the family has a known allergy to the bees/wasps/hornets; make sure they have an epi-pen that has not expired. Any exposure with difficulty breathing, wheezing, and facial or tongue swelling; Call 911. One epi-pen injection may not be enough to relieve the inflammation.
Be careful around the weeds, be mindful of poison ivy or poison oak in the brush and your retaining wall beds. Even with long sleeves and gloves you can get a very itchy, painful and uncomfortable rash. And Please do not burn the poison ivy vines. That stuff is miserable in your eyes.
If you use any weed killers wear a mask and please don’t use in confined spaces without ventilation.
Sprucing up the shutters, fences, doors? Varnish and paint, paint thinners can be poison if enough is inhaled. Again have good ventilation.
The Rescue Squad offers basic first aid classes. You can do it online or in the classroom.
There is a hands - on skills testing to assure you have learned the techniques. See our web site at www.ahvrs.org for more information on classes.