9.5: First Aid

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Page ID: 201610

Heather Carter and Amber Tankersley
Pittsburg State University

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Introduction

An emergency is a situation that poses an immediate risk to health, life, property, or environment. Most emergencies require urgent intervention to prevent a worsening of the situation. Some emergencies will be obvious (such as natural disasters), but others will require early childhood educators to decide if it truly is an emergency.²¹¹

Once an emergency has been identified, it’s important to know what to do. This chapter introduces different first aid and emergency medical responses, the phases of a disaster, and more information about a few different types of emergencies.

Basic First Aid

“Minor accidents and unintentional childhood injuries are not unusual in the childcare setting. Even with careful supervision, children frequently sustain scrapes, bruises, cuts, bites, and falls in the normal course of their day. Less frequently, medical emergencies…may require immediate intervention and treatment.”²¹²

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First Aid Kits

Here is a recommended list of supplies for the first aid kit (modified from the Emergency First Aid Guidelines for California Schools):

Current National American Red Cross First Aid Manual or equivalent.
American Academy of Pediatrics First Aid Chart.
Pocket mask/face shield for CPR
Disposable gloves (including latex-free gloves for persons with a latex allergy)
Soap (plain)
Cotton-tipped applicators, individually packaged
Assorted Band-Aids (1”x3”)
Gauze squares (2”x2”’; 4”x4”), individually packaged
Adhesive tape (1” width)
Gauze bandage (2” and 4” widths) rolls
Ace bandage (2” and 4” widths)
Splints (long and short)
Cold packs
Triangular bandages for sling & Safety pins
Tongue blades
Disposable facial tissues
Paper towels
Sanitary napkins²¹³

Lifesaving First Aid

Sometimes children will experience incidents or injuries that are a threat to their life. It’s important that early childhood educators know how to respond to these situations. It is recommended that every person working with children become certified in emergency response through an agency such as the Red Cross (licensing requires one staff member who is certified to be on-site at all times).

Situations such as the following are considered medical emergencies and early childhood educators should contact emergency medical services (911) if a child exhibits these symptoms:

Bleeding that will not stop
Breathing problems (difficulty breathing, shortness of breath)
Change in mental status (such as unusual behavior, confusion, difficulty arousing)
Choking
Coughing up or vomiting blood
Loss of consciousness
Sudden dizziness, weakness, or change in vision
Swallowing a poisonous substance²³⁵

While waiting for paramedics, early childhood educators will need to follow appropriate lifesaving procedures. As a professional in the field, you will be required to take a formal First Aid and CPR certification course, which will explore how to respond to each of these scenarios appropriately.

References

This page was from 5: Caring for Minor Injuries and Preparing for and Managing Emergencies by Paris. in Paris, J. (2021). Health, safety and nutrition. LibreTexts.

For references according to subscript, please see pages 117-141 of the original Health, Safety and Nutrition book (Paris, 2021) on Google Drive.

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First Aid Kits