ProbarGOLD- Free

Just In Case

Reader's Digest India|September 2023
Does your first-aid kit have all the essentials?
- Anna-Kaisa Walker
Just In Case

THE LAST TIME I cracked open my home's first-aid kit, I had one thumb swaddled in bloody paper towels after I'd accidentally nicked it while chopping onions. Fumbling through the zippered compartments as my thumb throbbed, I discovered nothing but a few yellowed bandages, dried-out antiseptic wipes, some gauze, tape and a pair of scissors like the kind kids use in kindergarten.

Luckily I managed to stem the bleeding with the gauze and went on to cook a decent spaghetti Bolognese. But I'd come to the sober realization that my cheap, neglected first-aid kit would do my family no good in an honest-to-goodness emergency.

"First-aid kits are most commonly used for minor injuries like cuts, but they can also help you in less-common emergency situations, such as heart attacks or life-threatening bleeding," says Nathan Charlton, an emergency physician in Charlottesville, Virginia, who serves on the Scientific Advisory Council for the American Red Cross. That's why our list is so comprehensive. Build yourself a good kit, then keep one at home and one in the car and be sure to take one along if you go camping.

To help you make sure your kits contain all the right things, we spoke to experts in emergency medicine. These are the items they recommend:

Aspirin Two 81-milligram tablets of chewable aspirin can be lifesaving if taken within the first hour of a suspected heart attack. But call a doctor first and await instructions; it's not safe for everyone (for example, those on other blood thinners).

Disposable non-latex gloves When helping another person, put these on first.

Hand sanitizer If you can't wash your hands, use this before treating any wounds. Wash or sanitize hands before putting on gloves.

Esta historia es de la edición September 2023 de Reader's Digest India.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,500 revistas y periódicos.

Esta historia es de la edición September 2023 de Reader's Digest India.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,500 revistas y periódicos.

MÁS HISTORIAS DE READER'S DIGEST INDIAVer todo
Of Strays and Solace
Reader's Digest India

Of Strays and Solace

Amid monsoon skies and empty shores, the free-roaming dogs on Goa's beaches became my unexpected companions through grief and silence

time-read
3 minutos  |
May 2025
POINT TO PONDER
Reader's Digest India

POINT TO PONDER

WE LIVE IN UNCERTAIN TIMES. The craving for certainty is so dominant and so overwhelming that we lose so much of the nuance and mystery and uncertainty that are the wellspring of wonder in life.

time-read
1 min  |
May 2025
A SINKING FEELING
Reader's Digest India

A SINKING FEELING

A mother and daughter are trapped below the deck of a capsized boat. A shrinking air pocket is the only thing keeping them alive

time-read
10+ minutos  |
May 2025
STUDIO
Reader's Digest India

STUDIO

Swan Song by Priyesh Trivedi 40 x 30 inches, Oil on canvas

time-read
1 min  |
May 2025
The Scoop on Sunscreen
Reader's Digest India

The Scoop on Sunscreen

FORTUNATELY, THE DAYS of slathering on baby oil and baking in the sun to get an angry burn—are long over.

time-read
1 min  |
May 2025
AN ORCHESTRA FOR EVERYONE
Reader's Digest India

AN ORCHESTRA FOR EVERYONE

COMMUNITY In Gothenburg, Sweden, a free amateur orchestra unites hundreds of people spanning all ages and dozens of nationalities.

time-read
2 minutos  |
May 2025
Let the Mystery Be
Reader's Digest India

Let the Mystery Be

I desperately wanted to know who built these wondrous mosaics. But maybe some things are better left unexplained

time-read
4 minutos  |
May 2025
Dad's Lists
Reader's Digest India

Dad's Lists

A son turns a page after unearthing his father's notebooks

time-read
4 minutos  |
May 2025
13 THINGS Tea Time
Reader's Digest India

13 THINGS Tea Time

POP THE kettle on: 21 May is International Tea Day.

time-read
4 minutos  |
May 2025
The Vanishing Masters of Miniature Art
Reader's Digest India

The Vanishing Masters of Miniature Art

Amid Udaipur's quiet alleys, a centuries-old artistic tradition confronts a troubling future as its practitioners compete with slowing demand and digital reproductions

time-read
5 minutos  |
May 2025

Usamos cookies para proporcionar y mejorar nuestros servicios. Al usan nuestro sitio aceptas el uso de cookies. Learn more