HEALTH MATTERS
DR Lesley Bayliss, clinical lead for children, NHS Eastern Cheshire Clinical Commissioning Group HAVING an ill child or dealing with a minor injury can be daunting but parents are often best placed to help their child get better quickly.
Understanding more about common childhood injuries or illnesses, and basic first aid skills, can help you decide what to do.
The award-winning CATCH app is a perfect place for parents seeking advice on when it’s safe to look after poorly infants themselves and when medical advice is needed.
While it can be worrying when children become ill with a temperature or a minor injury, these can often be dealt with at home with basic first aid skills or with the help of the free CATCH app, which provides NHS-approved information straight to your mobile device for free.
It is a convenient first port of call for personalised advice regarding your child’s injury or illness and helps free up GP time for urgent appointments while reducing unnecessary A&E visits.
Health advice is also available at any time by calling NHS 111, visiting the NHS Choices website or seeing your local pharmacist or GP.
Your local pharmacist is trained in managing minor illnesses and can offer appropriate advice and medication when necessary.
If you think your child is more seriously injured or ill, then you should seek medical advice as soon as possible. This can be done in an emergency by dialling 999.
Signs of possible serious illness include the following:
Your child is very drowsy or irritable and doesn’t improve after taking paracetamol or ibuprofen.
Your child has problems breathing – for example, rapid breaths, short of breath or ‘working hard’ to breathe (which sometimes looks as though the skin below the ribs gets sucked in when they inhale).
Cold or discoloured hands or feet with a warm body.
Unusual skin colour (pale or blue around lips).
Persistent high temperature (40c or above) which does not come down with treatment.
A rash that won’t go away when a glass is pressed on it.
First aid is a simple skill but can have an incredible impact. Lots of minor injuries can be easily treated at home.
The CATCH app at catchapp.co.uk has lots of first aid information to help you do this.
St John Ambulance also offers local first aid courses. Visit sja.org.uk to find out more. I AM going on holiday soon but I’m uncertain on what to do with my hamster, Bob. What should I do? It’s great that you’re thinking about arrangements to care for your pet before going on holiday. The aim should be to avoid disruption and stress to your pet. You can do this by trying to keep Bob in an environment and routine similar to what he’s used to. Get a friend to look after your pet or find a petsitter. Look for someone with good references, insurance and ideally registration with a group like the National Association of Registered Petsitters. Leave a full list of Bob’s needs and plenty of food. It’s also a good idea to contact your vet to make sure your friend or petsitter is authorised to get care for Bob in case of an emergency. WITH the warm weather, my house is getting very hot. My cat, Munchkin, stays inside a lot of the time. I’m worried he may be too hot – how can I tell? If he is too hot, what should I do? It’s important for owners to be aware of the signs of overheating and heatstroke. Symptoms include panting, dribbling, wobbling or struggling to stand up. The heat can affect breathing in flat-faced breeds like Persians so it’s even more important to keep these breeds cool. Long-haired cats may need special grooming and white cats may need sun protection whilst out and about. To help keep cool, it’s important that Munchkin gets plenty of water and cool air. Open the windows and create a cool room – maybe one with ceramic tiles to lie on as these stay cool even in the heat. Keep a bowl of ice water for Munchkin inside. Make sure that your pet can’t get trapped in any hot areas like a conservatory or a greenhouse where they could quickly overheat.
For more information visit www.pdsa.org.uk.