Nobody expects emergencies to happen, and most people would prefer to avoid injuries altogether. However, unfortunately these things are a fact of life, and can happen as much as you do not want them to. The best way to deal with the unexpected is to be well-prepared, and it is sensible and responsible to be especially well-prepared in your own home. These are some of the most common injuries that occur in the home that are important to be prepared for.
Common Household Injuries
Falls
When using ladders or high stools, the risk of falling is greatly increased. Falls can occur from missteps, the loss of balance, or even tripping. Clothing, furniture, toys, and anything on the floor also creates a tripping hazard, as does completely unavoidable elements in many homes, such as stairs or landings. Other common causes of falling injuries include slippery surfaces in the bathroom or kitchen.
Burns
Like with falling, caution can reduce the risk of burns, but there is no way to avoid the threat entirely. Of course, the kitchen is one of the highest-risk rooms for burns from cooking or from handling food or drink that has been heated to an unsafe temperature. The bathroom is also a high-risk zone, with hot water being used on a regular basis.
Cuts
Like most injuries, cuts have a wide range of seriousness and intensity, and can also have a wide ranges of causes in the home. While many cuts come from knives while cooking and preparing food, these injuries can also be incurred from letter openers, paper, or even sharp surfaces.
Important Household Medical Supplies
These are the items that any household first aid kit should contain.
Coverings
This category is extremely important for a number of common injuries including cuts and burns. The crucial items in this category include sterile dressing for burns, butterfly bandages, gauze bandage, medical and duct tape, an elastic bandage that can be wrapped around strains and sprains, butterfly and triangular bandages, moleskin, gauze with roller and pads, and various sizes of adhesive bandages.
Disinfecting Items
Infections are an unfortunately common complication of many injuries. Fortunately, there are ways to minimize the risk of this potentially very dangerous problem with items used for first aid disinfection including antiseptic wipes, disinfecting ointment (such as Neosporin), saline eyewash solution, and hand sanitizer for cleaning your hands.
Pain Relief
For anybody who has recently suffered an injury, this part of a first aid kit can seem like by far the most important. A standard pain relief medication like ibuprofen is advisable to include, as well as less common items such as cold packs and pain relief gel and ointments.
Tools
Many of these items require tools in order to utilize correctly. Important tools that should be included in a first aid kit include a pair of tweezers, some safety pins, pairs of scissors of various sizes, and a pair of gloves. The gloves should be non-latex because some people suffer allergies to the material.
Knowledge
Of course, none of these items are of much use without knowing how to use them properly. While being well-prepared with a well-stocked first aid kit with all of the important items can go a long way towards alleviating anxiety about injuries. However, knowing what to do in various emergency situations can go even further not only towards alleviating anxiety but also effectively dealing with situations as they arise. This is one of the reasons that a book like this one from the American Red Cross is extremely useful to have.
While there is no way to completely avoid injuries in the home, being prepared to deal with these situations if and when they do arise is the best way to deal with this unfortunate aspect of life.
