As some of my friends get ready to send their kids off to their first year of college this fall they have been asking me for lists of what I sent my daughter off to college with. Specifically, what did I send in the way of a First Aid Kit.
This year my daughter is getting ready to go off to her second year of college and after hearing about the things that her and her friends used the most from her kit last year, I am inspired to revise and refresh her First Aid kit from last year.
This years new additions are things that will help her get well AND stay well.
Some of the new additions are items that we had in the bathroom cabinets at home, but didn’t think of packing to go to college. Or did send, but not in the First Aid Kit so they weren’t on that list.
My daughter goes to school near Boston, so it’s super hot, humid and buggy when she gets there and turns cold and dry in the winter. You can adjust this list to better fit the climate where your child is attending school.
Please note, I am a mom, not a pharmacist. I am not endorsing specific brands, just making a list of things that work well for us.
For full disclosure, I am also the founder of tooktake. But it wasn’t actually my first thought to send tooktake labels with my daughter to school this year. It was my best friend, who told me she was sending all 3 of her kids with tooktake labels in their first aid kits this year. Just in case they needed antibiotics during the school year, there would be a chance they would take them as directed without her there.
Stay Healthy.
Daily Multi-Vitamins & tooktake daily labels
Bug repellent
Aloe Vera Gel ( for sunburns or minor skin irritations )
Very Moisturizing Lip Balm
Vaseline/Aquafor ( for when it get super dry )
Neosporin (make sure little cuts and bites, don’t get infected)
Small Scissors
Tweezers
Nail clippers
Nail files
General First Aid
Thermometer
Band aids in various sizes (You really can’t have too many bandaids)
Bactine
Hydrocortisone cream ( for minor rashes and skin irritations )
Sterile gauze pads 2×2 and 4×4
70% rubbing alcohol ( individually wrapped pads are great and won’t leak)
Afterbite/ anti itch cream
tooktake 10 day reminder labels ( Just in case your child does need antibiotics at some point, tooktake will remind them to take their meds since you’re not there with them )
Pain
Tylenol (Acetaminophen) fever/pain
Advil (Ibuprofen) fever/pain/inflammation
tooktake Hourly Labels (to keep track of when they last took pain medication, too much,too often, can cause stomach upset)
Antihistamine
Benadryl - My daughter has a few mild food allergies so I sent a big box of Benadryl for any immediate allergic reactions. She was happy to have extra on hand to help friends who needed it but didn’t have any with them.
Zyrtec, Claritin, Alive… If your child is prone to seasonal allergies at home, maybe send some of whichever medication they are familiar and comfortable with so they have it on hand if allergies flair up.
tooktake Hourly Labels ( these are great to keep track of when you last took your allergy meds)
Cough and Cold
Cough drops
Saline nasal spray
Sudafed - or similar
Cough syrup ( good to have for a lingering cough absent other symptoms)
Vick’s vaporub
tooktake Hourly Labels (great to keep track of the 4-6 hour intervals that you need to take your meds so they don’t over or under medicate by accident)
Some people prefer an all in one multi symptom medication, like DayQuil/NyQuil. While others prefer to have medications that address just they symptoms that they have. Send whichever your family prefers. We found the packages that had caplets for days and night worked well and were easy to put in a pocket of backpack. When they were needed.
Stomach Ailments
Tums
Imodium
Phazyme
tooktake hourly dosage labels
This list is really just a place to start. If your child is very into sports, they may have other things they use for injuries more often, like ice packs or tiger balm. I recommend that you check around your bathroom or where ever you keep your first aid items and medications and include anything that your child uses regularly that you might not think about that often.
For those of you who are thinking, REALLY?!? I need to buy all this stuff now? No, you don’t have to get it all, get the things that you think your child will need and feel comfortable using. For me, it made me feel better to know that my daughter had some of the basic things she might need right there for her while she got familiar with her surroundings across the country. I know she would have found the pharmacy when she got her first cold at school, but it was nice that she didn’t have to do that and had what she needed already. Then when she was feeling better she could go replenish her supply and be ready for next time.
Obviously I think that tooktake labels make a great addition to any back to any students back to school kit. Since you can’t be with them to remind them when or if they took something, we are the next best thing.
You can find us at Walmart, CVS, Amazon and tooktake.com
