It is tough NOW. So how are we coping

D&DD

cw18 wrote: »

Back to First Aid kits if people don't mind me picking their brains.....

After the chat on here I was ashamed at how much I've let mine run down and disappear over the years, so I picked up a few bits this morning to start building it back up (I was in a cheap discount shop).

At the moment I only 'officially' need to stock up for myself and my 17 year-old son (and visits home by 19 year-old son), but also have my grand-daughters (3.5 & 5) around school during term time -- so I guess I need stuff in for them too (DD would be quite happy for me to "dose" them if I felt it necessary, as she knows I only tend to use medications as a last resort -- but I would try and contact her to check, especially in the mornings, just in case she'd given them anything and forgotten to tell me).

I picked up a couple of types of bandages (one thing elder DS is regularly on the scrounge for), some fabric plasters (assorted size box), fabric plaster strip, fabric strapping roll, micropore roll, Witch Hazel, antispectic cream, chesty cough medicine (adult only), hot lemon powders, and a couple of boxes of individual sachets of kids paracetamol (worked out cheaper than a bottle, no risk of how long to keep once opened, and the bbe date is September 2010)

I have cotton wool, paracetamol, ibuprofen, codeine and anti-histamine in the house already.

I know I need to find some safety pins for the bandages....

The other thing I saw that I always used to have was Bonjela, but that was no cheaper then in a chemist -- and they were out of stock of the unbranded one -- so I'll keep my eyes peeled for that.

But what else (if anything) do people keep in their kits?

Arnica cream is a must in this house :rotfl: (used to be tincture of arnica when I was a young 'un) for bringing out bruises.
Sting stuff (I swear by Anthisan)
I'll add to this in a mo..will have a rummage
edit...
I also have Waspeze,acriflex(burn cream),savlon,germolene and cortizone cream.
I have ecinacea for heading off colds as well as the usual cough potions and skin lotions..
DS2 has a stockpile of pain meds because of his back,also have ibuprofen gel,clove oil for toothaches..cor we sound like a chemists shop..

D&DD

oh and surgical spirit for DS2's skin,epsom salts for DS3's foot soaks and alcohol hand gel !! :rotfl:

cw18

Thanks

I have hand gel (I think - I assume that's the stuff for cleaning hands when there's no soap and water available :unsure: Got that in when the District Nurses were visiting to clean DH's lines)

I have Oil of Cloves somewhere too..... used that myself before now

oystercatcher

Bandages are best secured with a tiny bit of tape so forget the safety pins, they can go in the make do and mend box!

Anthisan (or own brand equivalent) is a must have in our house for insect bites.

Antiseptic creams can actually cause as many problems as they cure so wouldn't go overboard on that either.

Did you mention scissors for trimming bandages, tape /plasters ?

A thermometer is handy especially for 'littlies' think the forehead ones are cheapest although not terribly accurate, but enough so you can tell if a child is poorly or not.

Not quite first aid kit but when the boys were little I always had an old ice cream tub or similar tucked away but easy to grab if someone starts retching! Saved the carpet many times !!

Oystercatcher

oystercatcher

Oh !!

Tweezers for splinters and ticks (disinfect with the TCP/ surgical spirit or boiling water!)

And.... anti diahorrea medication . For those times when the use by date WAS right !!

OC

sammy_kaye18

bellaquidsin wrote: »

Hi SammyKaye good to see you back:hello: Does this mean the poorly puter is fixed now?

Thanks bella - think it jsut needed a holiday as we gave it to our techie neighbour who lives in the flat above us, he plugged it in and he said it ran fine for hours on end and he didnt even touch it!!! :eek: we got it back and its been working fine since so no idea what was wrong with it - now also have a spare more updated computer that my dad gave me as part of my Christmas present - its his old computer but still younger than ours is so we have that too now so now got two computers!

Also got step grandmas Christmas card today and she has put a £20 Tesco gift card in there for me so that will got toward my tin stockpile I think! Although I am trying to be good and running the cupboards down and hoping I wont need to do a huge shop for a while yet

D&DD

oystercatcher wrote: »

Oh !!

Tweezers for splinters and ticks (disinfect with the TCP/ surgical spirit or boiling water!)

And.... anti diahorrea medication . For those times when the use by date WAS right !!

