A Sick Room kit-in-a-bucket for my family

[Amish Country]

The following is a sick room bucket kit that I put together for my own family. Basically it contains most items needed to for me to set up a sick room contained in a 5 gallon bucket. This might be a quick "doable" flu season pre prep project. I am not a medical practitioner and cannot provide medical advice. Anyone contemplating doing this should discuss it with their Doctor to make sure their kit is appropriate to meet their unique needs. Maybe those on the board who are medical practitioners could run with this and suggest or subtract items as they feel appropriate.

1 - 5 gallon bucket with re-sealable lid
2 or 3 tall trash bags & twisty ties
1 - tub diaper wipes
2 or 3 Sippy cups
1 - box bendy straws
1 - pourable water container with lid
1 - box tissues
few - old clean towels & face cloths
pre cut plastic sheeting
N-95's
plastic bag with latex exam gloves
premeasured plastic bags of rehydration powder with directions
1 - Hand Sanitizer dispenser
2 or 3 paper grocery bags

This may be old hat for us on this board but many Doctors today just don't have time to tell new mothers or patients about stuff like this. As far as I know the schools are not teaching it. Due to vaccines many parents in first world countries today don't have firsthand knowledge or experience of how to deal with what my parents generation called "childhood diseases". Those now preventable childhood diseases made setting a sick room a necessity of child rearing a generation or two ago.

 

[mixin]

Re: A Sick Room kit in a bucket for my family

Re: A Sick Room kit in a bucket for my family

That's a great idea and easy to do; thanks for sharing it.

I wonder if some recommended basic information about dealing with fevers could be printed out?

Tending to sick adults can be even worse than children since they can refuse treatment and such.

We never had serious illness as I was growing up; so my first experience with an adult with high fever was really scary. We didn't even have a thermometer; so I was out at night trying to find some place open that sold them. When I got back home, her temp was 104.6 and she absolutely refused to go to the hospital; I was clueless and panicked. I was able to talk to the emergency room nurse and she told me about cold compresses. Everything turned out ok but knowing what to do when there is no doctor to help can be life-saving.

A hemorrhagic nose bleed can be another terrifying experience for those who have never dealt with such a thing.

It's hard to even imagine a place and time where professional health care is scarce.

 

[Amish Country]

First aid references

First aid references

I would consider asking my Doctor about their opinion or preference on:
A good basic first aid book for the home;
"The What To Expect... series by Eisenberg, Murkoff and Hathaway for pregnant women and families expecting or having young children;
First aid course or training;
CPR class.

When unsure of what to do and there is a problem reaching professional assistance on the phone (lines go down, circuits can be overloaded and lines can be busy with other callers) it can be a good thing to have appropriate training or another appropriate reference to fall back on.

It would probably be a good idea to tuck a copy of the family's frist aid book in our sick bucket in case mommy is the one sick or hurt. I hadn't really thought about that possibilitiy before.

 

[Amish Country]

Re: A Sick Room kit-in-a-bucket for my family

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