Health & Safety

Health and safety guidance, with the red flags spelled out

Thermometers, first-aid kits, baby-proofing and symptom guidance — written so you know what is normal, what can wait, and what needs a doctor today.

171Health guides published
MDReviewed, every guide
6 moMax review interval
0Paid placements
What we cover

Four things every household needs to get right

01

Measuring temperature

Which method is accurate at which age, what counts as a fever, and the numbers that mean call now.

02

Home first aid

A kit that covers what actually happens — falls, burns, choking, allergic reactions — and how to use it.

03

Baby-proofing

Furniture anchoring, cords, water, stairs and button batteries, ordered by real injury data.

04

When to call

Every health guide on this site ends with explicit red flags and an escalation threshold.

Medical authority

Who reviews this section

Illness and safety guidance is reviewed by two physicians before publication.

Full review board
Portrait of Dr. Martinez, MD, pediatrician

Dr. Martinez, MD

Pediatrics

Pediatric skin, allergy and everyday illness.

Portrait of Dr. Ahmed Raza, MD, pediatrician

Dr. Ahmed Raza, MD

Pediatrics

Newborn care, infant feeding and first-year growth.

Every guide in health carries a named pediatric reviewer and a dated sign-off, re-checked at least every six months. Read the ChildBloom promise.

How we rank

What we will and will not publish.

  1. No dosing advice is given without an explicit instruction to confirm with your own pediatrician.

  2. Every symptom guide carries a red-flag section. Anything without one does not go live.

  3. Product guidance follows CPSC, AAP and manufacturer recall data, checked at review time.

  4. Nothing on this site replaces an examination by the clinician who knows your child.

Common questions

Health questions parents ask us most

What counts as a fever in a baby?

A rectal temperature of 38°C (100.4°F) or higher. In an infant under three months, that reading is a same-day medical call regardless of how well the baby looks. Older infants are judged on behaviour as much as on the number.

Which thermometer should I use?

Rectal is the reference standard under three years. Temporal artery and tympanic thermometers are convenient for older infants but are more sensitive to technique. Whichever you use, note the method alongside the reading.

How do I tell teething from an ear infection?

Teething causes drooling, gum discomfort and chewing, and does not cause a true fever. Ear infection typically follows a cold and brings fever, night-time pain, ear pulling with distress, or fluid drainage. Drainage or fever means get the ear looked at.

What belongs in a home first-aid kit for a baby?

Digital rectal thermometer, saline drops and a bulb or nasal aspirator, infant acetaminophen with a dosing syringe, adhesive bandages, sterile gauze, antiseptic wipes, tweezers, and your pediatrician plus poison-control numbers written down.

Still deciding?

Ask our editorial team

If a guide looks out of date or you cannot find an answer for your child’s situation, tell us and a reviewer will look at it.

Contact ChildBloom