Children's safety and first aid knowledge

If ordinary families want to deal with more than 90% of children's daily safety risks, they don't need to read thick professional first aid textbooks. They only need to master the prevention and pre-hospital treatment principles of the three most common injuries, suffocation, burns and falls, plus the general logic of "keep themselves safe first, then call for rescue, and then handle as needed", which is completely sufficient. I have been doing child safety science popularization for 6 years, and have been to more than 200 communities for practical training. I have seen too many parents stock up on an entire first aid manual. When an accident happens, their minds go blank. Instead, it is better to master these core skills - just like you don’t need to know how to repair the engine when driving, as long as you know how to apply the brakes, turn the direction, and know when to call a tow truck. The same is true for first aid. If you bite off more than you can chew, you will be able to bite off more than you can chew.

A real incident happened during community training last month. Grandma Zhang on the third floor was feeding jelly to her 3-year-old grandson. The baby ran away while eating and choked suddenly. His face turned purple and his eyes were blinded without making a sound. Grandma Zhang was so frightened that she hugged the baby and patted her on the back for half a minute, but it was of no use at all. , there happened to be a mother next to me who had taken my class before. She rushed over and turned her baby over on her forearm. She patted the middle of the two shoulder blades five times with her head lowered and her feet high. The translucent jelly spurted out with a "pop", and the baby cried out, and everyone around him breathed a sigh of relief. Here is a point that is currently being debated on the Internet: Many people say that as long as a foreign body is stuck, Heimlich rescue should be performed immediately. In fact, the AHA (American Heart Association) 2020 cardiopulmonary resuscitation guidelines clearly mention that if a child has a stuck foreign body, he can still cough normally, cry loudly, and even speak It means that the airway is only partially obstructed. At this time, forcibly patting the back or doing abdominal thrusts may make the foreign object get stuck deeper. It is better to let the child cough on his own. Most small foreign objects can be discharged on their own. Only those who are unable to make a sound, have a blue complexion and lips, or have difficulty breathing require immediate rescue. In addition, the operation should be based on age. Babies under 1 year old cannot press the belly. If patting on the back is ineffective, they should turn over and press the lower half of the sternum with two fingers. Children over 1 year old can stand behind and do abdominal thrusts. Don't be confused about this.

Compared with the most urgent situation like a stuck throat, the pit of burns and scalds is hidden in the treatment behind. Last summer, I met a grandma while walking in the community. The baby in her arms knocked over the freshly served mung bean soup, and her arm turned red. The grandma immediately grabbed some toothpaste and applied it to her arm, saying that it would reduce the temperature and relieve the pain. I couldn't stop her. Then I went to the hospital. The doctor said that the toothpaste suffocated the heat into the skin, and the original first-degree burn turned into a shallow second-degree burn. The risk of scarring was much higher. Speaking of which, there is no need to kill folk remedies. Many veteran doctors I have contacted at the grassroots level also said that if there is only a small area of ​​skin redness without blistering or ulceration, after 15-20 minutes of running cold water, whether it is a regular medical burn ointment or a sterilized and certified badger oil preparation, it can relieve pain, and it is indeed useful. However, if blisters have formed or even the wound has burst, do not apply any colored, non-medical things to the wound. Soy sauce, toothpaste, and plant ash will not work. This will not only increase the risk of infection, but also affect the doctor's judgment of the depth of the wound, which will delay treatment. Don't worry about the money for cold water. Just rinse it for 15 minutes to get rid of the residual heat in the skin. It's much more cost-effective than buying a bunch of scar removal creams later.

Oh, by the way, fall injuries are the most common daily occurrence. Almost every child has the experience of falling off the bed or sofa when they were young. I encountered a case when I was rotating in the pediatric emergency department. A 10-month-old baby fell from a 50-centimeter-high bed. The parents immediately rushed over to pick up the baby, rock it, and ask, "Where did it hurt?" It turned out that it was just a slight skull fracture. After shaking twice, bleeding compressed the nerves, and the baby fainted. Many parents don't know that after a baby falls, don't rush to hug it. Stand aside and observe it for 10 seconds to see if there is obvious bleeding and whether there is any inability to move the limbs. If the baby is conscious and can cry and fuss, then slowly pick it up and comfort it. There are two kinds of arguments now. The old people always say, "As long as the baby cries after it falls, it will be fine." Young parents think that no matter what the situation is, they need to take a CT scan to feel relieved. In fact, both of these are too extreme. If the height of the fall is less than 50 centimeters, and the child eats, drinks, and plays normally after the fall, and does not suffer from vomiting, poor energy, or staggering when walking, he or she can be observed at home for 72 hours. After all, CT has radiation, so there is no need for excessive examination. ； But if the height exceeds 1 meter, or if you fall on a hard surface such as cement or ceramic tiles, even if you seem to be fine at the time, it is best to go to the hospital for a check-up. After all, intracranial hemorrhage is sometimes delayed, and you should not be careless.

There is another safety risk that many people don’t take seriously, which is the administration of medicine. I just received a consultation last month. The parents gave their 4-year-old baby antipyretic medicine. They gave him 5 ml according to the age label on the package. As a result, the baby's fever did not go away but started to become drowsy. When he went to the hospital, he found out that his baby was overweight. He was almost 10 pounds heavier than other children of the same age. Not only was the dosage calculated based on his age not enough, the parents also added half a tablet of adult cold medicine to the baby, which almost caused an accident. Here is a reminder: the dosage of children's antipyretics is calculated based on body weight. Don't stick to the age recommendation on the package. Each baby's weight varies greatly, and the dosage varies a lot. In addition, children under 18 years old must not use aspirin to reduce fever. It can cause Reye's syndrome, which can be fatal in severe cases. This is a hard red line and there is no room for negotiation.

In fact, after doing science popularization for so long, my biggest feeling is that of course you need to learn first aid knowledge, but more importantly, you need to prevent risks at the source. Put an anti-collision strip on the corner of the table, always keep the hot water bottle out of the reach of the baby, don’t let the baby under 3 years old play with small parts such as buttons and beads, don’t make the baby laugh or chase after the baby when eating. If these seemingly inconspicuous things are done well, 90% of first aid scenarios will not happen at all. If you really encounter trouble, don't panic. Calm down first. If you can handle it yourself, follow the rules. If you are unsure, call 120 immediately to explain the address and the child's situation. It is much better than messing around.