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Body · First aid basics

Stocking a first-aid kit

Keep one kit at home and one in the car, somewhere easy to grab. The Red Cross list covers the core: 25 assorted bandages, gauze pads and rolls, tape, antibiotic and hydrocortisone ointment, antiseptic wipes, nonlatex gloves, a cold pack, tweezers, a thermometer and an emergency blanket. Add pain relievers, your own medicines, a flashlight, and a card with emergency numbers and insurance info. Check expiration dates a couple of times a year and mark the date you last used it.

Easy30 min to buildBuy ready-made or build from drugstore suppliesChecked October 2, 2026

You'll need

  • A ready-made kit or a sturdy, waterproof box
  • A marker for the date
  • The checklist below

What to know

  1. Buy a kit or build one. Drugstores sell them, and some are made for hiking, camping or boating. Source: Red Cross1
  2. Keep one at home and one in your car, and find out where the kits are at work. Source: Red Cross1 Store them somewhere easy to reach but away from young children. Source: Mayo Clinic2
  3. Stock the Red Cross basics, listed below. Its list is sized for a family of four, so a smaller amount is fine for one person. Source: Red Cross1
  4. Add medicines: pain relievers like acetaminophen or ibuprofen, an antihistamine, antacids, anti-diarrhea medicine, and any personal medicines that don't need refrigeration. If a doctor prescribed an epinephrine auto-injector, keep one in the kit. Source: Mayo Clinic2
  5. Add emergency items: a small waterproof flashlight with extra batteries, a notepad and pen, and your health insurance member and phone numbers. Source: Mayo Clinic2
  6. Write an emergency numbers card: your doctor, local emergency services, roadside assistance, and Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222. Source: Mayo Clinic2
  7. Check it regularly. Test the flashlight, replace anything expired or used up, and mark the kit with the date you last used it. Kits can go years between uses. Source: Mayo Clinic2
Watch out A kit is for small injuries. If an injury looks serious, skip the kit and call 911. Source: 911.gov4 See When to call 911.

Red Cross first-aid kit list

  • 2 absorbent compress dressings, 5 x 9 inches Source: Red Cross1
  • 25 adhesive bandages, assorted sizes
  • 1 roll of adhesive cloth tape, 10 yards x 1 inch
  • 5 antibiotic ointment packets
  • 5 antiseptic wipe packets
  • 2 packets of aspirin, 81 mg each
  • 1 emergency blanket
  • 1 breathing barrier with one-way valve
  • 1 instant cold compress
  • 2 pairs of nonlatex gloves
  • 2 hydrocortisone ointment packets
  • 1 roller bandage, 3 inches wide, and 1 roller bandage, 4 inches wide
  • 5 sterile gauze pads, 3 x 3 inches, and 5 sterile gauze pads, 4 x 4 inches
  • Oral thermometer, non-mercury and nonglass
  • 2 triangular bandages
  • Tweezers
  • Emergency first-aid instructions

Worth adding for a car kit

See it done

Video by St John Ambulance Nonprofit

How to Use your First Aid Kit & Contents

Watch on YouTube: How to Use your First Aid Kit & Contents - First Aid Training - St John Ambulance

Full title on YouTube: “How to Use your First Aid Kit & Contents - First Aid Training - St John Ambulance”2015 · Checked October 3, 2026

Heads up: it's British, so plasters are bandages and a torch is a flashlight. Our Red Cross list is in the steps.

Video won't load at school or work? No problem. Everything you need is in the steps; the video's just a bonus. Watch it on YouTube later.

If it doesn't work

  • Someone swallowed something they shouldn't have? Contact Poison Control online at poison.org or at 1-800-222-1222. Both are free, confidential and available 24 hours a day. Source: Mayo ClinicPoison Control25
  • An adult with new or unexplained chest pain? Call 911 first. Mayo Clinic says chewing a regular-strength aspirin may be lifesaving, but not for someone allergic to aspirin, with bleeding problems, on another blood thinner, or told by a doctor not to. Never give aspirin to children. Source: Mayo Clinic2
  • Not sure how to use what's in it? Take a first-aid course through the American Red Cross. Source: Mayo Clinic2

Good to know

The details, if you want them. Tap a line to open it.

Personal items

Include your medications, emergency phone numbers, and anything your health care provider suggests. Source: Red Cross1

Bigger emergencies

A disaster kit adds water (one gallon per person per day for several days), a flashlight and a whistle. Source: Ready.gov3

Take it with you

Printable cardDownload card (PDF)

Sources

  1. American Red Cross Anatomy of a first aid kit
  2. Mayo Clinic First-aid kits
  3. Ready.gov (FEMA) Build a kit
  4. 911.gov Calling 911
  5. Poison Control (National Capital Poison Center) Poison Control

Lesson B7.1 · Last checked October 2, 2026 against the sources listed.

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