First Aid Kit Requirements

OSHA doesn’t have strict requirements for what should be in a first aid kit simply because there are
so many hazards that would be faced on a job that requires treatments from bandages, burn care to
immunizations. Each worksite should have a designated person whose responsibility is choosing
what goes into the kit and maintaining that kit.

ANSI/ISEA Z308.1-2015 has these recommendations for stocking and restocking a general industry
kit, along with a general first aid guide:

• Adhesive bandages
• Adhesive tape
• Antibiotics and antiseptics
• Breathing barriers
• Gel-soaked burn dressings and treatments
• Cold packs
• Eye coverings
• Eye and skin wash
• Hand sanitizer and/or skin wash
• Exam gloves
• Roller bandages in two and four-inch sizes
• Scissors
• Splints
• Sterile pads
• Tourniquets
• Trauma pads
• Triangular bandages

Other items that you may want to include are eyewash stations and skin protection products such
as sunscreen and/or insect repellent — but keep in mind the time and distance requirements
mentioned above. Check your company procedures and insurance company to see if you can
provide over-the-counter medicines. If you can, they need to be in single-dose, tamper-evident, and
labeled packaging, and they shouldn’t contain ingredients that cause drowsiness. The kit should be
in an accessible area, which means no traveling through many doors, hallways, or stairways to
access it (there are also portable kits). Kits should be full and usable with contents that haven’t
expired, and stored in a way that’s compatible with the work environment.