How to Give First Aid in Babies?

By learning how to perform first aid applications in babies, you can take correct action against unwanted accidents and injuries, thus preventing major problems.

When we said, “Let me save my baby,” we explained step by step what you should do in various accident situations so that you do not cause irreparable results by wrong intervention and unconscious practices. How to give first aid in babies, let’s get started!

How to give first aid in electric shock?

There are many types of accidents that can occur and many situations that require an emergency. We have discussed, in turn, how to give first aid to babies against every possible situation.

Mild electric shocks cause pins-and-needles pain, while severe shocks;

• Cardiac and respiratory arrest
• severe burns,
• Loss of organs such as arms and legs,
• It can cause death.

So, how do we apply first aid for babies in an electric shock accident?

• First of all, you should cut the electricity from the fuse immediately to save your baby from the current.
• If it is not possible to reach the insurance; Use a non-conductive object, broom handle, wooden item or hardened paper to keep your baby away from the electrical source.
• Your baby may only have a small burn mark on his body at the point where the electrical current enters, and it may look like nothing is wrong. However, you should definitely go to the doctor to have your organs checked for damage.

How to give first aid for burns?

In burns, the width of the damaged area is more critical than the degree of the burn. A burn affecting the upper and middle layers of the skin refers to the second degree. If the burn reaches all layers of the skin, fat, muscle and bone, this indicates the third degree. Let’s see how you should do first aid in baby burns:

• You should do the first aid for a minor first degree burn by holding the area under running water without pressure. You need to wait until the pain subsides. Keeping your child busy in a bowl of cold water is another option.
• The most important point to consider in burn interventions is not to apply ice directly to the tissue. You should apply the ice indirectly by wrapping it in a cloth or cheesecloth.
• If there is clothing on your baby, you should cut it off and not try to remove the sticky parts of the clothes.
• You should take your baby to the hospital right away, wrapped in a clean, ironed sheet and drinking water if he is conscious.
• You should not apply anything, including burn cream, to the burned tissue.
• In chemical burns, you should wash the damaged area with plenty of water and be careful that the washing water does not reach the healthy places.
• If your baby’s clothes are on fire, you should lay your child on the floor and pour water on him before he can run and get out. You can also interfere with non-synthetic rugs and blankets.

How to give first aid in respiratory tract obstruction?

Small objects, toys, foods and trying to feed the baby when he is not himself are the leading causes of shortness of breath in babies. Congestion in babies, if first aid is not given, causes airway obstruction and prevents oxygen going to the brain and lungs. Problems that can be seen in the absence of oxygen are:

• Rhythm disturbance in the heart in 0-1 minutes,
• Brain damage tendency in 1-4 minutes,
• Brain damage begins in 4-6 minutes,
• Brain damage increases in 6-10 minutes,
• Irreversible brain damage and death occur within 10+ minutes.

Signs of partial obstruction in infants

• can cough,
• can breathe,
• He can talk.

In this case, you should not touch your baby and encourage him to cough.

Signs of complete occlusion in babies

• can’t breathe,
• Suffers, puts his hands on his neck,
• can’t speak,
• The color turns purple.

• In foreign body aspiration first aid, you should first observe your baby’s breathing, cry and talk, and see if he coughs vigorously. A strong cough indicates if there is a small blockage.
• If there is a strong cough, you should definitely not hit your baby’s back. In this case, first aid can have an adverse effect and the airway can be completely blocked. Remember, the most critical point in first aid for babies is to make the wrong intervention.
• If there is a complete blockage in babies, the intervention varies according to the location of the object. First of all, you should hold your child’s head with one hand and pull his head towards the nape, keeping the airway open.
• You should open your mouth by pressing your chin lightly, if you can see the object causing the blockage and if you can pick it up, you should use your thumb and index fingers like tweezers to pick up the object.
• If you can’t see the object causing the blockage, you should definitely not try to look for it by digging your finger into your baby’s throat. In this case, you should lay your baby upside down on one arm.
• With the help of your thumb and other fingers, you should grasp the baby’s chin and hold it by the neck and tilt it forward in the prone position.
• You should hold your baby in a position lower than their torso with their head taut and tap them 5 times between the inside of the wrist and the shoulder blades.
• If the object did not come out, you should keep it in the supine position with your head down from your body.
• You should apply pressure from the lower part of the breastbone to the upper part of the abdomen with two fingers 5 times and continue as follows until the foreign body comes out.

