Home Nursing Advice Column #6: Home Nursing Kit
You have probably heard of a first aid kit, and you may already have one. First aid kits are pretty much for minor injuries and illnesses, and to get you through the first few minutes of more severe injuries.
This post is not about those. This post is about a home nursing kit. Things you need or would at least want to have while taking care of someone at home long term.
Note that you probably wouldn't need all of this for a home nursing kit if you have one particular patient in mind. But it's good to own some of these things just because you're probably going to take care of someone at some point- be it a child, chronically ill person, or elderly person.
Assessment/Data Gathering Tools:
Stethoscope (and ideally know how to differentiate normal and abnormal lung sounds)
Blood pressure cuff (manual and know how to use it, or automatic- upper arm cuffs are more reliable than wrist ones, but the wrist ones are cheaper)
Fingertip pulse oximeter
Nitrite dip sticks for UTI detection
Thermometer (ear or oral- the glass kind never need batteries jsyk)
Glucometer and test strips
Personal Care Tools:
Nitrile gloves
Urinal (female or male depending on your patient)
Bath basins
A lot of washcloths
Electric kettle for warming up water (mix boiling water with tap water to desired temp in bath basin)
Rinse-free soaps
Leave-in conditioner or de-tangling spray
Bed pads or diapers for incontinence (they both come in both disposable and reusable- even for adults)
Bed pads or draw sheets for positioning
Evaporative cooling towel
Hot water bottle
Ice packs
Pillows for pressure reduction
Nail care kit
Medications:
Person's prescription medications
Acetaminophen
Some kind of NSAID
Aspirin
Some kind of antihistamine
Pill organizer
Pill cutter
Petroleum Jelly
OTC antifungal (like the cream kind for vaginal yeast infections, especially if the person has a vagina or skin folds and takes antibiotics)
Laxatives and stool softeners
Wound Care Tools:
Adhesive bandages
ACE wraps of different sizes
Irrigation syringe or the ability to improvise one
Cloth or paper tape
Gauze pads. Like way more of these than you could possibly think that you could use if you're dealing with literally any wound. Alternatively strips of soft cotton cloth that are boiled in between uses.
Food Items:
Instant chicken stock
Electrolyte powder
Drink mix powders to make water more palatable
Some good milkshake recipes
Some good soup recipes
Overbed tray
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DIY Emergency Candle Holder
This emergency candle holder kit is made in a mason jar for easy access to a light source when the power goes out in your home.
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sew-much-to-do: a visual collection of sewing tutorials/patterns, knitting, diy, crafts, recipes, etc.
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i quite enjoyed doing anthro art of my cats.
so here's a speed painting of fillyjonk wailing in the kitchen.
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I just had the sweetest revelation, opening up @raina-at 's fic Nothing Gold Can Stay.
The title already felt oddly familiar but when I read the notes at the beginning it all made sense:
🎶But just as the moon it shall stray
So dawn goes down to day
No gold can stay🎶
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One year ago, January 2023, I was discovering First Aid Kit and listening to Stay Gold every single day (back then I had no idea it was inspired by the gorgeous poem above). This song especially and the eponym album were of tremendous psychological help.
And the best thing is at some point the lyrics started to make me think of Sherlock and John, what they've gone through, their fears and lack of communication.
🎶What if to love and be loved's not enough?
What if I fall and can't bear to get up?
Oh, I wish, for once
We could stay gold🎶
Now, I was looking for the perfect short fic to cheer me up. Looks like I've found just the one. And this poetic parallel feels like a good sign for 2024. Thanks to the fantastic @livingtheparallellife for reccing the story❤️
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I have listened to a bunch of covers of the song "Come Give Me Love" by Ted Gärdestad, and I noticed that almost all of the covers performed by female singers changed the pronouns from "she" to "he"… You know, so it won't sound gay.
The cover that I used for my animatic didn't change the lyrics.
Salute to First Aid Kit! o7
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