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First Aid Minor Wounds

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First Aid

One of the first matters to address with minor wounds is cleansing the wound.^[3,8] Cleansing is important for incisions that are caused by sharp objects, such as knives or broken glass. However, it is even more critical in abrasion injuries, in which the skin’s outer layers have been scraped away by abrasion against a rough object, such as when elbows and arms scrape against pavement during a skateboard fall. If the abrasion occurred on a surface that contains loose materials, the wound is likely to be contaminated with gravel, dirt, grass, and other foreign substances. Each foreign object remaining may serve as a source of infection and should be removed.

The wound can be washed with tap water under enough pressure to thoroughly cleanse the wound of foreign materials. Wound Wash Saline is a pressurized sterile 0.9% sodium chloride product that can accomplish this cleansing for minor wounds.

With good asthma control, your child should not miss school and should be able to participate fully in school activities including sports.

Regular, clear communication with the school can help your child maintain good asthma control. You can help to prevent asthma problems at school by talking to your child’s teachers and by making sure you child has proper asthma treatment.

Meet with your child’s teachers each year before classes start

• Give teachers a copy of your child’s asthma action plan and explain what it says.
• List and explain your child’s asthma triggers and why it’s important to avoid them. (Some common triggers in the classroom include furry animals, dust, mould and strong smells.)
• Show teachers your child’s asthma medicines and how to use them properly – make sure the medicines are well labelled.
• Make sure the teachers know which medicine is the rescue medicine that helps in an asthma emergency (usually the blue inhaler).
• Ask about the school’s rules about asthma medicines – stress the importance of allowing your child to carry his medicines with him at all times.
• Ask about policies for field trips – with a bit of extra planning most trips should be safe.
• Offer to arrange an information session with a Certified Asthma Educator or Certified Respiratory Educator.
• Make sure your child’s teachers know what to do in an emergency and whom to contact

What to do in an asthma attack Sit child down, with her back straight. Give child 2 puffs of her rescue medicine. It’s usually in a blue puffer (for example, Ventolin®). If the child’s breathing is not getting easier, call 911 or your local emergency number. Keep giving child puffs of her rescue medicine until the ambulance arrives. Call the child’s parents or emergency contact person.

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Apply direct pressure to stop the bleeding.

Once the wound has stopped bleeding cover it with a bandage that will not stick to the injury.

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If an injury needs a splint, apply the splint first, and then apply the sling.

Always check the person’s skin color and pulse (circulation) after the injured body part has been immobilized. If the area becomes cool, turns pale or blue, or if the patient develops numbness or tingling, loosen the splint and bandage.

Care for all wounds first before applying a splint or sling. If bone is visible in the injured site, call your local emergency number (such as 911) or local hospital for further advice.

HOW TO MAKE A SLING

1. You’ll need a piece of cloth that is about 5 feet wide at the base and at least 3 feet long on the sides. (If the sling is for a child, you can use a smaller size.)
2. Cut a triangle out of a piece of this cloth.
3. If you don’t have scissors handy, fold a large square piece of cloth diagonally into a triangle.
4. Place the person’s elbow at the top point of the triangle, and the wrist midway along the triangle’s bottom edge. Bring the two free points up around the front and back of the same (or opposite) shoulder, and pin or tie securely together. Adjust the height of the knot so that the elbow is bent at a right angle.
5. If you do not have material or scissors to make a triangle sling, you can make one using a coat or a shirt. Apply the sling in much the same manner as shown in the pictures “Creating a Sling” associated with this article.
6. You can also make a sling using a belt, rope, vine, or sheet.
7. If the injured arm should be kept still, tie the sling to the body with another piece of cloth wrapped around the chest and tied on the uninjured side.
8. Occasionally check for tightness, and adjust the sling as necessary.

Do NOT try to realign an injured body part unless the skin looks pale or blue or there is no pulse.

Seek medical help if the person has a dislocation, broken bone, or severe bleeding. Also seek professional medical help if you cannot completely immobilize the injury at the scene by yourself.

Safety is the best way to avoid broken bones caused by falling. Some diseases make bones break more easily, so use caution when assisting a person with fragile bones.

Avoid activities that strain the muscles or bones for long periods of time as these can cause weakness and falls. Also, use appropriate caution when walking on slippery or uneven surfaces.

Donut Bandage

Problems Backpacks Can Pose

Although many factors can lead to back pain — increased participation in sports or exercise, poor posture while sitting, and long periods of inactivity — some kids have backaches because they’re lugging around their entire locker’s worth of books, school supplies, and assorted personal items all day long. But most doctors and physical therapists recommend that kids carry no more than 10% to 15% of their body weight in their packs.

To help understand how heavy backpacks can affect a kid’s body, it helps to understand how the back works. The spine is made of 33 bones called vertebrae, and between the vertebrae are discs that act as natural shock absorbers.

