DIY Home First Aid Kit| Preparing for Sickness or Minor Emergency

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Having a well-stocked DIY Home First Aid Kit is such an important part of a home. Keep in mind that if conventional medications are not your thing a home medical/first aid kit could be stocked with more natural or herbal products. This is the beauty of a DIY First Aid Kit. It is customized to your family preferences and needs.

This post may contain Amazon Affiliate Links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. See my full disclosure at homemakingwithoutfear.com. Furthermore as an Amazon Associate, I may earn from qualifying purchases.

As a Registered Nurse, Momma & proponent of Natural Living, I fall in somewhere in the middle.

As a result, you will find BOTH conventional medications supplies but also herbs & essential oils on hand. I would like to share with you how I organize a DIY Home First Aid Kit. That way, I am always prepared for sickness or minor emergency.

It is my medical training but also in my personality to be prepared. As we go about our lives, naturally gain wisdom, it is important to turn this wisdom into action & share our knowledge with others.

Preparing for the future or potential emergencies is less about “prepping”, stockpiling and hoarding. Preparing is more about being good stewards of the tools, skills & wisdom God has provided in our lives. I would encourage you to look at your lives and ask yourself:

How can I be more prepared? How can I learn from others and use that knowledge to take care of my family NOW and in the future?

There is a PEACE in this. A comfort in preparing and knowing you have what you need (skills and supplies) in the short term and the long term.

IMPORTANT: Do things, prepare not out of FEAR but out of WISDOM.

“Wisdom is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her.”

Proverbs 3: 15

How to Prepare for Accidents, Illness or Medical Emergency| DIY Home First Aid Kit

1. What kinds of accidents/emergencies are you most likely to be exposed to?
2. What is the current health of your family? Any preexisting, chronic conditions or illness?
3. How fast are you able to access medical attention? Can an ambulance reach you quickly?

Do you adventure/recreate very little outside your home or regular routine? Are you in good baseline health?

• YES: Your risk of an accident or home emergency MAY be less than someone else.

• NO: You most likely need a more robust DIY Home First Aid Kit.

DIY First Aid Kit For MY family. . .

Living in rural NW Montana, outdoor recreation is a LARGE part of our lives. We hunt, fish, camp, hike, work outside in the elements a lot. We are 45 minutes from a small hospital with limited resources and over 2 hours from larger hospitals.

• It would take at least 30 minutes for emergency medical personnel to reach us our home . . . let alone if we were out adventuring somewhere. There is a fair amount of RISK in our everyday lifestyle.

Luckily we are all pretty healthy to start. We don’t have any anaphylactic allergies to worry about or chronic conditions.

• My husband does have high blood pressure and some slight cardiac damage so that is certainly something to consider. I keep 81mg baby aspirin in the top of my First Aid Kit for easy access in the event of sudden chest pain or possible heart attack concern.

Overall, I prefer to keep a pretty substantial Family First Aid Kit on hand. BUT this is not to take the place of Medical Attention. In fact, it is to avoid unnecessary doctor’s visits and provide basic first aid & illness care at HOME first.

Having medical supplies on hand can improve outcomes should we suffer an emergency AND have to travel long distances or wait a long time for medical attention.

If you live in a rural location & have any preexisting medical issues this is really something to think about.

Medical Scenarios to Prepare for when stocking your DIY Home First Aide Kit:

• Cardiac or Respiratory Arrest (CPR supplies)
• Hemorrhage (bleeding minor or major – quick clot, blood stop, pressure dressing & gauze bandages, tourniquet)
• Poisoning – accidental ingestion of a substance (Poison control contact info and anything to treat poisoning i.e. activated charcoal)
• Cuts, scraps, lacerations, burns or abrasions (cleansers, ointments, burn cream, ice packs, aloe vera and sterile bandages)
• Fracture Care/Stabilization (splints, ace wraps, ice packs, pain medication)
• Allergic Reaction (allergy medications, creams, inhalers, epi-pen)
• Nausea/Vomiting (anti-nausea or motions sickness meds, oral hydration solutions)
• Diarrhea/Constipation (anti-diarrheal meds, laxatives, stool softeners, enemas, oral rehydration solutions)
• Cold/Cough/Flu (cough meds, cough drops, nasal sprays, decongestants)
• Skin infection or Inflammation (antibacterial ointments, creams, skin cleansers)
• Pain (pain meds, pain rubs, ice packs, heat packs)

No Matter your situation:

Your MOST important tool in handling emergency or sickness at home cannot be found in your med kit – YOUR MOST IMPORTANT TOOL IS YOUR KNOWLEDGE & TRAINING.

If you have never done so, take a CPR & First Aid course. If you have young children or are around them make sure to take a course specifically for Children & Infants.

