Expert / 28 December, 2021 / Tim Ubhi

What Should I Include In My Child’s First Aid Kit?

Firework season is here so staying safe and being aware of risks is a priority. Have you checked your child’s first aid kit lately? Do you have one to hand in case of an emergency? Or would you know what to do if your child sustained an injury or burn? We asked consultant paediatrician and founder of The Children’s e-Hospital, Dr Tim Ubhi to give us some advice. Here’s what he had to say.

Burns can be very painful as the nerve endings in the skin can be irritated by exposure to air. It is important to minimise the burning process so that tissue damage is minimised. You then need to make the child comfortable and seek medical help.

If a child sustains a burn, the first six steps are:

1. Stop the burning process by removing the child away from any burning objects.
2. Remove any clothing near the burnt area of skin (unless it’s stuck down)
3. Cool the affected area with cool or lukewarm water for 20 minutes, as soon as possible. Never use ice, iced water, creams or butter as this can cause more harm.
4. Cover the area with cling film or a clean plastic bag
5. Give pain relief such as paracetamol or ibuprofen
6. Seek medical help

It’s really important that every family has access to a first aid kit to give parents and carers the confidence to manage minor injuries at home, while they wait for, or seek professional medical help. Here’s a list of things you should to include in your family first aid kit, while remembering to keep it handy at all times.

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What should I include in my child’s first aid kit?

2 x Elastic Bandage
2 x Small gauze
2 x Medium gauze
2 x Large gauze
1 x Mouth to mouth resuscitation device
1 x Disposable gloves
1 x Small scissors
8 x Alcohol wipes
4 x Antiseptic cleansing wipes (sting free)
2 x Sting relief
1 x Triangular bandage
1 x Emergency rescue bandage
20 x Plasters
1 x Pack of Cotton buds

The Children’s e-Hospital

The Children’s e-Hospital has recently launched a dedicated first aid kit just for children which has been developed to use alongside the resources on the e-Hospital website. It contains over 50 individual pieces together with quick reference flash cards for CPR (resuscitation), sepsis and choking and can be purchased here.

Dr Tim Ubhi founded the Children’s e-hospital in 2015 as an innovative way to improve child health delivery in the UK. The Children’s e-Hospital is the first and only online specialist paediatric service anywhere in the world. Since launching, the Children’s e-Hospital has become a CQC regulated service that allows parents and carers to speak to expert paediatric consultants and dieticians from the comfort of their own home.

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