However careful you are, accidents can still happen, because children are so active and unpredictable. If there is a bad accident and the child is unconscious there are a few basic emergency rules which may make the difference between life and death.
On finding a child unconscious, your first reaction will probably be to rush straight over to help them, but you should take a second to assess The situation in case there maybe some danger which might incapacitate or hinder your rescue attempt. Check for danger: you will not he able to provide much help if you also have an accident.
Now check the child’s responses. Talk to them, call their name, tap the soles of their feel, bill never shake them, as this could worsen any injury.
If there is no response, the child is unconscious and you must check their breathing immediately as any delay in gelling air into their lungs may result in brain damage. Place your head sideways so you have one ear by the child’s mouth and nose and you are looking down at the chest. This way you can listen for breathing, feel any breath against your cheek and look down at the chest to see if it is moving. Allow 10 seconds for this.
If you cannot detect any breathing you must give mouth-to-mouth resuscitation (also known as artificial respiration or mouth-to-mouth ventilalion).
First make sure that nothing is blocking the child’s airway. Open the mouth and using your finger gently clear away any obvious obstruction which may be preventing the child from breathing, such as vomit or dirt. Do this very carefully to avoid pushing any obstruction further down (heir throat. Now roll the child on to their back and till their head back by lifting the chin with one hand and gently pressing their forehead with your other hand. Open the child’s mouth, this movement will lift lite tongue away front the back of their throat.
Mouth-to-mouth resuscitation
Resuscitation techniques are different for babies and children under two. compared with older children.
Tilt the baby’s or toddler’s head back and place one hand on their forehead and the other under the hack of the neck to support the head in the correct position. Now breathe into the mouth and nose simultaneously.
For older children with one hand pinch the child s nostrils together, place your oilier hand on their chin to hold the mouth open, then put your mouth completely over the child’s and blow gently until you see their chest rise. Slop blowing and allow the chest to fall then repeal the action four times. If after five breaths the child is still not breathing, check their circulation by listening for a heartbeat or feeling for a pulse. The carotid pulse in the neck is the easiest to find by placing two fingers in the hollows on either side of the voice box. Allow 10 seconds to detect the pulse.
If there is no pulse you must give chest compressions (also known as heart massage) as well as mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Ask someone to help if available.
Chest compressions
Place the heel of your hand just above the V where the ribs meet the breastbone and press down to a third of the depth of the chest live times , taking 5 seconds to complete the cycle, for babies and children under two, use only two fingers and exert less pressure to avoid damaging the ribs.
Now alternate the mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and chest compressions at a rate of one breath to live compressions. If the child has a pulse, but is not breathing, administer 10 breaths a minute, then check the pulse for 10 seconds. Once the heart starts beating slop the compressions, but continue artificial respiration until the child or baby starts breathing unaided.
An easy way to remember the routine is to think of it as ABC. A is for airways, B is for breathing, C is for circulation. All must be checked, and assisted in that order.
Recovery position
Once the child has a pulse and is able to breathe on their own, place them in the recovery position. If someone is left lying on their back while unconscious there is a danger that they may choke on their tongue or vomit. The recovery position prevents the tongue from obstructing the passage of air, unless you think they may have a broken back or neck.
Roll the child gently on to their side, then straighten the lower leg, bend the top leg, stretch out the lower arm, then bend the top arm and rest the head on it. This will prevent them from rolling onto their back.
Shock and concussion
After a bad accident a child may well suffer shock. This is potentially a life-threatening slate of collapse which must be taken seriously. it is the body’s way of coping with an injury, by drawing blood away from The extremities Inwards the vital organs.
There are various symptoms of shock. The child may seem drowsy or confused, their breathing may become quite shallow and fast, and their skin cold, pale and sweaty. The skin under the fingernails or inside their lips may lake on a grey-blue tinge and they may even lose consciousness.
Call an ambulance, then place the child on their back. As long as you are sure there is no head or leg injury, raise their legs 20cm/8in to help more blood go to the head. Place a cushion or pillow beneath the feet to keep them raised and cover the child with a blanket. Do riot, however, allow them to get too hot.
Don’t give the child anything to drink, although you may use a damp cloth to moisten his or her lips. Keep a close watch on the child’s breathing, and if it stops, start mouth-to-mouth resuscitation at once.
Concussion is caused by the brain being shaken or by bleeding within the skull and occurs when a baby or child has suffered a serious bang to the head. The symptoms of concussion may be delayed by up to 24 hours and can lie extremely varied.
The baby or child may become unconscious or the signs may be slight. The child may behave slightly oddly, develop an aversion to bright light, have severe headaches or be unusually drowsy. Sometimes the symptoms will include unusual crying, noisy breathing or snoring, vomiting or a discharge from the nose or ear.
If the baby or child has had a bump on the head keep a careful watch for signs of concussion and, if any appear, get emergency help immediately.
