Best Way To Bandage Your Children

Probably no item in your medicine chest is as magical in its healing powers as a single adhesive Band-Aid. And if one is good, several are even better. Plain ones, colorful ones, or those you decorate yourself all work wonders!

• Offer your child a Band-Aid the next time he complains of a stomachache. It will help localize the hurt, which may be all that’s needed to cure it.
• Let your child put a Band-Aid on the same ouch spot on a doll, so the pain can be shared and lessened.

• Draw a star or heart on a Band-Aid to improve its healing power.
• Cover a scraped knee or elbow with the cutoff top of an old sock, to give extra protection to the Band-Aid underneath while allowing for movement. Or use a terry cloth wristband

• Use a Popsicle stick to make a finger splint, or slip a small plastic hair roller over the injured finger to protect it from painful knocks.
• Make a square Band-Aid fit better over a fingertip or toe by making a diagonal cut at each corner as far in as the gauze pad. Wrap the Band-Aid around the fingertip or toe for a snug fit.
• Put transparent tape over a Band-Aid to hold it in place longer. Transparent tape and a piece of gauze make an excellent band­age when you don’t have a regular Band-Aid available.
• Put medicine on the gauze pad (not the sore) when it’s neces­sary to apply something that stings.
• Saturate a piece of cotton with baby oil, and rub it over the adhesive parts of a Band-Aid for easy removal. Or soften the adhesive parts by using a hair dryer set on warm.
• Wait until tub time to remove a Band-Aid. Let it soften under water, and have your child apply some soap if necessary. Removing it underwater may work best.

Splinters

• Get your supplies arranged beforehand: a bright light, tweez­ers or a sterile needle, and a magnifying glass (if necessary). Sterilize the needle by holding it in a flame or in boiling water for a few seconds.
• Prepare the splinter by soaking the area in warm water or olive oil, by covering it with a wet bandage or a piece of adhesive tape for a few hours, or by holding it over steam.
• Soak a finger in warm water with antibacterial soap. Once the skin is softened, it will be easier to remove the splinter.
• Paint hard-to-find splinters with Merthiolate or iodine. They’ll show up as dark slivers.

• Numb the splinter area with ice or a little teething lotion.
• Ask your child to look the other way and sing a song, count, °r recite something while you gently prod at the splinter with a sterile needle.
• Remove a metal splinter easily and painlessly with a magnet.
• Use tweezers to remove any large pieces. If small pieces remain, apply a household glue (such as Elmer’s) with a cotton swab to the splinter area. Cover with gauze and let dry. When dry, remove the gauze and glue together. The remaining pieces should come out. (Good with cactus needles.)

If you can’t get a splinter out, let well enough alone. Most splinters eventually work themselves to the surface. (For one that doesn’t, you may want to see your doctor.)