Hey guys, I wanted to give you a slightly different perspective today. My good friend Kristin is medical professional. I was able to sweet talk her into writing a post for us. We get to hear from her about building a small med kit for your car. PLEASE post any questions you have for Kristin in the comments below. AND thank her for the great information that she has given us!

Hello, my name is Kristin. Charles asked if I would write a blog post for him about a simple first aid kit to put in your car in case you come across an emergency and want to help out before the EMT’s get there.  I have been a CMA, Certified Medical Assistant, for the past six years and I have always carried a first aid kit in my vehicle and unfortunately I have had to use it on several occasions. I will include pictures of my kit so you can see how easy and simple it can be to put together.

First and foremost you should take a first aid and CPR class through a local organization like the Red Cross, they are cheap and could save someone’s life and if you are going to help in an emergency it is good to know what to do.  A charged cell phone is also a vital item to have so that you can call for help and get the professionals to the scene.

The kit does not have to be anything fancy or expensive the professionals will have all the good equipment to help the person, you are just trying to keep them stable until someone can arrive.  I have my kit in a small tool box that I purchased on sale for about ten dollars, there are also a few larger items that won’t fit in the box but are easily stored in your trunk.

• Gloves are very important and should be worn at all times when touching someone else especially if they are bleeding.
• Alcohol pads, preferably individually wrapped ones, are good to have to clean up any blood or to get debris out of wounds.
• A bottle of aspirin is a cheap thing that could literally save someone’s life; again a first aid course so you know the signs and symptoms of a heart attack is helpful.
• I keep some Band-Aids in my kit just for small cuts, the ones I have are latex free but I don’t know if this is really necessary, I just don’t want to do more harm to someone if they have an allergy.
• I also keep some cheap dollar store feminine pads in my kit, this may seem strange but they are good for wrapping larger wounds and are absorbent and cheaper than getting a bunch of large gauze.
• I have some tape, wrap and some old t-shirts in my kit to use for wrapping splints or to attach the absorbent material to the person.
• A flashlight can be an important part of the kit if you are stopping at night or need to check someone’s eyes.  You should already have a flashlight in your kit that the Humble Mechanic showed you in the post “Building an Affordable Tool Kit for Your Car”.
• The parts of the kit that will probably not fit in your kit are a couple of towels or blankets and some large wooden sticks that they use to stir five gallon paint buckets with at Lowes or Home Depot.

You may have some of these items already and most of these items can be bought at a Dollar Store for very cheap or obtained for free.  The most expensive part of my kit is a CPR mask, this is not necessary really unless you are planning to do mouth to mouth , I have never had to do mouth to mouth on anyone and they now have a hands only version of CPR that would work well until an ambulance can arrive.

I hope this is has been helpful so you can put together a cheap kit that could make you feel more comfortable stopping at a scene and helping.  Feel free to ask questions in the comments section and I will try and answer them. ~Kristin Donadeo, CMA

Thanks Kristin~ This is not the last you guys will hear about this topic. 😉 I will be building 2(one for each car) and show you guys how easy and affordable this car be!

Here is the complete kit!