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Keep the inventory, expiry dates and kits up to date

Kits and medicines decay quietly. A simple routine keeps everything usable when you need it.

How

1. Keep a written inventory for each kit and the medical room: item, quantity, location, expiry date. Use the restock checklist inside each kit.
2. Check kits and expiry dates regularly (CDC suggests every six months for emergency kits), and replace anything used, damaged or expired.
3. Do not count on medicines past their expiry date. FDA says safety and effectiveness cannot be guaranteed after that date, and advises not to use them.
4. Review the whole medical plan every year, and after a birth, a new diagnosis or a new medicine, as Ready.gov recommends re-thinking needs yearly.
5. Check AED self-test lights, battery and pad dates; tourniquets for damage; and thermometer and BP monitor batteries.
6. Dispose of sharps in a puncture-resistant container and follow local rules when it is about three-quarters full. Dispose of expired medicines through take-back or as the label or local rules direct.

Do these first

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Sources

1. Anatomy of a First Aid Kit. American Red Cross, accessed 2026-11
2. Emergency Kit Checklist: Pregnant Women, Infants, and Children. CDC, accessed 2026-11
3. Build A Kit. Ready.gov (US FEMA), accessed 2026-11
4. Automated external defibrillators: Do you need an AED?. Mayo Clinic, accessed 2026-11
5. Sharps Disposal Containers. FDA, accessed 2026-11
6. Where and How to Dispose of Unused Medicines / storing medicines. FDA, accessed 2026-11
7. Don't be tempted to use expired medicines. US FDA, accessed 2026-11

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