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Know About Basic First Aid Required in Various Situations

For children older than ten years, having some basic first aid knowledge can help save lives when adults may not be available. Many youth groups offer to teach first aid to children, particularly the boy and girl scouts.

But, if your kids are not part of these types of groups, you should tell them how to do first aid or let them take classes in first aid instruction.

Basic First Aid

Your children can be taught such basic first aid techniques as treating minor wounds or insect bites to caring for a person who has been severely injured. Children are capable of accomplishing many tasks that will result in a safer environment for them and their friends.

1. Kids often get bitten by animals. Animal bites might be from domesticated dogs or cats, or more seriously, from poisonous snakes or other wild animals.

A) Children are most commonly bitten by dogs or cats. If your child is bitten by a domesticated pet, clean the wound well with soap and water. Apply alcohol or tea tree oil to wipe off any microbes from the wound. Ensure that the family pet, whether it is a dog or cat, has had all the required shots, especially the rabies shot. There may be times that your child might need to be seen by a physician to get a tetanus booster shot, especially if he or she has not been vaccinated during the past five years.

B) You should prevent a wild animal bite. Wild animals generally run away from humans because of fear, but if cornered and threatened, animals can and will bite. If an animal acts out of the ordinary and does not run away from humans, you should assume something is wrong and keep your distance.

It might be infected with rabies, which is a dangerous viral sickness involving all mammals, including people. Rabies infection occurs only when saliva enters the bloodstream via bites. The most dangerous rabies carriers are skunks and raccoons. If your child is bitten by a wild animal, treat the wound as you would treat a bite by a cat or dog. Clean the bite and surrounding area with soap and water followed by an application of tea tree oil or rubbing alcohol. Take your kid to the physician right away! Wild animal bites can be especially dangerous because of rabies. Common practice, when treating someone whose been bitten by a while animal, is for the physician to administer a series of anti-rabies shots. The rabies shot for people is different from the rabies shot for your dog or cat. There is a series of painful injections done abdominally for the prevention of rabies in humans.

C) Reptile and snake bites can be very dangerous. If poisonous snakes are in the area where you live, tell your children about this, since some poisonous snakes can kill very fast, specifically a child. Instruct your children on why touching snakes can be dangerous. It is better to prevent than cure. Also, if you reside in some areas of America or Australia, you have to be careful of lizards. For example, in the US, the guilla monster is a very dangerous lizard in the deserts of the southwest. While it’s not poisonous, it does have deadly bacteria in its mouth to aid in digestion of its food. There is no known cure or antibiotic for these fatal bacteria if they get into your child’s bloodstream. Children growing up in the American Midwest may encounter snapping turtles, but these are very dangerous creatures. A large snapping turtle has a bite strong enough to remove a finger. Wash a snake bite wound with water only if you are sure the snake is not poisonous. If you reside in a location with deadly snakes, learn about snake identification on your own with your children. This is absolutely necessary. If your child is bitten by a poisonous snake, immediately take him or her to the ER to receive the venom antidote.

2. Children are commonly scratched or cut wherever they play. Children are often accident prone, and getting cut by falling out of trees, off bicycles, or just on the ground when playing is fairly common. Scratches are minor wounds that break skin without damaging the muscular tissue below. Wash scrapes and scratches with soap and water and them apply tea tree oil or rubbing alcohol with a clean cotton swab. You can have a serious or a minor cut. Some cuts that are deeper than scratches may require the same treatment. Larger cuts must be cleaned using soap and water and then rubbing alcohol or tea tree oil should be used for treatment, followed by placing a Band-Aid over the wound. Deep cuts requiring a trip to the emergency room often result in stitches.

3. Kids often get burns. The severity of a burn is rated by the degree. The mildest are first degree burns and usually happen with children who accidentally touch a stove.

If you have a first degree burn, it will sting for a little bit, but it can be treated simply by soaking the affected area in cold water. A second degree burn is more serious and often results in skin blisters. These burns should be held under cold water as well but should also receive medical care. The most severe burns, third degree, affect the skin as well as the underlying muscle. Under the worst circumstances, third degree burns can result in a lost limb. If there is any chance that your child has suffered third degree burns, take him or her to the hospital right away.

4. It can be dangerous for kids to choke. Instruct your older children on performing the Heimlich maneuver. The Heimlich maneuver removes objects lodged in the trachea, like candy, food, or toys, by forcing the air in the lungs quickly up through the windpipe. This can help save someone’s life. One of the top causes of death for children is choking so it is necessary to be familiar with the Heimlich maneuver.