11 Proper First Aid Skills For Any Emergency Every Parent Must Know (Part 1)

Children's hand-eye coordination and gross motor abilities are still developing, and when paired with their natural curiosity, they are prone to a variety of accidents. That is why it is essential that you remain prepared with both the necessary knowledge and supplies. So let's get started with a list of the most frequent incidents that may happen to your kids and the measures you should take.

1- Choking

It's terrifying to imagine this entire scenario playing out in real life. But it does happen. That is the reality of life; none of us can predict when tragedy will hit.

A- In case of a baby:

Coughing, gagging, wheezing, distress, choking noises, rattling breathing sounds, no breathing, no sounds, paleness, blue color, and loss of consciousness. Shortly a baby who is choking will be unable to cry, cough, make any noise or breathe.

WHAT TO DO?

1- If a baby shows any signs of choking, phone the emergency number of your country immediately. Follow the steps to clear a blockage, shown next

2- Give up to five back blows: hold the baby face-down along your thigh with their head lower than their bottom. Hit them firmly on their back between the shoulder blades up to five times. If back blows do not dislodge the blockage, move on to step

WHY: Back blows create a strong vibration and pressure in the airway, which is often enough to dislodge the blockage, allowing them to breathe again. Support their head while you hold them in position.

3-  Give up to five chest thrusts: turn the baby over so they are facing upwards. Place two fingers in the middle of their chest just below the nipples. Push sharply downwards up to five times.

WHY: Chest thrusts squeeze the air out of the baby’s lungs and may dislodge the blockage

4- Continue with cycles of back blows and chest thrusts until the blockage dislodges, help arrives or the baby becomes unresponsive

5- If the baby becomes unconscious, start baby CPR.

Performing CPR:

The goal of CPR isn’t necessarily to bring your baby back to consciousness. Instead, it’s to keep the blood and oxygen circulating to their body and — even more importantly — to their brain.

One set of CPR includes 30 chest compressions and 2 rescue breaths:

1- Place your infant on a flat, firm surface, like the ground.

2- Look for an object in your baby’s mouth. Remove it only if it’s visible and easy to grasp.

3- Place two fingers on your baby’s breastbone (the area where you applied pressure for chest thrusts). Apply pressure that compresses their chest about one-third (1 1/2 inches) at a rhythm of around 100 to 120 compressions each minute. Complete 30 chest compressions in all.

4- Tilt your baby’s head back and lift their chin to open the airway. Give two rescue breaths by making a seal around the baby’s mouth and nose. Blow each breath in for 1 full second.

5- Then repeat this process until help arrives.

What not to do?

While it may be tempting, avoid the impulse to go into your baby's mouth and pull anything out unless it is visible and easy to hold with your fingertips. Grasping something you can't see in their throat isn't as easy as you imagine. You may even push the thing farther into the airway.

Also, never attempt the Heimlich technique (abdominal thrusts) on a baby. While abdominal thrusts can assist children and adults in moving items through their airways, they can be harmful to a baby's growing organs.

Choking prevention:

1- Keep tiny things out of the reach of children. Always examine the floor by kneeling down to your baby's eyes level and gazing around.

2- Provide age-appropriate meals, and constantly watch babies when they are eating. Keep food in little bits. Cook, grind, or mash tough foods such as hard fruits and vegetables. Whole nuts, hard candies, chewing gum, marshmallows,popcorns…, should be avoided.

3- Toy labels should always be read, and the age guidelines must always be followed. Toys with tiny pieces, breakable parts, fragile surfaces, or button batteries should be avoided. Examine toys for visible filling, as well as loose screws and buttons..

B- Choking in Older Kids

For older children who are choking, abdominal compression, famously known as the Heimlich Maneuver, is the best option.

Grab the child by the waist, and place your fist just above the navel. Place the other hand over the fist and push hard into the abdomen, with an upward motion as if you’re trying to lift the child up. Do this for five times in a row, and repeat till the problem is solved or help arrives

2- Breathing Troubles:

If a baby or the child is not breathing, he or she will require mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, generally known as CPR (mentioned in the first element of this blog list). CPR is only required if the kid is not breathing; if she is breathing normally, take her to the doctor as soon as possible.

CPR demonstration video for newborns under the age of one year.

CPR demonstration video for kids from the age of one year to 12 years old 

3- Foreign Objects in Nose, Ear or eyes

If you suspect your kid has something stuck in their nose, eye, ear, or other body orifice, the essential steps to take are:

1- Remain calm, if your child sees you panicking, they may start to stress as well.

2- Seek medical attention. Or call for an ambulance, Do not attempt to remove the object yourself, as this might result in more harm.

3- In the case of an object in the nose: stop your child from sniffing. Sniffing the object might cause it to migrate up their nose and become a choking danger. Until the item is gone, encourage your child to breathe through his or her mouth.

NOTE: In some cases, when objects are stuck in the nose, simply blowing the nose may be all that is required to treat the condition. If it's a large object and you believe you're capable of removing it, use tweezers, but as previously said, ONLY ON A LARGE OBJECT. If not, as already said, SEEK MEDICAL ATTENTION IMMEDIATELY

4- If an insect is inside the ear, support the child's head with the injured ear facing up and gently flood the ear with warm water. As a result, the insect should be able to float away. Seek medical attention if the floods do not eliminate the insect.

5- If your kid inserts a button battery into any orifice in the body, contact the Poisons Information Centre right away. You may call the emergency number as well.

Mom tip: Older kids will sometimes misbehave in order to gain attention. As a result, if you find your child putting something in their nose, mouth, or eyes, never shout at them. Explain to your youngster how their bodies work and why putting anything inside body orifices is a bad idea.

I'm sure you've heard the expression "knowledge is power," but that notion refers to more than simply academic knowledge. You will not learn everything overnight, but I encourage you to persist. The rest of the usual children's accidents and how to intervene will be covered in the next section of this blog article. I'd like to hear your thoughts. If  you have any first-aid resources that I didn't list for acquiring life-saving skills, in these article serie, feel free to tag me on Instagram.

Take your time in learning the first part of this blog, and I'll see you in the next part soon. Don't forget to share it to help other parents learn and understand the concepts required to protect their loved ones!