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Bumps and bruises are all part and parcel of having a healthy, energetic toddler. Their exploration and interaction with the world around them, doesn’t come without its war wounds, and even though you need to let your children play, you still need to keep an eye on them when they are toddlers, as they are still too young to play boisterously without supervision.
Toddler proofing your home should have been done before your child started crawling, and probably when they started being able to pull themselves up onto furniture. By removing small objects, ornaments, glass tables, house cleaning items and other potentially hazardous things from your home, your child will be able to roam freely and explore his surroundings.
However, they are still toddlers, and they will still hurt themselves during play or just plain inquisitiveness, such as climbing up the side of sofa to see what is up there and falling down and bumping their head. The difference is to know when you need to rush them to a doctor, or just find a large, colorful band aid and a sweetie.
Things like cuts, scrapes and minor grazes will elicit piercing screams and howls of epic proportions, but to be fair, it was more likely the shock of the fall or bump, then the sight of 3 drops of blood, and the look on the parents face that all assist in the wailing, and to be fair, it really does sting like nothing else. Deeper cuts and scrapes will need a doctor to perhaps remove debris if any, and put in a few stitches, but that is all just one of pains of growing up.
If your child launches off the sofa or their bicycle and lands head first on the ground, this could be a scary time. Head injuries bleed profusely and can often look worse than they are, but the bigger enemy is concussion at this point. If your child starts to display symptoms of dizziness, confusion, nausea, headache or loss of consciousness or if there is a discharge of fluid from the nose, ears or mouth, it’s time to get to a doctor immediately. Concussion seems like a very scary situation to find yourself in with your child, but normally the effects are temporary and you child will recover completely and roar off on their bicycle as soon as.
Insect bites and stings are another common toddler ailment, due to them finding everything in their environment totally inspiring and an adventure waiting to happen. They are in the garden, under the bushes, rolling in sand, and of course in insect heaven. Most of the time an insect bite from something like an ant, mosquito or some spiders, will result in a small welt only to go away over time, and although uncomfortable should not be life threatening.
If your child starts to experience any symptoms such as difficulty in breathing, swelling of lips or face, vomiting, rapid heartbeat or confusion, they may have had an allergic reaction to the insect, especially if it was a bee or a wasp. Your child’s reaction to any insect sting or bite will tell you immediately how you need to treat it, and if they are allergic you will know in a matter of minutes.
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