Injury Treatment

Panic! Yes, that is what I feel whenever Ilyas walks a step. I shall be happy as he already learns how to walk on his own but this little fellow is too confident (or over confident) to walk without me holding his hands anymore. I know he needs a space to explore his motor skills and as a parent, I do provide him with more freedom to practice but the panic attack always interferes during the learning process. Why? Because tripping is too prone for him especially when he is so excited to walk and run at the same time!

Shall I walk or run, Papa?

Last week, he bumped his head into our dining table and the swelling looked painful and he even got a scratch mark on the forehead! My feeling? Hah, if I had a heart attack, the beat will definitely stop pounding as the incident happened in front of me yet I still could not save him. So sorry, baby =( I remember my Darling Hubby once told me to put an ice cube on the affected area when swelling occurs. But my mother argued that we should apply a warm cloth onto the swelling area (I also have the same thought that heat will ease the blood flow and it can prevent blood clot from occurring). Thus I asked my Darling Hubby to help me out sourcing the actual information as I need to know how to treat this kind of injury effectively. Previously I did not even bother of knowing how to treat swelling but when it happens to my baby, then only I started to react. This is a normal mother's instinct, I guess. Hehe..

So, here I would like to share some of the information that I have gained throughout my readings and observations on how to deal with injuries (can be applied to babies and adults):

1) If swelling occurs, what should I do?

• Get the ice cubes or ice packs or cold water (whatever reachable).
• Make sure you have the ice cubes wrapped with a cloth as direct contact with ice onto the skin is not advisable (please do not ask me on the scientific reason, but I think when ice cubes are applied directly onto the skin, it will give different signal to the brain which might generate negative kind of reactions; "Stop putting the ice! It is so cold! I'm feeling dizzy! I'm dying!" --> Oh! That is overreaction). Thus the result we might just stop the process immediately! Hence do not apply the ice cubes DIRECTLY onto the skin.
• Please ensure that you apply the process onto the affected area between 10 to 15 minutes and not more than 30 minutes (to avoid frostbite).

2) I got muscle cramp, how to treat it?

• First of all, you need to identify the actual time the cramp occurs and if it lasts for more than two days, you can use heat treatment such as applying a deep heat lotion/oil or cream, a warm cloth or hot water bottles onto the affected area (do not use heat for new injury as heat will promote the blood vessels to widen and encourages more blood into the affected area).
• Avoid direct contact of the heat with your skin as it might cause burning to your skin. Still apply a cloth to cover the heat from touching your skin directly (this reminds me of the 'tungku' process during my confinement period as my mom wrapped the 'tungku' with layers of cloth before giving it to me).
• Do not use heat treatment for more than 30 minutes (to avoid skin burns).

In a nut shell, use cold treatment for swelling kind of injury and use heat treatment for muscle cramp injuries! It worked for Ilyas and it might work for others who are facing the same injuries as well. But always seek for your Doctor's advice if the injuries become worst after the treatment.

Left - The bruise after applying the ice pack onto his forehead (no picture taken during the incident as he was crying and the mother was at a panic state of mind!)

Right - The swelling became less visible the day after

No more panic attack after this, peeps!

The end. Thank you! =)