As the parent of a small child, you'll be administering a lot of first aid — particularly once your child is getting around on her own. You can minimize hazards by childproofing, but your baby will still get her fair share of “owies” the first year.

The First Aid Kit

Once your baby becomes mobile, you'll be patching up scrapes and bumps, pulling out splinters, and administering other forms of first aid. You'll need:

• First aid manual

• Telephone number for Poison Control

• Sterile gauze

• Steristrips or butterfly bandages

• Soap

• Adhesive strip bandages (Band-Aids)

• Adhesive tape

• Antiseptic wipes

• Elastic bandage

• Papain (this natural meat tenderizer soothes bee stings)

• Antibiotic ointment such as Bacitracin

• Hydrocortisone cream

• Tweezers

• Old credit card (to scrape bee stings)

• Calamine lotion

• Cold packs (instant, or keep one in the freezer; use a bag of frozen

• vegetables in a pinch)

• Cotton balls

• Scissors

Common Injuries and Treatment

The following are some common childhood injuries and simple treatments. Don't hesitate to call your doctor if you feel like the injury is more serious or should be examined.

• Burns: Soak the burned area in cool water for at least twenty minutes or until the pain fades. You can hold the burn under cold running water or put ice and cold water in a bowl. Don't use ice alone; it can increase the damage to the skin. Do not put butter or other greases on a burn — they'll trap the heat and make it worse. Simply cover any blisters that develop with a bandage, but don't pop them. Redness and slight swelling are signs of a first-degree burn (the least serious); blistering and significant swelling indicate a second-degree burn; areas that seem white or charred indicate a third-degree burn. If you suspect a second or third degree burn, see a doctor immediately.

• Poison ingestion: Take away the poisonous substance, if your child is still holding any, and remove any left in her mouth with your fingers. Keep anything that you remove for later analysis. Check for severe throat irritation, drooling, breathing problems, sleepiness, or convulsions. If you see any of these symptoms, call an ambulance. If not, call your local poison control center.

• Tick bite: The faster you get the tick off, the less likely your baby is to get a tick-borne disease. Clean the area with alcohol if it's available, water if it's not. If you have nothing to clean with, skip this step. Pull the tick straight up from the skin using your fingers (tweezers are more likely to break the tick, leaving part embedded). Save the tick in case you need to bring it to a doctor. Mark the area, but not the bite, with a pen, and watch that skin for a few days for a bull's-eye-shaped rash. This rash may indicate Lyme disease, for which your baby will be treated with antibiotics. Depending where you live, you should also watch for signs of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (rash on hands and soles of feet, fever).

• Sand in the eye: Try to keep your baby from rubbing her eye, but otherwise do nothing, as tears will usually wash out the sand. If not, you can help them by washing the eye with water. If nothing you do seems to work, call your doctor.

• Bee stings: If the stinger is visible, try to remove it by scraping across the skin with a credit card. Do not squeeze it. Wash the area with soap and water and apply an ice pack to reduce swelling. You can also counteract some of the effects of the venom by sprinkling it with meat tenderizer (unless it is near the eye) or spreading a paste of baking soda and water on it. If your baby has a severe reaction — swelling that extends far beyond the site of the sting, a rapid heartbeat, clammy skin, hives, or trouble breathing, call 911. Talk to your doctor once the initial crisis of a severe reaction has passed. Although rare, if your child does have an allergy to bee stings you will need to carry a bee sting kit that includes an epinephrine shot that will dilate the airways and allow your baby to breathe.

• Sunburn: If you're like most parents, your first reaction to your baby's sunburn will be guilt. “Oh, how can I have forgotten to put lotion on? Why did we stay at the park all afternoon? Why didn't I go home when I realized I forgot her hat?” After you're done beating yourself up about this, give your baby a bath in cool water or soak some washcloths in water and lay them over the burned area. After she's dry, spread aloe (100 percent) on the burned area.

  You can also soak your baby in a lukewarm bath with either a quarter cup of baking soda or a cup of comfrey tea (comfrey reduces swelling). Give her some ibuprofen. If the sunburn blisters, if your baby gets a fever or chills, or if she seems very sick, call the doctor.

• Cuts: Stop the bleeding by applying pressure directly to the cut. If the cut “smiles” (the edges gap apart farther in the middle than on the ends), is deep, or may have dirt or glass stuck inside, see a doctor. Otherwise, wash it thoroughly with soap and water, apply an antibiotic ointment, and put on a bandage. If the cut isn't particularly deep or long, it will probably stay closed on its own. Or you can bring the edges together and fasten with a butterfly bandage or steristrip before covering it with a regular bandage.

• Splinters: Wash the area with soap and water. If the splinter protrudes, stick a piece of tape over it and pull the tape off — the splinter may come off with the tape. Still stuck? Move on to the tweezers. If the splinter is embedded, soak the area for ten minutes, wipe with an antiseptic, then numb the skin with ice or a local anesthetic intended for teething — like baby Orajel or Anbesol. Sterilize a sewing needle by holding it in a flame for a few seconds (make sure to wipe off any carbon on the needle) or dipping it in alcohol. Then gently, using the tip of the needle, try to tease the splinter out. If it's still stuck, try again after your baby's bath. Don't poke around for more than five minutes; it's unlikely you'll remove the splinter and you may damage your baby's skin. You can also try gently rubbing the skin over the splinter with a pumice stone — if you take away a thin layer of skin, the splinter may be easier to grab. Call your doctor if it is deeply embedded, is glass or metal and you can't get it all out, or the area becomes infected.

• Bug bites: These are not a major deal for most babies and usually look worse than they feel. If your baby seems itchy, put an icepack, cortisone cream, or a paste of baking soda and water on the bite. If the itching doesn't seem to stop or the area keeps swelling, call your doctor, who may prescribe an antihistamine.

• Scrapes: Run cold water over the scrape and wash it with soap. Pat it dry with a clean cloth, dab with antiseptic cream, and bandage. Go to the doctor if the scrape is deep, bleeding heavily, embedded with gravel or dirt, or if later you see increasing redness or pus.

• Choking: First give your baby a chance to cough and clear her throat herself. If she can't breathe, dial 911 and then place her face down on your arm or lap so that her head is lower than her torso. Support her head and neck. Using the heel of your hand, give five quick thrusts between the shoulder blades. If she's still not breathing, lay her on the floor on her back and, using two fingers, press quickly along the breastbone five times. Keep repeating these two moves. Do not use the Heimlich maneuver; a baby's bones and organs are too fragile for this procedure.