Medicine chest for children: medicine chest checklist
As your child becomes more and more active, the fear of injuring themselves grows. But don’t panic! With a well-stocked medicine chest, you are well prepared for colds, insect bites, abrasions and other ailments. Check your medicine chest with our checklist and be well prepared.
The medicine cabinet for children does not replace a visit to the doctor!
The younger your child is, the more likely it is that it is better to seek medical advice once too often than once too little! You should therefore do as little as possible on your own, especially when it comes to medication for children . Nevertheless, a small, sorted medicine cabinet makes sense.
Accidents happen more easily than you think
It is said: “Most accidents happen in the home” – you will notice that there is some truth to that when your child becomes mobile. The offspring fall down quickly, hurt their knees or hit their heads on the coffee table. Such and other accidents happen easily, they are just as much a part of everyday family life as diarrhea , fever , vomiting, constipation, abdominal pain and colds .
Check medicine chest regularly
Since emergencies are characterized by the fact that they occur unexpectedly and suddenly, it makes sense to check the medicine cabinet every now and then. Existing medication should be checked for shelf life and replaced or supplemented if necessary.
Here you will find a checklist of utensils and medicines that you should have in your medicine chest:
Medicine chest checklist
utensil/ drug | purpose |
---|---|
saline solution | Clears your baby’s nose when they have a runny nose or cold |
disinfectant | For cleaning hands |
Wound and healing ointment | Helps injured children’s skin or a sore baby bottom to heal quickly. |
Cold compresses in the freezer | If your child bumps into something, wrap it in a towel and hold it against the bump – it will definitely help! |
A small pair of nail scissors | Never cut baby and children’s nails with adult nail scissors |
wound disinfectant | To disinfect wounds a bit, wound disinfectant is useful. Just ask at your pharmacy. |
clinical thermometer | To take temperature – in infants, temperature is taken rectally, not orally (in the mouth). |
nose drops | Not only clear the nose, but also prevent earache. There are special nasal sprays or drops for babies and children. It is important that they are not used for a long period of time without consulting the pediatrician. The nasal mucous membranes can dry out and there is a risk of addiction. |
nasal secretion aspirator | For cleaning the nose when you have a cold |
Patches of different sizes | For children there are beautiful patches with colorful motifs. With funny animals, cars or Indians, the scratch is only half as bad! |
gauze bandages | To cover cuts or abrasions |
Various teas | Cough tea relieves coughing, chamomile tea helps with diarrhea or can be used for inhaling colds |
Lemon balm and lavender oil | Lemon balm calms overexcited children, as a wrap or for rubbing in. Lavender keeps mosquitoes away and soothes. |
tweezers | For removing splinters |
gauze compresses | For covering abrasions and other injuries |
Fever and pain suppositories or juice | Against fever and pain – which you are allowed to use, you must clarify with your pediatrician! |
Electrolyte sugar solution | In the case of diarrhea and vomiting, this offers a quick supply of the lost salts |
Homeopathic remedies | Arnica C30 (for all types of injuries) and Apsis C30 (e.g. for insect bites) |
Bandage packets and sterile compresses | for wound care |
triangular cloth | You can use this to fix a broken arm |
disposable gloves | wear them when treating wounds |
Medicinal charcoal | May be required in case of poisoning |
tick card | for easy removal of ticks and insect spines |
Tooth rescue box | You can save a knocked out tooth with it |
Be careful with the medicine chest!
Make absolutely sure that you always lock the medicine cabinet and that it is kept out of your child’s reach. It is best to divide the pharmacy cabinet into different areas: one for your child and another for the adults. Show your babysitter or other people looking after your child where to find the pharmacy in an emergency! You should always have all emergency numbers to hand, just in case. You can also print out the MomaSquad emergency number list and put it in the medicine cabinet or right next to the phone.
Baden-Württemberg: 0761/19 240
Bavaria: 089/19 240
Berlin: 030/19 240
Brandenburg: 030/19 240
Bremen: 0551/19 240
Hamburg: 0551/19 240
Hesse: 06131/19 240
Mecklenburg-West Pomerania: 0361/ 730 730
Lower Saxony: 0551/19 240
North Rhine-Westphalia: 0228/19 240
Rhineland-Palatinate: 06131/19 240
Saarland: 06841/19 240
Saxony: 0361/730 730
Saxony-Anhalt: 0361/730 730
Schleswig-Holstein: 0551/ 19 240
Thuringia: 0361/730 730