In any emergency, you or a family member may be cut, burned or suffer other injuries. Keep the following basic first aid supplies so you are prepared to help when someone is hurt.
- Two pairs of disposable gloves
- Sterile dressings to stop bleeding
- Cleansing agent/soap and antibiotic towelettes to disinfect
- Antibiotic ointment to prevent infection
- Burn ointment
- Adhesive bandages in a variety of sizes
- Eye wash solution to flush the eyes or as general decontaminant
- Scissors
- Over-the-counter medicines such as Aspirin or other pain reliever, laxative, anti-diarrhea medication
- Prescription medications you take every day such as insulin, heart medicine, or asthma inhaler
- Prescribed medical supplies such as glucose monitoring equipment or blood pressure monitors
Cleanup of Human Blood Spill
The cleanup of blood spills or contamination on various surfaces must be done carefully and with the proper dress out. The proper dress out for cleaning up a blood spill should consist of:
- disposable apron,
- rubber gloves,
- disposable respirator,
- goggles, and
- booties (if needed).
All of this equipment should be properly disposed of in proper marked containers.
Cleanup of all spilled blood should be done with caution due to the possibility of contamination of infectious agents, the two most significant are hepatitis B virus (HBV) and Human Immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
To clean a tile floor, don the protective equipment and clean the area with the same chlorine solution. Clean at least five times thoroughly with the chlorine solution. This should be sufficient for this type of floor or surface.
To clean a seamless tile surface, or a non porous surface, again don the protective equipment and clean thoroughly with the chlorine solution. This surface is the easiest to clean.
To clean carpet, don the protective equipment and clean as much of the blood up as possible using a chlorine compound such as bleach, mixed with about 10 parts water to one part household Clorox. Then remove all the carpet and carpet pad that was in any way contaminated by the blood. This carpet and pad should be disposed of in proper containment. Do not use a vacuum unless you are going to discard it. They are impossible to clean after removing something that has been contaminated.
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