First aid for babies and toddlers

Caused, for example, by swallowing medications, cleaning agents, or toxic plants.

The symptoms are diverse and can also occur several hours after poisoning.

They range from stomach pain, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, fatigue, and malaise to unconsciousness and cardiac arrest.

If poisoning is suspected, call emergency services immediately.

Also choose the poison control center for additional instructions:

• Germany: 01761 19240

• Austria: 01406 4343

• Switzerland: 145

Remain calm until the doctor arrives, take care of your child, and follow the poison control center's instructions.

You should only induce vomiting in consultation with a doctor or the poison control center, for example, if your child has taken medication or tablets and only a few minutes have passed since ingestion. Other poisons could damage their mucous membrane or esophagus. The easiest way to induce nausea is by inserting a finger into your child's throat and thus stimulating their uvula.

If your child is unconscious, place them in the recovery position and begin resuscitation measures in case of respiratory arrest.

Save any remaining poison, its packaging, or vomit if possible. This can assist emergency services in later treatment.

Formed through contact with hot liquids or surfaces.

The symptoms range from swelling and redness to blistering and open wounds.

Remove hot and wet clothing immediately from the child's body to prevent a so-called "afterburn" through the fabric. This also prevents painful fiber adherence to the wound surface afterward, especially in the case of more severe burns.

Cool the affected skin area with lukewarm water for a maximum of 30 minutes, depending on the extent.

For more severe burns, you should never completely place your child under the shower, as they would cool down too quickly.

Do not apply any remedies or compresses to the burned areas. The emergency doctor may use a special sheet to cover the burn site.

For minor, superficial burns, also consult a pediatrician for further treatment. Even seemingly superficial burns, especially on the face or scalp area, are often underestimated, and the true extent of the burn may only become apparent a few hours later.

Take your child to the hospital as quickly as possible for treatment in case of more severe burns or burns on the face, hands, feet, or genital area.

Babies and toddlers are more sensitive to heat than adults and heat up more quickly.

Too much sun on the head and neck irritates the meninges.

The head of your child is red and hot, while the rest of their body has normal temperature.

It suffers from headaches, restlessness, nausea, or vomiting.

Your baby is crying and doesn't want to drink.

Immediately bring your child into the shade and elevate their head and upper body.

Cool head and neck with a cold pack wrapped in cloth, and give your child water to drink.

Stay with your child at all times to observe and calm them. If they lose consciousness, experience hallucinations, severe pain, or if their condition does not improve after 20 minutes despite the measures taken, call emergency services.

If your child exerts themselves physically in high temperatures, a lack of fluids and salts can lead to heat buildup and heatstroke.

Your child's skin is red, hot, and dry all over their body.

Has a fever, often over 40 degrees Celsius.

Your child's breathing is shallow and rapid.

It can lead to vomiting, hallucinations, seizures, and unconsciousness.

Immediately notify emergency services.

Put your child in the shade during the wait time, take them out, and cool their body with wet cloths or wrapped cold compresses.

Only give him something to drink if he is conscious and does not feel nauseous.

In spring and summer, your child may be stung by bees, wasps, or other insects.

Especially when going on outdoor trips, there is also a risk of tick bites.

Swelling, redness, and itching at the injection site.

If your child has an allergic reaction, it may also cause difficulty breathing, hives all over the body, rapid heartbeat, tingling in the extremities, fever, nausea, or chills.

A tick bite is characterized by the black insect being embedded in your child's skin. A slight redness similar to a mosquito bite may develop around the bite area.

Most insect bites do not require treatment; the swelling will go down on its own within two to three days.

Cooling or special gel help with itching.

If the stinger from a bee or wasp sting is still embedded in your child's skin, carefully remove it with tweezers. Do not squeeze the stinger to prevent more venom from entering the skin.

Allergic symptoms may indicate an anaphylactic shock, where the body reacts hypersensitively to allergenic substances with sometimes severe symptoms. In this case, immediately notify emergency services.

