I would be really grateful if anyone will gift me/ us with a baby first aid kit and medicine chest. I think this is one of those things that we tend to overlook but will turn out to be very useful in the long run. Based on an online checklist I read, a medicine chest/ first aid kit should include:
- Digital thermometer
- Infants’ non-aspirin liquid pain reliever (acetaminophen or ibuprofen)
- Topical calamine lotion or hydrocortisone cream (1/2 percent) for insect bites and rashes
- Rubbing alcohol to clean thermometers, tweezers, and scissors
- Petroleum jelly to lubricate thermometer
- Antibacterial ointment for cuts and scrapes
- Tweezers for splinters and ticks
- A pair of sharp scissors
- Child-safe insect repellent
- Nasal aspirator bulb syringe for drawing mucus out of a stuffy nose (not the pointy-ended ear syringe)
- An assortment of adhesive bandage strips in various sizes and shapes.
- Sterilized cotton balls
- Cotton-tipped swabs
- A medicine dropper, oral syringe, or calibrated cup or spoon for administering medicines
- A heating pad
- A hot-water bottle and ice pack
The list above is a good starting point. It contains too much chemicals for my taste though. Hello, hydrocortisone for my baby? I will be using the same synthetic chemicals on my infant that baseball players like Gary Sheffield and Barry Bonds pertain to as ‘The Cream”. So a few more Google clicks led me to this nice article from the Business Mirror site – The Nanay Diaries. The writer was a first time mom who relied on her elder ‘yaya’ to guide her through the daily complexities of raising an infant. What I liked most is the list of herbal/ natural remedies for common baby illnesses. Here is the list:
- Aceite de Manzanilla to be rubbed on baby’s tummy after his morning and evening bath to avoid kabag, or gas. When rubbed on the back and on the legs when baby is being massaged, the soothing smell of chamomile eases baby into sleep.
- Aceite de Alcamporado, which contains 20 percent oil of eucalyptus, is applied very, very lightly when baby has cough. Nanay advises to smear just a little on baby’s chest as the mentholated oil may sting, even burn his skin, when applied too much.
- Eucalyptus, which comes in a tiny medicine bottle and at P20, is for when baby has colds. A drop or two on a cotton ball pinned on baby’s shirt can ease baby’s runny nose. Or, you can pin the cotton ball to the electric fan or air conditioner to fill the air with the aroma of eucalyptus.
- Vinegre Aromatico, a skin tonic used in baby’s bath. A capful in his tub helps keep baby’s skin smooth.
- VCO, or virgin coconut oil, preferably the cold-pressed type. A natural disinfectant, dab VCO on baby’s mosquito bites, on his rashes, on his forehead when he has baby acne, and on his scalp to avoid cradle cap or flaky scalp
- Butter, to be rubbed on the baby’s gums to ease the cracking of the gums during teething.
Okay, here. The list looks quite complete already.
