One of the best ways to prepare is to have an emergency kit. This guarantees you have the necessary supplies and equipment to keep you and your loved ones safe. It also enables you to remain stable until help arrives.

Emergencies are unpredictable. They can happen anytime when you don’t expect them. For this reason, you want to make sure you’re safe and capable of surviving in such situations. Hansaplast India provides an emergency first aid kit that keeps you safe in the time of emergency.

In this regard, here are nine emergency kit essentials to have at home: 

1. Sugar Tong Splint

A sugar tong splint is ideal for stabilizing wrist and forearm injuries by restraining wrist movement and forearm rotation. It’s essential as you can use it on children and adults in case of a bone fracture and muscle pain. To use it, fold around the injured section to make it motionless. This may help to relieve pain and even minimize potential damage to the area. There are various types of splints for emergencies. Read how to learn more about them and choose the one that best suits your situation.  

2. First-Aid Kit

A first aid kit is a valuable item to include in your emergency kit. It enables you to deal with minor accidents and injuries around your home like a simple cut. Additionally, it allows you to prevent damage from worsening while you’re on your way to the hospital. For instance, you can stop blood loss immediately and clean a cut to reduce the risk of infection. Other benefits of having a first aid kit in your home include:

• It prevents a severe injury from worsening
• Stores emergency medical supplies within your home
• Reduces recovery time
• Enables you to provide help in case of an emergency
• It saves lives
• Saves you money
• It gives you peace of mind when you know you have the appropriate essentials for emergencies

Some basic things to have in your first aid kit include:

• Bandages
• Tweezers
• Distilled water for cleaning wounds and cuts
• Painkillers
• Thermometer
• Antiseptic cream
• Skin rash cream  

3. Plastic Sheeting And Duct Tape

If you’re in a situation where you can’t leave your home, duct tape and plastic sheeting may be of great help. You can use them to seal gaps, small cracks, and air vents. Moreover, you can use them to wrap up garbage for safe disposal, secure sensitive electronic devices and important documents from water damage and dust exposure, and patch a leaking roof. If you’re in an air-contaminated condition, you can use plastic sheeting and duct tape to seal your windows and doors and reduce air infiltration.

4. Sleeping Bag

An emergency sleeping bag is an essential item to have in your emergency kit. It helps you maintain average body temperature during harsh weather conditions. When disasters force you to vacate your home, emergency sleeping bags can shelter you from heavy rain, strong winds, and freezing temperatures. You may use it as a tent or you can fix it onto your setup tent to provide extra protection during severe weather. In addition to that, you can use it at the top of your tent. It’s a good reflector of heat; thus, it can offer you an excellent shade from direct sunlight. 

5. A Supply Of Clean Drinking Water

Different types of emergencies like floods, hurricanes, and storms may impact the safety of your drinking water. Not drinking enough or unsafe water can pose a significant risk to your health. For this reason, it’s essential to include safe and clean drinking water in your emergency kit. Ensure to store at least one gallon of water daily for every family member and pet. If you have a sick or a pregnant family member, you can consider storing more water during the summer. 

Store bottled water in its original containers. For tap water, ensure to clean the containers, label them, and indicate the date of storage. 

6. Food

During an emergency, having food in your emergency kit keeps your family’s mind at peace. You know that you’ll be nourished even if you won’t access any food source for some days. This lowers your stress levels and lets you relax and make enlightened decisions. When preparing your emergency food supply, keep foods that:

• Need little or no cooking, refrigeration, or water
• Are packaged to last
• Meet the requirements of your baby, pet, or any family member on a special diet
• Have enough calories to keep you energetic
• Have little salt or are less spicy to lower your need for water, which may be in scarce supply

Check the expiration date of any food you store and use or replace food before it expires.

7. A Battery-Free Flashlight

Another essential you wouldn’t want to miss in your home’s emergency kit is a flashlight. It enables you to find your way out when disaster strikes at night. Moreover, you can see what’s happening around you and get yourself and your loved ones out of danger. Besides that, you can use it to find your family members who need rescue or signal for help if you need recovery. 

8. Hand Crank Emergency Radio

During an emergency, you’d like to have up-to-date information and know if a weather event has passed. The best way to access this information is to include a hand crank emergency radio on your emergency kit. You can listen to news and music without electricity or batteries. Furthermore, you can use it to charge your mobile phone and stay in touch with your loved ones. The good thing with this kind of radio is that it’s small and lightweight, so it wouldn’t occupy a lot of space in your kit.   

9. Hand Sanitizer

Even in disasters, hygiene must be your number one priority. One way of ensuring you remain healthy and reduce the spread of germs is by keeping your hands clean. However, you may not have sufficient water or access to soap. In this case, you can use alcohol-based hand sanitizers. They eliminate the germs on your hands and work instantly to destroy microscopic organisms and some viruses.  

Conclusion

Emergencies may have a significant impact on your life and property. When you don’t know what to do, you may be unable to exit your home, minimize damage, protect the loss of your belongings or even receive immediate care for injuries. On the other hand, when you’re prepared, you can effectively deal with anxiety and fear. Preparing should never be tedious or time-consuming when you know what to include in your emergency kit. Above are some essentials; feel free to explore more items and be safe whenever a disaster strikes.  

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