first aid for burns
First Aid
What first aid items are necessary to have in a home with a child?
All I can find are first aid kits with band-aids… Any suggestions? (For example, won’t I need a eye washout cup?)
There are many sets of standard first-aid equipment in baby stores. In general, you will need to have a thermometer, infant Tylenol and/or ibuprofen, an icepack (it’s nice to leave one in the freezer and it’s easier to use a gel pack than ice cubes), and then some of the typical things that you’d need for yourself (antibiotic ointment, band-aids). There is some controversy now about whether syrup of ipecac is as universally useful as people once thought, but it can’t hurt to have around.
A few other random tips: You don’t need cold medicine for infants (and probably not for young children, either). Infants shouldn’t typically need hydrocortisone, either. You might not consider it first-aid exactly, but for any child over 6 months, having sunscreen is important, also. Babies are sent home from the hospital with a nasal aspirator. It is helpful to have baby nail clippers instead of full-size ones. You don’t need an additional medicine dispenser, as almost all medicines come with a syringe or dropper already. Eye washes are so rarely needed that I don’t think anyone considers them standard or necessary anymore.
First Aid – Nose bleed