Preparing for a Trip to the Emergency Roomby Miriam Caldwell | More from this Blogger 11 Oct 2006 07:08 PM Accidents will happen, and you may find yourself suddenly needing to take a family member to the emergency room, or urgent care. It is important to be prepared to handle these events in calm and quick manner. Recently I took my twenty-month-old in for stitches on his chin. It was a relatively easy process, because I had prepared for the possibility in advance. Here are five things you should have ready in case you need to make a trip. 1) You should have your insurance cards and other important medical information on hand. If you are going to an emergency room or urgent care they will not have a file for you, so you should know any special medical concerns, and allergies that your child may have. You can store this information in a binder that you can grab as you leave the house. 2) You should have basic first aid supplies on hand, so that you can reduce swelling and minimize any bleeding. You should have an ice pack available. If you do not, you can easily make one by putting ice cubes in a Ziploc bag and wrapping it in a towel. If you do not store the ice in a bag, as it melts it will make a big mess. Gauze pads are nice if you are applying pressure to stop bleeding. You do not remove the gauze pads is they have soaked through, but just put more on top of them. 3) If it is close to meal or snack time you should grab something to take with you before you leave. A trip to the emergency room or an urgent care can take several hours. If you are having x-rays or lab work done it can make the trip even longer. The wait will be easier on children if they are not hungry. If your child is vomiting from a head injury, you should not him. 4) You should plan on being there awhile. You need to take activities, which are age appropriate for your children. These should be quiet activities, and you may want to pack a bag specifically for this purpose. You may want to include coloring books, storybooks, and stickers in your bag. You may want to have your older children take a book or a handheld game. 5) You should know your nearest urgent care and its operating hours. You should also know your nearest emergency room. I remember as a young child being rushed to the urgent care (I need stitches badly) only for my dad to realize that it had closed fifteen minutes earlier, We then drove to the emergency room, which was actually closer to home. Learn more about Miriam Caldwell  Miriam is a SAHM mom of three children. She has a daughter who is seven, and two sons, four and two. She loves being a parent and spending time with her children. Relevantpreparedness tags User Comments  Gwyllum (301) 12 Oct 2006 03:51 AMMirium, your thoughtful list is a very handy reminder of what things to have ready for an emergency. Also, I like your suggestion of knowing where the nearest point of emergency assistance is. The time factor is important to know in regards to accessing a centre's opening hours. I well remember occasions when I reached in the freezer for ice cubes and found none there. Many a pack of frozen vegies made an excellent substitute ice pack!!  Miriam Caldwell (8030) 12 Oct 2006 01:09 PMThanks for the suggestion of using frozen veggies as an ice pack. I've found that peas or blueberries or corn make excellent icepacks. The smallness of the objects allow it to mold better to the area you are applying. Thanks for your comments.  Lisa P (24013) 23 Nov 2006 11:32 AMMy son had croup several months ago. We didn't know what the problem was so we called 911 and an ambulance took me and my frantic baby to the hospital while my husband followed in our car. Neither of us thought to pack or bring anything with us, so we spent the night in the ER, me in the shirt my son had vomited on and my son wrapped in his blanket, wearing only a diaper. No toys, no bottles, no sippy cups. It was awful. After that trip, I packed a "Hospital Bag". It has extra tee shirts for me and my husband, a blanket sleeper for our son, a "bells & whistles" toy and a snuggly toy, two bottles with powdered milk, a sippy cup and snack bars for all of us. We recently had to go to the ER (for me this time) but we were ready. My husband took the hospital bag and our son and we were out the door. The hospital visit was long but we were all a lot more comfortable and amused thanks to the Hospital Bag.  Aerie (309) 24 Nov 2006 11:02 PMI just made an ER trip this last weekend for myself, and took my 2 week old baby girl with me, since she is breastfeeding. These are some great ideas. I ended up being admitted for an emergency appendectomy, and was very glad that I had thought far enough ahead to bring a hairbrush! I was also glad that I had brought my knitting and plenty of diapers and baby stuff. Things I wished I'd brought- extra pads, bottled water, and breastmilk for the baby. I never thought that I would be in a situation where I wouldn't be able to feed her for a while, and it would have been handy to have some frozen breastmilk for the occasion. Miriam Caldwell (8030) 27 Nov 2006 06:02 PMYikes! That was not a fun experience. Frozen breast milk is nice to have on hand, but I don't think I would have a very big supply after two weeks. I hope that you are feeling better. It is tough to be sick right after having a little one. Aerie (309) 05 Dec 2006 10:27 AMI am doing much better, and grateful for the help from friends! Even if I had thought of it, I wouldn't have had a very big supply- even with the snazzy electric pumps at the hospital I can't pump very much. I don't know how other mamas do it! Miriam Caldwell (8030) 11 Dec 2006 06:43 PMIt is good that you are doing better. Pumping is not very conducive to producing a lot of milk. I found with my oldest (I worked for a short time after I had her) that the more regularly I pumped and the more I was used to it, the more milk I could pump. With my son I pumped only when I knew I needed a bottle, it was not the same at all. Community Tags emergencies, medical, Preparedness Discuss this article
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