What To Expect From A Pediatric First Aid Training Course

Kids tend to hurt themselves through play or other physical activities. Sometimes, injuries can be so severe that professional medical attention is required. Thus, if your job involves childcare, it’s best to know pediatric first aid.

First aid for children is different from first aid for adults. Kids have smaller and more fragile bodies. A pediatric first aid training course teaches you how to deal with child injuries correctly so they heal faster and properly. If you’re interested in taking lessons but are wondering what they entail, keep reading to learn more.

1. Injury Assessment

One of the first things students learn in a first aid class is the proper assessment of a situation. Performing immediate emergency care without understanding the circumstances may worsen an injury. Other times, it could become life-threatening.

When looking for first aid training options, check if the one you’re interested in has an extensive course list. They should have detailed classes that teach first aid students how to observe and assess different situations. In these lessons, you should learn the pediatric primary survey method or what’s known as DRABC:

• D – Danger: You, the patient, and the bystanders must be in a safe environment.
• R – Response: Check if the patient is conscious. For babies, flick or tap their foot’s sole for a response. For older children, gently tap or shake their shoulders and ask if they’re alright.
• A – Airway: If the child is unconscious, inspect their airways by gently tilting their head back with one hand on their head and the other on their chin. Check if their nose and mouth are free of foreign objects.
• B – Breathing: Observe the child for 10 seconds by looking, feeling, and listening. If they’re not breathing, prepare for CPR. By this step, you, a bystander, or the child’s guardian should also call authorities.
• C – Circulation: If the child remains unconscious and not breathing after the 10-second check, proceed with CPR.

A primary survey lets you know whether a child’s injury is mild or severe. Only then can you perform first aid and call an ambulance.

2. Treating Mild Injuries

Children all over the globe are prone to getting injuries. So, a comprehensive pediatric first aid course should offer lessons on treating them. A cut or a bruise may seem fine. But if mishandled, they might lead to infection or become a sign of another underlying issue.

Among the most common childhood injuries that you should know are the following.

• Accidental impacts
• Cuts and puncture wounds
• Stings and bites

As a parent or teacher, you must know what these injuries look like and how to treat them accordingly and promptly. Kids can become fussy and irritable if their pain doesn’t go away.

3. Treating Severe Injuries

In worse scenarios, children can roughhouse so much that they severely injure themselves or others. Yet even if they’re sitting quietly, they could suddenly end up in pain and begging for help. Schools and homes aren’t always child-proof. So, if a kid suffers from choking or a bad fall, you must take immediate action before medical professionals arrive. Other severe injuries or issues you must be aware of include the following:

• Fractures
• Scalds and burns
• Allergies
• Poisoning
• Drowning

Pediatric first aid classes cover techniques like child CPR and the Heimlich maneuver. Aside from that, they teach students to remain calm no matter the situation. If you’re in a school and something terrible happens, there will be other children around you witnessing the event. Hence, you mustn’t panic. Thankfully, constant training in first aid will help you become more comfortable and confident in emergencies so you can take control in any circumstance.

4. Contents Of A First Aid Kit

Any establishment, especially at home or a school, must always have an updated first aid kit within reach. Pediatric first aid training courses may offer a primer on first aid kit contents. Knowing the vital elements of a kit and when to replace certain items is essential.

Your home or school first aid kit should include the following contents:

• General first aid manual
• Disposable gloves
• Plasters of different shapes and sizes
• Sterile gauze bandages
• Safety pins
• Eye and wound dressings
• Sterile water or eye wash bottle
• Adhesive tape
• Scissors
• Tweezers
• Cleansing wipes
• Antiseptic cream
• Age-appropriate antihistamines and painkillers

Of course, that’s not the complete list. You can include other items, such as a thermometer and cough medicine, given that the kit still has enough room. If your first aid coaches forget to remind you, remember to have an inventory of all the items inside. Some medicines or creams must be replaced when they expire, and some tools may get lost if not accounted for properly.

5. Post-Treatment Procedures

Your role as a first aid practitioner doesn’t end when the medical professionals take over. After treating the injured child, you must record the incident, especially if it was an accident. Accidents include non-consensual violence and any identifiable event that injures a person, such as a falling object.

A pediatric first aid class may teach you to record an incident when a child suffers from an injury. Often, you’ll need to report the following:

• Date, time, and location of the event
• Details of people involved
• Details of the injury
• Brief description of the event
• Date and method of the report

Accident reports are beneficial for everyone as they help prevent future accidents from happening again. It’ll also be easier to improve in-person, but telehealth services provided by the school can also be an alternative.

In A Nutshell

It’s unsettling to see a child get severely hurt. However, even if there is no medical professional in the area, you can still provide initial treatment if you know pediatric first aid. Nearby or online training courses will appear if you try to search for them. There’s never a reason not to learn how to save a kid’s life with all the available options nowadays.