If your child was bitten in the mouth or if the bite becomes very red or inflamed within the next few days, you should take them to the pediatrician.

Ticks usually bite on parts of the body where the skin is particularly thin. Therefore, after a trip into nature, check your child's entire body for ticks.

If you discover a tick, remove it only with a special tick removal tool or tick card and never press on the head to prevent it from tearing off. If the head cannot be completely removed, it is sufficient to monitor the area. The head usually does not need to be surgically removed.

Wash the bite site or disinfect it after you have completely removed the tick.

Ticks are among other things carriers of Lyme disease. The infection can occur approximately 8 to 12 hours after a bite, so you should always remove ticks as quickly as possible. Ticks are no longer sent to a laboratory, because even an infected tick does not necessarily mean that your child has contracted the disease. Therefore, you do not need to keep the tick after removal.

If a circular redness around the bite site develops in the days or weeks afterwards, contact your pediatrician. An antibiotic treatment is usually necessary then.

Transmission of TBE, a viral meningitis, also occurs via ticks. Similar to Lyme disease, some areas in Germany and Europe are more affected. Symptoms include high fever, headaches, and neurological deficits. A vaccination against TBE is possible from the age of one year.

Thin blood vessels, which can tear during dry heating air, colds, or allergies when blowing your nose, are usually harmless triggers of nosebleeds.

Nosebleeds can also be triggered by a fall.

Nosebleeds can occur once or regularly.

Nosebleeds are generally harmless if they stop within 10 to 15 minutes and occur no more than once a week.

Sit your child upright with their head bent forward and place a wrapped cold compress or a damp cloth on the back of their neck.

Let the blood flow out, simply press the upper nostrils lightly together with two fingers without blocking his nose.

Gently rinse your child's nose with water once the bleeding has stopped. You may also use a soothing nasal ointment, but they should not blow their nose.

If the nosebleed lasts longer, is very severe, or your child is feeling unwell, call emergency services.

If your child suffers very frequently from nosebleeds, ask your pediatrician about possible causes.

Falls are a common cause of injuries in babies and toddlers.

Often, falls only leave harmless bumps.

If the spot where your child fell is swollen and an abnormal posture is visible, the bone may be broken.

Vomiting, lethargy, apathy, headaches, or incessant crying in babies may indicate a concussion.

You can cool harmless bumps with a cold compress.

In the event of a fall onto the forehead or the back of the head, your child and you will hopefully escape with just a fright. Babies' heads are still elastic and can better absorb falls because the skull sutures have not yet fused.

However, you should, especially if your child is still under one year old, go with them to the pediatrician. Together, you can then decide whether monitoring in the hospital is necessary. Some symptoms only appear up to 48 hours later, so careful observation during this time is very important.

If your child loses consciousness after a fall, even if only temporarily, immediately call emergency services.

If you suspect a concussion, you should also have an older child examined by a doctor as soon as possible.

If you suspect a fracture, you should, depending on the severity and location, take your child to the hospital or call emergency services. During the waiting time, it’s best not to lift your child but to keep them in their position. In case of acute pain, you can give them pain medication in an age-appropriate dose to bridge the waiting period.

Foods that they cannot sufficiently chew or other objects that they explore with their mouth and accidentally swallow can enter the airways of babies and young children.

Your child is suddenly coughing heavily without having a respiratory infection.

His face turns red and he gasps for air.

As long as your child is coughing, oxygen continues to reach their airways, and small objects usually dislodge on their own.

If your infant keeps coughing, lay him face down on your forearm or over your thigh. Pat five times between his shoulder blades with the flat of your hand. Hold your baby's head firmly to prevent it from being thrown around.

If the foreign object still has not dislodged, turn your baby around and press on his chest with two fingers five times while lying down, about one-third of the chest height. Repeat this until the swallowed object is released.

If your child is older than one year, place it initially over your thigh and pat five times between its shoulder blades with the flat of your hand.

