Home self-care

Check at least once a year to make sure you have all the basic supplies.

• Adhesive bandage strips in assorted sizes
• Butterfly-shaped bandages for closing cuts
• Elastic bandages, both two and three inches wide, for wrapping sprained ankles or wrists or for supporting and putting pressure on injured, swollen or sore knees
• Adhesive tape (one roll)
• Sterile gauze pads, two and four inches wide, for cleaning cuts and scrapes and covering larger wounds
• Paper tape that pulls off painlessly to hold gauze pads in place
• Eye-rinse cup
• Scissors
• Two pair of tweezers: a blunt-tipped pair for such things as removing an object from a child’s nose and a pair with pointed ends for removing splinters

Check expiration dates of the following items once a year.

• Antiseptic ointment
• Antihistamine tablets for allergic reactions
• Acetaminophen (Tylenol®) for fever, pain, mild burns and stings
• Syrup of ipecac to induce vomiting
• Calamine lotion for itching

• Antiseptic soap to clean wounds
• Ice pack, either the kind that holds ice cubes or is kept in the freezer
• Disposable gloves
• Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) mask
• Thermometer
• Penlight for examining sore throats
• Heating pad for treating sore or tense muscles
• Cold-mist vaporizer for relieving the congestion of colds and coughs

Post telephone numbers for family doctors and the local poison-control emergency numbers near the telephone. You also will want to keep the following additional information within easy reach.

• Medical and self-care reference books
• List of allergies for each member of your family
• List of all prescription and nonprescription medications taken by each member of your family
• Signed medical consent forms for each member of your family, which will allow someone to authorize treatment if they are not able to give consent