Mini First Aid Birmingham

24/12/2025

We would like to wish all of our followers, families, venues, partners, and schools a very Merry Christmas!🎄

Lorraine and the team x ❤️

23/12/2025

⚠️ Sensitive visuals have been gently blurred for your comfort. ⚠️

The next installment from our very own boy gang - HEAD INJURIES with bleeding. 🤕💙

Head injuries in children can look worrying because cuts on the head often bleed a lot!

Apply pressure with something clean and absorbent. It's then a trip to A&E if your child has a head injury with the following:

• a bruise, swelling, or cut on the head larger than 5 cm.
• an open wound on the head.

Any cuts or scrapes on your child’s head will be cleaned to stop the bleeding and to help prevent infection.

If anything is stuck in the wound, such as dirt or small pieces of glass, it will be carefully removed.

Deeper or larger cuts may need to be closed with special medical glue, stitches, or staples so they can heal properly. A local anaesthetic is usually used to numb the area, which helps reduce pain and distress during treatment.

Healthcare staff will explain what is happening and how to care for the wound at home.

To help you feel confident about what to look out for after a head injury, and to understand the best treatment and care options, we recommend booking onto one of our Baby and Child First Aid classes.

In the meantime, if you're not sure what to do or are worried about a head injury, call 111 or get help from 111 online.

NHS 111 can tell you the right place to get help. 💚

22/12/2025

The children of Mini First Aid Birmingham have certainly had their fair share of “oops-a-daisies!" 💚

So over the next few days, we’ll take you on a journey through some of our own little mishaps. We start this evening with….

BROKEN BONES! 🦴

Would you know what do you do if you’re watching your child play footie, ice-skate or trampoline this week and you suspect a broken bone?

If your child has been injured and has the following symptoms, it may well be a fracture:
• Pain at the injury site.
• Swelling at and around the injury site.
• Redness or bruising – this may be a lot harder to spot on black and brown skin so you will need to focus more on the other symptoms to make an assessment.
• Your child might “guard’ the injury, or cry / try to move away when you touch it.
• It might be difficult and painful to move the bone where the injury occurred.

If your child has the above symptoms you should seek medical help because it can be very difficult to tell if a baby or child’s bone is broken. You can call your GP, or 111 for advice, or visit a local walk-in centre for minor injuries if there is one in your area.

You need to call 999 if:
• Your child has fallen from a height.
• The injury is bleeding heavily.
• You can see the bone.
• The limb has changed shape or is displaying at an unusual angle.

It can be a long wait to be seen for a minor broken bone and there are a few things you can do to make your child more comfortable:
• You can use a cold gel pack, ice pack or bag of frozen veg if that’s all you have to hand to cool and soothe the pain and swelling – just make sure you wrap the cold item in something clean like a t-shirt to protect the skin.
• Use a jumper or towel tied round the neck as a makeshift sling if it’s an arm injury – this provides support and holds the damaged bone in one place.
• Apply pressure to the wound if there is any bleeding – you can use a wound pad such as those found in our first aid kits to do this.
• Use the age appropriate dose of paracetamol or ibuprofen to ease pain (don’t give aspirin to under 16’s.)
• Tell your child not to use the affected limb as they could make the damage worse.

The broken bone will be placed in a splint for support. Painkillers will be given if they haven’t already, and an X-ray will be used to see if there is a break.

The most difficult thing can be making sure your usually active child doesn’t do anything to further damage the injury or prevent it from healing. But again, children’s bones heal relatively quickly – although it doesn't feel like it at the time!

So go forth, have fun with your kids, explore and adventure, safe in the knowledge that you know what to do if broken bone comes calling!

21/12/2025

Today marks the shortest day and a natural turning point of the year. From here, daylight gradually increases, and spring waits just around the corner. ☀️🌷🌱

18/12/2025

This time of year can add extra pressure, especially if you’re already struggling. You don’t have to go through it alone — Samaritans are there if you need them. 💛
116 123 📱

Please ask for help if you need it this Christmas. 💚

17/12/2025

Don’t fancy heading out to one of our in-person Baby & Child First Aid classes?

Join one of our ONLINE sessions instead 💻

Learn practical, lifesaving skills including what to do in an emergency, CPR for babies and children, choking, burns, bleeding, head bumps, broken bones, febrile seizures, and meningitis & sepsis awareness — plus how to keep little ones safe while waiting for emergency services.

We run regular evening and weekend sessions throughout the year. 💚

Website link is in the comments 👶🚑

15/12/2025

Calling 999 doesn’t always mean an ambulance will be sent. In fact, around 20% of callers are supported by the Clinical Validation Team — highly skilled paramedics and nurses who can give expert advice over the phone or direct patients to more suitable services. This helps ensure everyone gets the right care, at the right time, in the right place.

