Home first aid kit checklist: the Red Cross list, and when to buy a ready-made kit

Where kits belong

The American Red Cross says to keep a first aid kit in your home and in your car, to carry one with you or know where you can find one, and to find out the location of first aid kits where you work. Kits come in many shapes and sizes. Your local drug store may sell them, and you can also make your own.

The Red Cross also notes that some kits are designed for specific activities, such as hiking, camping or boating. A home kit is the one that matters most here.

The Red Cross checklist for a family of four

The Red Cross says all first aid kits for a family of four should include the items below. This is the Red Cross's list, copied item by item. It sizes for four people, so adjust the counts for your household.

• 2 absorbent compress dressings (5 x 9 inches)
• 25 adhesive bandages (assorted sizes)
• 1 adhesive cloth tape (10 yards x 1 inch)
• 5 antibiotic ointment packets (approximately 1 gram)
• 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 pair of nonlatex gloves (size: large)
• 2 hydrocortisone ointment packets (approximately 1 gram each)
• 1 3 in. gauze roll (roller) bandage
• 1 roller bandage (4 inches wide)
• 5 3 in. x 3 in. sterile gauze pads
• 5 sterile gauze pads (4 x 4 inches)
• Oral thermometer (non-mercury/nonglass)
• 2 triangular bandages
• Tweezers
• Emergency First Aid instructions

Add your own, and keep it current

The Red Cross says to include any personal items such as medications and emergency phone numbers or other items your health-care provider may suggest. Prescription needs, allergy medicine and anything for a household member's medical condition are a conversation for your clinician or pharmacist, not a checklist.

The Red Cross says to check the kit regularly, check expiration dates, and replace any used or out-of-date contents. Pick a date you already remember, such as when you change your smoke alarm batteries, and look through the box then.

Buy a kit or build one?

Both routes meet the list. A ready-made kit puts it all in one box and is easy to grab, but check it against the list above: counts and contents vary, and the Red Cross list is the yardstick. Building your own means you pay only for what you lack. Many households already have bandages, tape, tweezers, gloves and a thermometer in a drawer.

If you want to compare ready-made options, our first aid kits page ranks them on what is in the box. For a wider kit, see our emergency kit checklist and go-bag checklist.

Numbers to keep with the kit

In an emergency, call 911. CDC says if someone shows signs of carbon monoxide poisoning, call 911 or your local Poison Control Center at 1-800-222-1222. Write both on a card in the kit, and save the Poison Control number in every adult's phone.

A kit does not replace training. The Red Cross list includes emergency first aid instructions, and a local first aid class teaches what the box cannot.