01 — Home kit essentials
A home kit should cover wound care, temperature management, basic medications, and the tools to do more with less.
The American Red Cross recommends keeping a first aid kit in your home and a separate one in your vehicle. A home kit can be more comprehensive because it does not need to fit in a glove compartment. The categories below reflect the Red Cross and Mayo Clinic recommended contents for a family of four.
Wound care
- Assorted adhesive bandages (multiple sizes)
- Sterile gauze pads (2" and 4")
- Rolled gauze bandages
- Elastic wrap bandage
- Antiseptic wipes
- Antibiotic ointment
- Medical adhesive tape
- Butterfly closure strips
Tools
- Scissors (blunt-tipped)
- Tweezers
- Digital thermometer
- CPR face shield or pocket mask
- Nitrile gloves (at least two pairs)
- Instant cold pack
- Emergency foil blanket
- Small flashlight with extra batteries
Medications (OTC)
- Pain reliever / fever reducer (aspirin, acetaminophen, ibuprofen)
- Antihistamine
- Antacid
- Hydrocortisone cream (1%)
- Calamine lotion (for stings and rashes)
Documentation
- First aid reference guide or manual
- Emergency contact list
- Poison Control number (1-800-222-1222)
- Household medication list
- Medical consent forms for each family member
Store the kit in a central, clearly known location accessible to all adults in the household — not locked away. The bathroom is a poor choice because moisture degrades supplies. A kitchen or hallway cabinet is better. Make sure all adults and older children know where it is.
02 — Vehicle kit differences
A vehicle kit needs to be compact and trauma-focused. It should not contain medications, which degrade in car heat.
A vehicle first aid kit differs from a home kit in two important ways: it needs to be physically smaller, and it should be built around the injuries most likely to occur in or near a vehicle — cuts, road rash, blunt trauma, and burns — rather than the broader set of household medical situations.
Keep in the vehicle kit
- Assorted bandages and gauze
- Antiseptic wipes and antibiotic ointment
- Elastic wrap bandage
- Medical tape and scissors
- Nitrile gloves
- CPR face shield
- Emergency foil blanket
- Instant cold pack
- Triangular bandage/sling
- Tweezers
- Emergency contact card
Do not store in the vehicle
- OTC medications — heat degradation; cars routinely reach 120°F+ in summer
- Insulin and other refrigerated medications
- Liquid antiseptics (can leak and contaminate kit)
- Digital thermometers (battery drain in heat)
- Anything with an expiration date near items you plan to keep for years
Keep the vehicle kit in the cabin, not the trunk. In a roadside emergency, you may need to access it quickly. Some people also add road-emergency items alongside the first aid kit: reflective triangles, work gloves, and a small multi-tool.
03 — Inspection and maintenance
Check every 3 to 6 months. Expired sterile items are no longer sterile. Used items you forgot to restock may not be there when you need them.
The Red Cross recommends checking your first aid kit contents every three to six months. A neglected kit can fail at exactly the wrong moment. The inspection routine is straightforward: go through each item, check expiration dates, confirm sterile packaging is unbroken, verify batteries work, replace anything used or expired, and note any items that need restocking.
Specific things to watch: adhesive bandages lose their stick over time; gauze pads can absorb moisture through their packaging; antiseptic wipes dry out; hydrogen peroxide loses its active oxygen rapidly after opening. Most OTC medications have a shelf life of one to three years from manufacture date. Medications stored in a hot car may degrade much faster than their label suggests.
A practical schedule
Link kit inspection to something you already do twice a year — changing smoke detector batteries, switching to or from daylight saving time, or seasonal vehicle checks. Set a phone reminder if needed. The goal is to never discover a missing or expired item during an emergency.
04 — Pediatric additions and improvised supplies
Households with children need pediatric dosing. Households without a kit need to know what works in a pinch.
A basic first aid kit should be customized for the people it is meant to protect. For households with young children, the Red Cross and Nemours KidsHealth recommend adding:
- Children's acetaminophen or ibuprofen (pediatric dose formulations)
- Infant or child CPR face shield (sized for smaller airways)
- Pediatric oral rehydration solution (Pedialyte or equivalent)
- Digital forehead or ear thermometer
- Smaller adhesive bandages in child-friendly sizes
- Children's antihistamine (liquid formulation)
Note: never give aspirin to children. This is true regardless of what the adult version of your kit contains.
When a proper kit is unavailable, several common household items can serve as temporary wound care supplies:
- Clean cloth or clothing — pressure and wound covering (not sterile, but better than nothing)
- Clean plastic bag — improvised gloves or non-stick wound cover
- Duct tape or medical tape — securing improvised dressings
- Clean running water — wound irrigation is the most important first step for most wounds
- Cling wrap — can be used as a temporary non-adherent cover for burns after cooling
What does not work
Do not use hydrogen peroxide or iodine to clean wounds — both damage the new tissue trying to form. Do not use cotton balls directly in open wounds — fibers shed into the wound. Do not use rubbing alcohol on open wounds — it causes tissue damage. Clean running water is the most effective and least damaging wound irrigation method.
Quick reference
- Home kit: wound care supplies, tools (scissors/tweezers/thermometer/gloves), OTC medications, CPR shield, emergency blanket, first aid reference, emergency contacts
- Vehicle kit: trauma-focused, compact; no medications (heat degrades them); keep in the cabin, not the trunk
- Inspect every 3 to 6 months; check expiration dates, sterile packaging integrity, and battery function
- Pediatric additions: children's dose medications, pediatric CPR shield, oral rehydration solution, ear/forehead thermometer; never give aspirin to children
- Improvised wound care: clean cloth, clean water for irrigation, plastic bag, duct tape
- Do not use hydrogen peroxide, iodine, or alcohol on open wounds — all damage healing tissue
Primary sources
- Red Cross — Make a First Aid Kit: Keep a kit in the home and in the car; check regularly for expired or used-up contents; include personal medications and emergency phone numbers.
- Mayo Clinic — First-Aid Kits: Stock Supplies That Can Save Lives: Never give aspirin to children; kit should include adhesive bandages, gauze, antiseptic, antibiotic ointment, elastic wrap, scissors, tweezers, thermometer, CPR shield, cold packs, OTC medications, emergency blanket, and emergency contact list.
- Nemours KidsHealth — First-Aid Kit: Store kits where adults can reach them easily but out of children's reach; check flashlight batteries; for air travel, pack in checked luggage.
- Red Cross — Vehicle Kit Essentials: Vehicle kits should be suited to the type of vehicle and activities; tailor to most likely injuries on the road; include personal items and medications appropriate to the vehicle's use.