Checklist

Home first aid kit checklist

Cuts, scrapes, blisters and sprains tend to happen when nobody is ready for them. A kit that is already put together, in one known place, saves a frantic search. This checklist groups the basics that published kit lists commonly include, then adds a short routine for keeping the kit in date. Tick items as you gather them; your ticks are kept in this browser so you can come back.

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About medicines in the kit

Published kit lists differ on medicines. Some include basic over-the-counter products; others leave them out. This checklist does not name any, because the right choice depends on your age, health, other medicines and local rules. Ask a pharmacist what, if anything, suits your household, check dates regularly and never give medicines to children without advice that fits their age. Our guide on medication side effects explains why a pharmacist or prescriber is the right person to ask.

Keeping the kit in date

Emergency-preparedness guidance in the United States advises replacing expired items and rethinking your kit's contents every year as your household changes. A yearly date on the lid is an easy way to remember. At each check, open the box, look for damp, torn packaging and anything past its date, and replace what you used since last time.

Skills matter as much as supplies

Supplies help only if someone knows what to do with them. First aid and CPR courses taught by recognized organizations are the way to learn, and our guide on first aid basics every home should know covers the general ideas. This page does not teach any procedure, and nothing here replaces training or the instructions of an emergency call-taker.

Go deeper

• What first aid basics should every home know?
• Emergency warning signs reference
• Questions to ask your clinician

Where this comes from

The item groups reflect the kit contents described in guidance from the British first aid charity St John Ambulance (dressing pads, plasters, roller and triangular bandages, gloves, face shields, tape, scissors, pins and foil blankets) and in the contents of a family first aid kit listed by the American Red Cross (gauze pads, adhesive bandages, tape, trauma pads, a cold compress, a rescue-breathing face shield and an emergency blanket). The yearly review advice follows the US government preparedness site Ready.gov. The list is a general starting point, not an official standard, and quantities are left for you to decide.