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Home Care Safety: Refreshing Your Parent’s First Aid Kit for the Summer Months

Home Care in Mamaroneck NY

First Aid KitEvery home should have at least one first aid kit. This kit is what will help you to respond promptly and effectively to minor injuries and illnesses and can help to make these situations less stressful. If your parent is on a home care journey, making sure that they have a well-stocked and well-maintained first aid kit readily available ensures that they are ready to manage simple issues quickly. While there are some items that should be in your parent’s first aid kit at all times, it is important that you also take into consideration the different risks and challenges that can arise during the different seasons and enhance their kit during these seasons to prepare for these potential hazards.

Use these tips to help you refresh your parent’s first aid kit for the summer months:

  • Do a purge. Before you start adding items to your parent’s kit you want to make sure that you know what is in there and in usable condition. Remember that medications and supplies such as antibiotic ointments do have expiration dates. You do not want to keep these items in the kit after their expiration because they will not give the same results that you expect from them. Go through the kit and check every item that is in it for cleanliness, expiration date, and how much they have left. Compile an inventory as you go so that you can make one shopping trip for the other items that they may need.
  • Change containers. You may want to consider changing the container of your parent’s first aid kit during the summer months. While ideally there will be an extra kit in the vehicle with your parent and a referred caregiver, if there is not, having a kit that they can grab easily when they head out on an outing makes it easy for them to have the supplies that they need. Look for a container that is easy to carry and resistant to dirt and water.
  • Add insect relief components. Insects can and do exist during other times of the year, but if you are going to have an issue with them, it is more likely that it is going to happen during the summer months. While your parent should use bug repellant any time that they are going to be outside for a long period around trees or grass, or during the twilight hours, this repellant is not always completely effective. Have items such as tweezers and tape available to remove stingers, as well as pain relief and itch relief creams to handle stings and bites if they do occur.
  • Add sunburn relief components. Sunburns are some of the most common ailments of the summer months. If not managed properly they can lead to serious health consequences including dehydration, skin damage, and infection. Boost your parent’s first aid kit summer worthiness by adding in cooling gel and hydrating gel to help soothe and protect the skin while encouraging it to heal. Ask your parent’s doctor about over the counter pain relief medication that they can add to their kit to take if they experience the discomfort of a serious burn.

If you or an aging loved one are considering non-medical in-home care in Scarsdale and Yonkers, NY, call Griswold Home Care and speak to one of our caring staff members today. Call (914) 768-9065

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