Many people are surprised to learn that ambulance services don’t just take patients to hospital. In reality, fewer than half of the people who are seen are taken to an emergency department. Others are treated at the scene, given advice over the phone, or directed to services like GPs or minor injury units.

And remember: arriving by ambulance won’t get you seen faster in A&E. Emergency departments always prioritise the most serious cases first — whether you walk in or come by ambulance.

If it’s not life-threatening but you need advice, head to NHS 111 Online or call 111. They’ll guide you to the right care, whether that’s self-care at home, your GP, a pharmacist, or another service.

Your pharmacist and GP are also great places to turn for non-urgent medical concerns — they’re there to help.

But remember:
🚨 Call 999 or go to A&E only in a life-threatening emergency — things like severe illness, serious injury, or any situation where someone needs immediate, urgent medical care.

Knowing where to go helps everyone get the care they need, faster. 💙

13/12/2025

Diverse Perspectives - The Christmas Edition. 🎄🎅

• What does a rash look like on brown skin?
• How do burns present on darker skin tones?
• How can you spot poor circulation or lack of oxygen if lips don’t turn blue?

For too long, medical and first aid teaching has been based on the assumption that patients have white skin. But children with black or brown skin don’t show symptoms in the same way — lips may not appear blue, redness may be harder to see, and important signs can look very different.

Parents and carers need to know what to look for!

That’s why all of us at Mini First Aid complete diversity training, and why our classes teach first aid for all skin colours as standard.

No guesswork. We clearly explain what symptoms look like across different skin tones, so you know exactly what to watch for — whatever your child’s skin colour.

Find the link to our classes in the comments. 💚

12/12/2025

Pregnancy checklist:

Folic acid
Comfy maternity clothes
Babygros
Baby bed and blankets
Learn baby first aid and safety

We know that when you are expecting a baby, keeping them safe and healthy becomes your top priority. We know that our baby & child first aid class helps you to do this and is a brilliant thing to do to prepare for the arrival of your precious bundle.

And now we have confirmation that our baby & child first aid class is officially a Gold Award-winning Pregnancy Product!

When you’re checking off your list of essential things to do to prepare for your baby’s arrival, make sure that learning how to treat them if they have an accident, or how to spot the signs of potentially fatal illnesses, is at the top of your list.

It could just be the most important pregnancy product you buy.

Join us at a class in one of our welcoming venues or online. 💚

www.birmingham.minifirstaid.co.uk then select Classes for Parents & Carers.

10/12/2025

Croup is a common condition at this time of year, and with its distinctive cough, can be very frightening for parents.

The first time our trainer Kate's eldest son had croup when he was 2, she remembers being woken to a bizarre noise which took a few moments to place. It sounded like a sea lion was in the house! Joseph was terrified at the horrible sound each time he coughed, and his panic meant he was struggling to breathe. Although he was fine once his breathing had calmed, Kate remembers telling all the parents & carers she knew so they were forewarned. 💚

Croup is spread in the same way as the common cold, so can be difficult to prevent against, especially in toddlers! Good hygiene is the main defence, so lots of hand washing and cleaning of surfaces are the best prevention.

Please remember that for the vast majority of children, croup, whilst sounding very frightening, is a mild childhood condition. 👌

We hope that once you’ve read this, you can stay calm and provide reassurance should you hear that seal-like cough in the middle of the night!

09/12/2025

For many, Christmas has become a season of excess - too many things…...gifts, clutter, food, commitments and over-spending! 🎄
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As your children get older, why not keep things simple and make the 4-gift rule your Christmas gifting tradition?! 🎁
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This is a simple concept that’s supposed to help keep Christmas time focused on what really matters. With the 4-gift rule, each person gets just four gifts for Christmas:

✨ Something to wear: cosy pj's, the kind you don’t ever want to take off!
✨ Something to read: a good book they've been dying to curl up with!
✨ Something they want and have asked for for months: finally wrapped and under the tree (can’t wait to see the reaction!).
✨ Something they need: a new lunchbox, because the old one has definitely seen better days.

Simple, thoughtful, and full of Christmas magic. 🎁🎄✨

08/12/2025

If you are almost ready, or already starting the weaning journey with your little one, you may have a lot of questions, and be worrying about gagging, choking and more - we are here to help!

We called in the expert for this fantastic guest blog from Paediatric Feeding and Swallowing Specialist, Laura Bottiglieri - Milk to Mealtime. Laura has supported countless families through their feeding journeys, and her clear, reassuring approach helps turn worry into confidence - exactly what we love here at Mini First Aid 💚

Grab a cuppa and take in all of Laura's brilliant tips and advice 👇

Weaning is one of those parenting milestones that brings all the feelings - excitement, nerves, pride, and a fair bit of “is this normal...