Tonight, my little boy had an unfortunate accident in the bathroom. He slipped and bump his head causing an inch long wound. We were terrified! It felt like a dream/nightmare! I wanted to wake up but I know I would not, I know that this is real and that I should not panic.

We brought our son to the nearest hospital/clinic. He got a stitch. He was crying during that time! His crying was unbearable to me and I could not do anything.

How to Childproof a Bathroom

• Secure all lower bathroom cabinets with safety latches.
• Store medication, vitamins, hair bleach, hair dye, bathroom cleanser and other hazardous solutions in a locked cabinet or in another room.
• Be sure to keep bathroom door shut and use doorknob safety guards to prevent children from entering the bathroom.
• Keep toilet seat lids down at all times; lock them with special lid locks.
• Use nonskid mats or adhesive safety strips in the bathtub and shower to prevent slipping.
• Install electrical outlets protected by ground-fault circuit breakers to prevent electric shock.
• Set your water heater at 120 degrees F or install anti-scald devices on faucets.
• Make sure your baby doesn’t find his way into the bathroom unsupervised by installing a hook-and-eye lock high on the outside of the door or by placing a childproof cover over the doorknob.
• Remember to keep the toilet lid down, and install a toilet lock to prevent your baby from lifting the lid. Small children are curious, uncoordinated, and extremely top-heavy. If your baby leans over to peer into the toilet bowl, he could easily lose his balance, fall in headfirst, and drown in as little as an inch of water.
• Put razors, scissors, nail clippers, tweezers, and other sharp utensils in a locked cabinet or high up in a linen closet well out of your baby’s reach.
• Unplug your blow-dryer, curling iron, and any other appliances that create heat, and put them away after each use to prevent burns.
• Keep all cosmetics and medications — including prescription drugs, antacids, aspirin, and mouthwash (which contains more alcohol than wine does) — in a high cabinet secured with a child-safety lock. Even medications that have safety caps, which are only child-resistant and not childproof, need to be placed out of reach.
• Treat all vitamins and other supplements with the same caution you’d use with medications, storing them in a high locked cabinet. Iron pills and multivitamins containing iron are poisonous to young children. Minerals, herbal remedies, and other supplements are hazardous, too.
• Don’t keep anything plugged in near the sink or bathtub. Water conducts electricity, so if a hair dryer fell into the tub while you were giving your baby a bath, it could electrocute you both. To be extra safe, make sure all electrical outlets near the sink or tub are protected by a ground-fault circuit interrupter (GFCI), an inexpensive device that senses a change in the current and quickly stops the flow of electricity. GFCIs are standard in most new homes to comply with construction codes, but if you have an older home, an electrician may need to replace the bathroom outlets.
• Set your hot water heater no higher than 120 degrees Fahrenheit (49 degrees Celsius). A lower water temperature helps ensure safe bathing by reducing the chance of scalding (it takes just three seconds for a child to get a serious burn). You can also install an anti-scalding device on your faucets.
• Place a nonslip rubber mat in the bathtub and a nonslip bath mat on the floor next to the tub to prevent falls.
• Put a soft plastic or rubber guard over the tub spout to protect your baby from accidentally bumping his head.
• Never leave your baby alone in the bathtub, not even for a moment. If the doorbell rings, scoop him up in a towel and take him with you. Bring your cell phone or a cordless phone into the bathroom if you feel you can’t miss a call.
• Teach your baby to stay seated in the tub at all times. If he’s the active type, you may have to repeat this message many times before it sticks, but his safety makes the effort worth it.

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My son, Matt who is 4 years old as of this writing, (he’ll be reading this when he’s 20 or older I guess , ha been experiencing nose bleeds in the past couple of days and because of that I have searched the internet for information about nose bleeds in children and toddlers, the causes of nose bleeds, preventions and first aids for it.

Nosebleed Background Information

Nosebleeds can be dramatic and frightening. That is absolutely true! The first time I saw Matt with his nose bleeding and some of it on his hands I was frozen still and could not think of the things I should do. That time I didn’t know that most nosebleeds are not serious and usually can be managed at home. My wife didn’t think so. I was worried too, but she was more worried that I am. She suggested that we see our pediatrician and have Matt checked out.

My wife’s suggestion was reasonable. I myself was relieved when the doctor said that Matt is fine. Of course we can’t help it since there was blood involved and most definitely sometimes medical intervention may be necessary.

Nosebleeds, or in medical term called ‘epistaxis‘,  are categorized based on where they originate, and are described as either anterior (originating from the front of the nose) or posterior (originating from the back of the nose).

