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Preparedness

First aid and medical

Last reviewed: 10 November 2026

What to keep in a household first-aid and medicine supply for a family of four, how to plan for prescriptions during an emergency in Charleston, Dorchester, or Berkeley County, and when to call 911.

A first-aid kit is only useful if someone at home will open it and knows the basics. Official kit lists assume you also have the medicines your household takes every day, because pharmacies may be closed after a storm.

This page is general household information, not medical advice. For personal medical questions, talk to a clinician. In a life-threatening emergency, call 911.

The kit itself

Keep a clearly labeled kit at home and a smaller one in the go-bag and the car. Suggested contents, drawn from Ready.gov, Red Cross, and local emergency-management lists, include:

  • Adhesive bandages in several sizes, sterile gauze pads, and roller bandages
  • Medical tape, triangular bandages, and elastic (Ace-type) wraps
  • Antiseptic wipes or solution, and a mild soap
  • Tweezers, scissors (or trauma shears), and safety pins
  • Disposable gloves
  • A digital thermometer
  • Instant cold packs
  • A CPR face shield if you are trained to use one
  • Tweezers and a small irrigation syringe for cleaning wounds
  • A first-aid reference card or booklet you have actually read

Training is more valuable than a larger box. A community first-aid or CPR class, or a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) course through your county emergency management office, is worth more than extra gadgets you have never practiced with. Charleston, Berkeley, and Dorchester Counties each offer CERT training; contacts are on the local resources page and in the sources below.

A serious bleeding emergency is a reason to call 911 and, if you have been trained, to apply firm direct pressure and use a tourniquet only as you were taught. Do not improvise from internet myths.

Everyday medicines

Keep a 14-day supply of prescription medicines when you can obtain it; that is more than the minimum the Red Cross suggests. Ready.gov stresses that many people take a daily prescription and may not be able to refill it during a disaster. Talk to your doctor or pharmacy before hurricane season about an emergency refill, a vacation override, or a slightly larger reserve if your insurance and state rules allow it.

Also pack:

  • A written list of each person’s medicines, doses, allergies, and pharmacy and doctor phone numbers (paper, not only a phone photo)
  • Spare glasses or contact lenses and solution
  • Hearing-aid batteries and other device supplies
  • For children: age-appropriate pain and fever reducer, and a dosing chart or the original label
  • Non-prescription items your household already uses: pain reliever, anti-diarrhea medicine, antacids, antihistamine, laxative, cough and cold remedies as appropriate for ages in the house
  • Any refrigerated medicines, with a plan for a cooler and for how long they can stay off power (ask the pharmacist)

Do not use leftover antibiotics, or medicines prescribed for someone else. Check expiration dates when the clocks change in March and November and dispose of expired medicines through a pharmacy take-back, not down the drain if you can avoid it.

If someone uses oxygen, dialysis, a CPAP, insulin, or another critical therapy, write a specific outage plan: backup power, a clinic or hospital contact, and when to leave for a facility that still has electricity. Register with any medical-need or utility notification programs that are offered in your area, and still keep your own backup — those lists help utilities plan, they do not guarantee power. Dominion Energy South Carolina offers a White Cross notification list for customers who use electrical medical equipment (see Power and lighting). A comparable, currently published medical-outage notification page was not found for Berkeley Electric Cooperative. During a weather emergency, South Carolina DPH operates Medical Equipment Power Shelters for people who need backup power for a medical device, to refrigerate medication, or for a medical bed: call the DPH Triage Line at 1-833-351-9990 when they are open. Pre-registration is not possible, and medical care is not provided there.

Illness in the house

If someone is sick during a period when clinics are busy or travel is hard:

  • Keep oral rehydration supplies, a thermometer, tissues, soap, and a disinfectant on hand.
  • Wash hands with soap and water for ordinary illnesses and especially for stomach bugs; hand gel is a backup, not a complete substitute.
  • Give the ill person a separate towel and, if you can, more distance from others.
  • Masks (an N95 or similar respirator, or a surgical mask if that is what you have) can reduce spread in shared rooms.

Call a clinician, nurse line, or 911 according to the severity. Do not wait out difficulty breathing, chest pain, a seizure, sudden confusion, a child who is unusually hard to wake, or uncontrolled bleeding.

Poison Control is 1-800-222-1222 (24 hours) if someone may have swallowed or been exposed to a household product, medicine, or other poison.

After a storm

Cleanup causes many injuries: chainsaw cuts, punctures, heat illness, and breathing problems from mold. Wear gloves, sturdy shoes, long sleeves, and eye protection. People with asthma, other lung disease, or a weakened immune system should not work in moldy or still-flooded buildings. Children should not do disaster demolition or mold cleanup.

If floodwater has been in the house, see official guidance before you try to salvage soft furnishings, and treat any wound that comes into contact with floodwater promptly — those wounds can become seriously infected.

Sources & further reading