Even if you have a first-aid kid in your car or home, it’s still probably short on a few critical items and long on expired items. Is there hydrocortisone ointment in your kit? When were the flashlight’s batteries last changed? Was it before that one fireworks show at Rosenblatt?

A good trick is to designate a time each year to refresh or upgrade your first-aid kits, which you should have in your home and any of your vehicles. If you don’t have a kit, you can purchase them already stocked from the American Red Cross or from any number of pharmacies or other stores in the metro area. If you’d like to go it yourself, the following collection of items suggested by the American Red Cross would make for a good basic kit to help you be prepared for emergencies.

• 2 absorbent compress dressings (5 x 9 inches)
• 25 adhesive bandages (assorted sizes)
• 1 adhesive cloth tape (10 yards x 1 inch)
• 5 antibiotic ointment packets (approximately 1 gram)
• 5 antiseptic wipe packets
• 2 packets of aspirin (81 mg each)
• 1 blanket (space blanket)
• 1 breathing barrier (with one-way valve)
• 1 instant cold compress
• 2 pair of non-latex gloves (size: large)
• 2 hydrocortisone ointment packets (approximately 1 gram each)
• Scissors
• 1 roller bandage (3 inches wide)
• 1 roller bandage (4 inches wide)
• 5 sterile gauze pads (3 x 3 inches)
• 5 sterile gauze pads (4 x 4 inches)
• Oral thermometer (non-mercury/ non-glass)
• 2 triangular bandages
• Tweezers
• First aid instruction booklet
• Heavy-duty, water-resistant flashlight