Nosebleeds can occur at any age, but are most common in children aged 2-10 (that’s my concern and the topic of the blog post for today – ‘nosebleed for children’) years and adults aged 50-80 years.

Stop Nosebleeds – Treatments

You will find many information in the internet on how to treat or stop nosebleeds. Most of them are basically the same but the most important one is to just stay calm. Staying calm, even if you the one who’s having nose bleed or your child. This is the first step. After that:

• Sit up straight
• Lean your head forward.
• Keep your head above your heart. This will slow the bleeding.
• Lean forward so the blood will drain out of your nose instead of down the back of your throat. Tilting your head back will only cause you to swallow the blood.
• Pinch the nostrils together with your thumb and index finger
• Don’t let go for at least 5 minutes. If it’s still bleeding, hold it again for another 5 to 10 minutes.
• Spit out any blood in your mouth.  Swallowing it may make you vomit and can irritate your stomach.

Tips in Preventing Nosebleeds

• Keep children’s fingernails short to discourage nose picking.
• Counteract the drying effects of indoor heated air by using a humidifier at night in your bedroom.
• Quit smoking. Smoking dries out your nose and also irritates it.
• Open your mouth when you sneeze.

Hope some parent find this tips helpful if ever they experience nose bleeding either to himself or his child.

photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sp8graphics/3781265659/

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My son had an very terrifying accident the other day, January 9 to be exact. He jumped on the bed and cut his toes with a tin sheet (his white board toy). It bled. It bled so hard that I almost panicked!

You probably think you know all the facts when it comes to the topic of minor wound care – if you cut your finger, just dab a tissue on it and you’re ready to go! Unfortunately it is not as simple as that. Minor wounds deserve special treatment in order to heal most efficiently and minimize the appearance of scars. So before you peel off that bandage make sure you know the difference between the facts and the misconceptions on minor wound care.

Misconception: It is best to let a minor wound heal over with a scab.

For a long time I thought this is the truth.. until know, I think it is. But if scab makes the healing process longer, I need to search more about it.

Fact: Scabs actually impede the healing process by creating a barrier between healthy skin cells. The cells have to work their way under the scab in order to form new tissue and heal. Scabs can also be easily torn or scratched, causing re-injury.

Misconception: It is best to let a wound “breathe” or air out.

Fact: The best way to protect a wound is to cover it with a bandage until fully healed. Bandages that absorb a wounds fluid and maintain a natural moisture balance are ideal for healing and enables skin cells to migrate together to form new tissue.

Misconception: It is best to leave a wound uncovered.

For me, I think the wound should be covered when it is still fresh and eventually take it off so that air can flow around it to heal faster, apparently that may not be the case.

Fact: Covering a wound with bandages is essential to wound care: a bandage provides extra cushioning and protection from any re-injury that may occur, as well as preventing exposure to water, germs and dirt.

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What to do Toddler Gets Something Stuck in Nose or Ear?

Well, here are a couple of things to do just in case this incident happen. First and probably the most important one is DO NOT PANIC. You wouldn’t want to make things worse by picking up a pair of tweezers in a trembling hand and sticking it in the toddler’s nose/ears.

Stay calm and try to reassure him that it’s no big deal. The biggest danger is that you’ll push the thing deeper if you try to get it out yourself with a cotton swab or tweezers.

That’s exactly what I did. Instead of panicking and raising my voice to my wife, I just said that it’s probably just somewhere along the nostrils.

The problem with my Matt is that he doesn’t know how to blow his nose. Instead of blowing our, he might blow in. I told him to blow air our from his nose. Which good thing he did and the pea-sized blue play doh clay popped out! Relief!

Anyway, here’s a couple more tips:

Stuffed nose. Literally.

Don’t panic, usually this isn’t too difficult a problem. Don’t probe at the object or inhale through the nose as it may become further lodged into the nasal cavity. Breathe through your mouth until you know how to best handle the situation and/or the object is removed.

First Aid

Blow your nose gently to try and dislodge the object. If it helps, gently hold shut the unobstructed nostril to force all the air through the obstructed one. Do Not blow hard or repeatedly, as this may damage the sensitive tissues of the nose.

If the object is visible, not deeply lodged into the nose, and you think it can be removed easily, you may attempt to do so with a clean pair of tweezers. Be very gentle, as the nose is very sensitive.

Medical Assistance

If the object cannot be removed in these ways, or there is bleeding or pain, call for medical assistance, or go to the emergency room.

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