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SALT LAKE CITY — Whether it be a cold, the stomach flu, a nasty cut or a broken bone, every parent knows a children can and will need medical attention when you least expect it. It’s important to be prepared.
To help lighten your parental worry load, and hopefully avoid unneeded trips to the emergency room, I’ve compiled a list of five tools every parent should have at home to provide medical care for their children.
Tool No. 1: over-the-counter medications. A home should always have the following over-the-counter medications on hand: Benadryl (or similar anti-hystamine), Tylenol (generic: acetaminophen), ibuprophen, anti-diarrhea medicine, cough medicine and decongestant.
These medications can all be purchased at your local pharmacy or grocery store at little expense, and generic brands are just as effective as name-brand products.
Related:
Mommy Medicine: Does that cut need stitches?
Nurse Suzy is here to help clarify some of the issues that are important to you and your family. This week's question: How do I tell if a cut needs stitches?Tool No. 2: a first-aid kit. First-aid kits can range in price from cheap to over-the-top expensive. Whatever price you're able to pay, key items that should be in your kit include: ace wraps, Band-Aids, gauze, tape, tongue depressors, Q-tips, tweezers, scissors, antibiotic ointment and super glue.
These items can help you with most any wound, at least until you can get to your doctor’s office. It is important to note, however, if you have a laceration you think might need stitches you must get to a doctor within four hours. After that, many doctors will not stitch the wound due to possible infection.
Tool No. 3: a humidifier. Moist air helps with colds, flu viruses, and many other respiratory conditions. The moisture created by the humidifier loosens the mucus and reduces the effort it takes for the sick person to breathe.
Tool No. 4: a stethoscope. You can purchase a very inexpensive stethoscope at any medical supply or uniform store. The tool can be helpful when you’re concerned a family member is having a serious respiratory problem. Have the person breath deep while you listen to his or her lungs with the stethoscope. If it does not sound like free-flowing air, you have a problem and need to see a doctor.
Tool No. 5: an otoscope. An otoscope, the medical tool that allows doctors to look inside the ear, can be purchased very inexpensively at your local pharmacy. If you suspect an ear infection, you can use the tool to check it out before going to a doctor (a healthy eardrum is bluish-gray; an infected eardrum is pink or red).
The otoscope can also be used to check a person’s throat. If you’re concerned a sore throat may actually be strep throat, the light on the otoscope allows you to easily see into the back of the throat (a red, swollen, pussy throat needs to be seen by a doctor).
Remember, the information above is a list of tools that will help parents understand what might be going on, not to tools to be used to diagnose a illness. A doctor is the only one who can diagnosis a problem. So if you have any concerns or questions, always consult your physician.
Suzanne Carlile, "Nurse Suzy," has been a nurse since 1982. Her main focus is critical care and nursing education. She holds a master's degree in nursing, is a Certified Emergency Nurse, and a member of NNSDO Intermountain West Chapter.
