From scraped knees to broken bones, accidents are a hallmark of childhood---and prudent supervision isn't always enough to prevent them from occurring. In a child care facility, both children and adult staff are at risk for injuries requiring immediate treatment. Keeping an accessible, well-stocked supply of first aid items allows you to handle emergency situations, sterilize wounds and provide care for a variety of injuries.
Adhesive Bandages
Adhesive bandages---consisting of an absorbent pad and a adherent strip of plastic or fabric---are ideal for treating the minor topical wounds children frequently encounter. By protecting cuts from dirt, bacteria and friction, bandages prevent infection and allow injury sites to heal undisrupted. Along with standard rectangular varieties, a child care facility should carry an assortment of bandage sizes and shapes, including knuckle and fingertip bandages for hand injuries.
Gauze Dressing Materials
Gauze---made from lightweight, breathable material---is useful for treating injuries too large or sensitive for other bandaging methods. Because gauze is absorbent but non-adhesive, it can protect bleeding wounds without clinging to the skin and causing pain upon removal. A child care setting should have a variety of gauze dressing materials on hand, including gauze rolls, gauze pads and fasteners or medical tape for holding gauze in place.
Tweezers
Tweezers are a convenient tool for removing splinters from the skin---a common injury for children who play outdoors or with wooden objects. Because tweezers have sharp and potentially dangerous tips, store this item in a location easily accessible for adults but out of a child's reach. After each use, clean the tweezers with a disinfectant such as soap to avoid spreading germs between wound sites.
Liquid Soap
Soap is important for disinfecting wound sites, preventing infection and minimizing the spread of pathogens between children at a child care facility. In addition, liquid soap can clean other first aid items like tweezers to ensure sanitation. According to North Dakota Child Care Resource and Referral, cleaning injuries with soap is safer and more effective than using other items such as antiseptic wipes.
Ice or Instant Cold Packs
Cold compresses relieve pain and reduce swelling from injuries such as sprains, shin splints and bumped heads. In child care facilities with freezer access, store ice or standard ice packs to use for injury treatment. In settings where a freezer is not available, instant cold packs---which are self-cooling and require no refrigeration---are a useful alternative.
Disposable Vinyl Gloves
When applying gauze, cleaning injury sites or providing other care for open wounds, wearing disposable gloves can minimize the transfer of germs and help prevent infection. To avoid the risk of allergic reaction from latex, choose non-porous gloves made from vinyl.
