First Aid for kids – common myths & top tips

Knowing first aid for kids is such an important thing to learn as a parent. It could just make the difference when your child has an accident. Mother of seven Afra Wilmore, a blogger at www.madmumof7.com, talks first aid and common myths. Over to Afra:

First Aid Rapped Up – a campaign by British Red Cross – has just been launched in a bid to arm parents with the first aid knowledge they need to deal with incidents. Parents, me included, act instinctively when accidents happen, but are we doing the right thing?

After talking to Joe Mulligan, Head of First Aid Education at Red Cross, it would appear not always.

Here are three areas that often leave parents in a muddle:

• Myth: Induce vomiting, drink milk or down water when a child swallows a harmful substance.
• Truth: Establish what was taken, how much and when, and dial 999. Vomiting can increase the damage, while drinking liquid could exacerbate the effects of poison.

• Myth: Ice or butter on a burn
• Truth: Cool the burn with cold water for 10 minutes before covering with cling film or a clean plastic bag. Ice is too cold and can cause more damage whereas butter will stick to the burn and won’t cool it.

• Myth: Put something in a child’s mouth if they are having a seizure.
• Truth: Remove objects that could cause injury, use a blanket or coat to protect their head and do not restrain them. When the seizure is over, help them to rest on their side and tilt their head backs. Do not place anything in the mouth as it may block the airway.

 

 
As a mum of seven, five of them boisterous boys, I am pretty much a season ticket holder at the Accident and Emergency department.

One of my boys had a habit of swallowing things he shouldn’t when he was younger. One time he swallowed yew tree berries and my elderly neighbour sent me into a wild panic by informing me they were “deadly poisonous.” Two days later he tucked into some dishwasher tablets. Another time he dangled a flannel in the toilet and sucked the end to drink up the blue chemical-stained water. Then there was the time he wolfed down a red hot chilli pepper…

Children don’t come with a manual, but knowing some simple first aid can provide you with invaluable and potentially life-saving knowledge if accidents do occur.

I used to rush to hospital in a mad panic whenever anything happened with the kids, but nowadays, I tend to refer to my British Red Cross first aid app. It is so reassuring to know all the information I need is right there on my phone, which is why I am supporting their new campaign “First Aid Rapped Up.”

The campaign video, which features rapping babies, is hilarious, but the message is very serious and I urge all my fellow parents to spread the word by sharing the video using #rappedup and to download the app as a priority.

To watch the video, download the Red Cross baby and child first aid app and find out more, visit www.redcross.org.uk/rappedup