How To Treat Serious Playground Injuries

As a parent, your top priority is to keep your child from any harm. However, accidents can happen at any time, especially on the playground. When your child is crying from a playground injury it's normal to panic, but you need to stay on top of the situation. Therefore, you need to relax, take deep breaths, and keep calm. After that, assess the injury and provide necessary first aid care. 

It would also help when you verbalize and let your child understand what you're doing to calm them down. Call your child's pediatrician to find out and discover more information on what type of first aid treatment you need to do. It pays to have a background in first aid care when you have a child. But, it's okay if you don't, this guide will help you. Here are some first aid treatments you can do while waiting for help.

• Black Eye

It’s normal to see some discoloration, swelling, and bruising. There can be temporary visual impairment. Your child may also experience headaches and neck aches. Wrap the ice on a clean cloth. Put it in the eye for 15 minutes only for every hour. Keep their head elevated above heart level to drain the blood and reduce the bruising.  

Your child may take painkillers, but you need to consult with a pediatrician first. Seek immediate medical attention if these symptoms persist: 

• There is a deformity in the eye or the face 
• Your kids become dizzy
• Clear fluid is leaking from the ears 
• When there is a change in behavior

• Broken Bones

Children's bones are more supple compared to adults' bones. It can split, crack or bend. A fracture is when the bone breaks or cracks. You will notice swelling, bruising, difficulty in moving, could look twisted or bent, have grating noise and lose strength. Get a pad and cover the injured limb. After that get a triangular bandage to keep the limb in place. 

Let your kid understand that they should not move the injured arm around to ease the pain. If it’s a leg fracture, do the same thing but tie the injured leg to the other leg. 

It’s an open fracture when you see a bone protruding or there is a wound. You need to control the bleeding. Get a sterile cloth and cover it. Be sure not to put pressure on the bone. Don’t move your kid while waiting for medical assistance.

• Busted Lip

Find the source of the bleeding. Stop the bleeding by getting a clean cloth, and putting it over the injured lip. Do this for five to seven minutes until the bleeding stops. Use a cold compress if there’s swelling. You need to call the doctor for a deeper cut and if the bleeding doesn’t stop after seven minutes.

• Cuts

You may use a towel and apply pressure on the wound. When the bleeding stops, wash it with water and cover the wound with a plaster. Clean cuts can be managed at home. It would help if your kid gets a tetanus shot. You should also watch out for signs of infections as a precautionary measure. If it’s a deep cut or the bleeding doesn’t stop, seek medical help immediately.

• Friction Burns

Assess the burn. If it’s on the top layer of the skin, it’s considered a minor burn. Run cold water on the wound to clean it and cool it down. Dry it with a sterile cloth. Apply antibiotic ointment to reduce inflammation and to kill bacteria. Wrap it loosely with gauze and leave some space for the wound to breathe. Call the pediatrician to prescribe a painkiller if necessary. Seek immediate medical attention if: 

• There is severe damage to the outer layer of the skin
• The burn is more than 3 inches.
• The burn is in a sensitive area.

• Head Injuries

Get immediate help and while you’re waiting, see if your kid is breathing, if not, do Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Check for any signs of bleeding. Don’t remove the object stuck on their head to keep the brain from bleeding out. Get a clean cloth and cover it. Don’t shake or move your child unless you need to get them somewhere safe.

• Knocked-Out Tooth

Apply a cold piece of cloth if there is bleeding. If your child is old enough, let them bite on the gauze. You can also get them an ice pop. Call the pediatrician for pain medicine if needed. If their tooth is broken, rinse their mouth immediately with warm water. Call the dentist and schedule an appointment.

• Nosebleed

Let your child sit and have them lean slightly forward. Don’t lay them down as blood could block the airway. Pinch the soft part of the nose and let your child breathe through their mouth. Keep the pressure on the nose for ten minutes. Don’t let them blow their nose or rub it to avoid further irritation.  

Seek immediate medical attention when this happens:  

• If the bleeding doesn’t stop after two tries of applying pressure, ten minutes each.
• If there is bruising
• If your child is feeling dizzy or weak.

• Splinter

Don’t touch the splinter with your bare hands. Use a tweezer. Follow the same angle of how the splinter punctured the wound. Gently pinch the splinter at the base of your kid’s skin and take it out. If you were able to remove it, squeeze the skin and let it bleed. This is to flush out any particles left on the wound. Wash the wound with water and put a plaster over it. 

Conclusion:

It's okay to let your kids run around the playground. Let them enjoy it because it's part of their childhood. Also, you should explain to them that getting injured is also part of it. Do the necessary first aid care while waiting for the medical team to arrive. And to avoid these injuries, you need to teach your children to be careful at all times.