OC

lol yep got all the above too :rotfl:

*apparently cotton wool balls soaked in petroleum jelly are very good for starting a fire in any survival situation too *

ooh cough sweets,sore throat lozenges and remegels

cw18

oystercatcher wrote: »

Bandages are best secured with a tiny bit of tape so forget the safety pins, they can go in the make do and mend box!

I actually like to have both -- elder DS and I can't make bandages stay with anything less than a pin (or 3) :rolleyes2

Did you mention scissors for trimming bandages, tape /plasters ?

two pairs in my kitchen drawer, and several in my craft room -- nothing a quick wipe with Witch Hazel/TCP won't make useable Scissors are always the first thing to disappear from my first aid kits

A thermometer is handy especially for 'littlies' think the forehead ones are cheapest although not terribly accurate, but enough so you can tell if a child is poorly or not.

have an electronic 'inner ear' one

Not quite first aid kit but when the boys were little I always had an old ice cream tub or similar tucked away but easy to grab if someone starts retching! Saved the carpet many times !!

several in my kitchen for the exact same reason......

oystercatcher wrote:

Tweezers for splinters and ticks (disinfect with the TCP/ surgical spirit or boiling water!)

added to shopping list -- I normally "suck" mine out (or use a pin)

And.... anti diahorrea medication . For those times when the use by date WAS right !!

I have some that acts the other way This one added to list.......

Pitlanepiglet

cw18 wrote: »

Back to First Aid kits if people don't mind me picking their brains.....

I picked up a couple of types of bandages (one thing elder DS is regularly on the scrounge for), some fabric plasters (assorted size box), fabric plaster strip, fabric strapping roll, micropore roll, Witch Hazel, antispectic cream, chesty cough medicine (adult only), hot lemon powders, and a couple of boxes of individual sachets of kids paracetamol (worked out cheaper than a bottle, no risk of how long to keep once opened, and the bbe date is September 2010)

I have cotton wool, paracetamol, ibuprofen, codeine and anti-histamine in the house already.

As someone else suggested I keep arnica cream, I also keep some of those dressing pads in various sizes to use with micropore tape (can't remember what they are called but they are the non sticky ones), you can also use them with bandages.

I keep soluble aspirin as well which is really useful for sore throats or gums.

Glad to see you've got witch hazel, I think it's a godsend. I also keep tea tree oil and lavender oil - I find lavender is good for burns along with the witch hazel

I also carry a roll of strapping tape, it's useful for fingers, toes etc, and also for when new shoes rub!!

Caterina

Hi all

Just reappeared back from the land of the non-internetters (scary place!) as my old router gave up the ghost and I could not connect - just realised in these last 2 days how dependent on technology I have become.

I am delighted that Christmas is behind me now with all its stresses and demands. Today I got a bit annoyed when my teens received in the post a voucher each for £10 from some relatives. I was hoping that we were over this nonsense.

When all the cousins were small we parents in the family (DH family I mean - mine are in Italy and right tightwads they are too, we don't do presents in my OWN family!:rotfl: ) would buy each of the other families' kids a present each, that meant that we, parents of two, would buy presents for 9 kids (DH's cousins are 3 families with 3 kids each). That meant that we all put some thought in what the little ones would like etc... Then most of them started hitting the teenage years and a for a while there was an exchange of vouchers.

Now this did bother me because it is just like an exchange of money, only we lost out as a family, the twins would get (in all) £60 worth and we would have to send out (in all) £90 worth (3x3). Also I feel that if you have to send vouchers you might not bother sending anything. It is better to send a cheque then, if you really have to do it in this way!

I would much rather buy the cousins a present when we see them, something that they like, with one of the families we tend to make an outing to TK Maxx and get whatever the teens REALLY like. Another we hardly see anymore, due to family reasons etc... and the other we keep meaning to get together but it does not seem to happen.

I am not anti-presents really, I would be delighted to get something nice for the kids' cousins, but really find the voucher thing unnecessary, just a box-ticking affair.

I have asked DH to talk with his cousins and decide to stop all this, but he never did. I used to go with it but after one year that I bought the cousins' presents and he never bothered posting them (they sat on top of my wardrobe for a whole year and I sent them the next Christmas!) and then one year I bought the £90 worth of cousins' gift vouchers and still found them in their envelope at the bottom of DH's bedside cabinet months later...hey, I do not have money to waste, enough is enough!

Am I being ungrateful and insensitive? What would you do?

Caterina