Here are three Sources for CPR/First Aid Training:

• Red Cross Training|First Aid, CPR training, Trauma, AED and so much more
• American Heart Association CPR & First Aid, Blood-borne Pathogens, Opioid Education
• National CPR Foundation – CPR & First Aide Courses (many online)

How to Organize a DIY Home First Aid Kit

This is not an exhaustive list of medications/supplies. Add or delete items to make this a First Aide Kit that is CUSTOM to YOUR family.

Add anything extra that YOUR family might need for any unique medical conditions.

Step 1: Make sure to have a container that can house everything you need.

Use totes, plastic dresser drawers – whatever you have to keep it organized.

Now That I’m a Mother’s YouTube channel featured this Plano Tackle Box . Her first Aid kit was organized so well that I decided to get the same one!

Step 2: Gather everything you think you may need to care for the medical situations you identified:

Start by going about your house and gathering up all the supplies that end up in bathrooms, shoved in kitchen cabinets, campers, backpacks, totes in the garage. Gather whatever you have. You don’t have to buy everything brand new. See what you already have first.

Make a list and purchase what you need. Local pharmacies, outdoor stores, Farm & Ranch stores believe it or not – even Amazon.com has a lot of options for Health & Medical Supplies.

Step 3: Sort Everything into categories:

Look at everything you have and decide how best to group items. Consider your bin/organizer space and decide what will fit best where.

• EXAMPLE: if wound care supplies are the most abundant item, give them the largest tray/bin in your organizer.

Group like/smaller items together.

Step 4: Arrange items into organized Container.

Keep in mind that items that you use the most should be most accessible.

Larger items will need larger bins.

Take items out of original packaging if it is too bulk. But be sure to label it well and keep any important information.

Step 5: Label your items:

Label the outside of the container. Label any individual trays. Even label each compartment.

CLEAR LABELS help you find what you need quickl. But ALSO let you easily see what is running low and needing replaced.

Step 6: Add Emergency Contact Information:

Take a peek inside my DIY Home First Aid Kit:

This post may contain Amazon Affiliate Links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. See my full disclosure at homemakingwithoutfear.com. Furthermore as an Amazon Associate, I may earn from qualifying purchases.

Top compartments:

• Wound Seal for Minor bleeding/wounds
• Safety Pins
• Sharpie & Pen
• Tongue Depressors
• Small Magnifying glass & Screwdriver
• Tweezer
• Fingernail Clipper
• Bayer Aspirin 81mg Low Dose

Top Bin: Emergency Supplies & Tools:

Optional Equipment if you are trained to use them:

• Otoscope
• Blood Pressure Cuff
• Stethoscope
• Pulse Oximeter
• Suture Set

** This would be a great location for an Epi-pen for quick easy access.

Tray 1: Cold/Cough & Allergy:

• Benadryl Cream
• Hydrocortisone Cream
• Children’s Chewable Benadryl
• Children’s Liquid Benadryl
• Benadryl Capsules (Diphenhydramine HCL)
• Sudafed
• Mucinex DM powder
• Homeopathic Sniffles, Sneezes or Stuffy nose & Sinus
• Histaminum Hyrochloricum Homeopathic Allergy Relief
• Zantac
• Zyrtec (Cetirizine HCL)
• Cough/Throat Drops
• Nasal Sprays
• Epinephrine Inhaler
• Albuterol Inhaler

** ADD EPIPEN HERE IF THERE IS A HISTORY OF ANAPHYLACTIC ALLERGIC REACTION.

Tray 2: Stomach & Pain

• Colace
• Senna-Kot S
• Immodium
• Antacids
• Motion Sickness Meds (ex: Dramamine, Bonine)
• Fleet Enema
• Glycerin Suppositories
• Arnica Tabs
• Children’s LIQ Tylenol
• Children’s LIQ Ibuprofen
• Tylenol & Ibuprofen Dose charts
• Oral syringes (specific dosing syringes come with children’s liquid)
• Infant’s Motrin
• Infant’s Tylenol
• Ibuprofen Tabs
• Tylenol Tabs

I strongly recommend adding Children’s ibuprofen and acetaminophen dosing charts to your first aide kit:

Healthcare for Children (an affiliate of Children’s Mercy) has very easy to read, printable dosing charts. Click button below to view and print.

