First Aid Essentials

noun a thin, transparent fabric used for dressing wounds or for other medical purposes

• The nurse applied a layer of sterile gauze over the wound.
• Can you pass me the gauze so I can wrap up my finger?
• I always keep some gauze in my first aid kit, just in case.
• His words felt like a soothing gauze over her emotional wounds.

noun A small plastic bag filled with ice or a gel substance, used for applying cold to a specific area of the body to reduce swelling or pain.

• The nurse applied an ice pack to reduce the swelling in the patient's ankle.
• I always keep an ice pack in the freezer for when I get a headache.
• My friend told me to put an ice pack on my sprained wrist to help with the pain.
• After a long day of work, a relaxing bath feels like an ice pack for the soul.

noun the act of lacerating

• The doctor stitched up the deep laceration on the patient's arm.
• Ouch, that laceration looks painful!
• I heard he got a gnarly laceration while skateboarding.
• Her words left a deep emotional laceration on his heart.

noun a small medical tool used to hold down the tongue during a physical examination or medical procedure

• The doctor used a tongue depressor to examine the patient's throat.
• The nurse handed me a tongue depressor to check my own throat.
• I grabbed a tongue depressor to see if I had strep throat.
• His words felt like a tongue depressor, probing into my deepest thoughts.

noun a strip of fabric or other material with a sticky surface on one side, used for covering and protecting cuts and wounds

• The doctor applied an adhesive plaster to the wound to keep it clean and protected.
• I always keep some adhesive plaster in my first aid kit, just in case.
• Hey, can you pass me that sticky plaster? I cut my finger.
• She used his words like an adhesive plaster, covering up the pain but not truly healing the hurt.