Free Online First Aid, CPR and AED Training With Certificates
Disturbances in the brain’s electrical activity cause involuntary muscle spasms and jerky movements known as seizures or convulsions. Seizures are especially common in young children, often occurring during a high fever. Other common causes...
Food poisoning, a type of gastroenteritis (digestive tract inflammation) caused by eating contaminated food, results in severe abdominal cramps, repeated vomiting, diarrhea and muscle weakness. These symptoms develop suddenly between three and 24 hours...
Epiglottitis medical emergency is caused by inflammation and swelling of the epiglottis, the flap of membrane-covered cartilage lying behind the tongue that keeps food and drink entering the windpipe. It is almost always caused...
Meningitis refers to the infection of the meninges, the layered membranes that support and protect the brain and spinal cord. It most commonly strikes infants and children between the ages of one month and five...
The rash caused by contact with the poison ivy, oak and sumac plants is perhaps the most common form of allergic contact dermatitis. Almost everyone whose skin brushes up against these plants may experience...
When the body fails to replenish the water lost each day in urine, sweat, and feces, dehydration occurs. Although dehydration can result from inadequate intake of water, it is more commonly caused by abnormal...
This is a highly contagious bacterial skin infection that occasionally spreads among large numbers of children in day care, schools and camps. It occurs most frequently in the summer months and in areas with...
Scarlet fever is characterized by high fever and a bright, red rash covering the entire body. Scarlet fever occurs in conjunction with about 10 percent of cases of streptococcal respiratory infection, or strep throat....
Also known as varicella, chicken pox is a highly contagious viral disease characterized by fever (usually mild) and a rash (sometimes severe) consisting of tiny blisters or vesicles. Caused by one of a group...
Injuries from bites and stings range from trivial to fatal, depending upon the source of the bite and the child’s response to it. For example, a bee sting is usually a minor, albeit painful,...
Inflammation of the membrane lining the eyelids and covering the eyeball (conjunctivitis) is one of the most common eye conditions affecting both adults and children. Symptoms frequently begin in one eye but usually spread...
When a child has a serious injury or infection, the body may react by going into shock. Shock occurs when the body tried to redirect blood to the brain and other important internal organs....
Nosebleeds can be caused by a blow to the nose, picking or poking nostrils or blowing too hard. Sometimes a nosebleed has no obvious cause. Whatever the cause, the bleeding may seem heavy because...
A burn is the damage caused to skin and deeper body structures by heat (flame, scald, contact with electricity), chemical agents or radiation. The main risk in the early phase of burn injury is...
