Minor health challenges that can be handled at home through First Aid (1)
Published on 20/05/2021
- BLOODY NOSES:
Bloody noses are uncomfortable and scary looking but usually not dangerous.
- CAUSES:
Kids get bloody noses more often than adults typically either from irritating the nasal membrane (picking from their noses) or from trauma, like a football on the face.
- WHAT TO DO:
Always have the child to lean forward, when leaning back the child may have the tendency to swallow the blood that drains down the back of their throats, blood will irritate the lining of the stomach and may cause vomiting, it can also cause airway obstruction.
BLEEDING
- Regardless of how severe, all bleeding can be controlled. if left uncontrolled,bleeding may lead to death.
- The first step in controlling a bleeding wound is to plug the hole.Blood needs to clot in order to start the healing process.put pressure directly on the wound with gauze pads or clean handkerchief or clean face towel.
- Call for help.
BLEEDING NOSE
- Pinch just the bottom of the bridge of the nose (hard part),ideally you want the bleeding to stop but the child should still be able to through his other nose.
- Hold the nose for at least 5 minutes.
BROKEN ARM, BROKEN ANKLE, BROKEN FOOT, BROKEN WRIST.
What to do:
- Stay safe: The victim was injured somehow. Don’t get hurt the same way. Follow universal precautions and wear personal protective equipment if you have it.
- Mobilize the affected part e.g use ruler, hard carton or plywood to mobilize it and bandage round.
- If the foot or hand at the end of the injured extremity is cold or blue, call for help.
- Do not straighten the extremity if it is deformed keep it in the position found an send child to the hospital.
- Put Ice on the injury, never put ice directly on the skin-put it in a bag first before applying it on the affected site for 20 minutes and take it off for another 20 minutes.
- Elevate the extremity affected to reduce swelling.
DIZZNESS/FAINTING ATTACK
Sudden onset of dizziness means that something is potentially wrong with the brain or blood pressure.
What to do:
- Lie the child down, lose tight clothing and call for help.
DIARRHEA AND VOMITING
Diarrhea is loose, watery stool occurring more than 3 times a day.
What to do:
- Stop milk or feeds.
- Give salt sugar solution.
- If persists, call for help.
BURNS/SCALDS
Burns can be thermal, chemical, radiation or electrical, it could be mild, severe or critical. The severe or critical types must go to the hospital immediately.
What to do:
- Remove the child away from the incident or
- Stop the burning process
- Clean under cold running water for several minutes to prevent further damage to the skin.
- Leave uncovered
- Call for help/send child to the hospital.
Handling Domestic Accidents
Published on 13/05/2021
Accidental injuries in and around the home are one of the leading causes of serious harm and death in young children. However, most of these incidents are preventable. The children are leaders of tomorrow (common adage), if we fail to care for them now who will be the supposed leaders out there? We need to know about their health and how to go about it, most especially simple first aid care and home remedies.
Each year, it’s estimated that around 2 million children under the age of 15 are taken to accident & emergency (A&E) after being injured in or around the home. Around half a millon of these children are younger than five.
Many more children are treated at home by their parents, caregivers or GP.
What causes accidents in the home?
Most serious accidents that affect young children at home are caused by:
- Falls from a height
- Burns and scalds from fire, hot water or hot objects
- Choking or suffocating
- Poisoning from swallowing a harmful substance or object
- Drowning
There are potential hazards in every home, such as stairs, household chemicals, fireplaces and ponds. However, there are lots of things you can do to help keep you child safe.
Definition of Terms
PAEDIATRIC: Is the branch of medicine that deals with the medical care of infants, children and adolescents and age limit usually ranges from birth up to 18yrs in some places until completion secondary education and until age 21yrs in the United States.
FIRST AID: Is the skilled application of accepted principles of treatment on the occurrence of an accident or in the case of sudden illness using facilities or materials available at the time.
SKILL: Is an ability that has been acquired by training or ability to produce solution in some problems domains.
SAFETY; Means relative freedom from danger, risk or threat of harm, injury or loss to personnel and/or property, whether caused deliberately or by accident.