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Your baby’s summer first aid kit

Make sure you’ve got all the essentials for keeping summer fun and safe for your kids, whether at home or travelling, with our first-aid chart…

What you need:

Can be used for:

What to do if it happens:

Get immediate attention if:
Bite and sting creamInsect repellent

Tweezers

Paracetamol or Calpol

Clean dressing and
plasters

Insect
stings and bites from wasps, bees, ants, midges and mosquitoes.
  • Wash superficial bites. Dry and cover with a plaster.
  • Dress serious bite wounds and apply pressure. Lift and hold
    the injured area above child’s heart.
  • Remove visible sting with tweezers but don’t burst poison sac.
    Apply cold compress for 10 minutes, add bite/sting cream. Calpol
    or paracetamol can be given.
  • If stung in mouth, reduce swelling by providing an ice cube
    to suck or cold water to drink. Call an ambulance if there are
    breathing troubles.
 Your
child has a serious allergic reaction to stings and goes into anaphylactic
shock. Ways to recognise this are: wheezing, puffiness around eyes,
difficulty breathing, rapid pulse, swelling of face or neck, red,
blotchy skin and anxiety. Call an ambulance immediately to get help.
High factor sunscreen
Calamine lotion
Aftersun cream

Paracetamol

 Sunburn, blisters and heat
rash caused by over exposure to the sun. Bug bites and poison ivy
rashes.
  • Calamine lotion eases soreness and itching from bites or sunburn.
    Sunburn can also be treated with aftersun cream. Don’t break blisters.
  • Provide liquids if dehydrating, and paracetamol if needed.
  • For heat rash, sponge baby with cool water, pat her dry, then
    apply calamine lotion.
 There are signs of heat
exhaustion and dehydration: nausea, vomiting or a headache. The blisters
are oozing pus or look infected. If she has any of these signs or
severe sunburn, call a GP.
 Rehydration solution,
eg, cool, salty water (1tsp of salt per litre of fluid)
 Juice 		Heat
exhaustion from exposure to heat and over exertion in a hot climate.
Baby may have pale, clammy skin, sweat excessively, have a rapid,
weakening pulse, feel nauseous and dizzy, faint, have a headache or
cramps in limbs or abdomen.
  • Lie baby somewhere cool and raise legs using a pillow to improve
    blood supply to brain.
  • Provide plenty of rehydration solution to replace lost fluids
    and salt (support shoulders while drinking).
  • Give baby a cool bath, but not too cold as this will raise temperature
    more.
 There
are signs of extreme heat exhaustion and dehydration: shallow, rapid
breathing, a persistent high temperature, baby is hot but has dry
skin, suffers loss of consciousness or a seizure. If any of these
symptoms show, seek medical help immediately. Be prepared to resuscitate.
Bread, rice crackers or pasta

Fluids, eg, cooled boiled water 		Diarrhoea. Caused by poorly
sanitised water, unhygienically stored/prepared food, and poor personal
hygiene by those handling food.
  • If breastfeeding, give baby cooled boiled water between feeds.
    If bottlefeeding, make diluted feeds for a few days.
  • If baby is hungry and on solids, offer a little bread, rice
    crackers or pasta (as well as water). Reintroduce normal food
    12 hours after the diarrhoea.
 If your baby stops passing
water, develops a high fever that doesn’t come down with paracetamol,
has sunken eyes or is unusually drowsy, contact a doctor.
Antiseptic cream and solutionWaterproof plasters

Gauze pads

Minor
cuts and grazes.
  • Clean wound with running water or with antiseptic lotion, don’t
    use iodine or alcohol.
  • Gently remove gravel or dirt with gauze pad. Apply pressure
    with clean pad to stop bleeding.
  • Add antiseptic cream to prevent infection and dress with plaster.
  • Do not cover cuts with cotton wool, as may stick to wound.
 See a
doctor if: the wound is deep, dirty or ragged, bleeding continues
after 10 minutes of applying pressure, there’s something in the wound,
it’s not healing after three days, it’s red, inflamed or oozing.
Antihistamines (for over-twos)
Travel cushion		 Travel sickness.
  • A booster cushion or safety seat can provide a clear view out
    of the window.
  • Play games that involve looking ahead or sing along to tapes.
  • Prevent your child from looking down at books.
 See a GP if: vomiting doesn’t
stop or there is fever, diarrhoea or unususual drowsiness, as this
may be caused by something other than travel sickness.

Cotton
wool		 Sand
in eyes caused by winds or sand-throwing.
  • Wipe sand away with damp cotton wool, handkerchief or tissue.
    If unsuccessful, use an eye wash.
 If the
eye discharges pus, becomes painful, red and swollen, it may be infected
and need further treatment.

NB Keep a list of phone numbers such as the local ambulance, police and poison-control centre if there is one. When on holiday, check where your nearest hospital and GP is. Also have your personal information handy, such as your name, allergies, address and an emergency contact number.

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