When a heavy weight, such as a backpack filled with books, is incorrectly placed on the shoulders, the weight’s force can pull a child backward. To compensate, a child may bend forward at the hips or arch the back, which can cause the spine to compress unnaturally. The heavy weight might cause some kids to develop shoulder, neck, and back pain.

Helmet Basics

Bicycle helmet use should not be optional for anyone in your family, no matter where you are or how short the ride. In many states it’s the law.

Here’s why: Most bike accidents involve a head injury, so a crash could mean permanent brain damage or death for someone who doesn’t wear one while riding. In fact, each year in the United States, about half a million kids are seriously injured in bicycle-related accidents, and most of those injuries could have been avoided if a helmet was worn.

Here are some things to keep in mind when buying a helmet:

• Pick bright colors that are visible to drivers and other cyclists.
• Look for a helmet that’s well ventilated.
• Make sure that the helmet has a CPSC or Snell sticker inside. These indicate that the helmet meets standards set by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) or the Snell Memorial Foundation, a nonprofit group that tests helmet safety.
• Make sure your child’s helmet fits correctly and can be adjusted.

You should be able to get help finding a well-fitting helmet and adjusting it properly at any bicycle store.

When kids wear a helmet, make sure that the straps are fastened. Also make sure they don’t wear any other hat underneath it.

Be sure to replace any helmet made before 1999. If your child hits any surface hard while wearing a helmet, replace it — helmets lose their capacity to absorb shock after taking serious hits.

A few bike helmets can be used as protection for other activities, but in general, they’re best suited to biking. Most helmets are made for one specific type of activity — for example, special helmets also are made for inline skating, baseball, and snowmobiling.

Kids should not wear any helmet when they’re on a playground or climbing a tree — there is a risk of strangulation from the chin strap during these types of activities.

Signs and Symptoms of Anaphylaxic shock

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with other allergies, anaphylaxis can trigger symptoms in any of these four body systems:

1. skin
2. gastrointestinal system
3. respiratory system
4. cardiovascular system

An allergic reaction may be a medical emergency if it happens in two or more of these systems — hives on the skin, for example, together with stomach pain.

The most common signs that a child who has been exposed to an allergen might have anaphylaxis are:

• difficulty breathing
• tightness in the throat or feeling like the throat or airways are closing
• hoarseness or trouble speaking
• wheezing
• nasal stuffiness or coughing
• nausea, abdominal pain, or vomiting
• fast heartbeat or pulse
• skin itching, tingling, redness, or swelling

What are the different kinds of casts?

A cast, which keeps a bone from moving so it can heal, is essentially a big bandage that has two layers — a soft cotton layer that rests against the skin and a hard outer layer that prevents the broken bone from moving.

These days, casts are made of either:

• plaster of paris: a heavy white powder that forms a thick paste that hardens quickly when mixed with water. Plaster of paris casts are heavier than fiberglass casts and don’t hold up as well in water.
• synthetic (fiberglass) material: made out of fiberglass, a kind of moldable plastic, these casts come in many bright colors and are lighter and cooler. The covering (fiberglass) on synthetic casts is water-resistant, but the padding underneath is not. You can, however, get a waterproof liner. The doctor putting on your child’s cast will decide whether a fiberglass cast with a waterproof lining is appropriate.

How is a cast put on?

First, several layers of soft cotton are wrapped around the injured area. Next, the plaster or fiberglass outer layer is soaked in water. The doctor wraps the plaster or fiberglass around the soft first layer. The outer layer is wet but will dry to a hard, protective covering. Doctors sometimes make tiny cuts in the sides of a cast to allow room for swelling.

Can plaster of paris casts get wet?

Absolutely not! A wet cast may not hold the bone in place because the cast could start to dissolve in the water and could irritate the skin underneath it, possibly leading to infection. So your child shouldn’t swim and should use a plastic bag or special sleeve (available online or sometimes at pharmacies) to protect the cast from water. And instead of a shower, your child may need to take a sponge bath.

Can synthetic (fiberglass) casts get wet?

Although the fiberglass itself is waterproof, the padding inside a fiberglass cast is not. So it’s still important to try to keep a fiberglass cast from getting wet. If this is a problem, talk to the doctor about getting a waterproof liner. Fiberglass casts with waterproof liners let kids continue bathing or even go swimming during the healing process. Although the liner allows for evaporation of water and sweat, it’s still fragile. Also, only certain types of breaks can be treated with this type of cast. Your doctor will determine if the fracture may be safely treated with a waterproof cast.

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Seizures

A seizure is a sudden “episode” caused by an electrical problem in the brain. With a seizure, a person has change in awareness, body movements, or sensation

Signs & Symptoms

There are many types of seizures. Common types are:

Causes

Causes include epilepsy (a brain disorder), infections that cause a high fever, heat stroke, and electric shock. Head injury, stroke, and toxic substances can also cause a seizure. Sometimes the cause of a seizure is not known.

Treatment

Seizure disorders are treated with medication. Other medical treatments may be needed.