Spotlight

No more tears over cuts and bruises

As children we had all undergone some sort of serious injury. While some of us accidentally inserted our fingers into the electric sockets, others have fallen down the stairs. Still others have almost chopped off a finger while playing with scissors. The list of incidents continue… However, parents must always stay alert about their children's cuts and bruises; a minor injury can turn into a major crisis if not immediately attended to. Let us take a look at how parents should take care of their children's wounds.

Cuts
We often associate the seriousness of a cut with the amount of bleeding. However this is not always true. But the first task for you would be to stop the bleeding whenever your kid gets a cut.

In our country, kids often get dangerous cuts when they are sometimes left unattended at home. If left alone at home, most kids tend to play with sharp objects like scissors and knives and get into serious injury. A cut should be taken care of right away.

First of all, put pressure on the wound for around 5 to 6 minutes to stop the bleeding. If the cut is serious and your child loses consciousness then call an ambulance without delay. Always keep a list of emergency telephone numbers on your phonebook.

As soon as the bleeding stops, take your next move. Clean the wound with a good anti-bacterial soap and water. Anti-bacterial soaps are even locally made these days. You can opt for quality anti-bacterial soap like Dettol. If possible, then wash the wound under a running tap. If that does not become possible then use a soft cotton washcloth to clean the area with soap and water.

Once you are done with washing the wound apply antiseptic cream and a bandage. Ointments for minor cuts and injuries are widely available in drugstores that you can buy without a doctor's prescription.

Apply the ointment and then cover the area with a sterile bandage as this would prevent your child from touching the wound and getting hurt while playing again.

Remember to reapply the ointment and change the dressing whenever the bandage gets wet or unclean; this should be done at least once every day. Doctors recommend that you should keep the bandage for at least two days and check for signs of infection, which are usually redness, increased pain, swelling and pus. Remember that it might take as long as 12 to 14 days to heal a wound, so stay cool.

Children often get cuts while playing. Body protection is therefore necessary when kids play. Make sure that your child wears the protective equipment for the sports he/she takes part in. Cricket is now definitely the 'in' sport of the country; if he's into cricket then buy pads and helmets for him and encourage him to use them.

Burns
Your child may get acute burns if s/he comes in contact with fire, hot water, electricity or corrosive chemicals. Among children aged 14 and under, hair dryers, stoves, ovens, irons, gasoline and fireworks are the most common causes of product-related burn injuries. Household electrical cords are a common cause of injury so keep cords covered and away from children. Also keep hot liquids and food away from the reach of your kids. Never leave your child alone in kitchen and never allow him to play with fireworks. And lastly, keep matches, gasoline and lighters away from the reach of the children.

When your child gets a burn the first thing you must do is wash the affected area with cool, running water for around 10 minutes. Don't stop the process even to take off his/her clothes. Put your child under water with his clothes and everything. After washing, cover the area with a towel soaked in cold water and keep it until the pain ceases.

In case of a major burn (if the burn is larger than the size of the child's palm) injury, don't apply cold water and ice to reduce pain as ice will damage the tender skin of your child. In case of a major injury, call for an ambulance immediately. Keep the affected area covered with a towel soaked in cold water. Later on, remove the wet towel and cover the area with a dry, clean sheet. Many mothers tend to break the blisters created from burns. Never do this. It's risky and it might leave life-long scars on your child.

Bruises and Scrapes
Bruises and scrapes are common among children. A bruise appears whenever a fall, bump, or blow causes blood vessels to be crushed or broken under the skin, allowing blood to escape into the surrounding tissue. A bruise is initially black in colour and then turns purple, green, yellow, and eventually back to normal skin colour within two weeks.

For minor bruises, rubbing ice on the affected area is enough. However, for scrapes, rinse the area with water for several minutes. Then wash the area with an anti-bacterial soap and clean water. And lastly, apply an antiseptic cream for quick relief.

Dental injuries
This thing is very common among male children. I know at least half a dozen kids who lost or broke one of their front teeth as they tripped over the stairs or were hit by a cricket ball. Sometimes, children lose their teeth when they fall down on a concrete floor. Such injuries can be very dangerous and you might even need to call an ambulance in case a tooth comes off from its root.

If your child's tooth is knocked off, gain a little courage to pick the tooth by the chewing end, not the root, and clean it gently by stirring it in some cold milk. Then reinsert the tooth into the socket. If you are unable to reinsert it, then keep the tooth in a glass of cool milk and take your child to the hospital for medical help. Remember to place sterile gauze in the place where the tooth was and ask your child to bite down.

In case of a broken tooth, clean the child's mouth gently with warm water and then apply cold compress or ice pack. Take your child to the doctor.

Eye Injuries
Eye injuries must always be taken care of instantly. Although a black eye can be healed by applying ice, a cut in the eyeball must need professional medical help. On your way to the hospital, remember not to put pressure on your child's eyes. Don't try to remove any object that has run through your kid's eye. Simply cover the eyes with eye pads and clean gauze and rush to the hospital.

