If You Have Sons, You Need This in Your First Aid Kit

One of the reasons I‘m glad Kristen will be studying nursing is all that medical knowledge will be a great help when she becomes a mom. I’ve spent the twenty-four years I’ve been a parent trying to learn how to treat various ailments, how to distinguish a seriously ill child from one who just needs home care, and how to recognize the signs of a broken bone. I tend to be pretty laid back and not quick to rush my kids to the doctor, but I’m so glad we do have superb pediatricians for those times we have been over our heads.

As grateful as I am for our pediatricians, I don’t want to waste their time or mine, not to mention spend money unnecessarily, for care that I could give at home. The variety of things kids experience is seemingly infinite. So while Tim and I are pretty good at diagnosing pneumonia and rapidly growing staph infections, our kids are creative and continue to come up with new things to keep us on our toes! And the child in our family who most likes to come up with new ways to get sick or injured is our overcharged eight-year old, Paul.

Yesterday Paul and Peter got into a pillow fight, which seemed innocent enough. However, they were in the hallway, and Peter gave Paul a good blow which pushed Paul’s head into the stair half-wall. I’d just stepped out of the shower when I heard screams erupt outside my door. Paul had a good-sized gash which gaped wide. I tried pulling it together with a couple of butterfly bandages, but I wasn’t at all sure they were going to do the trick, so we headed into town to the doctor’s office. Happily Dr. Moore was able to patch him together with something approximating a fancy tube of superglue. I’d heard about using superglue on cuts before, but I know I wouldn’t have had the courage to try it on as serious a wound as Paul’s without first seeing it done. “Can I do this at home?” I asked the doctor.

“Yes,” he replied. He went on to tell me that you can use ordinary superglue on cuts. It works great on finger abrasions such as paper cuts. The glue doctors use has an additive that adds flexibility, plus it comes in a cute little tube with a handy cotton tipped applicator. Other than that, he said they work pretty much the same way. Horizontal cuts like Paul’s tend to pull together more easily than vertical ones, and being able to pull the skin together nicely is a criterion for a successful glue prospect. (There are “liquid skin” type bandages available at pharmacies. I’m not sure how they compare to ordinary superglue, but I imagine they are pretty similar.)

On the way home from the doctor’s office we had to stop to get some glass cut for our 4-H insect boxes. As the glass cutter admired Paul’s nifty glued together head, he said he keeps glue handy to repair cuts which are a job-hazard. So superglue is definitely going in our first aid kit, and I’d recommend it for anyone with active children!