Why you should have a First Aid kit in your car

By Stella Naigino
Added 8th November 2017 12:14 PM

A First Aid box has items such as surgical spirit, gloves, a pair of scissors, a surgical blade,
adhesive bandages, iodine and pain killers.

MOTORING | FIRST AID KIT

Most cars do not have First Aid kits. And if you are lucky to find one, it does not have the
necessary requirements.
Experts emphasise that First Aid kits are of great importance and might just save lives in case of an
accident.
Steven Kasiima, the director traffic, says First Aid kits contain medicines such as pain killers and
iodine, bandages and plasters among other items.
Kasiima  says most cars come with a First Aid box in them and it is upon the car owner to buy all the
tools that are required to be in the box.
Kasiima lists other items that should be in the box as surgical spirit, gloves, a pair of scissors, a
surgical blade and adhesive bandages. These can be used to, for example, control bleeding after an
accident until the patient arrives at a hospital.
Here is the thing: Except for condoms, no contraceptive method protects a woman against HIV
or other sexually transmitted infections.
 
Yet, many women prefer three methods, namely: Depo-Provera (injectable), the implant and the
intrauterine device (IUD). They are discreet and effective.
 
Against this background, there are concerns that this could put a woman who is using these methods
of contraception at risk of contracting HIV. Would she care to protect herself from HIV, given that
she is not worried about unwanted pregnancy?
 
A new study dispels these fears. It has found no link between contraception and HIV infection.
 
The large clinical research study conducted in four African countries found no significant difference
in the risk of HIV infection among women using one of three highly effective, reversible
contraceptive methods.
 
The study, titled Evidence for Contraceptive Options and HIV Outcomes (ECHO) started in 2015. It
recruited about 7,829 sexually active HIV-negative women aged 16 to 35 at study sites in Kenya,
South Africa, Swaziland, and Zambia.
 
Participants were randomly assigned to use each of the three contraceptive methods: Depo-Provera
(injectable), the implant and the intrauterine device(IUD).
 
The women who participated in the study received health services, including counseling on HIV
prevention and care, screening and treatment for sexually transmitted infections
.According to the results published the Lancet, each of these methods had high levels of safety and
effectiveness in preventing pregnancy.
 
Among the 7829 women who took part in the study, only  397 HIV infections occurred. 143
infections were in women who used DMPA-IM, 138 were in women who used a copper-bearing IUD
and 116 in women who used the implant.The study found that HIV remains a significant personal risk
and public health challenge for many women in these countries. This was attributed to the high
incidence of HIV infections among all of the women – at an average of 3.8% per year.