Baby First Aid - Find Answers For Your Baby's First Aid Needs

Whether you're pregnant, thinking about getting pregnant or already the proud mother of a brood of little ones, some baby first aid knowledge will serve you well as your family grows and thrives. You can learn a lot about infant first aid and general baby wellness by reading online (here at pregnancy-info.net for example) or in books. However, theoretical first aid knowledge is no competition for a "hands on" children's first aid training course.

First Aid Courses

Ask your doctor where you can find a baby first aid course in your area.

There are courses that are taught over several weeks, at the end of which you have to pass a test to gain a first aid certificate. These courses usually combine theory and practice. You'll read and write about first aid emergencies, and you'll practice first aid treatments on other course participants, or, in the case of learning infant resuscitation, on a dummy baby.

There are also much shorter courses, sometimes consisting only of a morning or afternoon session, focusing on one particular aspect of baby first aid or baby health, such as childhood illnesses and vaccines. You can probably find such courses through your local community center, your health care provider, etc.

A more extensive course may teach you not only how to deal with major and minor injuries, but also how to look out for potential first aid scenarios and when to take your child for medical, perhaps even emergency treatment.

Specialized Baby First Aid Training

There are courses specially targeted at parents of young children. These courses train you not only in how to deal with accidents, but also in how to manage and treat childhood illnesses, should your baby suddenly become very sick. A course like this would cover, for example:

- Making a plan of action for what you would do in an emergency situation

- Treating your baby if he become unconscious

- Infant resuscitation

- Preventing baby choking (and how to treat choking if it does occur)

- Coping with asthma attacks and emergencies involving young children who have diabetes

- Treating head injuries

- Managing seizures

- Stopping bleeding

- Treating burns

- Treating sprains, strains and broken bones

- What to do in cases of poisoning, bites and stings

- Dealing with foreign objects your child may somehow get into his body (you'd be surprised at what mothers find in children's noses and ears!)

- Childhood illnesses and other conditions (for example, allergies, ear infections, measles, meningitis, etc.)

Before signing up for a course, check that it has been approved by a pediatrics specialist, or put together with the assistance of a qualified children's doctor.

Baby First Aid Kit

An "early years" first aid course should teach you about the equipment and baby medicines you need to prepare a baby first aid kit for your home. You also have the choice of buying one preassembled. Here are our guidelines on baby first aid kit essentials...

- A waterproof durable kit box, preferably one that's easily portable so you can take it with you wherever you go.

- A reliable first aid manual, so that in the heat of the moment, if you forget some aspect of your training, you have some guidelines to fall back on.

- Painkilling medications that are safe for babies (these can be used to treat fever, infections, headaches, etc).

- A medicine measuring cup or another device that tells you exactly how much medicine you're giving your child.

- Sticking plasters, adhesive tape, bandages and sterile gauze dressings (for strains, cuts, blisters, etc.).

- Antiseptic lotion, wipes, cream or spray for cleaning wounds.

- Antihistamine cream for soothing itchy, painful bites or stings.

- Calamine lotion for soothing rashes or other baby skin conditions.

- Scissors, tweezers and icepacks.

- Saline solution specially produced for cleaning the eyes, and an eye bath (in case your child manages to get something in his eyes).

- Digital thermometer for taking your baby's temperature.

Major Emergencies

Having first aid training under your belt will increase your confidence and make you better able to cope with minor problems. Just remember that in a major emergency first aid is intended only to keep the patient alive until professional medical help arrives. If your baby is bleeding heavily, having trouble breathing, is unconscious or semi-conscious, has a seizure, swallows something poisonous or shows symptoms of meningitis - call an ambulance immediately.