Essential First Aid for Babies and Children

Would you know what to do if your baby was choking? Or if they had swallowed something poisonous?

Learning a few essential first aid technique's can instil confidence should an emergency situation occur. Here are a few essential First Aid skills to use in an emergency to keep your babies safe -

Burns

Little fingers have a habit of crawling on to worktops and reaching for anything they can lay their hands on. The single biggest cause of burns for children is hot drinks. Here's what to do should if someone has been burnt.

1. Keep the burn under cold running water for at least 10 minutes to cool the skin

2. Wrap the affected area in cling film or a clean plastic bag

3. Call 999 if further assistance is required

Poisoning

Our household is full of harmful substances for children. Cleaning products with there bright packaging can be a magnet to children, as well as alcohol and medication just to name a few. If you suspect your child consumes something that may be poisonous you should -

1. Try to find out what they have consumed

2. Call 999 immediately

Choking Baby

A choking baby is a very frightening and sobering experience, so knowing just what to do and acting fast is essential.

1. Five Back Blows

With your baby face down, place them across along your thigh. Make sure their head is lower than their bottom. Using the base of your palm, hit them firmly in between the shoulder blades up to five times.

If the foreign object is not dislodged then, move onto the next step

2. Up to five chest thrusts

Keeping the baby on your lap, turn them over to face upwards. Using two fingers put in and up on the chest just in between the nipples. Repeat up to five times.

If this still doesn't work, repeat steps 1 and 2.

3. Call 999, if the object has not dislodged after 3 repetitions of back blows and chest thrusts.

Heavily Bleeding Wounds

Children are always getting bumps and scraped knees, but if yours has an injury that begins to bleeds heavily and cannot be stopped, then here is what to do -

1. Apply even pressure to the affected wound to try and stem the flow of blood. Use a wad of clean fabric of whatever is at hand e.g. a clean tea towel

2. Call 999 keeping the pressure on the wound until help arrives.

Nosebleed

A small bump on the nose is quite often enough to give your child a nosebleed. Here is what to do -

1. Lean the child forward and pinch the soft part of the nose to try and stop the blood flow.

2. Continue for up to 10 minutes.

3. Should the nosebleed continue, then seek medical advice

All the information for the above guides come from the British Red Cross. To find out more first aid information on conditions such as meningitis, asthma attacks and allergic reactions visit The British Red Cross website.

The Red Cross has also just launched a free child and baby first aid app to give you direct access to all the