First Aid Kit for Gardeners

I don't know about anyone else, but when I am working outside in the yard or garden, I will sometimes get a scrape or cut on my hands, an insect bite, splinter in my finger, or some other kind of very minor medical emergency. While it may be minor, the wound or bite needs to be tended to before infection sets in or before I get blood every where. But it is very inconvenient for me to stop my work, come into the house, take off my shoes (so I don't track dirt through out my house), find the supplies that I need and then tend to the wound.

I have solved that problem by making up a first aid kit that I keep outside during the spring and summer months. I keep my kit under my gardener potting bench which is out of the sun and the rain cannot get to it. It is important that the kit is not exposed to the elements and direct sunlight. If you do not have a place like that outside, you could also store your kit in a tool shed, garage, or some other out building.

While you might not need or want everything on my list, the things that I include in my kit are:

• A empty, cleaned out, large ice cream bucket with a lid. This is what I store all my supplies in. It helps to keep the supplies together and the handle makes it easy for me to just grab it and go in an emergency.
• Suntan lotion
• Baby orajel. This is in case of a splinter. I rub the orajel around the skin by the splinter which numbs the skin and makes the removal of the splinter a lot less painful.
• Isopropyl Alcohol
• Hydrogen Peroxide
• Bandages in all sizes
• Sterile 4X4 gauze sponges
• medical tape
• safty pins
• tweezers
• scissors
• Benzalkonium chloride towelettes
• Sterile gloves
• antiseptic hand wipes
• hand sanitizer
• antacid tablets
• insect sting relief pads
• electrolyte dehydration tablets
• antibiotic cream
• paper hankies
• rolls of gauze bandages

I hope this helps. If you have any suggestions of other things that would be good to include in the kit, please feel free to share them in the comment section of this post. Thanks for reading and visiting my blog. :-)