Tray 3: Wound Care

• 2 inch roll gauze
• 1 inch tube gauze
• Mole skin
• 1/2 & 1/4 inch Steri-strips
• New Skin Liquid Bandage
• Scotch Single Use Super Glue
• Simply Saline Nasal Mist (used as wound irrigation)
• Nexcare 3M transparent Tape
• Nexcare 3M Paper Tape
• Electrical Tape
• 2×3 inch gauze pad
• 2 inch “Ace” Elastic Bandage
• 2 inch Coban or “vet wrap“
• alcohol prep pads
• Assorted Band-Aides

Tray 4: Ointments – Salves – Oils

• Super Lysine for cold Sores
• Orajel for mouth/canker Sores
• Sulfadiazine 1% (Silvadene Burn Cream)
• Marie Originals Homeopathic Insect Bite Spray
• Mountain Mel’s The AfterBurn Burn Relief with aloe
• Bausch & Lomb Eye Wash with eye cup
• Homeopathic Smile’s PRID Drawing Salve
• Clotrimazole 1% Antifungal Cream
• Terbinafine Hydrochloride Antifungal
• Colloidal Silver Spray
• Bacitracin Zinc Ointment
• Visine
• Lubricating Eye Drops
• Essential Oil Roller Bottles: Frankincense, On Guard, Lavender, Tea Tree, Oregano, Peppermint, Rescuer, Breathe (all doTerra brand)

Label your DIY Home First Aid Kit well:

I recommend labeling the outside of your kit with LARGE, CLEAR Labels. Be sure to include emergency contact information, any pertinent medical information AND your local Poison Control Number.

Better Yet! Download, customize & print your own labels for your DIY Home First Aid Kit.

I prefer to print my labels in color on vinyl sticker paper. This vinyl sticker paper is handy to have on hand for all kinds of projects. It works in a regular home printer & the ink does not run or fade. The labels are water resistant and wipeable. I even used them to organize my refrigerator!

https://homemakingwithoutfear.com/708/5-steps-10-tips-to-a-clean-organized-refrigerator/

DIY Home First Aid Kit: Storage & Restocking

Storage

Keep your Home First Aid Kit easily accessible for anyone who would need to use it. Make EXTRA sure that it is kept out of reach of children. A closet on a tall shelf would be ideal.

Do not store kit anywhere it could be exposed to extreme heat or cold.

Make sure any caregivers can locate the med kit, know how to use it and can easily access emergency contact information.

Refilling

Inventory all supplies/medications every couple months. Check for expired items and replenish any items that are running low.

I do keep an extra bulk bins of wound care (peroxide, alcohol, aloe vera), bandage supplies and bulk medications.

• EXAMPLE: I buy allergy nasal spray at Costco in packs of 5. I pull from a bulk bin to refill my First Aid Kit BEFORE I purchase new.

Additions to consider for your DIY Home First Aid Kit:

Herbal Remedies: Teas, Tinctures & Tonics:

Here is a great resource from Homesteading Family’s School of Traditional Skills. This course teaches herbalism and helps you stock your medicine cabinet for cold & Flu season.

Herbal Medicine Cabinet: Colds & Flus (Online Course)

Try this Recipe for My Immune Boosting Fire Cider

Oral Rehydration Solution (ORS):

Keep plenty of ingredients on hand to make ORS or keep a stock of commercial solutions.

• University of Virginia Recipes for Homemade Oral Rehydration Solutions
• Liquid IV
• Pedialyte

Essential Oils:

At the first sign of illness we reach for our Essential Oils.

Essential oils are super concentrated plant essences that has natural healing & immune boosting properties.

HERE are 5 Essential Oil Recipes to ALWAYS Keep on Hand:

• Sore Throat Spray: 2oz. Vodka plus 6 drops each of oregano, lemon & peppermint essential oils. Place in spray bottle and spritz on throat.
• Chest Rub: Olive oil, beeswax, coconut oil, crushed garlic, and Breathe essential oil blend. Rub on chest/back to help easy breathing and loosen mucus.
• Ear Ache Drops: 2 Tbsp garlic infused olive oil with 20 drops of lavender. Place on cotton ball and put in outer ear for pain relief.
• Air purification: 10 drops Tea Tree, 5 drops Lemon, 5 drops wild orange in a diffuser
• Immunity Roller ball: 1 oz carrier oil to 30 drops On Guard essential Oil Blend. Apply to bottoms of feet to boost immunity.

Do you need good quality essential oils for your DIY Home First Aid Kit?

Shop Essential Oils with me. Note as a doTerra Independent Wellness Advocate, I do earn a small commission for referrals and sales at no cost to you. I am available for any questions you may have. Thank you for your support.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!

Stay Healthy!

• Exercise
• Eat WHOLE Foods & Avoid Processed Foods
• Drink LOTS of Water
• Get enough sleep
• Get Plenty of sunshine & Vitamin D

Hello my Dear Friend,

Do you have a Home First Aid Kit? If not will you make one after reading this post. STAY healthy this season. I pray you do have what you need to take care of each other if you do get sick. Comment/message me any questions. I’d love to help if I can!