Household Health · Chapter 2
First-aid and CPR readiness
A first-aid kit that has not been opened in two years is a box of expired hope. CPR skills that were learned once and never refreshed are a memory, not a capability. Readiness is the kit you maintain and the training you keep current.
Check your kitPlanning guidance, not medical advice
This page covers what to stock, how to maintain it, and where to get trained. It does not teach first-aid techniques, CPR procedures, or wound care. Those skills are learned in person, from a qualified instructor, with hands on a mannequin. No article replaces that.
Scope
What this page covers and what it does not
This page answers two household planning questions. First: what supplies should be in the kit, and how do you keep them from going stale? Second: what training does the household need, where do you get it, and how do you keep it current?
It does not answer: how do you perform CPR, how do you use an AED, how do you respond to choking, or how do you treat a wound. Those are psychomotor skills. They require practiced physical technique under instructor supervision. The American Heart Association's 2025 CPR and ECC Guidelines and the 2024 AHA/American Red Cross Guidelines for First Aid both emphasize that reading about these skills is not equivalent to performing them.
The household goal this page supports: at least one adult has current first-aid and CPR training, the kit is stocked and maintained, and the renewal dates are on the calendar.
Sources: AHA, "2025 CPR and ECC Guidelines," cpr.heart.org/en/resuscitation-science/cpr-and-ecc-guidelines; AHA/ARC, "2024 Focused Update for First Aid," cpr.heart.org/en/resuscitation-science/2024-first-aid-guidelines. Accessed 2026-09-03.
The kit
What belongs in a household first-aid kit
Two authoritative sources publish recommended first-aid kit contents for households: the American Red Cross and MedlinePlus (a service of the National Library of Medicine). Their lists overlap substantially. The Red Cross list is the more detailed of the two and is designed for a family of four.
You do not need to buy a pre-made kit, though they are widely available. You can assemble one from a drugstore run. What matters is that the items are present, stored together, and findable by anyone in the house.
Red Cross recommended minimum contents
2 absorbent compress dressings (5 x 9 in.)
25 adhesive bandages (assorted sizes)
1 adhesive cloth tape (10 yards x 1 in.)
5 antibiotic ointment packets
5 antiseptic wipe packets
2 packets of aspirin (81 mg each)
1 emergency blanket
1 breathing barrier (one-way valve)
1 instant cold compress
2 pair nonlatex gloves (large)
2 hydrocortisone ointment packets
1 gauze roll bandage (3 in.)
1 roller bandage (4 in.)
5 sterile gauze pads (3 x 3 in.)
5 sterile gauze pads (4 x 4 in.)
1 oral thermometer (non-mercury)
2 triangular bandages
Tweezers
Scissors (MedlinePlus adds this)
Printed first-aid instructions
What to add beyond the minimum
The Red Cross and MedlinePlus both note that a household may add items based on its specific needs. If someone in the house carries an epinephrine auto-injector for a severe allergy, a spare belongs in the kit (prescribed by their doctor, not purchased on a whim). If someone takes a daily medication that would be needed during an emergency, the kit should include a short backup supply if their provider approves it.
What not to add: do not stock unfamiliar medical devices simply because a checklist on the internet includes them. A tourniquet in the hands of someone who has never been trained on one is not a tool; it is a risk. The same applies to hemostatic agents, chest seals, splints, and anything else that requires technique. If you have the training, stock it. If you do not, leave it out.
Where to keep the kit
Accessible to every responsible adult. Not in a locked cabinet that only one person can open, not buried in the back of a closet, and not in the bathroom where heat and humidity degrade medicines and ointments. A hall closet, a kitchen cabinet, or a utility room shelf at adult height works. If children are in the house, the aspirin, ointment packets, and anything else that could be ingested should be in a container a child cannot easily open, but that an adult can open fast.
Keep a second kit in each household vehicle. A vehicle kit can be smaller: bandages, gauze, tape, gloves, antiseptic wipes, and the printed instructions are enough. Store it in the trunk or under a seat, not in the glovebox where summer heat will destroy everything in it.
