First Aid Kit

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Illustration: a garage with a first aid kit and water in the open back of a car and a second first aid kit on a wall shelf

Keep one at home and one in the car (Red Cross).

Red Cross list for a family of four

The American Red Cross first aid kit list for a family of four, 19 items in three groups. Wound care: 2 absorbent compress dressings, 25 adhesive bandages, 1 roll of adhesive cloth tape, 5 sterile 3 by 3 inch gauze pads, 5 sterile 4 by 4 inch gauze pads, a 3 inch gauze roller bandage, a 4 inch roller bandage, and 2 triangular bandages. Ointments and medicine: 5 antibiotic ointment packets, 5 antiseptic wipe packets, 2 hydrocortisone ointment packets, and 2 packets of 81 mg aspirin. Protection and tools: 2 pairs of non-latex gloves, a breathing barrier, an instant cold compress, an emergency blanket, a non-mercury, non-glass oral thermometer, tweezers, and emergency first aid instructions
Source: American Red Cross, Make a First Aid Kit.

Add for outages

Six first aid add-ons for a multi-day outage: your prescriptions with a written list of doses, a plan for refrigerated medications, extra emergency blankets, a headlamp, backup oxygen if anyone uses oxygen, and anything your doctor recommends; plus check expiration dates and take a first aid and CPR class
Sources: American Red Cross, Make a First Aid Kit, Ready.gov (power outages), and Ready.gov (people with disabilities). General preparedness information, not medical advice.

Ready.gov covers refrigerated medications on its power outage page. Our headlamp pick: the Energizer Vision HD+.

Full guide: Storm-season first aid kit →

A base kit to start from: First Aid Only 298-Piece Family First Aid Kit (FAO-442). Check it against the list above and add what’s missing, plus prescriptions and a headlamp. More on our Gear page.

Not medical advice. No hands-on product testing yet.