Helping Parents Apply First Aid - Essay Example

Helping Parents Apply First Aid Introduction The instructions provided in this essay will help theparents be able to provide first aid to children (Nelson, 2002). They need to be able to provide a first aid treatment, and this also makes the home and household a safer place to be. The steps will include knowing how to hold the child when trying to save them; which ingredients are needed, and also how the environment should be when providing the first aid procedure. In this essay, attention will be focused on providing first aid to a choking baby. Choking occurs when an object is lodged in the windpipe thus a child is not able to breathe. The child may also have a blocked windpipe from having an allergic reaction to food. Young children often swallow various objects and because chocking leads to an insufficient amount of air into the brain, and first aid needs to be administered quickly (Nelson, 2002). A list of items that should be present includes: Hand sanitizer so that one can be able to clean their hands when water or soap is not available. Triple-Antibiotic ointment so that there can be the prevention of infection. Thermometer. Acetaminophen for the pain or fever. Oral antihistamine for allergic reactions. Instant cold press in order to control the swelling. Calamine lotion to help with the bites or stings. Procedure: 1. Assessing the situation: when a child is unable to breathe, cry or laugh, then there is something that is defiantly wrong with the child. 2. If the child is coughing, it means that the child’s windpipe is only partially blocked. When that is the case, the child should be led to continue coughing. This is the most effective method of unblocking the windpipe and in particular to anyone who is not fully blocked (Nelson, 2002). 3. Ask another individual to call the emergency number such as 911 while giving the child back blows and chest thrusts. 4. The child may also have a swollen windpipe because of an allergic reaction to an insect bite and this swelling can lead to choking. When the baby’s windpipe has swollen shut, administer the medicine for the bites or stings and also those that control the swelling or allergic reactions then call the emergency number (Nelson, 2002). 5. If a child has a lodged object, the object needs to be dislodged using back blows and chest thrusts. The first step is back blows where the child is positioned face up with one hand cradling head. The other hand needs to be on his front. 6. The baby should be in a slanted position; the head should be down while the legs should be slanted to the top (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2013). 7. Using the hand’s heel, the parent should give five firm back blows between the shoulder blades. 6. Next, place the hand that has been giving the back blows on the baby’s head along his spine and flip the child over so that the baby’s spine is lying on the arm (Nelson, 2002). 7. Using the other hand, which is now free, place three fingers on the child’s chest just below the nipples at the center and do chests thrust. The chest thrust should be done by pushing down on the chest. There should be total of five chest thrusts, and they should be smooth. 6. There should be a repeat of the processes until the object that is lodged comes out, or the baby starts coughing or crying. If they are coughing, then let them cough the object out (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2013). 7. If the baby becomes unconscious while coughing, then CPR needs to be conducted. Open the mouth of the child and try to look for the object. If it can be seen, remove it using a small finger. 6. Give the child rescue breaths; two to be exact and look for movement at his chest. If the chest does not rise, his head should be tilted and then the breaths tried again (Nelson, 2002). 7. If this does not help, then 30 chest compressions need to be done. Repeat steps 11 and 12 again if there is no response. MEMO FROM: Writer TO: Parents. SUBJECT: Helping parents apply first aid. DATE: 11th march 2014. First Aid can be defined as the process of trying to save someone else’s life by providing the basic help to an individual who is sick or injured while waiting for the full medical treatment to be availed. Giving first aid to an individual saves the life of that person and in particular if the right process is given. First aid can also be known as an emergency procedure administered to an individual, and it does not have to be applied by an expert (Nelson, 2002). It only needs to be applied by a person who knows the procedure so that they can save that person. There are different types of procedures for administering first aid depending in the situation at hand. There are three main aims at which providing first aid looks to fulfill; prevent further harm to the person; promotion of recovery to the person and also preserve the life of that person. The above document was written so as to enlighten and educate the parents out there who do not know how to perform first aid which is essential. The document is designed to provide various steps that show the precision with which the procedure needs to be conducted. There are the steps to follow and the steps that are most important are placed in different font styles so that they may capture whoever reads this document. The importance of highlighting the important facts is so that the parent does not miss these very important steps which derive the matter between life and death (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2013). The design of this document will ensure that the parents attain the knowledge that they require so that they may be able to save children when it comes to that time. This document is helpful to both the new parents and also those who have been parents for a long time because it teaches them a thing or two (Nelson, 2002). Thank You. References American Academy of Pediatrics. (2013). Pediatric first aid for caregivers and teachers: Dedicated to the health of all children. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning. Nelson, R. (2002). A parents guide to first aid. Los Angeles: Parents Guide Press. Read More