Baby First Aid: Choking, Falls, Burns + First Aid Kit

The mere thought of any injury befalling one’s baby has got to be any parent’s worst nightmare, with any fall, cut, or bump causing worry and fear.

Your baby’s first instinct to roll over by about 3 months of age will be the beginning of a never-ending game of exploration, as things previously unattainable are seemingly within reach all of a sudden.

It’s no wonder that your baby’s first steps are often met with excitement and worry. Though accidents are by nature unpredictable, they can still be adequately prevented.

Dr. Sylvia Bernardino, a pediatrician and lecturer at St. Luke’s Medical Center College of Medicine, says, “Knowing the key developments that characterize the particular life stage your baby is currently in is the first step in anticipating and pre-empting any possible dangers.”

She goes on to discuss the most common baby injuries, plus best ways to deal with them in easy-to-remember steps.

Common Injury #1: Inhalation/swallowing of foreign objects 

Between 3 and 5 months old, babies begin discovering the use of their arms and hands and, as a result, begin putting many things into their mouths.

Another common incident with very young children is having items stuck in their orifices or openings (e.g. nose, ears).

Kids like to experiment and see what happens if they put a certain object into these openings. Sometimes older kids experiment, too, often using younger kids as guinea pigs.

Airway obstruction injuries (choking, suffocation, and strangulation) are a leading cause of accidental death in children under age 14. Common signs of choking are difficulty in speaking and breathing, lips or skin turning blue, or gasping and signaling toward the throat. Babies may also lose consciousness shortly after if they swallow a foreign object that is too big to go down the throat, thus blocking the airway.

Prevention Tips:

• Common objects children experiment with include small toys, toy parts, and ballpen and marker caps.
• Be careful when buying toys with screws, buttons, or beads that can be bitten off and accidentally swallowed.
• Look for labels on toy packages that read “Not suitable for children under 3 years” and “Contains small parts.”
• Do not leave a baby in the watch of another child, no matter how much older. Adults should always be the primary caregiver,” says Dr. Bernardino.

For quick extraction:

• Use a hook if object is round. “Try unraveling a plastic coated paperclip to create a makeshift hook,” suggests Dr. Bernardino.
• Use tweezers on flat pieces. Tweezers work best for objects with irregular shapes.
• Seek professional help if you are in too much of a panic and doubt that you can handle the “de-clogging.”

Click here to read more about the cause and first aid treatment when an infant or kid is choking.