9 Household Products That You Can Use for Emergencies

Updated 7/28/15 2:18pm | Alert1 knows all too well the frequency of household emergencies. In 2014 alone Alert1 handled over 53,248 emergency calls with our medical alert systems. We want to empower you and seniors everywhere to be equipped for when the unthinkable happens. In this article we highlight household items you may have never considered using during an emergency. You can easily check these items off of your senior toolkit checklist. Considering many of these are staples of the home, you won’t need to buy them at all! At the offset of any emergency, Alert1 recommends seniors and loved ones to contact emergency personnel. 

Is a diabetic friend or family member having an insulin emergency? A packet of (real) sugar will dissolve quickly under the tongue and raise dropping blood sugar.

Have a minor cut or scrape? A dose of lemon juice can stave off infection in place of chemical antiseptics.

What deodorizes your fridge, makes your favorite cookies rise, AND extinguishes fire? Baking soda. Calm the flames of a small fire with a handful of baking soda. 

To close a nasty cut, try fast-drying super glue. (Yes, super glue.) After gauze, band-aids, and medical tape, it’s your next best bet.

Stung by a bee? Ugh! At least make sure you pull out the stinger correctly: Take a credit card, press it lightly against your skin, and scrape it toward (but not over) the stinger in the direction it is pointing. This pressure and motion will dislodge the stinger and fluid sac from the skin. Then give your skin a thorough rinse.

Treating a burn? Toothpaste, the very same you use to polish your pearly whites, is very effective at soothing burns and taking the itch out of mild topical irritations.

Caffeinated sodas can calm an asthma attack right when it starts. (Caffeine opens the airway.) "Medicine" never tasted so sweet!

A homemade tourniquet like a belt can be the difference between life and death. Applying one to a badly bleeding wound stops blood flow to the afflicted area - and prevents blood from leaving the body.

A mixture of liquid antacid and water makes a quick, inexpensive eye flush that reduces the effects of certain gases, fumes, or other toxins.

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