First Aid Kit items and tips

Here's what I try to keep in my purse or first aid kit:

• small and medium sizes of Band Aids
• eye drops (for allergies and plain eye drops for Chlorine eyes or to flush the eyes of minor irritants)
• sting spray to relieve pain of bee stings and mosquito bites (I got at Target in the late spring)
  
• natural nose saline with grape seed extract
• I also try to carry allergy meds. Right now I have Clariton Ready Tabs for emergencies. They are awesome!!!! I had to take half of one last night because of the high pollen counts right now.

First aid bag (if I had babies this list would have homeopathic teething tablets):

• Larger Band Aids and smaller Band Aids
• Ace Bandage
  
• Tweezers--ones that are pointy. If you don't have tweezers or can't find them a sterilized sewing needle works great for splinters. Always clean tweezers before and after use with soap/water, or alcohol. Shared tweezers can spread nasty diseases and infections.
• Cotton balls and q-tips.
  
• Keep wet or oily items in individual plastic zipper bags. Extra bags are handy.
• Sun screen of choice in hand, if we will be in the hot sun for long periods.
• Delsym 12 hour cough relief (I prefer natural but for a cough emergency we use it).
• "One For Cuts And Burns"This is out anitbacterial spray too. It doesn't contain alcohol.
  
• Burt's Bees Poison Ivy Soap or you can use Ivory soap I have heard. You lather it on the rash and then don't rinse. The Burt's Bees takes the itch away. It contains jewel weed. You can buy any kind of jewel weed soap and it will work great. We get systemic poison ivy when untreated and the soap stops it from spreading. This soap is also good for any type of skin rash or itch. So if you see any type of rash spreading, start using it right away.
• Tea Tree Oil by either Jason or Aura Cacia. We buy most items from Vitacost. It saves us a lot of time and money. Tea Tree oil is great for stings, in grown toe nails, and many other things.
  
• Lavender oil. We like to use it to relax the kids. You can put it on their ears or a drop on the pillow or in the bath. It is also great for bug bites.
  
• Something to repel mosquitoes. We have used Badger and I thought it worked fine, but not in the woods near water. But for basic use it was fine. You are supposed to be able to put it on just the neck, wrists and ankles and it repels. There are lots of other options that do not contain Deet. Someone has recommended Jason Tea Tree gel from Target as well. So look at your options. I just looked and Tea Tree Gel is on Vitacost.com as well. I may try that this summer because I am big fan of Tea Tree oil.
• Super glue or Dermabond for cuts not serious enough for the ER. Hold pressure on the wound with a clean papertowl or napkin and then when the major bleeding stops decide if it is really serious or just shallow enough to use super glue or Dermabond. You can watch a Youtube or find all kinds of info on this. This is what most pediatricians do now instead of the old fashioned devices. We have used this method before and it works great. It is best to have two adults when doing this for your child. Of course, wash your hands and use antibacterial spray first to clean the cut, if needed.
• When they were breast feeding I used my own breast milk for medicinal purposes and to calm them down after a minor fall or scary situation. I linked to a great article that lists some of the things you can use your milk for: http://www.bellaonline.org/articles/art41924.asp
• Melatonin natural sleep aid. It is safe for kids who can't sleep. They can take a half or even a fourth. I use it all the time when I can't sleep at night or have had caffeine.
• Phone numbers are handy. We try to keep these numbers on hand: chiropractor, nurse practitioner, dentist, veterinarian for pets. When in doubt we call (or page) them for advice or go in. Some people keep the 800 # for poison control handy as well. The American Association of Poison Control Centers works to support the nation's 60 poison centers in the valuable work they do. America's poison centers are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week to help you. The Poison Help hotline at 1-800-222-1222 serves as a key medical information resource and helps reduce costly emergency room visits.

Also, knowing the Heimlich maneuver has come in very handy and both my husband and I know CPR. I have used the Heimlich maneuver several times on both boys. Another thing that has helped is knowing what to do if a toddler or child gets something stuck up their nostril (like beads, bugs, you know the normal stuff). First off, don't panic. Pinch the empty nostril side and have them push air out their nose. It dislodges the item. By closing the air from blowing out the empty side it makes more air move through the other nostril. Always works like a charm.

For a sprain or bad bruise put a bag of cold veggies or ice pack on if you have one.

I know I left some things out and there are lots of other ideas out there. If anyone has any additional items, please let me know. One thing I left off are the items for the pets. We have a dog and I need to get her ready for flea and tic season. Anyone have any natural repellents for fleas and tics that really works that you swear by?

~Heather

P.S. For my daily allergies I use a neti pot every morning and night with warm water and neti pot salt.

P.S.S. Two-way weather radio radios rock! This is what we have and we love the weather radio feature. So far they work great and have a charging base as well. It was worth all $40 we spent.