Asthma - top tips to keep your child well this winter

Asthma

With time flying by, we are now right in the middle of the month when admissions to hospital due to exacerbation of asthma are at their highest rate.  With the changing season and fluctuating temperature (hard to imagine in the midst of the present heat wave) hospital admissions soar.

There are 1.1 million children in the UK living with asthma (Asthma UK) and 4.3 million adults, and asthma causes a child to be admitted to hospital on average every 20 minutes.  Asthma takes 3 lives every day and perhaps more worryingly, research has shown that around 2/3 of these deaths are avoidable if medication is used properly

What causes asthma

Asthma is caused by an inflammation of the airways and a build up of mucus.  It can be triggered by a number of different factors which will vary according to each individual person.  A few of these are temperature change, dust, exercise, allergies, stress and pollution.  Knowing your triggers and symptoms is vital to keeping healthy and staying out of hospital.

How can you help?

So if you do have an asthmatic child, what can you do to help them on their return to school?  

1. Check that their inhaler is in date and has plenty left in it.  Make sure they have one in their bag if they are at Secondary School and one in the office as well
2. If they are still at primary school they should have a spacer as well (see picture)
3. Educate them to be aware of their triggers, for example will the changing temperature impact on their capacity to do P.E without getting breathless.  If so seek advice on how to manage this - do they need to take their reliever 20 minutes before P.E?
4. Try to encourage them to use their preventer regularly to avoid the symptoms occurring.
5.  Get the practice nurse to check their inhaler technique, or visit the asthma UK website and watch their video clips
6. Complete an asthma action plan (downloadable through the asthma UK website)

People with asthma are also more at risk of becoming seriously unwell if they contract the flu so it may be worth checking with the GP surgery as to whether they are eligible for the flu jab.

So who is eligible for the flu jab with the ever changing world of the NHS?

As it currently stands:

•  Every child aged between 2 & 4 will be offered the vaccine by their GP.  
• All children in years 1 - 3 will be offered it in schools, (dependent on local commisioning arrangements)

Asthma is a completely manageable condition with the right medication / action plan so by following the advice above and considering getting your child immunised perhaps you will be able to avoid the dreaded Emergency Department this winter

To find out more about first aid in asthma why not book onto a first aid course www.safety-first-welling.org

Water Safety

Having read a couple of stories at the beginning of the summer about drownings / near drownings that have occurred both in public swimming pools and also on the beach it reminded me how dangerous the water can be.  

My 3 year old is extremely confident in the water, she seems to think she is some kind of mermaid, but even with my eyes firmly tamed on her she had a recent fall into the river during a camping trip.  She was playing on the river bank and disappeared in the blink of an eye.  She was retrieved within seconds and came out of the experience unscathed, but it was proof of how quickly these things can occur.

Summer fun is often associated with water and children love getting wet, so as long as we keep safe then the fun can continue

Young children are at risk of drowning in and around the home in the bath, ponds or garden. Older children are more at risk of drowning in open water as they get more confident in their skills.  

In 2010 8 children under 15 drowned in the UK  

Three of these children were under one, 12 were between one and four, four were between five and nine, and nine were between ten and 14

About 150 children under 15 were taken to hospital after nearly drowning in 2010-11

Parents can help reduce the risk of drowning but ensuring they supervise their children in and around the water even if they are sitting in a few centimetres of water in the bath.  Children are unpredictable and can vanish into the water in the blink of an eye.  They do not tend to panic and thrash around drawing attention to themselves when they do get into trouble which makes it even harder to spot.

What to do if someone gets into difficulty in the water?

Only enter the water if it is absolutely necessary

Once you have got the person onto land, open their airway and check to see if they are breathing - look listen and feel for up to ten seconds.  

If you think they're not breathing effectively, commence CPR. Open their airway and give five initial rescue breaths before starting CPR. If you're alone, perform CPR for one minute before calling for emergency help.

If the person is unconscious but you think that they are still breathing effectively (you can see their chest rise and fall 2 - 3 times in a ten second period), put them into the recovery position with their head lower than their body and call an ambulance immediately.

