Accidents
If you have children, you know how easily they can get hurt. Simple first aid may be all that is needed. Or you may have to call for professional help. In any type of accident, the first and best thing for you to do as a parent is to remain calm. It will help your child to stay calm and will help you think clearly to assess exactly what type of accident you are facing. Make certain that you have emergency telephone numbers nearby. Talk with your children about how to handle emergencies, even those in which you or the person in charge is hurt. Have a family plan so that if you must leave with one child, you have a way to take care of the other children in your family. Take a first aid or CPR course to know what to do. Have your children’s medical records nearby in case they are needed. Prepare yourself as much as possible ahead of time so that when a real emergency happens, you can move quickly.

Broken Bones, Fractures & Sprains
Assessing what is going on with a child and an injured bone or joint is almost impossible without an X-ray. So if you are not sure is a child has a broken or fractured bone or similar problem, treat the injury as if it is serious until you know. Find a way to hold the injury in place, such as put a splint on it. If you suspect it is just a sprain, wait and see how the child progresses. A simple sprain may get better while a broken bone will get worse.

Choking
Consider any kind of choking an emergency with children and work to clear the child’s air passages as quickly as possible. If the child is choking and not losing color, simply coughing may dislodge the object. However, if they are having trouble breathing, their coloring is changing or they are getting weak, call 911 or your emergency number immediately. If you can sweep your finger through their mouths and remove the item, do so. See if the object is visible. You can start the Heimlich maneuver by holding the person from behind and putting a fist in the waist area. Hold your other hand over the fist and quickly thrust hard in and up 6 to 10 times. Try three more times. If the obstruction remains and the person loses consciousness, begin artificial respiration. With infants and children, you do the same as you would with an adult. It is easier because you can seal your mouth over the mouth and nose of the child. Blow gentle breaths - one every four seconds for a child and every three seconds for an infant - until the child’s chest starts to rise. Draw in fresh air before you breathe into the child.

Bleeding, Nose Bleeds
Bleeding can be very upsetting to parents and children, even if the injury is actually mild or is a nosebleed. Even small head injuries can produce large amounts of blood. Bleeding is considered severe if a child loses one-half pint or an adult loses more than 1¸ pints of blood. Try direct pressure on a wound to slow bleeding, keeping in mind that you want to keep the area as clean as possible. You can lay the child down and raise the injured area to reduce the flow. Press directly onto the wound for five or 10 minutes or bind the wound with a pad to keep pressure. Some children get nosebleeds for no apparent reason or because of a cold or infection. Have them sit down and lean forward. Use your thumb and forefinger to press together both sides of the nose, telling the child to breathe through his mouth. Hold this position for about five minutes to help the blood clot. Most nosebleeds do not require professional attention.

Small Scrapes & Bruises
Keep a first-aid kit around because you are going to need it. Children get cut and bruised frequently and may need nothing more than your attention. But there are a few important things to remember. With any cut or scrape, keep the injury clean to avoid infection. You can put pressure on a cut or scrape with a clean pad. Sometimes using cold water on a pad or cloth can make the injury feel better. If the cut seems deep or jagged, you may need to get medical help. Dirt deep inside an injury may require a thorough cleaning by a medical professional. Any injury that causes weakness or numbness could indicate nerve or tendon damage and needs to be examined. Bruises typically take care of themselves, but ice can help the swelling, which in turn reduces pain.

Poisons
It is amazing what children put in their mouths and equally amazing what can make them sick. Those cleansers within easy reach for you under the kitchen sink fall into the category of poison when a child ingests it. If you suspect that a child has swallowed or inhaled a poison, call 911, your doctor or a poison-control center immediately. Be prepared to answer a lot of questions. They will want to know exactly what the child has taken, the age and weight of the child, whether the child is conscious or vomiting and how far you are from help. Do not induce vomiting until you have been told to do so. Common poisons include nearly all cleaning products, alcohol, aspirin, tobacco, cosmetics, drugs, insecticides, paint and thinners and petroleum products.