It’s easy to be thrown off balance when you witness your child gets injured. You should do your best to help them, and so it’s important to know the steps you need to take. Read on to see steps you should take after your child suffers from different injuries in order to effectively stop further damage from occurring and to also alleviate their distress.
Head Injury
Head injuries can be scary, and with good reason. They have the potential of causing serious harm, and so you should always act fast and soberly if your child experiences an injury to their head. The first thing you should do is to check for signs of concussion, which include confusion, vomiting, severe headache, difficulty walking, sleepiness, or passing out, even if briefly. Check whether your child hurt their neck or if they have numbness and tingling sensations, in which case you need to call 911 and have the child stay still. Head injuries are very common, especially in car accidents, which make up for 52% or more than half of all personal injury cases reported.
Burns
If your child suffers a burn, check to see whether it’s a first, second, or even third-degree burn. Third-degree burns are the most severe and they may be white or black in color, unlike the others which will leave red blisters. Hold the burn under a tap with cold water for about fifteen minutes to ease the pain and help with the inflammation if the area is small. If the burn is the size of your child’s palm or bigger or it’s on their genitals, face, hands, or feet, you should take them to the ER immediately. The same goes for chemical burns.
Broken Bones
One of the more painful injuries your child could suffer from is broken bones. They may be easy to diagnose if you can see the bone sticking out or is crooked. You can suspect a broken bone if your child is in severe pain, throws up, has swelling in the injured area, or feels light-headed. In this situation, make your child comfortable and then head to the emergency room. If you can see a bone sticking out, call 911 right away. With about 20% of bankruptcies in the United States filed by people who were well-educated, it’s important to know when you are within your rights of doing so. A good example is if treatments become extremely expensive and eat into your savings, leaving you in financial distress.
Bleeding Wounds
Bleeding wounds are serious if the bleeding does not stop after pressure has been applied to the wound for a few minutes. For large, gaping wounds that are gushing blood, it is best to head to the emergency room immediately so they can be cleaned and sutured before there is a chance for infection to set in. Otherwise, clean the wound with soap and water, apply an antibiotic ointment, and wrap it with a bandage. If it bleeds through the bandage, apply direct pressure for about 15 minutes and elevate the injured area above the heart to control bleeding.
Electrical Shock Injury
If your child gets electrocuted, you first need to turn off the power source to make sure your child is no longer in contact with the electric current. If this can’t be done, separate them from the current with a dry object that cannot conduct electricity, like a broom handle. Next, call 911. If your child is unconscious, perform CPR immediately while waiting for help. The CPSC shares an estimate that every year, about 4,000 injuries resulting in visits to the emergency room are caused by electric extension cords. Always make sure your electrical extensions are safe and out of children’s reach.
Accidents and injuries are difficult to prevent fully, so it’s best to know what to do in an emergency. If your child gets injured, stay calm while taking the right steps so it’s easy for them to also stay calm and avoid going into a panic.