Children actively explore this world. And in the process of this cognition, falls are inevitable. Babies fall when running, during active games, playing sports, while walking. Therefore, every mother needs to know how and how to treat wounds and abrasions on the baby's body after a fall. We will talk about this in this article.
What is the danger?
The main danger of injuries sustained by a child after a fall is possible infection. Many bacteria that live quite harmlessly on the skin and in the intestines of a person can become aggressive if they enter an environment devoid of oxygen and sufficiently moist and warm. This is precisely the environment the wound is. The injury itself is not as dangerous as its infection with staphylococci, streptococci or other microbes.
When a small superficial wound is infected, suppuration and inflammation may occur. If a deep wound becomes infected, then the likelihood of developing a general infection through the bloodstream - sepsis - increases significantly.
Much depends on where and where the child fell from. Falls are considered the most dangerous in which the wound becomes heavily contaminated - on the soil, on the asphalt, as well as wounds received by sharp objects at the bottom of the reservoir. Together with dirt or water, pathogenic bacteria penetrate into the child's body much faster through broken skin.
Most often, as a result of falling children suffer from elbows, knees, face, head. The closer the wound is to the brain and important nerve nodes, the more dangerous it is. Thus, a wound on the face is always worse than a wound on the leg.
First aid
If a child falls off a bike or landed unsuccessfully, getting off a swing in the yard, you should not panic - all children, without exception, fall, and therefore instead of accusing yourself and other adults of inattention to the child, it is important to concentrate on something else - to try to find out how serious the situation is.
First of all, you should reassure the baby and examine the wound. Assess its depth, degree of contamination, note the presence of torn edges, profuse bleeding.
In case of external abrasion or a shallow wound, the skin should be washed with cool running water, treated with hydrogen peroxide and any aniline dye that is in the house, best of all with green paint, since it can have a detrimental effect even on staphylococcus, which is difficult to destroy by anything.
If the choice is stopped precisely on a solution of brilliant green, then it is important to remember that an open wound is not smeared with brilliant green. Only the edges of the wound and the skin around it should be treated with a dye.
Instead of hydrogen peroxide, which causes a rather strong tingling sensation in the area of injury, you can use chlorhexidine solution... After that, a dry sterile bandage is applied to the abrasion. If the wound is small, then it will be enough to apply it for an hour and a half, then remove and leave the wound to dry.
If, for some reason, the child has not been vaccinated with DPT or ADS, in which it has an anti-tetanus component, before the fall, it makes sense to go to the emergency room to carry out emergency prevention of tetanus.
If the wound is deep, then its not worth touching at home, it is best to quickly deliver the child to the nearest emergency room, after applying a tight sterile bandage to stop bleeding. At home, there is no way to clean a deep wound completely, while in a hospital, surgeons will quickly and efficiently clean the wound from earth, sand, and also apply stitches if necessary. Such a need is sometimes important even from a cosmetic point of view, because the scar that remains after spontaneous healing of a deep wound on the face will then cause a lot of suffering to the child.
Sometimes there is a need to administer tetanus toxoid to the child to prevent tetanus infection, especially if the child is injured in a rural area, the soil of which is "rich" in dormant tetanus sticks, which are looking forward to being in a favorable environment.
If a child has received a wound on the head or face, it is better not to refuse medical help. Even a slight incision or abrasion on the head can only be the "tip of the iceberg." In practice, it can be revealed the hard-hitting fact of receiving a traumatic brain injury, concussion. The wound should be rinsed, the hair around it (if it is on the head) should be cut off, rinsed with an antiseptic and sent to the doctor at the nearest emergency room. All injuries to the facial area require a mandatory examination by a surgeon, even small incisions sometimes need stitches or staples for more even scarring, so that the baby's face does not turn out to be spoiled by scars.
As part of first aid, you should not apply to wounds received when too tight bandages fall, so as not to disrupt the blood supply to neighboring tissues. Children are prohibited from treating wounds with alcohol or vodka. Firstly, this is pure sadism, since such treatment will cause severe burning pain, and secondly, alcohol practically does not affect such a dangerous microbe as staphylococcus, and therefore the use of such cruel methods of first aid is simply unjustified.
