Customer Reviews

The First Years American Red Cross Deluxe Healthcare Kit

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I received these as a shower gift and they are of very nice quality. My only issue is that I never use any of the items other than the clippers which can be bought individually (same product). Most hospitals send you home with a bulb syringe and all the medications I've used strictly instruct that you should only use the dropper than comes with the meds. This may be my experience alone?

I received this as a shower gift and to be honest, it was a waste of their money. The only thing I use is the bag to keep the other syringes and medicine I use for my baby. #1. the clippers - the magnifying glass is really not helpful when you have a squirming baby, the last thing you have time to do is look through it. #2. the bulb syringe/nasal aspirator - is 100% useless. The bottom pops off and loses all suction, so you have to plug up the hole with one of your fingers and try to squeeze with your remaining fingers, and the plastic is too hard. #3. the thermometer - is somewhat useful for rectal temps, but as far as under the arm, the tip is not long enough. #4. The syringe - has been used several times and works ok as long as the opening of the bottle is large enough, and the quantity dispensed isn't complicated (doesn't have increments like 0.8 tsp, only has 1, 1.5, 2, etc...). #5. the spoon - At my sons age (1 year), the spoon has no use and is even somewhat dangerous to use due to the difficulty in getting the right amount of meds in it. I don't feel comfortable at all using it. In addition, it's very messy. In general, I'm not much of a fan of the spoons of any brand, but in terms of spoons for older kids for those parents who like them, this is probably a good one.

Overall, in my opinion I would not recommend this unless you really like the bag. Search on the net for Hospital Grade Nasal Aspirators (they're b/t $9 - $30). Then, go to your local pharmacy and stock up on their FREE medicine syringes, all you have to do is ask and you shall receive. I use regular adult FINGER nail clippers now on my son, but when their nails are still new and brittle I recommend just biting them off with your own teeth (there is a much less chance that you will harm their sweet little nails) which is what many/most Dr.'s tell you to do as well (its not gross, b/c its not like they've been digging in mud or anything). As for the thermometer, get one that tests the ear temp or the rectal temp, as these are the most accurate. Under the arm thermometers are usually pretty cheep and accurate enough, and you don't have to use a different one than the oral ones you use for the rest of the family. Hope this helps.

We purchased this item days after our first little one was born, so it's almost one year later. Here are our thoughts:
1) The medicine dropper is perfect in terms of accuracy and measurement, as well as pressure exertion required when getting a fluid into a squirmy baby's mouth.
2) The aspirator DOES work, though requires frequent enough cleaning. It is demarcated to clearly show you how far up the baby's nose you are NOT to insert the aspirator, thereby avoiding injury unless you're completely ignorant of what you're applying to an infant's body. One or two applications of the aspirator and her nose is cleaned out. She doesn't enjoy the insertion part, but seems to find it funny -for some odd reason- once the mucus plugging her nose is sucked out.
3) The nail clipper, with practice, is effective. We were hesitant at first, especially since a pin came out of it, rendering it useless after the first attempt. One call to the company directly, and they IMMEDIATELY shipped us a replacement clipper and a Lamaze-brand stuffed animal (not a cheap toy, either, we found out). Talk about gracious customer service! No further issues with the clipper.
4) The medicine spoon with cap works as expected; no complaints. Again, if you're careful, then there are no issues with accuracy of measurement or application. Our only suggestion would be to wait to use this until the baby is older and therefore more accustomed to using American utensils such as a spoon.
5) The digital thermometer is consistently 2 degrees under where it should be (which would suggest that at times, our child would be approaching hypothermia on a day where she just had a little fever from cutting seven teeth at once!). We could have panicked, but decided it would be wiser to understand that it wasn't probably well-calibrated, so we simply add two degrees onto the reading.

Acceptable products, designed to do what we had sought, packaged together for convenience. The case, we must say, is excellent and is easily cleaned. We recommend this if you're not seeking top-of-the-line doctor-quality equipment, but rather normal usable things with the understanding that your child is getting temporary -not permanent use- of these items. More than sufficient!

This kit contains a nasal aspirator, digital thermometer with case, soft-tip medicine dispenser, comfort tip medicine spoon with cap, magnifying nail clipper and a travel/storage bag.

Pros:
Comes as a set in a bag (you don't loose items as easily.

Cons:
-I'd rather have the smaller nail clippers without magnifying glass
-The nasal aspirator from the hospital is better
-I think it is dangerous to use the medicine dispensers included versus the droppers that come with medications

Summary:
It is convenient to have a bag with everything you "need," but this might be more than you need, or different than you need.

The Nasal aspirator is trash- the rear cap opens as soon as you squeeze it, so there is noo suction. The Aspirator is also too hard to press. just bad design. The thermometer is sometimes correct, so you wont know when it is correct unless you have second/better one. The only thing useful is the measurement and spoon combination (its design could be better, because the spoon is a little too deep, so about 0.2ml is wasted.) The nail clipper is politically correct, so you cant sue it to be too sharp, and it wont clip nails easily either.

I bought this mainly for the nail clippers with the magnifying glass. The clippers and the thermometer are the only components I've used so far. The thermometer doesn't really work. I've tried to take my daughters temp with it, but it takes so long to get a reading that I've given up and bought one that does it in seconds. I like that the nasal aspirator has a removable bottom to make for easy cleaning.

I regret buying this, it seemed so convenient to have all the listed items in one package, but it is just poorly manufactured items, and there are much better items out there. Just buy them separately because you will end up doing that anyways if you buy this set.

I saw all the bad reviews and yet STILL bought it because there were not many other options that were affordable. The only thing in there I use is the nail clippers and even those are cheap. Shame on me for not heeding the reviews. I advise against this kit. Only issue is I don't know what to recommend instead! Still searching for myself!

I haven't had a chance to use any of the items yet, however they are scented, which very off puting. In my mind something that is to be used for medical purposes should not be scented at all.

the product looks good but when I used it it did not satisfy my expectation. The nail clip was very dull. The quality of the white squeezer was really hard to squeeze --- a lot harder than the free ones we can get from hospitals.