If any chemical enters your child's eyes, flush the eyes from the bridge of the nose to the outer edge of the eyes for at least 15 minutes. Take your child to the hospital by covering his/her eyes with eye pads and sterilised gauze.

Head Injury
Head injuries can be serious and severe. Look for immediate medical help if symptoms like i) unconsciousness, ii) seizing, iii) inability to move body parts, iv) continuous bleeding through nose and ears v) headache, vi) slurry speech, vii) imbalance and difficulty in walking or moving are seen in the child.

No injury or wound on your child should be left unattended. All over the world, many a children become crippled for life every year because of lack of proper care after an injury. Instead of scolding your child, try to understand that they have the right to play at this age. Their inquisitive mind often pushes them to touch and operate dangerous objects but then it's your duty to teach them what to do and what not to. Instead of being harsh to your child when he/she is hurt, be patient and take instant care of his/her injury.

By Wara Karim

By Sherifa Ahmed

Fresh Fruit Salad
Ingredients
1 apple
1 ripe pear
1 orange
1 large or two medium chickoos
60 grams (2 oz) each of white and black
Syrup
60 grams sugar
140 m1 (5 fluid oz) water 1 teaspoon lime juice 2 to 3 small pieces of lime skin To make syrup, dissolve sugar in water, add lime juice and lime skin. Boil for 4 to 5 minutes. Cool and keep in a bowl. Discard lime skin.

Method
Wash apple, do not peel, and cut in to quarters. Remove core and cut into very thin slices. And This to the syrup bowl, coat thoroughly. Each fruit to be added as soon as it is cut. Peel, core, Quarter pear and cut into thin slices. Peel, core, quarter chickoo and slice. Peel orange, divide into segments. Remove pips and fine membranes and cut in halves. Cut grapes in halves. If banana is used, it should be added peeled and sliced just before serving. Chill.

Chocolate Brownies
Ingredients
1 cup sugar (230 g)
6 tablespoons cocoa
¾ cup (85 grams) sifted flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
¾ cup chopped walnuts
½ cup (115 grams) butter
½ teaspoon vanilla essence
20 cm (8:) square baking pan
Preheat Oven to 350* F
Grease and flour pan. Sift flour, alt and baking powder together.
Method

Beat eggs and sugar until eggs are lemon coloured and fluffy. Melt butter and cocoa over a pan of simmering water until cocoa and butter form a paste. Let it cool. Mix the cocoa mixture into the beaten eggs and gradually beat in the flour, vanilla essence and walnuts. Pour the mixture into the pan bake in the centre of the oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Cool and cut into 2" (5 cm) squares.

Hanging out

Mango Chilli the Thai café
The same people who brought you Chicken King, whose Chicken Peri Peri keeps you coming back for more, now have an exotic new treat for Dhakaites. It's called Mango Chilli, an authentic Thai café.

With a seating capacity of 50, the café interior is painted in yellow, with bold blue and white chequered tiles, and boasts pretty and colourful wrought-iron chairs and tables, to create a homely, casual ambience.

Boasting a Thai chef, the café specialises in authentic Thai fast food. They have a buffet dinner offer pf Tk 290 per head, and you can also choose from their set menus, which come at very reasonable prices from Tk 230-250. The house specialties include the Sea World, the Thai Supreme and the Thai delight.

So if you're in the mood for something light and oriental, don't forget to check Mango Chilli out.

The café is located at:
House 34, Road 136
Gulshan 1

By Sabrina F Ahmad

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Tips

Pickles- Pleasing and Palatable
Nothing is more comforting than relishing some lip-smacking tangy pickles on a summery afternoon. Be it with steaming rice, plain pilaf or hotchpotch, pickles actually rule the dining room throughout the year.

The mothers of most Banglaee households are busy preparing mouth-watering pickles from green mangoes by now. While the aroma of kashmiri achar would soon drive the kids crazy, the very whiff of spicy pickles would make most adults drool. Summer is also the perfect time to prepare pickles from tamarind, garlic and lemon that would last throughout the year. Bottled pickles are widely available in the market. If you don't have the time or the dexterity to make pickles at home, go for these ready ones. Pickles are sold by independent vendors in front of schools and colleges. But remember that they aren't always healthy. So teach your children not to munch on pickles after school, no matter how tantalizing they seem to be. And lastly, a few reminders for the pickle lovers…

Don't stick a wet spoon or ladle inside a pickle jar. Always use jars made from glass or porcelain to store your favorite pickle. Ensure that the lid of the container can be secured tightly as particles outside the jars may adversely affect the taste and quality of your pickle. And always press back remaining pickles with a spoon making sure that it is fully submerged under the oil layer. So have a nice summer among a lot of pickles, a delicious food preparation that has captivated our taste buds for centuries.

By Wara Karim