Children First Aid

What to do when your children had an external injury?

• Call your doctor if the child has lost consciousness, even momentarily.
• If the child has not lost consciousness and is alert and behaving normally after the injury, apply an ice pack or cold pack to the area for 20 minutes. Wrap the pack in a cloth to prevent damage to the skin from extreme cold.
• Watch your child carefully for the next 24 hours. If he or she shows any signs of internal head injury (listed next), call your doctor immediately.
• If the incident occurs close to bedtime and the child falls asleep at his or her normal time, then check every two hours for disturbances in skin colour, breathing or twitching limbs:
• If colour and breathing are normal and all appears well, then let the child sleep.
• If colour and breathing are abnormal, or you do not feel comfortable that all is well (trust your instincts!) then wake the child up by sitting him up. The child should be irritated and attempt to go back to sleep. If he or she does not protest then try to rouse the child fully. If you cannot, call your doctor or an ambulance immediately.