Now you know what to do in first aid interventions to open the airway in babies! This is a first aid practice for choking, especially in very young babies. In other cases, you should try the same methods as for airway opening in adults.

How to give first aid in bleeding?

• Little ones often fall and bleed their lips. The bleeding can stop without any intervention, you can get quick results by applying pressure with a clean tissue or gauze.
• Cuts on the face and head may bleed heavily because there is a lot of vascularity in these areas. Trying to remain calm, you should apply a compress with sterile gauze on the cut.
• You should apply pressure in the same way for arm or leg cuts and keep your baby’s arm or leg above heart level and continue the pressure until the bleeding stops.

How to give first aid in nosebleeds?

Children often try to stick things in their nostrils. If you have seen this moment, you should definitely not try to remove the foreign body that got into the nose, you should take your little one to the doctor immediately.

Because the veins in the nose are thin; Nose bleeding may occur as a result of minor strains, insertions of foreign objects into the nostrils, falls or blows. So what should you do?

• You should calm your child and tilt his head forward and hold it by squeezing under the bony part for 10 minutes.
• In the meantime, you can apply cold to the forehead and nape areas.
• If your baby’s nosebleeds recur frequently, you should definitely go to the doctor to find out why.

If the foreign body gets into the ear, it can cause itching, pain and hearing problems. If this object is not hard, you can remove it with tweezers. If it is deeper, you should not try to remove it yourself and show it to a specialist.

How to give first aid for sprains?

Injury to the ligaments that support the joints is called a sprain. In particular, ankle sprains are one of the most common accidents in childhood. For the treatment of sprains;

• You should put your baby’s feet on the pillow and gently remove the shoes and socks.
• You should apply cold to your wrist and let it rest.
• If the pain and swelling in the foot increase, there may be a possibility of a more serious problem, for this you should definitely take your child to a hospital.

How to give first aid in dislocations and fractures?

Since the bones in infants and children do not harden enough, the probability of fracture is low. It is also difficult to understand the fracture in infants from the image. When there is pain and swelling, it can only be diagnosed by X-ray and treated accordingly.

The first aid application in the fracture is as follows:

• If there is a fracture as a result of a serious accident, you should fix the broken organ by placing supports on both sides.
• You must prevent your child from moving. Especially if there is a possibility of neck fracture, you should not lean your head up, backward or forward. In this case, the right thing to do is to call an ambulance and have your child taken to the hospital.

Children are more likely to have dislocations. The bones that make up the joint can be easily separated from each other. You should do the first aid application in dislocations as follows:

• If the protruding organ is the wrist or shoulder, you should fix it by tying it to the body.
• If there is a jaw dislocation, you should tie it to the upper jaw and take your little one to the hospital for treatment.

How to give first aid in poisoning?

Babies tend to be able to pick up their mouths, chew and swallow objects. For this reason, poisoning is common especially in young children. Symptoms of poisoning vary depending on the type of drug and chemical that causes it. However, generally;

• Sudden onset of abdominal pain ,
• vomiting ,
• Stagger,
• Transfer,
• unconsciousness,
• shock chart,
• Burning or discoloration of the mouth caused by a flammable or acidic poison,
• The presence of the medicine box and its leftovers near the child are the main signs of poisoning.

What should you do?

