The Complete List Of Medical Supplies Every Prepper Should Own

The Complete List Of Medical Supplies Every Prepper Should Own


Estimated reading time: 8 minutes

One of the side effects of the pandemic is that Americans sharply curbed their visits to the hospital and the doctor’s office for non-COVID-related complaints last year.

Beginning in March 2020, concerns over hospital capacity, social distancing measures, and fears of contracting COVID-19 led people to delay or even cancel many exams and procedures. For example, according to research published by the Kaiser Family Foundation, spending for health care services (not including pharmaceutical drugs) was down by more than 32 percent in April 2020 over April 2019.

Although hospital admissions rebounded throughout last year, they remained nearly 9 percent below the predicted annual volume by year-end.

It would be optimistic to think that people were getting less sick last year with ailments other than COVID, but experts say that the statistics tell a different story. People were just not seeking medical treatment and were dealing with many health issues at home. For good or for bad, many people learned to be more reliant on home treatments.

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If the past year has taught us anything, it’s that we need to be more proactive than ever before in taking care of our health. After all, we’ve seen first-hand that supplies won’t always be waiting for us on store shelves, and doctors won’t always be available.

One of the best ways to be prepared for a medical emergency is to have the right supplies on hand. For this article, we’ve compiled a list of basic supplies you should have in your home to handle everything from cuts and scrapes to much more severe injuries or ailments that might result from a weather-related or human-caused disaster.

We’ll begin with the basic building block of your supplies – the first aid kit.

No home, vehicle, or bug-out location should be without a first aid kit. You can purchase a pre-assembled kit or fill a bag or backpack yourself with the necessary supplies. For a list of the contents, we turned to the experts in disaster relief.

Here are 16 supplies the American Red Cross recommends for a family of four:

1. Twenty-five adhesive bandages (various sizes)

2. Ten sterile gauze pads (multiple sizes)

3. Five packets of antiseptic wipes

4. Five packets of antibiotic ointment 

5. Two triangular bandages

6. Two pairs of non-latex gloves

7. Two packets of hydrocortisone ointment

8. Two compress dressings

9. One three-inch gauze roll bandage

10. One four-inch roller bandage

11. One 10-yard roll of cloth tape

12. One breathing barrier (for CPR use)

13. One folding emergency blanket

14. One (or more) instant cold compress

15. A set of tweezers

16. An emergency first aid guidebook

The Red Cross advises that you inspect your first aid kit at least once every six months for any expiration dates and other supplies that need replacing.

Now that you have your first aid kit filled with 16 items, we’ll continue our list with other emergency supplies you should have on handL

17. Adhesive tape

18. Superglue

19. Tourniquet

20. Eyeshield or eye pad

21. Finger splints

22. Cotton balls and swabs

23. Duct tape

24. Petroleum jelly

25. Plastic zippered bags, assorted sizes

26. Large plastic trash bags

27. Safety pins (various sizes)

28. Scissors

29. Hand sanitizer

30. Eyewash solution

31. Medical thermometer

32. Bulb suction device (a turkey baster will do nicely)

33. Sterile saline solution

34. Face masks

35. Medicine cup or spoon or syringe

36. Hydrogen peroxide

37. Magnifying glass

38. Needle and thread

39. Medical stapler and staple remover

40. Dental mirror

Medications

Now let’s consider the medications you should have in supply for medical emergencies.

41. Personal prescriptions

42. Aloe vera gel

43. Calamine lotion

44. Anti-diarrheal medication (such as Loperamide)

45. Laxative

46. Antacids

47. Antihistamine (such as diphenhydramine)

48. Hydrocortisone cream

49. Cough and cold medications

50. Auto-injector of epinephrine (epi-pen) if prescribed for a member of your family

51. Pain relievers (such as acetaminophen and ibuprofen)

52. Aspirin (Aspirin can be life-saving in an adult with chest pain. However, do not give aspirin to children and don’t take aspirin if you take blood-thinning medication or have issues with bleeding.)

53. Lidocaine cream

54. Pedialyte (Electrolyte powders)

55. Stomach gas reducer (Simethicone)

56. Fiber powder (Metamucil)

57. Zinc

58. Vitamin C

59. Vitamin D

60. Multivitamins

61. Disinfectant mouthwash

62. Burn gel or cream

Other Emergency Items

This next section contains items that go above and beyond the typical household first aid kit. These items require some medical training to use, but when used correctly, they could save someone’s life when emergency medical personnel are not available.

63. QuikClot. This product is a wound dressing that contains kaolin, an agent that promotes blood clotting.

64. Penrose Drain Tubes. Commonly used by veterinarians, these tubes allow fluids to drain from a wound. They can be used as tourniquets.

65. Foley Catheters. These thin, flexible tubes are used to provide relief from urinary blockage relief.

66. Antibiotics. Life-saving antibiotics are difficult to get without a prescription but vital in many disaster scenarios. Here’s an informative article on which antibiotics you need on hand and why.

67. Lights. Lighting is critical for many medical emergencies. Consider headlamps and LED flashlights.

68. Blankets. The Red Cross list includes a small emergency blanket, but you’ll need a good supply of warm blankets during any emergency for warmth and when someone is in shock.

69. Water purification equipment. Clean water is essential for health. Include water purification tablets in your emergency medical supply kits.

70. N-100 High Filtration Face Mask/Respirator. We’ve all learned way more than we thought we ever would need to know about face masks over the past year or so. But COVD aside, face masks are essential safety gear in an emergency. In this article, the CDC gives the lowdown on facemask classifications, seals, and protections.

71. Sunscreen

72. Insect repellent

73. Medical consent forms for each person in the household

74. Medical history forms for each person in the household

75. Waterproof matches

76. Small notepads and waterproof writing instruments

77. Solar cellphone charger

78. Comfort items. Especially if you have children, it’s important to have small items that could provide comfort to someone in an emergency. Candy, stickers, and small stuffed animals may help offer security during a stressful time. For adults, comfort remedies can include herbal teas and weighted blankets.

In addition to gathering medical supplies in case of emergency, there are a couple of things you should do:

Take a Class

If you’ve been putting off taking a CPR class, a first aid course, or wilderness survival training, procrastinate no longer. None of these classes will give you the training of a qualified nurse or doctor, but they can go a long way in helping you keep a clear head and take confident steps to help someone in a medical emergency.

Check out your local community college for course offerings, and here are some other courses you can take in-person and online:

Study and Learn

Although it’s easy to look up medical information on your phone, we recommend investing in a medical guide book to help you prepare for disaster situations. Here are few suggestions:

Finally, you may be wondering where you will put all these supplies. Not all of them will fit on your medicine cabinet, and your standard first aid kit should remain well-sticked with the first part of our list.

You might want to purchase a plastic storage tub (or two) to keep all these supplies and your medical records organized and in one place. Place the bin in an area that is dry and out of direct sunlight. Since it contains some potentially dangerous items and medicine sure it is out of reach of young children.

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