Emergency First Aid Kit Guide

The British Red Cross home first aid kit checklist, aligned with NHS guidance, covers: 20 assorted plasters, 4 sterile gauze pads (5 x 5 cm and 10 x 10 cm), 2 crepe bandages, microporous tape, 6 safety pins, 2 triangular bandages, 1 pair of disposable nitrile gloves, antiseptic wipes (chlorhexidine or alcohol), saline pods, scissors, tweezers, a digital thermometer, a foil emergency blanket, paracetamol and ibuprofen (adult and child), chlorphenamine (Piriton) for allergies, Dioralyte sachets, Burnshield or cool-burn gel, Savlon or Sudocrem antiseptic cream and a basic first aid manual. Add 28 days of your repeat prescription and a paper copy of the prescription itself. Keep it in a clearly labelled waterproof box at home, with a slimmer version in the car. Many UK households also add a Quikclot or Celox haemostatic gauze and a CAT tourniquet for severe bleeding — see the next FAQ.

NHS triage in the UK is split between 111 and 999. Call 999 when life is at immediate risk: chest pain or signs of heart attack, suspected stroke (face droops, arm weakness, slurred speech — FAST test), severe bleeding that will not stop, choking, unconsciousness, suspected serious head injury, seizures, severe difficulty breathing, anaphylaxis, severe burns, or someone has stopped breathing. Call 111 for urgent but non-life-threatening issues: persistent vomiting, mild to moderate injuries, urgent prescription advice, dental pain, mental health crisis without immediate danger, sick child you are unsure about, or any "I do not know if this is serious enough for 999" situation. 111 operators are trained to triage and will send an ambulance themselves if needed. Both numbers are free and 24/7 in England, Scotland and Wales; Northern Ireland uses 999 plus GP out-of-hours services. If your hearing or speech is affected, text 999 (must be pre-registered at emergencysms.net) or 18000 via the BSL relay service.

UK pharmacy law splits medicines into GSL (general sales list), P (pharmacy) and POM (prescription only), and the rules limit how much you can buy in one go. Paracetamol: 16-tablet GSL packs (supermarkets), 32-tablet P packs at pharmacies — since 1998 retailers cap sales to 2 packs (64 tablets) per transaction to reduce overdose risk. Ibuprofen: 16 x 200 mg GSL packs in supermarkets, 32 x 200 mg in pharmacies; 400 mg tablets are P-only and 600 mg POM. Aspirin: 16 GSL, 32 P. Codeine combinations (co-codamol): P-only and limited to 3 days of treatment for acute pain. For a household emergency kit, a sensible legal stockpile is roughly 2 to 3 packs each of paracetamol 500 mg, ibuprofen 200 mg and aspirin 75 mg low-dose if used routinely. Buy at separate trips, store dated and unopened, and rotate every 2 years. Pharmacists can advise on safe combinations.

Always follow the leaflet and weigh the child first if possible. NHS guidance for paracetamol (e.g. Calpol Infant Suspension 120 mg/5 ml or Six Plus 250 mg/5 ml): 2 to 3 months 2.5 ml (only for post-vaccination fever, single dose); 3 to 6 months 2.5 ml every 4 to 6 hours, max 4 doses in 24 h; 6 to 24 months 5 ml; 2 to 4 years 7.5 ml; 4 to 6 years 10 ml; 6 to 8 years 5 ml of the 250 mg/5 ml strength; 8 to 10 years 7.5 ml; 10 to 12 years 10 ml. Wait at least 4 hours between doses and never exceed 4 doses in 24 hours. Ibuprofen (Nurofen for Children 100 mg/5 ml): only above 3 months and 5 kg; 3 to 6 months 2.5 ml three times a day; 6 to 12 months 2.5 ml three to four times a day; 1 to 3 years 5 ml; 4 to 6 years 7.5 ml; 7 to 9 years 10 ml. Always give ibuprofen with food. Never combine doses; alternate or use whichever the child tolerates. If fever lasts over 3 days or the child is under 3 months with any fever above 38 °C, call 111 or 999.

Severe bleeding can kill in under 5 minutes, so act fast — Storm Arwen, Storm Eowyn and Saddleworth Moor 2018 all left some UK households more than 20 minutes from a hospital. Follow the British Red Cross "Stop the Bleed" sequence: 1) Dial 999 and ask for ambulance and (in rural areas) mountain rescue. 2) Put on gloves if you have them, then apply firm direct pressure with a clean dressing or any clean cloth. 3) If the bleeding does not stop, do not lift the original dressing — pack more on top and keep pressing. 4) For a limb wound with arterial bleeding (bright red, spurting), apply a CAT tourniquet 5 to 7 cm above the wound, never on a joint; tighten until bleeding stops and write the time on it. 5) Use haemostatic gauze (QuikClot, Celox) packed into the wound for junctional bleeds (neck, groin, armpit) where a tourniquet will not fit. 6) Lay the casualty down, raise their legs, cover them with a foil blanket and reassure them. 7) Keep talking and watch for shock (pale, cold, fast pulse, confusion). 8) Update 999 with What3Words for rural locations. The Circuit and GoodSAM volunteer networks also alert nearby first aiders.