A standard home first aid kit contains about 20 categories of supplies: bandages, gauze, adhesive tape, antiseptic wipes, antibiotic ointment, gloves, scissors, tweezers, a thermometer, and a few basic medications. The American Red Cross publishes a recommended list for a family of four that serves as the gold standard, but the right kit for you depends on where you keep it and what you’re preparing for.
Bandages, Gauze, and Tape
Wound coverings make up the bulk of any first aid kit. The Red Cross recommends 25 adhesive bandages in assorted sizes, which covers everything from a small finger cut to a scraped knee. Beyond the familiar adhesive strip, you need sterile gauze pads in two sizes: 3×3-inch pads for cleaning and covering small wounds, and 4×4-inch pads for larger injuries that need more absorption. Five of each is the standard recommendation.
For wounds that need pressure or wrapping, include at least one 3-inch and one 4-inch roller bandage. Two triangular bandages are also useful since they can work as arm slings, tourniquets, or improvised wraps for awkward body parts like ankles and shoulders. One roll of adhesive cloth tape (10 yards) holds everything in place.
Larger injuries call for absorbent compress dressings, which are thick 5×9-inch pads designed to soak up significant bleeding. Two of these should be in every home kit.
Cleaning and Infection Prevention
Keeping a wound clean matters more than most people realize. Five antiseptic wipe packets handle the initial cleaning of cuts and scrapes before you bandage them. Five single-use antibiotic ointment packets go on after cleaning to reduce infection risk. These are the small foil packets you tear open and squeeze directly onto a wound or bandage.
Hydrocortisone ointment (two packets) treats itching from bug bites, mild rashes, and contact with irritants like poison ivy. It reduces inflammation and swelling on the skin’s surface without doing anything for deeper injuries.
Tools You’ll Actually Use
Tweezers are essential for removing splinters, ticks, and debris from wounds. Scissors cut tape, gauze, and clothing away from an injury. An oral thermometer (non-mercury, non-glass) lets you check for fever, which can signal infection after an injury or the onset of illness. An instant cold compress activates with a squeeze and provides immediate cold therapy for sprains, bumps, and swelling without needing a freezer.
Two pairs of nonlatex disposable gloves protect both you and the person you’re helping from bloodborne contact. If you’re treating someone else’s wound, gloves aren’t optional. An emergency blanket, the thin reflective kind that folds down to the size of a deck of cards, retains body heat and helps prevent shock in serious situations.
A breathing barrier with a one-way valve allows you to perform rescue breathing during CPR without direct mouth-to-mouth contact. Most people never use one, but it’s a low-cost, compact item that could matter enormously in the rare moment you need it.
Medications to Include
The Red Cross list includes two packets of low-dose aspirin (81 mg each), which can be given during a suspected heart attack. Beyond that baseline, Johns Hopkins Medicine recommends stocking a few over-the-counter medications: a pain reliever and fever reducer like acetaminophen or ibuprofen, an antihistamine for allergic reactions, and an anti-diarrheal medication. For a travel kit, you might also ask your doctor about a prescription antibiotic for severe diarrhea.
Any prescription medications your family takes daily should have a small backup supply in or near the kit, along with a written list of each person’s medications and dosages. Emergency phone numbers belong here too.
Workplace Kits Have Different Standards
If you’re stocking a kit for a workplace, federal standards set by ANSI classify kits into two tiers. A Class A kit is the minimum: 16 adhesive bandages, 10 antibiotic applications, 10 antiseptic applications, scissors, sterile pads, trauma pads, and a triangular bandage. A Class B kit scales up significantly for higher-risk environments, adding 50 adhesive bandages, eye coverings, eye and skin wash, hand sanitizer, multiple pairs of exam gloves, extra roller bandages, and a first aid guide. OSHA requires workplaces to have adequate first aid supplies, and the class you need depends on your workplace hazard level and distance from emergency medical services.
Additions for Hiking and Wilderness
A backcountry kit builds on the basics with items that address the reality of being hours from a hospital. Blister treatment (moleskin or blister-specific bandages) is arguably the most-used item on any hiking trip. A SAM splint, which is a lightweight, moldable aluminum-and-foam strip, stabilizes a suspected fracture or severe sprain when you can’t get to an emergency room quickly. An emergency heat-reflecting blanket pulls double duty for warmth and shock prevention.
Wilderness kits also benefit from elastic wraps for joint injuries, a larger supply of gauze and tape than a home kit, and insect sting treatment. The further you are from help, the more self-sufficient your kit needs to be.
Severe Bleeding Supplies
Standard first aid kits aren’t designed for life-threatening hemorrhage. A dedicated bleeding control kit adds a tourniquet, which stops arterial bleeding on a limb within seconds when applied correctly. Advanced kits also include hemostatic gauze, which contains an embedded agent that accelerates clotting at the wound site. These items are compact enough to add to any kit, but they require basic training to use effectively. The national Stop the Bleed program offers free courses in most cities.
When Supplies Expire
First aid kits aren’t a set-it-and-forget-it purchase. Antiseptic wipes and antibiotic or hydrocortisone ointments typically expire after two years. Plastic and cloth bandages and sterile gauze pads can last up to five years, though adhesive bandages and tape gradually lose their stickiness over time even if they haven’t technically expired. Check your kit every six months, replace anything past its printed expiration date, and restock items you’ve used. Medications should be checked on the same schedule since most over-the-counter drugs lose potency after their expiration date.
A written first aid instruction guide rounds out the kit. Even if you’ve taken a first aid course, stress can blank your memory in an emergency, and a quick-reference card walks you through the steps when it counts.