My head ached, the temperature jumped, I cut myself while cooking ... A home medicine cabinet in such cases is a small combat arsenal against malaise, which will come to the rescue of a doctor. We put together a first-aid kit with Maria Fedichkina, a general practitioner from the Chaslu Dubai Wellbeing Clinic.
The importance of a first-aid kit should not be underestimated, but at the same time you should not get carried away either. For an adult who does not have any chronic diseases, its composition should be as simple as possible - with its help you should provide first aid, and not survive a month on a desert island without a single hospital around.
Moreover, as Maria Fedichkina, a general practitioner from Chaslu Dubai Wellbeing Clinic, a first-aid kit for children should be even more modest than for adults: only a doctor should diagnose diseases and prescribe therapy for children. If the child is healthy, then in addition to the patch and antiseptic solution, nothing should be in the mother’s handbag. But with a list of must have for a first-aid kit, we recommend that you look in more detail.
1. Medical equipment.
Thermometer comes first. Just remember that when measuring with an ear thermometer, a temperature of up to 37.5 degrees is considered normal.
2. OTC painkillers and antipyretic drugs.
It makes sense to stock up with paracetamol and ibuprofen in tablets. Of course, we are not talking about a situation where a person has contraindications. Ibuprofen has a more pronounced analgesic effect and a longer period of action, but it also has more side effects. Therefore, it is advised to start with paracetamol.
3. Means of protection from sunlight.
This is especially true for the Emirates. Sunscreens are available with a low degree of protection (SPF) and high - you need to select depending on the phototype of the skin. Also choose products that can protect against UVA and UVB rays.
4. Antiseptic agents.
For example, chlorhexidine. It will help if it is not possible to wash a fresh contaminated wound with water and ordinary soap.
5. A solution for rehydration (fluid replenishment).
It will help in case of intense fluid loss during diarrhea, vomiting, with profuse sweating due to physical exertion or high temperature.
6. Drops in the nose
It is better to have saline isotonic solution and vasoconstrictor drops in the nose at home. The latter should be used only when absolutely necessary, with exact adherence to the dosage and not longer than 4-5 days, doctors advise. The risk of drug dependence is great.
7. Antihistamines
It is necessary to have people predisposed to various types of allergic reactions.
8. Laxatives and antidiarrheals
Ideally, their use should be agreed with the doctor, but in the case of, for example, a "bear illness" (before the exam or some important event), you can take it once. "As for laxatives, usually for a normal and regular stool in a healthy person it is enough to establish a diet and a drinking regime, so all laxatives should be prescribed only by a doctor," says Maria Fedichkina.
9. People over 40 are advised to keep nitroglycerin in the medicine cabinet (as a spray or tablets) and aspirin.
Also, a tonometer for measuring blood pressure will be on hand. It often happens that myocardial infarction is the first manifestation of atherosclerosis, therefore, if a person first felt discomfort, heaviness, pain in the sternum (sensations may give to the left arm, back, lower jaw), nausea, dizziness, you should immediately call an ambulance and ask about the need to take nitroglycerin and aspirin before the doctor arrives. At a pressure below 90 or a pulse of less than 50 beats per minute, taking nitroglycerin alone is contraindicated.
10. Dressings
It is necessary to keep plasters of various sizes, sterile and elastic bandages at home (it is important that the person who puts the bandage on knows how to use it correctly).
Features of the first-aid kit.
It’s more convenient for a child to put together a separate first-aid kit, which will include drugs developed by age, such as children's protective agents from sunlight, a special children's rehydration solution, children's forms of paracetamol and ibuprofen (candles and syrup). Be sure to calculate the dosage by the weight of the child and observe the frequency of administration. Get salt solution for washing the nose with acute respiratory infections. Due to the anatomical features of the structure of the nasopharynx, children under 2 years old should not be sprayed with a nose, only drops can be used. Vasoconstrictor drops are recommended only if the child is unable to eat or sleep due to nasal congestion. Here you need to be very careful - causing an overdose is very easy, right up to resuscitation. Antihistamines drugs are indicated for children prone to allergic rhinitis and urticaria.
P.S. Let's hope that you will need to contact your first-aid kit as little as possible. Nevertheless, do not forget to conduct an audit once every six months and change those drugs that have expired - their effectiveness is greatly reduced.
Maria Fedichkina, general practitioner, graduated from the S.M. Kirov Military Medical Academy (St. Petersburg), underwent professional retraining in the hematology program at the V.A. Almazov Federal Center for Heart, Blood, Endocrinology (St. Petersburg). Since 2016, she has been practicing in the UAE, and is currently accepting patients in the clinic. Chaslu Dubai Wellbeing Clinic and accepts patients of both sexes, adults and children over 1 year of age (screening, prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases of various profiles). The clinic is equipped with ultrasound and MRI devices, it has a physiotherapy room equipped with physiotherapy equipment, kinesiotherapy, professional massage, manual therapy sessions and other procedures are performed.
Clinic Address: Jumeirah Beach Road, Umm Suqeim 1, Villa No. 15, Street No. 7B.
Phone for recording: 971 (0) 4 3955799.
The text was prepared by Anna Ivanova.