The child should not put ice on the wound. If an abrasion or injury is accompanied by swelling, for example, on the knee, it is important to apply ice so that the area of the wound remains open, and then show the child to a traumatologist in order to exclude fractures, cracks and other injuries.
As part of first aid, you can use antibacterial drugs in powders - "Baneocin" or streptocide powder. But it is better to refuse to apply antibiotic ointment, in any case, before complications, inflammation or examination by a doctor occur.
Preparations for the home first aid kit
In order not to run to the pharmacy after a sudden fall of the child, it is worth making sure that the home medicine cabinet has all the necessary means for first aid and subsequent treatment. For emergency care, you will need:
sterile bandage;
gauze swabs;
"Brilliant green";
Fukortsin;
hydrogen peroxide;
Chlorhexidine;
"Baneocin" (powder);
streptocide powder.
After the bandage is removed, and with a small wound, this will happen in an hour and a half, it will be important to closely monitor how the healing is going. When signs of inflammation, suppuration appear, with a weeping, long-healing wound, treatment will be needed.
To do this, you need to have at least two of the following drugs in your first aid kit:
Solcoseryl ointment;
spray "Panthenol";
antibacterial water-repellent ointment "Levomekol";
Eplan;
Erythomycin ointment;
Tetracycline ointment;
balsam "Rescuer";
ointment "Levosin";
"Baneocin" - powder and ointment;
gel "Contractubex".
Treatment
A wound after a fall that does not heal for a long time should be shown to a doctor. Treatment consists in treating the wound with an antiseptic (hydrogen peroxide, "Chlorhexidine"), followed by the application of antibiotic ointments ("Levomekol" or Erythromycin ointment), sterile bandaging. Child dressings are done 1-2 times a day... In difficult cases, if there is a likelihood of developing an infection, the doctor may prescribe antibiotics by mouth in the form of a suspension or in capsules (depending on the type of pathogen and the age of the baby).
In the process of treatment, it is useful for a child to give vitamin complexes in which there is a sufficiently high content of vitamins B6 and B 12, as well as vitamin C (ascorbic acid), vitamins A and E, which are involved in the metabolic processes of the skin.
At the final stage of treatment, when the wound has already healed, agents can be used that help resorb and smooth the scar tissue to reduce the scar. These ointments include "Kontaktubex". This is very important in the treatment of the consequences of wounds on the face, on the lip, on any open part of the body, in order to minimize the negative consequences from a cosmetic point of view.
A purulent wound must necessarily be examined by a doctor, even if it occupies a very small area, for example, on a baby's finger after falling on a sharp object or after a scissor injection. Treatment in this case will be similar, but the doctor will assess the condition of the wound and consider the possibility of surgical cleaning.
Not all wounds can be healed at home. Deep complicated and festering injuries may require the systemic use of antibiotics and careful monitoring of the child's condition in a hospital setting.
Useful Tips
Treatment of a wound after a fall with an antiseptic should be carried out exactly as washing. Lubrication with cotton swabs is prohibited, as well as cotton wool in general, because the fibers can remain in the wound. If there is a need to use a tampon, it is better to make it out of gauze.
Do not lubricate a weeping wound after a fall with iodine. This drug causes additional burns to already injured tissue.
For the treatment of wounds resulting from a fall, such a favorite remedy as baby cream is not suitable for mothers. It creates a dense, air-tight film on the surface of the abrasion or wound and prevents normal healing. The best remedy for abrasions is fresh air and sterility.
The first time after healing, it is important to remember that the skin that has formed at the site of injury is thinner and more vulnerable than neighboring areas of the epidermis that were not injured. Therefore, the repeated fall and injury to this new skin should be avoided in every possible way, since it will be deeper and more serious than it was the first time.
To prevent abrasions and wounds, you should carefully monitor the child during a walk, when buying a bicycle or roller skates as a gift, the child must make sure that the baby also has protective devices, which, if they do not protect from all injuries to the end, then at least minimize the consequences of the fall.
For information on how to properly treat a child's wound, see the next video.
