My Top Tips for First Aid

I can't believe it has been nearly 3 years since I started Safety First.  What a great time I have had teaching children from 3.5 years of age to parents and professionals how to administer first aid.  Getting the safety message out there and empowering them to deal with unexpected emergencies.

During this time I have had my fair share of bumps and bleeds to deal with as the mother of an eternally bruised 4 year old.  I thought it may be a good time to share my top topics and tips that I would like all first time parents to know and think about

1) Choking 

From my experience of teaching first aid to parents, I think this is the subject that most people are concerned with especially around weaning.....so

How to recognise choking:

• The person may be unable to talk or breathe
• They may be grabbing their throat
• Attempts to cough will be weakening
• They will look really distressed
• They may initially be quite red in the face becoming pale and blue.

How to minimise the risk of choking 



• Cut food up into reasonable sized pieces - grapes should be cut in half vertically
• Try not to leave coins and other small objects lying around
• Don't feed them when they are on the move, try to keep them sitting down
• Remember that their airways are very small so be mindful of what goes in their mouth

If your child chokes, lean them forward over your lap (supporting the head if it is a baby) and administer 5 back blows, followed by 5 abdominal thrusts (chest thrusts in babies).

If you cannot remove the obstruction call 999 and if they collapse commence CPR

2) Febrile Convulsions

Children under the age of 5 are unable to manage their own body temperature as the hypothalamus (part of the brain) is immature.  Anyone who has had a baby or small child will know that when they get sick their temperature can soar.  Most of the time this will come down with some calpol.  However there is a more serious side to temperatures which many parents are unaware of.  

In 1 in 20 children a high temperature can lead to a febrile convulsion.  This is a fit associated with a rapidly rising temperature.
  

A normal temperature is between 36.5 to 37.5.  

If your child has a temperature - do not overdress them, keep them well hydrated and keep the room well ventilated without directly pointing a fan at the child, administer calpol (paracetamol) and nurofen (ibuprofen) as per the instructions on the bottle.

How to recognise a febrile convulsion

• The child will become stiff with jerky movements
• Or they may become really floppy
• Their eyes may roll back 
• The child will be unresponsive
• Their limbs will start twitching and jerking
• They may foam at the mouth
• They may become a bit blue around the mouth

What to do?

• Time the seizure - an uncomplicated seizure should no more than around 3 minutes
• Protect the head
• Make sure the area is safe
• Take them to hospital to investigate the cause

These are just a couple of things I think parents of small children should know about, but if you would like to know more please do not hesitate to get in touch and book yourself on to a first aid course today www.safety-first-welling.org