Would you have the supplies you needed to stop a severe bleed? Do you know what household items you could use if someone was suffering from dehydration? What will you do if someone in the home has shortness of breath?
Short-term disasters can bring on a myriad of medical situations and they can occur very quickly. Because of the disaster, roads may be impassable, or in some cases, the hospitals may be at capacity and cannot take in any more patients. With that in mind, it is important to know what the most common medical emergencies are and prepare accordingly for them. In 2006, The National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS) released a 2006 Emergency Department Summary that gathered statistics of emergency department use, including the most common reasons adults and children sought medical care and treatment. Having medical supplies that could assist in these common medical emergencies would be proactive on your part.
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- Children fever
- Childhood earache
- Various injuries such as sprains, strains, broken bones
- Chest pain
- Abdominal pain
- Back pain
- Shortness of breath
In short-term disasters, prepare for water-related illnesses. This will be very common given the close proximity to contaminated water sources. In The Prepper’s Blueprint, it states, “The relationship between communicable diseases and disasters exist and merits special attention. When there is a short-term emergency, there is an increased number of hospital visits and admissions from common diarrhea-related diseases, acute respiratory infections, dermatitis, and other causes. These type of medical issues are due to those coming in direct contact with flood waters contaminated by oil, gasoline, or raw sewage. These contamination factors will cause irritation to skin and a host of other medical conditions.”
In longer-term disasters, burns, cuts, rashes and secondary infections will also be very common medical emergencies to prepare for. Folks, these are the disasters you will likely face and it is imperative that you prepare for this with proper medical supplies and knowledge.
I realize that there are a lot of medical conditions to think about. The best approach is to look at the basics and prepare for those. Many medical items can be used for multiple disasters, so take comfort in this and prepare accordingly.
Build the Ultimate 1 Year Medical Supply with These First Aid Basics
Experts suggest that each home have a basic medical supply that is unique to your family’s needs. Therefore, keep any preexisting conditions and allergies any family members may have, as well as the above list of the most common medical conditions that hospitals see. It is within your best interest to ensure that you have any and all necessary medications that require prescriptions before an emergency happens.We all have our fair share of band-aids and antibiotic ointment, but do you have medical supplies that can help with true medical emergencies? The following list is your basic medical preparations broken into sections of the need to help in your organization.
Hygiene
- Liquid antibacterial hand soap – 20
- Disposable hand wipes – 20
- Antibacterial hand sanitizer – 20
- Feminine items – 12 packages
- Extra baby needs (diapers, wipes, pacifiers, bottles, medicine, etc.) – in quantity
- Exam gloves – 5 boxes
Essential Medical Tools
- Trauma shears
- Penlight or small flashlight
- Scalpel with extra blades
- Stethoscope
- Irrigation syringe
- Tweezers
- Thermometer
- Foam splint – 2 per family member
- Thermometer
Over-the-Counter Products
- Aspirin or non-aspirin pain reliever (for adults and children) – 5 bottles
- Stool softener – 5 bottles
- Electrolyte powder – 3 boxes
- Cold/flu medications – 2 boxes per family member
- Expectorant/decongestants – 3 per family member
- Hydrocortisone – 3
- Miconazole/anti-fungal – 3
- Syrup of Ipecac and activated charcoal – 2
- Eye care (e.g., contact lens case, cleansing solution, eye moisture drops) – 3 per family member
Natural Supplements
- Potassium iodide tablets – 1 box per family member
- Multivitamins
- Vitamin C
- Ginger
- Garlic
- Ginseng
- Colloidal silver
Wound Care
- Disinfectant (Betadine, isopropyl alcohol, iodine, hydrogen peroxide, etc.) – 2 per family member
- Band-aids – 3 large boxes in assorted sizes
- Antibiotic ointment – 5
- Instant cold and hot packs – 10
- 1 week of prescription medications – as many as you are able to get with your prescription
- Ace bandages – 10
- Non- stick gauze pads in assorted sizes (3×3 and 4×4) – 10 boxes
- Sterile roller bandages – 5
- Surgical sponges – 5
- Adhesive tape or duct tape – 5
- Steri-strips – 5
- Moleskin – 3
- Respirator masks – 4
- CPR micro shield – 1 per family member
- Suture kit – 3 per family member
- QuikClot® compression bandages – 2 per family member
- Tourniquet – 2
- Thermal Mylar blanket – 1 per family member
- Antibiotics
*These are your minimum quantities. If you are able to do so, prepare for more.