Continue to observe the casualty to ensure they don't stop breathing or that their airway becomes obstructed.

If they are conscious they are at risk of hypothermia.  Remove wet clothing, wrap in warm, dry clothes / a foil blanket if available and give small sips of a warm drink

The water can be a lot of fun, but it is so important to be vigilant so everyone can enjoy their summer, to learn more or book a first aid course visit my website www.safety-first-welling.org

Happy swimming

Water Safety

Having read a couple of stories at the beginning of the summer about drownings / near drownings that have occurred both in public swimming pools and also on the beach it reminded me how dangerous the water can be.  

My 4 year old is extremely confident in the water, she seems to think she is some kind of mermaid, but even with my eyes firmly tamed on her she had a recent fall into the river during a camping trip.  She was playing on the river bank and disappeared in the blink of an eye.  She was retrieved within seconds and came out of the experience unscathed, but it was proof of how quickly these things can occur.

Summer fun is often associated with water and children love getting wet, so as long as we keep safe then the fun can continue

Who is at Risk?

Young children are at risk of drowning in and around the home in the bath, ponds or garden. Older children are more at risk of drowning in open water as they get more confident in their skills.  

Statistics

In 2010 8 children under 15 drowned in the UK  

About 150 children under 15 were taken to hospital after nearly drowning in 2010-11

How to reduce the risk

Parents can help reduce the risk of drowning but ensuring they supervise their children in and around the water even if they are sitting in a few centimetres of water in the bath.  Children are unpredictable and can vanish into the water in the blink of an eye.  They do not tend to panic and thrash around drawing attention to themselves when they do get into trouble which makes it even harder to spot.

What to do if someone gets into difficulty in the water?

Only enter the water if it is absolutely necessary

Once you have got the person onto land, open their airway and check to see if they are breathing - look listen and feel for up to ten seconds.  

If you think they're not breathing effectively, commence CPR. Open their airway and give five initial rescue breaths before starting CPR. If you're alone, perform CPR for one minute before calling for emergency help.

If the person is unconscious but you think that they are still breathing effectively (you can see their chest rise and fall 2 - 3 times in a ten second period), put them into the recovery position with their head lower than their body and call an ambulance immediately.

Continue to observe the casualty to ensure they don't stop breathing or that their airway becomes obstructed.

If they are conscious they are at risk of hypothermia.  Remove wet clothing, wrap in warm, dry clothes / a foil blanket if available and give small sips of a warm drink

The water can be a lot of fun, but it is so important to be vigilant so everyone can enjoy their summer, to learn more or book a first aid course visit my website www.safety-first-welling.org

Happy swimming

And it Ended in the Emergency Department

Last Thursday I got the phone call that every parent dreads when in between first aid courses (ironically) from an unknown number and decided to answer it to hear...."hi, it's dad here, just thought you should know we are in first aid........". My little lady had been out for the day with grandma and granddad enjoying the sunshine, when she had tripped and fallen, hitting her head in the process.  After a quick discussion with her granddad, I ascertained she was okay just bleeding quite a lot but still smiling, I managed to have a little chat with her as well which gave me some comfort.   The afternoon progressed, but the bleeding didn't stop, so off she went to the Emergency Department and some glue and a lolly later she was in fine fettle just bashed up and grazed.

Nearly a week on the scabs are disappearing and she is back to her normal self, with more grazes to each leg after more little scuffles and scrapes.  Such a clumsy little lady but thankfully she lived to tell the tale. So what do you need to do in the event of a head injury?  The first 24 hours are crucial.  Keep them calm, observe them for abnormal drowsiness, an ongoing headache, irritability or vomiting, and if in doubt get them checked out.  A cut to the head will bleed quite a lot so if this happens apply pressure directly to the area for 10 minutes, apply a dressing and then get the wound checked if the bleeding persists or the edges are not coming together. For further information on managing a minor head injury follow this link http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Head-injury-minor/Pages/Introduction.aspx

www.safety-first-welling.org