First Aid for Babies [Infographic]

Elliot Butler http://www.woodentoyshop.co.uk 4m 915 #firstaid

The views of this article are the perspective of the author and may not be reflective of Confessions of the Professions.

Handling Emergency Situations with Babies

Babies might be tiny, but they have the power to turn their parent’s world upside down. Being a parent isn’t something that you learn right away, it is something that you learn from experience. In early times people used to have grandmothers and grandfathers who would assist the parents on how to take care of the babies. But in current scenario, we are becoming a nuclear family, and work is very time consuming. Good parenting becomes a difficult task. We have gone through few statistics which were, frankly speaking a little bit worrisome.

Over 500,000 kids per year go into casualty, but what frightened us was that only 10% of parents were confident in their first aid skills. So, we at Wooden Toy Shop thought we would try to change these numbers, and help the parents to enhance their first aid skills. So we have created this wonderful infographic, and we hope that it will be helpful. The techniques that we have covered in this infographic are basic first aid tips, which include telling if your baby is unconscious by gently tapping the sole of their feet. Calling their name and see if they respond. Open their airway, place one hand on forehand and tilt the head back. Use your other hand to lift the point of the chin, but remember that you need to this gently.

Another technique is helping a baby choking; you can do that by laying them face down along your thigh with the head supported. Use the bottom of your hand to give them up to five sharp blows between the shoulder blades. If the back blows don’t clear the blockage, give up to five chest thrusts. Put two fingers just below nipple level, and push in and down towards baby’s head up to five times. We have also included the techniques to treat cuts and graze, and also treating severe bleeding.

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1ST AID FOR BABIES

There are a million ways babies can get themselves in trouble. But are you confident in your ability to help them when they do?

• 500,000 children need to go to casualty annually after accidents in the home
• 20,000 children end up in casualty departments with burns
• 125,000 children are killed or injured in garden accidents
• Just 1/10 parents are confident enough to help their own child in an emergency

COMMON EMERGENCIES FOR BABIES

• Unconscious or not breathing
• Choking
• Burns and Scalds
• Cuts and Bruises

BASIC 1ST AID TIPS

Although you really should find out about 1st aid courses for new parents, here are some basic first aid for parents’ tips.

Telling if your baby is unconscious

• Gently tap/flick the sole of their foot.
• Call their name and see if they respond.
• Open their airway. Place one hand on forehead and tilt head back.
• Use your other hand to lift the point of the chin. Do all of this gently.

ASK YOURSELF

• Is their chest moving?
• Can you hear breathing sounds and feel breath on your cheek?

What to do when your baby is unconscious but breathing normally

• Cradle the baby in your arms with their head tilted downwards (the recovery position).
• Call 999/112 (911 in the U.S.).
• Check their breathing.
• Be prepared to perform CPR.

Helping a baby choking

Slap

• Lay them face down along your thigh with head supported.
• Use the bottom of your hand to give them up to five sharp blows between the shoulder blades.

Check

• Pick any object out from their mouth carefully.

Squeeze

• If the back blows don’t clear the blockage, give up to five chest thrusts:
• Hold the baby on your thigh facing up.
• Put two fingers just below nipple level – push in and down towards the baby’s head up to five times.
• Carefully take the object out.
• If that hasn’t worked, repeat back blows and chest thrusts up to three times.

Phone

Phone an ambulance if they’re still choking.

• Keep doing back blows and chest thrusts until airway clears or help arrives.
• If they lose consciousness at any stage, open their airway and check their breathing.

Treating burns

What to do:

1. Run the burn under the cold tap for at least 10 minutes.
2. Once it’s cooled, cover the burn with cling film.
3. Call 999 (911 U.S.).

Treating cuts and grazes

1. Use baby wipes or cold water to clean small cuts and grazes.
2. Dry the area then cover it with a clean tea towel or gauze.
3. Swap the gauze for a big, sterile dressing or plaster.
4. If you think the cut is dirty, infected, or has something embedded in it, call 9999 or 112 (911 if in U.S.)

Treating severe bleeding

1. Phone 999/112 (911 U.S.) for emergency help.
2. Move clothes away from the wound.
3. Put pressure on the wound (or around if there’s something stuck in it), with a sterile dressing or clean tea towel.
4. Keep the pressure on and keep the injured area above your baby’s heart.
5. Apply a tight bandage around the dressing on the top of the wound. The bandage should not hinder circulation.
6. If the blood soaks through the first dressing, put a second dressing on top. IF it soaks through again start over with a fresh one.
7. Keep checking your baby’s breathing, pulse, and response.

PROVIDERS OF FIRST AID COURSES

• Daisy First Aid
• St. John Ambulance
• First Aid for Life Practical Training Tailored To Your Needs
• St. Andrew’s First Aid
• British Red Cross

woodentoyshop.co.uk

Source: http://www.woodentoyshop.co.uk/blog/first-aid-for-babies/4331

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