Super easy first aid tips for your little ones that all parents must know of

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With kids being all over the place, it can be difficult for parents to prevent their little daredevils from getting injured. It is important that parents understand that children are bound to hurt themselves, from the moment they take their first steps. However, there’s plenty that parents can do to make the child feel better.

“When a child suffers an injury, it’s necessary that parents take immediate action and pacify the child. If the child is 5 years or younger, holding, hugging and reassuring will help calm down the child. For children between 6 to 12 years of age, distraction through the favourite songs or rhymes work well along with the reassurance that parents are always there with the child,” says Dr Suruchi Goyal Agarwal, Consultant - Paediatrics and Paediatric Endocrinology, Columbia Asia Hospital, Whitefield.

“Some of the must haves first-aid essentials at home include cool pack, sterile cotton wool, bandage, and mupirocin ointment,” she adds.

To keep the babies safe from sudden injuries, Dr. Suruchi points out some of the easy and simple first aid skills for parents below:

• Cut or scrape: When a child suffers a cut or scrape, parents should clean the wound with water and let it heal
• Burn: Burns in children are generally secondary to spill over or splash of hot liquids. Removal from source, washing with cold water and medical attention is required
• Nose bleed: In case of a nose bleed, parents should ask the child to look up and pinch the nose below its bridge 
• Eye Trauma: Immediate consultation with an ophthalmologist helps rule out any possibility of eye related problem
• Insect Bite or Sting: Parents should gently scrape the skin with a fingernail in case an insect leaves a stinger. If a child suffers breathing problems or gets swollen skin, consult a doctor
• Sudden fall or hit by furniture: A sudden fall could lead to a head injury or injury to any limb. In this case, a cold compress to the affected area will help along with immobilization, if the affected area is a limb. In children, less than one year of age, it's essential to seek medical help in case of head injury.

Parents should observe for symptoms like vomiting, abnormal behaviour, seizures and headache, in case of head injury for children of any age. If any such behaviour is observed within 24 - 48 hours, parents should immediately take the child to a medical facility. 

Read on as Dr Suruchi answers some of the frequently asked queries by parents on first aid tips for children:

#1. Do cuts heal faster under a bandage or when left to "breathe”?

Cuts are better left open and clean. If the cut is in an area where friction will occur, as in shoes or clothes, a bandage is essential.

#2. Are antibiotic ointments necessary?

Not always. It depends on the kind of injury the child suffers. A small amount of ointment can be applied to a small scrape, when the skin is not open.

#3. Any tricks to getting the child to tolerate an ice pack?

Parents can cover the pack in a towel and distract child by using books or toys

#4. After an injury, when does a child need to get a tetanus shot?

Not really, if the child is up to date with vaccination schedule.

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