A first aid kit can come in handy for cuts and headaches—and it can also save a life. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) mandates that kits be available and fully stocked with supplies that reflect common injuries in that particular workplace. Here are a few supplies that should be in a workplace first aid kit; keep this list handy, and keep your kit stocked with these items.
Bandages
Keep all kinds of bandages in your kit: small adhesive ones for cuts as well as sterile roller bandages and gauze for bigger injuries. Along with those bandages and gauze, keep small scissors and medical tape stocked to keep the bandages in place.
Antiseptics and Sanitizers
Clean medical supplies are crucial to performing proper first aid. Keep germs and debris from settling into any wound by wiping down the wound with a sterile antiseptic wipe. Each wipe should be individually packaged and fully sterile. Hand sanitizer is also a must for quick and easy germ reduction.
Sterile Gloves
Avoid getting somebody else’s blood on your bare skin by snapping on a pair of disposable sterile gloves. If you’re treating another employee’s wound, keep the area as clean as possible by using sterile equipment such as gloves and gauze.
Drug-Testing Supplies
If you work in an area with increased safety risks, your employees’ sobriety is paramount to everybody’s safety. Let’s say an accident occurs due to one or more employees’ negligence. A quick test using drug test strips can give you answers regarding the cause of the accident. Keep a few drug-testing supplies in your first aid kit just in case a situation like this arises.
Resuscitation Equipment
If somebody in your workplace collapses, you need a way to get them breathing again as soon as possible. CPR kits include barriers called pocket masks, which allow you to provide mouth-to-mouth resuscitation in a clean and sterile manner.
When stocking your workplace’s first aid kit, prepare for all possible situations. From pocket masks to drug test strips, each component will keep you ready in case an injury does arise. Remember what supplies should be in a workplace first aid kit, and turn to American Screening Corp to keep your kit fully stocked.
