First-aid kit
Prevention
A messy first-aid kit rarely seems dangerous — until you need to find the right medicine quickly, or a child gets hold of a brightly coloured box. The main article in this section explains step by step how to sort out a home first-aid kit and keep it in order. We do not give a list of what it should contain: what your family's kit should include is best discussed with your doctor.
An orderly first-aid kit is not a set of the right medicines, but the certainty that each one is in date, stored as it should be and prescribed for you.
What you will need
- All the medicines in your home, including ones forgotten in bags and drawers
- Good lighting to read the small print on the packs
- A marker pen or stickers to note the opening date
- A box with a lid or a drawer that children cannot get into
- A sheet of paper for questions for your doctor or pharmacist
Gather everything in one place
Medicines spread around the home: some are in the kitchen, some in the hallway, some in a travel bag. Lay them out on a table to see the full picture.
Hypothetical example: sorting through turns up a second pack of the same product, bought “just in case” and forgotten on a top shelf.
Check the expiry dates
Find the date on every pack. Put expired medicines in a separate bag — there is no need to use them.
Hypothetical example: a box of drops shows last year's date, and the drops go straight into the bag to be handed in.
Mark the opening date
Drops, syrups, ointments and solutions often have their own, shorter shelf life once opened. It is given in the leaflet, and it helps to write the opening date directly on the pack.
Hypothetical example: a bottle gets a note in marker pen: “opened in March”.
Check the storage conditions
Read in the leaflet at what temperature and under what conditions each medicine should be stored. “Protect from light” or “store in a refrigerator” is not a suggestion but a condition for the medicine to keep its properties.
Hypothetical example: a bottle whose leaflet says to keep it in the fridge moves from a hallway shelf to a shelf in the fridge.
Put the leaflets back
Each leaflet should be in its own box. If a leaflet has been lost, check its contents with a pharmacist rather than relying on memory.
Hypothetical example: a blister strip without its box and leaflet is set aside to show a pharmacist and decide what to do with it.
Keep medicines away from children
Choose a high place in a closed cupboard or drawer and keep all medicines there, including the ones needed every day. Do not leave them on a bedside table or in a bag a child could open.
Hypothetical example: a visiting grandmother's pill box also goes into a closed drawer for the length of her stay.
Write down questions for the doctor
Note everything you are unsure about: why a medicine was prescribed, whether it is still needed, what is sensible to keep at home given your health conditions and your children's ages.
Hypothetical example: at a GP appointment, a patient shows their list and decides with the doctor what in the kit is no longer needed.
Repeat the check
It is enough to sort out the first-aid kit every few months and after each illness, when new medicines come into the home.
Hypothetical example: a reminder to check the first-aid kit is set in the calendar for the first day of each new season.
Common mistakes
- Keeping medicines in the bathroom or in the kitchen next to the cooker
- Throwing away the box and leaflet and keeping only the blister strip or bottle
- Keeping medicines in a bag or on a bedside table within children's reach
- Using drops and syrups long after opening without checking the leaflet
- Taking a medicine that was once prescribed to another family member
- Pouring expired medicines down the sink or toilet
If that doesn't work
- If you have no lockable cupboard, put a box with a lid on the top shelf
- If the small print is hard to read, ask a pharmacist to help find the expiry date and storage conditions
- If a leaflet has been lost, check it with a pharmacist, not on forums
- If there are many prescriptions, ask your doctor for a list with how to take each one and keep it next to the kit
Check yourself
- All medicines are gathered in one place
- There are no expired medicines in the kit
- Opened bottles and tubes are marked with the opening date
- Each medicine is stored as its leaflet says
- The leaflets are in their boxes
- The kit is kept where children cannot get to it
- Questions for the doctor are written down
Where to store medicines
| Place | Suitable? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Bathroom cabinet | Usually not | Damp and temperature swings after a shower speed up the deterioration of many medicines |
| Kitchen, next to the cooker | No | Near the hob and oven it is hot and humid, and the temperature keeps changing |
| Fridge | Only if the leaflet says so | Few medicines need the cold; for the rest, cold and condensation can cause damage |
| Bag left in the car | No | The car heats up a lot in summer and freezes in winter, so storage conditions are not met |
| Closed drawer in a living room | Usually yes | Dry, dark, with a steady temperature, and it can be made inaccessible to children |
Read next
- Topics
Topics by group: leaflet and pack, storage, special situations and safety. The article catalogue is here too.
- Leaflet
How to read the leaflet section by section, how dosage forms differ and what “prescription only” means.
- Questions
Questions worth asking your doctor when a medicine is prescribed, your pharmacist, and anyone when a reaction appears.
Sources
- Package leaflets / instructions for medical use
- State Pharmacopoeia of the Russian Federation
Information is current as of the preparation date. Rules on medicines, labelling requirements and the procedure for reporting side effects can change — always check the leaflet for your specific medicine and confirm the details with a doctor or pharmacist.