As any parent will tell you, when they are not busy looking after their child, they are busy worrying about their child. One of the most worrisome times is when your baby comes down with a fever, or a cold or any sort of injury. To ensure you have what you need on hand to handle such a situation, here’s what you need your home first aid kit to have.
Why Do You Need A First Aid Kit in Your Home?
A first aid kit is basically a tool box for when someone who is injured at home. Most homes will some basics to help with an injury such as band aids, a bandage or two, some antiseptic and maybe some pain relief medication. However, when you have a baby, you need to up your first aid game.
A first aid kit is your first port of call to help to reduce the chance of infection, reduce the number of visits to the emergency room and to help to support more serious injuries before they can be seen by a GP. Treating a wound on the spot before you can get medical assistance can significantly reduce the impact of that wound and it’s healing time.
Baby First Aid
One of the best things you can do to prepare for bringing a baby into your home is to do a baby first aid course. Treating a baby who has stopped breathing or who is choking is different to they way you would teat an adult. Learning how to treat a tiny body quickly and confidently can be the difference between life and death. There are loads of reputable first aid courses for baby online. You can check with your local children’s hospital for recommendations too.
Some of the important basics taught in these classes are how to recognise an emergency. They will help you recognise emergency situations such as when baby develops a fever, rashes, becomes floppy or listless and why such symptoms should not be ignored.
In case of any emergency never hesitate to call 000 for further assistance. You should also keep your GP and any other important medical numbers saved in your phone.
Home First Aid Kit For Your Baby
You should always ensure that you have a first-aid kit somewhere handy and in easy reach. Here is what is recommended to include in your first aid kit:
Thermometer
Ideally, a quick-read digital one, and make sure you know how it works before you have to use it at 3 am. The most accurate type for babies under 3 years old is rectal, but you can also use an infrared thermometer or a simple axillary digital one, that you place under the arm. We recommend the Oricom HFS1000 Non-Contact Infrared Thermometer as it gives a fast and accurate reading without needing to make any contact with baby. It also has a colour coded system so if you are monitoring fever patterns you can do so at a glance.
Liquid Baby Paracetamol
For those unexplained fevers, paracetamol eg Panadol helps to bring down a temperature. Use plain paracetamol only for babies under 6 months and follow the dosage instructions very carefully.
You can also add some baby Nurofen which can help with the inflammation caused by teething. If you’re worried about giving your baby medication, chat to your doctor or healthcare practitioner first.
A Nasal Aspirator
Babies can’t blow their own noses, so you may have to step in and help sometimes. Nasal aspirators can be a simple bulb-type or a more complicated one where you physically suck out the mucus. It is an amazingly effective tool in clearing their nasal passages so they can breathe easier and hopefully sleep better.
We recommend the Oricom Rechargeable Nasal Aspirator. This little gadget is quiet as a mouse and can draw out mucus with the touch of a button even while they sleep.
Saline spray
Once the baby’s nose is clear of mucus you can use a saline spray to keep it clean. This will furthermore help with breathing especially while baby is sleeping. The pressurised kind is often more expensive but tend to be more effective with wriggly babies who aren’t able to sniff it back themselves.
Suppositories & Vaseline
Sometimes your baby will need medication but either cannot (or will not) take it orally. For those times, anal suppositories are a good option. The Vaseline makes it easier to get it in. You get painkillers and laxatives as suppositories but only administer them under advice from your doctor or healthcare professional.
Wound Treatments, Antiseptic Cream & Dettol
You generally won’t need these immediately but pretty soon your tiny newborn will be crawling around and then walking. And once they are mobile, they start to hurt themselves. It’s handy to keep these stocked up in your first aid kit
Burn treatments
It’s something you may not expect to need, but when the worst happens you’ll be so glad you have it. For small burns, a hydrogel spray is a great thing to keep on hand for those accidents you never saw coming. For larger burns speak to our GP or Chemist about gels and wraps to help with a burn before you can see a medical professional.
The Expanded Baby First Aid Kit
The above suggestions will make up the base of your first aid kit. As your baby grows there will be more things that you need to add to your kit to personalise it for them. They made need gas or colid drops, cradle cap creams, nappy rash creams, teething gels, excema cream, asthma medication and the list goes on. There are many things that you may have to add to your first aid kit, but the list above is a good place to start.
Where To Keep Your Baby First Aid Kit
All medicine should be kept in a locked box that’s easily accessible for adults and out of reach of children. It is not recommended to keep your first aid kit in the bathroom due its high humidity. The best place to keep it is in the pantry or linen cupboard. Just make sure it is out of reach of curious kids.
Mobile First Aid Kit
It’s also good to have a first aid kit for when you are out of the home. A small, mobile first aid kit can really be a handy addition to your nappy bag or your handbag. Just keep some bandaids, a bandage, some antiseptic wipes and creams, and some teething gel or powder.
A great little health care kit that you can keep in your bag is Tommee Tippee’s Closer to Nature Healthcare Kit. This one has 9 essential items in a handy pouch to help you groom and care for your baby from birth through to the early months, including a Nasal Aspirator and Digital Oral Thermometer to check baby’s temperature.
Keeping Your First Aid Kit Up To Date
Medicines expire, so you should go through your kit every 6 months or so and make sure it’s all still up to date. Throw away and replace any out of date medication as expired medication can be dangerous to take. Products like band-aids and burn treatments can also expire so make sure you check those as well.
The first aid kit is one of the most important items in your home. A well stocked First Aid kit should be one of the first things you buy before your due date.