Sources: American Red Cross, "Make a First Aid Kit," redcross.org/get-help/how-to-prepare-for-emergencies/anatomy-of-a-first-aid-kit.html; MedlinePlus, "First Aid," medlineplus.gov/firstaid.html; MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia, "First aid kit," medlineplus.gov/ency/article/001958.htm. Accessed 2026-09-03.
Maintenance
A kit you do not check is a box
The most common failure mode for household first-aid kits is not a missing item. It is an item that was there once and is now expired, used, deteriorated, or missing because someone grabbed it and never replaced it. The fix is simple: put the kit on a maintenance calendar and check it twice a year.
Pick a day that is already in your routine. The day you change smoke alarm batteries. The day you rotate stored water. The first weekend of daylight saving time shifts. Whatever anchors it to something you already do.
The twice-a-year kit audit
Open the kit and lay everything out
Every item on a surface. If you cannot name what an item is for, look it up or remove it.
Check expiration dates
Antiseptic wipes, ointments, aspirin, cold compresses, and hydrocortisone all expire. Replace anything past its date. Sterile gauze and bandages do not expire in the chemical sense, but packaging that has been opened, torn, or punctured is no longer sterile.
Replace anything that was used
Bandages get grabbed for kitchen cuts and never put back. Gloves get borrowed for cleaning. Tape disappears. Whatever was used, replace it now.
Check the printed instructions
The printed first-aid reference card should still be in the kit and still be legible. If the kit came with one and you lost it, print a fresh one from the Red Cross or MedlinePlus.
Confirm two people know where it is
If only one person knows the kit location, the kit is unavailable the moment that person is the one who is hurt. At least two responsible adults should be able to find it in the dark.
Check child safety
If children are in the house, verify that medicines, ointments, and sharp items (scissors, tweezers) are in a container a child cannot open easily. The kit should be accessible to adults and secured from children at the same time.
After the audit, close the kit and put it back. The whole process takes ten minutes. If you need to buy replacement items, make the drugstore run within the week. A kit with a gap on a list is better than no kit, but a kit with every item present is what you want when you actually need it.
Training
CPR and AED skills are learned in person
CPR is a physical skill. The correct compression rate, the correct depth, the correct recoil, the correct hand placement, and the timing of ventilations are things that must be felt, practiced, and corrected by an instructor. Knowing the numbers is not the same as producing them on a mannequin, which is not the same as producing them on a person while adrenaline is running and nothing feels like the classroom.
AED operation is simple in training and chaotic in an actual emergency without practice. The device gives voice prompts, but the person using it has to place the pads correctly, clear the person, and follow the sequence while bystanders may be panicking. Choking response requires a physical technique that works differently on adults, children, and infants, and that works differently on the conscious and the unconscious.
No amount of written description, video demonstration, or article reading replaces a training course where you practice on a mannequin and an instructor watches your hands.
Why this page will not teach you CPR
A step-by-step CPR walkthrough on a website creates the illusion of competence without the reality of it. The research packet for this section (AHA 2025 CPR/ECC Guidelines) is explicit: lay-rescuer training requires hands-on practice. This page tells you where to get that training. It does not attempt to provide it.
Two nationally recognized programs
AHA Heartsaver CPR AED
The American Heart Association's Heartsaver program teaches scene assessment, recognizing when CPR is needed, performing CPR with compressions and ventilations, using an AED, choking response for adults and children, and activating emergency services. Available in classroom, blended (online learning plus in-person skills session), and instructor-led formats.
Find courses: cpr.heart.org
American Red Cross First Aid/CPR/AED
The Red Cross offers a combined First Aid/CPR/AED course that covers the same core skills: CPR for adults, children, and infants, AED use, choking response, and common first-aid scenarios. Available in classroom and blended formats, widely offered at community centers, workplaces, schools, and fire stations.