• First of all, you should check your baby’s breathing. If you have signs of a burn or a chemical drink around your mouth, you should wash your skin or lips with water.
• If he is conscious, you should give him some water or milk.
• You should try to understand the type of poison, the amount and the time that has passed, this information is very important to tell the doctor.
• If she vomits, you should take a sample to give to your doctor.
• your baby; If you drink even a sip of liquids that cause burns in your esophagus, such as bleach, diesel oil, liquid furniture polish, cleaning detergents containing acid and alkali, it is inconvenient to make him vomit. Therefore, you should definitely not try to induce vomiting yourself.

How to give first aid in drowning?

Babies and children can drown even in very shallow water. Here are the steps to follow when giving first aid to a drowning baby:

• If your child is crying and coughing when he gets out of the water, you will make him more afraid by scolding him. Therefore, the first thing to consider when giving first aid for choking in infants should be to calm, hug and lovingly reassure the child.
• If the weather is cold, you should immediately move your baby indoors, remove their wet clothes, and warm them up so that the feeling of trust comes back.
• If your baby isn’t awake when he gets out of the water, you should immediately clear things like mud and algae that can block his airway and check his breathing status.
• If he’s not breathing, you should give your baby artificial respiration. If he starts vomiting, you should turn his head to the side and clean the vomit from his mouth.
• If your child begins to breathe, you should take him to the hospital immediately for a doctor’s checkup.

How to do artificial respiration in babies?

• You should lay your baby on a hard surface and kneel next to him.
• You should unbutton your baby’s neck and chest wraps.
• You should check the inside of your mouth and remove any foreign body that causes airway obstruction.
• To open the airway, you should place one hand on your child’s forehead and two fingers of the other hand on the jawbone.
• With the long edge of the jawbone perpendicular to the ground, you should push your head back by pressing it from your forehead and lifting it from your chin.
• You should check if your baby is breathing every 5 seconds. For this, you should look at the respiratory movements of the rib cage, listen to your breathing by putting your ear close to your baby’s mouth. You can try to feel it by placing your other hand over your rib cage.
• If there is no breathing, you should give time for the air to come back by giving 2 rescue breaths, each lasting 1 second, enough to raise your baby to your chest.

How is CPR applied?

• To apply pressure to the heart, you must locate the lower and upper ends of the sternum and place the heel of one hand on its lower half.
• Keep your fingers perpendicular to your body on the sternum without touching the rib cage and without bending your elbows.
• You should apply force so that the sternum goes down 2.5-3 cm. You can set its speed to apply force 100 times per minute.
• After 30 CPR, you should do 2 breaths.
• For infants, you can continue with basic life support uninterrupted until your little one’s vital reflexes return to normal or medical help arrives.

How to give first aid for insect stings?

Since babies’ skin is sensitive, allergic reactions such as swelling and redness may occur against fly or bee stings. So, how should first aid be given to babies against insect bites?

• It is good to wash with water and apply ice compresses against bee stings and fly bites. You can also apply a few drops of diluted ammonia.
• If the swelling or irritation on the skin does not go away, you should take your baby to the hospital to detect the allergic reaction and apply the treatment.
• Snake, scorpion and spider bites can be fatal to your baby. In case of a snake bite, you should take your baby to the hospital quickly, without moving too much, in order not to accelerate the spread of the venom.
• To protect your baby from such accidents, you should use mosquito and insect protectors and use antihistamine solutions that relieve redness, swelling and itching at the bite site.
• In addition, first aid training in babies is very effective in solving this type of accident. You should also check the tetanus vaccination deadline.

This is how baby first aid applications are made. We have also prepared a table for first aid supplies for you, it is useful to have in every home.

What to have in your first aid kit
Plaster	Cotton bud	Sprays that form a protective film on the wound with soothing properties.
Bandage	blunt scissors	Gel bags to be used for hot or cold compress
sterile gauze	Tweezers	Anti-inflammatory jel ya da pomad
Elastic bandage	Magnifying glass	Non-burning antiseptic solution
Safety pin	digital thermometer	Pain reliever syrup and suppository (at the doctor’s recommendation)
physiological saline	Cotton	Allergy gel and syrup
Oxygenated water