If the swallowed object does not dissolve in this way, you can apply the so-called Heimlich maneuver to older children:

• Stand behind your child, wrap your arms around them, and reach over their stomach area with your hands.

• Now pull your arms quickly towards you five times. Repeat the thrusts until the foreign object is expelled.

If your child turns red and shows signs of suffocation, immediately call emergency services.

If your child stops coughing and starts breathing again but has not coughed up the object they swallowed, you should quickly take them to the doctor or hospital in an upright position. The object has probably slipped into one of their lungs and must be removed via a bronchoscopy. Otherwise, there is a risk that it will be coughed up again. In this case, the Heimlich maneuver should not be performed, as the foreign body could enter the upper bronchial system or even the larynx area, leading to an acute choking situation.

Electric shocks occur when babies or young children accidentally touch electrical outlets or other power sources.

It can lead to muscle cramps, anxiety, pain and burns, irregular heartbeat, unconsciousness, and respiratory arrest.

In high-voltage accidents over 500 volts, for example in connection with high-voltage lines, utility poles, or streetcars, immediate deployment of emergency services or special units is required.

If your child's muscles spasm, they may not be able to detach themselves from the power source.

Unplug the device or turn off the fuse to disconnect the circuit without putting yourself in danger.

If that is not possible, stand on a non-conductive surface and push your child away from the power source with an object made of wood, leather, or rubber.

Immediately notify emergency services.

Check if your child is conscious and, if necessary, begin life-saving first aid measures.

During play and exploration, it quickly happens that babies and toddlers sustain minor or major injuries.

Depending on the type of injury, there may be redness, bleeding or bruising, and pain.

An abscessed wound and swollen lymph nodes are signs of an infection.

For a scrape, it is sufficient to clean it with water and then protect it from germs with a plaster. Only if the above-mentioned signs of inflammation occur should you consult your pediatrician.

If your child sustains a laceration, first press a compress or a clean cloth against the wound to stop the bleeding. If possible, apply a pressure bandage and have the wound treated by a doctor as soon as possible.

A crush injury should be cooled with lukewarm water. If your child is in pain, you can give them an age-appropriate amount of pain medication. For severe pain or bleeding, you should contact your doctor.

You initially treat a bite wound depending on whether it is a superficial, open, or laceration-contusion wound. Afterwards, it should be treated by a doctor in any case, as both human and animal saliva contain many bacteria and an infection can result.

The tetanus vaccination status must also be checked and updated if necessary, depending on the severity of the injury.

Pseudocroup is an infection-related swelling of the mucous membranes. This affects the airflow in the respiratory tract and causes individual cartilage soft tissues of the trachea, especially the area below the larynx, to swell.

Since the windpipe is narrower in babies and young children, pseudocroup usually occurs only in children up to five years old. Only a few older children still have pseudocroup attacks, which are usually much milder.

The cough is favored by damp, cold weather and mostly viral infections of the upper respiratory tract.

Typical signs are a strong barking cough and a whistling sound when breathing in, known as stridor.

The symptoms often begin suddenly and at night, sometimes accompanied by fever.

A classic shortness of breath is not present in most cases.

Although it sounds frightening, pseudocroup is usually harmless.

Keep a cool head and calm your child. This will prevent panic, which could lead to more severe breathing difficulties.

Cold air causes the mucous membranes to swell and helps the coughing fit to pass. Sit with your child at an open window or at the open refrigerator or freezer until the symptoms subside.

If there is no improvement after 10 to 30 minutes or your child develops blue lips, call emergency services.

In cases of severe symptoms, the administration of corticosteroids (in the form of syrup or suppositories) or inhalation with adrenaline may be necessary. These measures must be prescribed by a doctor and can sometimes only be carried out in a practice or children's hospital. For frequent pseudocroup attacks that do not improve with conservative measures, you may, after prior consultation and training by your pediatrician, also administer corticosteroids to your child independently at home.