Trained nurses and doctors save lives every day. They use specialized tools to hold emergency supplies, wrap wounds, and even put out fires, but most don’t know about the secret life savers hidden in their own homes. These simple emergency prep and emergency response tricks could save a life, a home, or prevent a trip to the hospital, and they’re all thanks to everyday household products you keep in your kitchen.
Zip Lock Bags
Zip lock bags have held sandwiches since their invention. They lock in freshness and keep food from going stale. They also prevent your mayonnaise from leaking into your handbag, or the hair from your brush from creeping into your food. These hygienic little bags are good for more than lunches, though. Most patients with asthma must carry an inhaler or nebulizer with them. In many cases, these devices mean the difference between life and death. If left loose in the bottom of a purse or backpack, however, it’s easy for them to become damaged. It’s easy for bags and their half-forgotten goodies to gum up crucial openings. By storing these devices in zip lock bags, however, you ensure they’re always ready for use.
Plastic Wrap
Did you know plastic wrap is essentially sterile as it comes off the roll? While it isn’t surgery-ready, it is one of the best bandages available to first aid responders. In case of an accident, you can wrap the wound in plastic wrap. It does not stick to the wound, which would cause hospital staff difficulties later on, but it does seal out contaminants and keeps blood from leaving the body. It’s a far more sanitary option than using a towel or clothing to staunch a wound.
Baking Soda
Small fires are all too common, especially in the kitchen. Keeping a fire extinguisher on hand is always a good idea, but you may or may not store one in your kitchen. You may not have one at all. Many families do not. So, if there’s a small kitchen fire, how do you deal with it? What if it’s between you and the exit? What if it’s small enough to contain and you know you could handle it if you just had something to extinguish it with? Remember, water only makes grease fires worse, because unlike wood, paper, or other flammable materials, grease only spreads under water.
In this scenario, baking soda could save your home and your life. Most households keep some in the kitchen for baking, but in a true emergency, it can help put out a fire. The powder smothers grease fires, and the powder itself is nonflammable. If you tried the same trick with something like flour, you’d only feed the flames. This trick works well for small fires when there isn’t lid available to smother the fire, or if the fire leaps out of a pan and onto the floor or counter top.
The final word on household products
These household products were all designed to fulfill different functions, but they can still save lives. Just because a medical professional is at home doesn’t mean they have left all danger behind. Fortunately, the tools to save lives are waiting in their kitchens.