Find courses: redcross.org/take-a-class
Either program is appropriate for a household. They are based on the same evidence base and teach the same essential skills. Choose whichever has a convenient schedule and location near you. Many employers, community centers, fire departments, and hospitals host sessions. Some workplaces cover the cost.
The household goal
At least one adult in the household has current CPR and first-aid training. Two is better. If only one person is trained and that person is the one who collapses, the household has the kit and no one who knows what to do with it.
Sources: AHA, "2025 CPR and ECC Guidelines," cpr.heart.org/en/resuscitation-science/cpr-and-ecc-guidelines; AHA, "Heartsaver CPR AED," international.heart.org/en/courses/heartsaver-cpr-aed. Accessed 2026-09-03.
Evidence evolves
First-aid guidance is not permanent
The way first aid is taught changes as evidence improves. What was correct ten or twenty years ago may not match current recommendations. This is not a flaw in the system; it is the system working. Research produces better evidence, guidelines update, and training programs incorporate the changes.
Two recent updates matter for households:
2025 AHA CPR and ECC Guidelines
The American Heart Association released updated guidelines for CPR and emergency cardiovascular care in 2025. These represent the current major science update for how bystander CPR, AED use, and related emergency responses should be performed. If your CPR training predates 2025, a refresher course will bring you current.
2024 AHA/Red Cross First Aid Guidelines
The American Heart Association and the American Red Cross jointly published updated first-aid guidelines in 2024. These are the first full-scope update of first-aid treatment recommendations since 2010, covering medical, traumatic, environmental, and toxicological conditions. The guidelines emphasize that first-aid providers improve their response through training and preparation, including maintaining a first-aid kit.
This is why certifications expire. A two-year certification cycle is not a money grab; it is the minimum cadence at which you can be reasonably current on skills where being wrong matters. Treat the renewal the same way you treat a driver's license renewal or a vehicle registration: a date on the calendar, not a surprise.
Put the renewal on the calendar now
When you finish a CPR or first-aid course, set a calendar reminder for 22 months. That gives you two months of lead time to find and schedule the renewal before the certification expires. If two people in the household are trained, stagger their renewals so at least one certification is always current.
Sources: AHA, "2025 CPR and ECC Guidelines," cpr.heart.org/en/resuscitation-science/cpr-and-ecc-guidelines; AHA/ARC, "2024 Focused Update for First Aid," cpr.heart.org/en/resuscitation-science/2024-first-aid-guidelines; AHA, "Guideline Updates and Highlights," cpr.heart.org/en/resuscitation-science/guidelines-updates-and-highlights. Accessed 2026-09-03.
What you will learn
What a first-aid and CPR course actually covers
If you have never taken a course, or if it has been long enough that you are not sure what to expect, here is what a standard lay-rescuer course covers. This is not instruction; it is an overview so you know what you are signing up for.
Scene assessment
Before you touch anyone, you check whether the scene is safe for you. This is the first thing taught and the first thing people forget under stress. You cannot help if you become a second patient.
Emergency activation
Calling 911, giving the dispatcher the information they need, and coordinating with bystanders. This connects to the care routing chapter.
Recognizing the need for CPR
Assessing responsiveness and breathing. The decision to start CPR hinges on specific observations that are taught in context.
Performing CPR
Chest compressions and ventilations at the correct rate, depth, and recoil. Practiced on a mannequin with instructor feedback. Taught separately for adults, children, and infants because the technique differs for each.
Using an AED
Automated external defibrillators are designed for lay rescuers and give voice prompts, but the pad placement, the timing of shocks, and the integration with CPR are practiced in the course so they are not learned for the first time during the emergency.
Choking response
Abdominal thrusts for conscious adults and children, a different technique for infants, and what to do when a choking person becomes unresponsive. Physical technique, practiced on mannequins.
First-aid basics (in combined courses)
Wound care, bleeding control, burn care, sprains, allergic reactions, and other common situations. The 2024 AHA/Red Cross guidelines provide the evidence base for what is taught.
