I would not be a mom of boys without an accident or two. And it wouldn’t be a spectacular finish to a weekend if my older offspring didn’t add a “beauty mark” on his eyebrow. The “beauty” part of it is yet to come, which may evoke a smile on girls’ faces in the future, but for now his body needs to heal a cut and a scar.
After a heart attack, a tanker truck of running water and strategically placed bandage I reclaimed my peace along with my breath and realized this calls for a post on… home first aid kits.
Do you have a First Aid kit?
In any medical emergency, seek professional medical assistance if affected person requires it. There are situations where doctors have to be involved and they are pretty good at treating traumas. CPR course is also a good thing for everybody to have, even if it is used solely to evaluate basic condition of the injured.
However, in most cases of cuts, burns and scratches that are not life threatening and which, as we all know, kids tend to attract quite often, it is great to have little helpers on hand.
So, what would I put in my First Aid Kit? Standard sterile gauze pads, bandages and BandAids, thermometer and cotton swabs are a must and pretty obvious. So is a pair of scissors, tweezers and safety pins. If working with anybody other than a family member, non-latex gloves should also be used. Sorry, sharing is not caring in this case. 🙂 Hereby I need to thank you to the safety department from my former employer (hospital) on training how to put those on and off without exposure. 🙂
But as I was thinking about sanitizing the cut for my son, I realized I run out of antiseptics. A quick trip to a local pharmacy and I came back with… a bottle of a tea tree oil. I was pretty impressed (and happy) to see they placed it right next to the major “drugged” versions. So I grabbed a bottle but I wouldn’t be myself I I hadn’t had a look at the other “stuff”. Oh, boy! The array of ingredients in those bottles was truly shocking. It never seizes to amaze me how they manage to turn simplest things into something so complicated you need a degree just to read the ingredients and probably even higher one to know what they do individually. I am still under impression that the combined effect those have on our bodies is still to be discovered. Sorry, don’t feel like being a lab animal today!
So here we go, tea tree oil is a great antiseptic without any additives or preservatives. And why would something that kills germs need those anyways?? Rhetorical question, really. Another benefit of it is that it does not sting or burn when applied!
Here is a list of things that you may need with kids and is more on the natural side. I just realized this post should be called Basic Parenting Survival Kit. No, wait, that would have to involve some wine too, which we will not endorse in this post, even thou it has medicinal properties . 🙂
1. Activated charcoal (capsules): You never know if the thing your toddler found under your couch was remains of dinner or something else, so good to keep those capsules handy. They are used for acute use in food poisoning, intestinal illness, vomiting, diarrhea, ingestion of toxins, etc.
2. Arnica lotion: Topical creme used for muscle pain or injury, bruises or any type of trauma. Not for internal use or use on open cuts, but I am sure there is a homeopathic remedy that can be taken orally, if you need one.
3. Eucalyptus, pine, lavender and oregano essential oils. There is number of books on usage and benefits of essential oils. I use this combination of the oils as a remedy for respiratory congestion in a vaporizer or they can also be diluted with coconut oil or olive oil and be applied externally to the feet and chest to help open airways. For congested child, please (!) eliminate sugar and diary from his/her diet, as they are mucous forming.
4. Apple Cider Vinegar – for bug bites. Place a soaked cotton ball over the bug bites. If you don’t want to hold it, tape it in place.
5. Honey – you may look at it as a natural sweetener (which surely is too) but it has many medicinal properties, which may become handy when it comes to scratches and burns. When applied topically it can seal the wound, speed up healing and minimize scarring. Use it raw and if you can get Manuka honey, even better. Burns can also be helped with aloe vera leaf, which can be grown in homes in our climate and are great to use internally too (as a soothing and toning agent for the digestive system). Aloe vera gels are good too, if your gardening skills end at artificial plants.
And to finish the subject a painless splinter removal method:
Ingredients:
- Baking soda
- Water
- Band Aid
Directions:
Mix water and baking soda making a thick paste. Cover the splinter with a nice size ‘glob’ of the paste and cover with a band aid. Depending upon how deep the splinter is you can wait anywhere from an hour to overnight. Check it periodically and add fresh baking soda paste as needed.
Off to BodyTalk session for my boy’s cut now.
HAPPY PARENTING!
