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I was editing a health story on how to be prepared ahead of time for accidents that will happen in the future.
Imagine my surprise when when a pretty basic term did not appear in the AP Stylebook: first-aid kit.
My first thought was hyphen or no hyphen? Luckily, someone had the same question in 2010 and asked on AP Stylebook Online's Ask the Editor.
The official answer: hyphen. It is, indeed, first-aid kit.
However, no hyphen in the noun version: first aid.
ex. "He administered first aid to the patient."
Here are some other medical terms to know, straight from the AP Stylebook:
Band-Aid: "A trademark for a type of adhesive bandage."
*** Check out this blog post: "AP Stylebook: Writing around iPod, Kleenex and other brand names." ****
Doctors Without Borders: "Use English translation in copy for the French group, Medecins Sans Frontieres."
Doctor: "Use Dr. in first reference as a formal title before the name." Use the last name only in subsequent references.
Dr Pepper: (Ok, not a medical term, but semantically related.) "A trademark (no period after Dr) for a brand of soft drink. Headquarters is in Dallas."