A typical Heartsaver or Red Cross course for the general public takes three to five hours, depending on the format. Blended courses split some content into online learning and reserve the in-person session for hands-on practice. The cost ranges from roughly $30 to $90 depending on location and provider. Many employers, fire departments, and community organizations offer subsidized or free sessions.
AEDs in your community
Know where the nearest AED is before you need it
Automated external defibrillators are installed in a growing number of public places: airports, schools, gyms, shopping centers, office buildings, community centers, churches, and many workplaces. They are designed for lay rescuers. They give voice prompts. They will not deliver a shock unless the device determines one is needed. The training teaches you how to use one, but the device itself is engineered so that a bystander who has never seen one before can follow the instructions.
The reason to know where they are is time. In a cardiac arrest, every minute without defibrillation reduces the chance of survival. Knowing that there is an AED in the cabinet by the gym entrance, or mounted on the wall in the church lobby, or inside the front desk of the community pool means you can send someone to get it while someone else starts CPR and someone else calls 911. That coordination is what saves the time, and it only works if the AED's location is known before the emergency begins.
Walk through the places your household spends time and note where the AEDs are. The gym. The workplace. The school. The community center. The airport terminal. If you are trained, you already know how to use one. If you are not yet trained, the AED section of the CPR course will cover it.
You do not need to own an AED
Home AEDs exist and are available without a prescription, but for most households, knowing where the nearest public AED is located and having someone trained to use it is the practical step. A home AED is a decision to make with your doctor, especially in households where someone has a known cardiac condition.
Household planning
Putting it on the calendar
First-aid and CPR readiness is not a one-time project. It is a small ongoing system with two moving parts: a kit that gets checked and a certification that gets renewed. Both go on the household calendar.
| Item | Cadence | Calendar anchor |
|---|---|---|
| Home kit audit | Every 6 months | Daylight saving time changes, or whatever household anchor you already have |
| Vehicle kit audit | Every 6 months | Same day as home kit |
| CPR/first-aid renewal | Every 2 years | Set a reminder at 22 months for 2-month lead time |
| Second adult renewal (if applicable) | Every 2 years, staggered | Offset by 12 months so one certification is always current |
| Condition-specific supplies review | When prescriptions or conditions change | After any new diagnosis, medication change, or allergy discovery |
Teaching young people
The AHA and Red Cross both offer age-appropriate programs. The Red Cross babysitting course, designed for ages 11 and up, includes basic first-aid skills. AHA's Heartsaver courses are open to the general public, including older teens. A teenager who babysits, stays home alone, or drives should know where the kit is and have basic training.
This is a good sixteenth-birthday or first-driver's-license gift: a CPR course and a vehicle first-aid kit. Practical, unsentimental, and the kind of thing that will matter exactly once and matter completely.
Connections
Where first-aid readiness connects
First-aid and CPR readiness does not stand alone. It connects to the rest of the household health system and to other preparedness domains.
Care routing
Knowing when to call 911 and what to say is the foundation this page builds on. If you have not read the first chapter, start there: Care Levels and When to Call 911.
Medicine safety
The aspirin in the first-aid kit is a medicine. The next chapter covers the medication list, storage rules, expiration, disposal, and what to do if poisoning may have occurred.
Household safety
Fall prevention, childproofing, smoke alarms, and carbon monoxide alarms reduce the situations where first aid is needed in the first place. Prevention is upstream of response.
Emergency kits
The household first-aid kit is separate from the 72-hour emergency kit, but both live in the same preparedness system. The First 72 Hours section covers the broader emergency kit.
Keep going
Build the rest of your household health system
Previous
Care Levels and When to Call 911
Choosing between routine, urgent, and emergency care. What to say when you call 911, and the three-digit numbers every household should know.
Care routingThe full track
Household Health
Care routing, first-aid readiness, medicine safety, health records, preventive care, household safety, caregiving, and backup care. The complete section.
Back to Household Health