• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

+27 10 592 2111

sales@absolutehealth.co.za

Absolute Health and Safety

Absolute Health and Safety

  • Home
  • Training
    • First Aid Courses
    • Fire Fighting Courses
    • Health and Safety Courses
    • CPR, AED & Choking Courses
    • Specialised Courses
  • Services
    • Management Services
    • Safety Equipment
    • Fire Fighting Equipment Servicing
  • Pricing
  • About
  • Resources
    • Blog
    • Videos
    • Health and Safety [Workplace Guide]
  • Contact
  • Instant Quote

The Importance of the correct First Aid Box

14th Jul 2021 by Alastair Farish

Imagine yourself getting injured or sick while you are at home, workplace, or traveling to your favourite holiday destination and you do not have any first aid equipment readily available.

Table of Contents

  • What is a first aid box? 
    • Why is it crucial to have one? 
  • Different types of first aid boxes:
    • Benefits of having a first aid box.
    • Put together an accurate first aid box
  • First Aid Box Essentials
    • Minimum Contents of a First Aid Box
    • What should not go in a first aid box 

What is a first aid box? 

A first aid box is a collection of medical supplies and equipment that is readily available to be used in case of a medical emergency.

Why is it crucial to have one? 

A medical emergency or illness can occur at any given point in time and it is crucial that the basic first aid equipment that is found in a first aid box is immediately available in order to assist in treating or managing the medical injury or illness. Imagine a family member or co-worker cuts themself and you do not immediately have safety gloves and bandages available to assist the person in need. First aid is a lifesaving skill that can save a person’s life, but this can only be done if you have a correctly stocked first aid box available.

types of first aid boxes

Different types of first aid boxes:

There are a variety of first aid boxes available and these all depend on where they will be utilised.

The general content of a first aid box predominantly stays the same and it is only the quantity of medical supplies inside the box that differs. There are mainly three types of first aid boxes available, but a first aid box can be put together for any specific situation. The three main types of first aid boxes are:

·  Home first aid box which is normally a nylon bag

·  Office / School / Factory first aid box which is normally a metal first aid box and appropriately marked

· Travel/motor vehicle first aid box which is normally a nylon bag

Benefits of having a first aid box.

The benefit of having a first aid box, irrespective of the type of first aid box immediately available for when someone gets sick or injured is that you will have the medical equipment readily available to assist or even save that person’s life until the emergency services can arrive on the scene in order to take over the patient management from you and transport the patient to the nearest most appropriate medical facility.

Put together an accurate first aid box

The content for first aid boxes is governed by the Occupational Health and Safety Act 85 of 1993, General Safety Regulations. These guidelines will give the intended user a clear guideline as to the minimum content of a first aid box. These first aid boxes can be bought directly from Absolute Health Services. If you would like to put your first aid box together you will be able to purchase most of the content from your local pharmacy, you are allowed to add more of the items on the prescribed content list, but not less, you can also add additional items that you personally feel you would like to have in your first aid box.

first aid essentials

First Aid Box Essentials

The below inventory control sheet is as per the General Safety Regulations from the OHS ACT with the prescribed minimum content

Minimum Contents of a First Aid Box

No.ItemQuantities
1Wound cleaner / antiseptic (100 ml)1
2Swabs for cleaning wounds (50)10
3Cotton wool for padding (100 g)1
4Sterile gauze (minimum quantity 10)10
5Pair of forceps (for splinters)1
6Pair of scissors (minimum size 100mm)1
7Safety pins12
8Triangular bandages4
9Roller bandages (75 mm x 5 m)4
10Roller bandages (100mm x 5 m)4
11Roll of elastic adhesive (25 mm x 3 m)1
12Non-allergenic adhesive strip (25 mm x 3 m)1
13Packet of adhesive dressing strips (minimum quantity, 10 assorted sizes)1
14First aid dressings (75mm x 100mm)4
15First aid dressings (150 mm x 200mm)4
16Straight splints2
17Pair of large & pair of medium disposable gloves2 Pair large & 2 pair medium
18CPR Mouth pieces or similar devices2
19Blood spill kit1
first aid box

What should not go in a first aid box 

No form of medication is allowed to go in a first aid box as a first aider is not allowed to hand out any form of medication, even something as simple as a headache tablet. If you do hand out any form of medication and that person has an adverse effect on the medication you handed to him/her might lead to a lawsuit against you. All first aid boxes should be checked on a monthly basis, the above checklist can be used for the inspection.

The reason for checking the content of your first aid box is to ensure that none of the items in the first aid box has reached their expiry date and also to make sure that the items used during the month on any possible medical emergencies have been replaced. Remember a first aid box at school, the office or factory is not there to provide staff with their personal medical equipment, the first aid boxes are there for the trained first aiders to assist anyone who needs medical assistance.

Absolute Health Service can assist with the provision of various types and sizes of first aid boxes. Once you used any disposable item from the first aid box you do not need to replace the entire first aid box, you are welcome to contact Absolute Health Services who will be able to assist you in replacing the relevant items.

Category iconFirst Aid Training

Ready to start your training?

Download our course schedule to view all course prices and dates for you area

Download Schedule

Footer

+27 10 592 2111

sales@absolutehealth.co.za

Johannesburg
Unit 813, Hammets Crossing Office Park, 2 Selbourne Rd, Johannesburg North, Sandton, 2051

Durban
48 Hannah Road, Congela, Durban, 4001

Cape Town
6 Duncan Road, F.W.de Klerk Boulevard,
Port of Cape Town,
8000

Courses

  • All Training Courses
  • First Aid Training
  • Fire Fighting Training Courses
  • Health and Safety Training Courses
  • Specialised Health & Safety Training Courses
  • Health and Safety [Workplace Guide]

Top Courses

  • First Aid Level 1 – 2 ½ Days
  • Fire Fighting – 1 Day
  • Health & Safety Representative – 1 Day
  • Evacuation Planning – 1 Day

Instant Quote

Need group training for your workplace. Take our instant quote calculator.

Free Quote

Privacy Policy
Cookie Policy
View COVID-19 Coronavirus Update   →

Copyright © 2022 Absolute Health Services. All rights reserved.
Sitemap | Web Design by Digileads

Absolute Health and Safety
Manage Cookie Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}