Aspirin and Benadryl
One of the most common calls we respond to is chest pain. When we arrive on scene and begin our initial assessment one of the first questions we ask is have you already taken Aspirin. More often than not when you call 911 the dispatcher will advise you to take 325 mg of Aspirin chewed. Aspirin will help during a possible heart attack because it helps prevent platelet aggregation and platelet production. When you have a blocked coronary artery the last thing you need is clotting to further occlude your artery. Too many times we arrive and the patient says no they didn’t have any Aspirin to take. For this reason we are adding Aspirin to every one of our first aid kits, so that when we get there you can’t tell us no you didn’t take any Aspirin.
Don’t believe us? See what the experts say.
Aspirin for heart attack: Chew or swallow? – Harvard Health
The other item we are including in every kit is Benadryl. If you are having an allergic reaction or an anaphylactic reaction Benadryl and Epinephrine are what you need. Our kids love to play at the park and outside. We have several family friends with sever allergies to peanuts and things of that nature. We feel it is our duty to always be prepared to defend them in the case they have an allergic reaction. We can’t include Epinephrine in our kits so the next best thing is Benadryl. While this may not fully stop the histamine response it will help to point you in the right direction.
