What to put in a home first aid kit
A home first aid kit should hold adhesive bandages in several sizes, sterile gauze pads, a roll bandage and tape, an elastic wrap, disposable gloves, tweezers, small scissors, antiseptic wipes, an instant cold pack, a digital thermometer, a foil blanket, and a card with emergency numbers including the poison help line. Keep any medicines you already use in their labeled packaging. Check it twice a year.
Why it matters: A kit you can find in the dark saves minutes when they count.
In an emergency, call your local emergency number, 911 in the US, first. Reading a page is not training: take a certified class and practice on a manikin.
Steps
- Choose a box or bag with a clear label and keep it somewhere everyone can find, not locked away.
- Add adhesive bandages in mixed sizes, sterile gauze pads, a roll bandage, medical tape and an elastic wrap.
- Add disposable gloves, tweezers, small scissors and antiseptic wipes.
- Add an instant cold pack, a digital thermometer and a foil emergency blanket.
- Add a card with your local emergency number, 911 in the US, the poison help line 1-800-222-1222, and your clinician's number.
- Keep any medicines you already use in their original labeled packaging, with the instructions.
- Check the kit twice a year and replace anything used or expired.
- Take a certified first aid class so you know how to use what is in it.
Stop and call a professional if
- someone has swallowed something harmful: call the poison help line, and your local emergency number if they are drowsy, having trouble breathing or seizing
Common mistakes
- Buying a kit and never opening it.
- Storing it in a humid bathroom where supplies degrade.
- Keeping loose, unlabeled medicines.
Teach this to someone
A one page sheet for showing a friend, a teenager or a parent: what to say, what to show, and one question to check it landed.
Teach: What to put in a home first aid kit
What to say
A home first aid kit should hold adhesive bandages in several sizes, sterile gauze pads, a roll bandage and tape, an elastic wrap, disposable gloves, tweezers, small scissors, antiseptic wipes, an instant cold pack, a digital thermometer, a foil blanket, and a card with emergency numbers including the poison help line. Keep any medicines you already use in their labeled packaging. Check it twice a year.
What to show
- Choose a box or bag with a clear label and keep it somewhere everyone can find, not locked away.
- Add adhesive bandages in mixed sizes, sterile gauze pads, a roll bandage, medical tape and an elastic wrap.
- Add disposable gloves, tweezers, small scissors and antiseptic wipes.
- Add an instant cold pack, a digital thermometer and a foil emergency blanket.
- Add a card with your local emergency number, 911 in the US, the poison help line 1-800-222-1222, and your clinician's number.
- Keep any medicines you already use in their original labeled packaging, with the instructions.
- Check the kit twice a year and replace anything used or expired.
- Take a certified first aid class so you know how to use what is in it.
Where it stops
Stop and call a professional if someone has swallowed something harmful: call the poison help line, and your local emergency number if they are drowsy, having trouble breathing or seizing.
Check question
Which number belongs on the kit's card?
Answer: The poison help line. Poison help lines give fast expert advice.
Your checklist
Saved only in this browser.
Quick quiz
Three questions. Your score is saved only in this browser.
Related skills
Sources
- US national first aid guidelines for lay responders, 2025. Reviewed September 28, 2026.
Written in our own words from the sources above. It is general information, not advice for your situation; where a professional, your doctor or your lease says something different, follow them.
Last reviewed . First published .