First Responses We Can Do to Your Children
We will tell you what you should pay attention to in the first interventions when some diseases, injuries and accidents occur. We hope that this information will never be needed, but if you encounter such situations, it will be a great advantage to have information about first responders.
First responders in accidents
Your doctor cannot always be with you in your life. In this case, the mother or father has to do the first emergency response themselves. Because there is no time to waste. In order to reduce the risk of encountering such unfortunate situations, try to eliminate the risk factors for your baby / child that will cause the accident. Organize your child’s environment in a way that minimizes the chances of an accident and monitor him constantly.
Take first aid classes for your baby. It would be beneficial for you to learn artificial respiration and heart massage techniques. Hospitals, clinics or certified specialists around you can organize these courses. You can also have your caregiver attend these courses. In order to be able to apply artificial respiration and heart massage techniques in an emergency, you must have received practical training on these issues.
obstruction of the airways
The fact that your baby can cry, talk or cough indicates that the airways are not completely blocked. In this case, your baby’s cough reflex can expel the foreign body in the airway. Observe and try to calm your baby. Do not try to blindly remove the foreign body in the mouth without seeing it. On the contrary, you can push it further.
If your baby is not breathing or has a blue face; If he looks dull or unconscious, trying to hold his throat with his hands, his airways may be blocked. In this case, the techniques of hitting the abdomen (Heimlich) and hitting the back are used to remove the foreign body. If your child is unconscious during the Heimlich maneuver, place the palm of one hand on the breastbone and the other hand on this hand by laying it on its back on a flat surface. With your hands like this, gently press on the chest and abdominal cavity 6-10 times in succession. If you apply too much pressure, you can damage the organs below the rib cage. If your child is conscious, stand behind him and hold him by the waist with your arms. Apply pressure 6-10 times in a row. When applying pressure, be careful not to overdo it and damage the organs. Caution Heimlich maneuver is not applied to infants under 1 year old. Take your baby under 1 year old in your arms, face down, face and shoulders down, feet up, and hit the space between the shoulder blades 5 times with the palm of your hand. Then, turn your baby on his back and apply 5 times pressure on the breastbone with 2 fingers. Check if the object comes out in the mouth. Repeat the application until the foreign body is removed.
Bleeding
Apply tampons to the injured area to stop the bleeding. If possible, try to understand the condition of the wound by holding the injured area under cold water. If there is an incision in a small vessel, bleeding can be stopped in 2-3 minutes with the help of pressure. Continue packing on major vessel incisions. If the area of bleeding is the arm and leg, you can apply a pressure bandage “tourniquet” to single bony areas such as the thigh and upper arm. You can lay your child on the ground and hold the bleeding organ above the level of the heart.
In case of nosebleeds, pinch the nostrils between your thumb and forefinger and keep the head tilted forward for 10 minutes. You can also apply cold outside. You can tamp the nostrils with soaked cotton balls. Make sure your child’s mouth is open. In this way, pressure is not applied to the nose in cases such as coughing and sneezing. In this way, if the bleeding does not stop or recurs after a short time, it is appropriate to apply to the emergency room.
Fall
After the fall, you need to carefully monitor your child. If your child is unconscious after the fall or does not remember events immediately before or after the accident, they may be having a concussion. He needs to be taken to an emergency doctor. Early observation is vital. Increasing drowsiness and laziness; alternating sleep and blight periods throughout the day, unresponsiveness; Headaches and vomiting due to increased volume due to a possible intracranial hemorrhage suggest that the situation may be serious. Vomiting immediately after a fall is usually due to fear. If vomiting is recurrent, it should be a concern. It can be difficult to keep young babies awake when it’s time to sleep. In this case, whether your baby notices the stimulus by holding his hand, squeezing his fingers, etc. while sleeping, pulling his hand / foot to the painful stimulus, etc. You should check if it responds like
If there is bleeding in a place other than the skull; if there is blackout or loss of hearing; behaving differently than usual (drowsiness, irritability, laziness, etc.); If there is liquid coming from his nose, he is constantly vomiting, if his breathing and heartbeat are irregular, you should go to the doctor immediately.
In minor injuries, applying ice to the damaged area can reduce swelling. Most accidents happen at night, after which your child may be prone to sleeping longer. If you are worried about his wound, check it periodically and observe his pulse, whether his pupils are of equal size, and whether he can be awakened easily.
Broken
In suspected injuries, the swelling is tried to be reduced by putting ice on the injured area. Joints above and below the bone should be immobilized by applying a splint. Cardboard boxes, pieces of wood, thick magazines and newspapers can be used as splints. If the suspected fractured limb is cold, bluish or numb; If the child has sweating, dizziness, if the limb is unusually bent, if the fractured limb cannot be used, a doctor should be consulted immediately. A broken bone can damage the nerves and vessels around it. Open fractures in which tissue integrity is impaired and bone ends are visible from the outside require urgent intervention.
Sprain
In soft tissue traumas such as ankle sprain, the first application is to quickly apply cold to the sprained ankle and keep it above the heart level to prevent swelling. Keep the towel-wrapped ice on the ankle for at least 30 minutes. If there is visible swelling at the end of 30 minutes, continue to apply cold for 30 minutes, taking 15-minute breaks in the following hours. If after 24 hours the pain prevents the child from putting his weight on the injured foot, consult a doctor. Elastic bandage can be used during this time. Care should be taken not to make the bandage too tight. Within 10 days, the wrist is quite close to normal. Complete recovery may take 4-6 weeks.