Preparedness Wednesday: Emergency First Aid Supplies

Recently I have been reading a couple of books about food storage and emergency preparedness (which I will discuss in more detail later). Throughout my reading I have decided that each week I am going to a) purchase something that makes me more prepared and b) do something to help put my house in order. (This week  the doing is working an extra shift, which monies will go toward debt, but the purchasing is more interesting.)
 I put together a collection of first aid supplies based on what I know my family regularly uses, what we might use in an emergency and supplies that I often use in the hospital. This list is not all inclusive and it is what I think will meet the needs of my family for a year. But it's a good starting place. (This is in addition to the 5 first aid kits that I have around my house and car.) I listed the generic names and then their more recognized brand name in parenthesis and if the quantity is more than one, I listed it in brackets.

• 30-second digital thermometer
• 4" self-adhesive elastic bandage (Ace wrap) [2]
• calcium carbonate, 24 tablets (Children's Pepto-Bismol)
• children's ibuprofen,4 oz (Motrin) [2]
• children's acetaminophen, 4 oz (Tylenol)
• bismuth subsalicylate, 48 tablets (Pepto-Bismol) [2] 
• loperamide hydrochloride, 48 tablets (Imodium A-D) [2]
• added strength pain reliever, 275 tablets (Excedrin)
• extra strength acetaminophen, 500 tablets (Tylenol 500 mg)
• ibuprofen, 250 tablets (Motrin) [3]
• ibuprofen, 180 softgels (Motrin)
• naproxen, 300 tablets (Aleve)
• bandage roll guaze, 4 1/2"x 4 yd [2]
• large guaze pads, 4"x4" [2]
• 1" adhesive wrap (Coban) [3]
• 2" adhesive wrap (Coban) 
• elastic net stretch bandage (Spandage, actually I'm not sure if that's the actual brand name, but that's what we call it at work.)
• 1st aid cleansing spray, 5 oz (Bactine)
• bacitracin, 1 oz
• antibiotic ointment, 1 oz (Neosporin)
• alcohol swabs, 100
• hydrogen peroxide, 32 oz [2]

 Since I am not purchasing these for immediate use I was very careful to check the dates on products, the soonest being 09/2012. I bought most of these items at Target, because I have tried several generic brands of children's medicine and this is the one that my kids like best, and it tends to cost less. (I recently discover that they will not take the Western Family ibuprofen.) After I purchased these I did discover that the bacitracin and antibiotic are cheaper at Smith's. I bought a lot more ibuprofen compared to acetaminophen because I have that it is generally more effective for relieving fevers and general aches and pains.
 If you don't already have a separate first aid kit I would recommend adding adhesive bandages, bandage scissors, tweezers, 2x2's, gloves and burn gel. Other good items to have in there are lip balm, plastic spoons and a clean hand towel. Now getting this all at once can be kind of expensive. I spent $140 on the above pictured items, because I had FSA money to burn. Otherwise I would have hesitated to spend that much at once. However, I have seen most of these items for lower prices than I got at Walgreens, but not all at the same time. It's worth watching their ads and building up your first aid items a little at a time.