There is now a Christmas Frenzy in the air and even those who don’t celebrtate christmas seem to  be getting caught up in the excitement of  buying presents,  preparing for over eating and a general merriment. The children  are excited as they  eagerly  wait to find out what pressies they will be getting.

 

So it is up to us - the parents - to make sure that they have a Safe and Sound Christmas. Don't  be tempted to buy cheap  toys that are not suitable for toddlers - ensure they are age appropriate.  

Every year over 35,000 children go to hospitals after an accident involving a toy and the majority of these accidents happen to toddlers between one and three years old.  The child accident and prevention trust advise parents to look at the suggested age range on the packaging.  There is usually a warning symbol letting parents know if a particular toy is unsuitable for children under 36 months. This is important because it means that a toy might contain parts that could choke a very young child.

 There are also safety marks that help identify safe toys. Toys should conform to the European Standard BS EN 71. The Lion mark can also be a helpful guide as this means they have been made to the highest standard of safety and quality and it is the mark used by members of the British Toy and Hobby Association.  A CE mark is not a guarantee of quality or safety but it is a legal requirement for all toys sold in the European Union.

 

But it isn’t just toys that cause accidents. Extra vigilance needs to be taken with candles. Children are fascinated by fire  and candles should be placed  out of reach of little fingers,  away from curtains or anything that might blow into them and put  in fire proof containers that will not topple over. Containers can get very hot and quickly burn the wooden tables underneath.

 To prevent falls make sure than the stairs are safe.  Children will be up very early on Christmas day to see what Santa has left them and will hurtle down the stairs not looking to see if something has been left on one of them.  Keeping floors clear of toys will  help eliminate the number of falls for both the children and granny.

And those bottle of aftershave and perfume should be kept well out of reach as they main contain alcohol and chemicals which if swallowed could be harmful. Remember too children are very curious and will  want to see what is at the bottom of mum’s glass. Small amounts of alcohol can poison young children.  I’ts not all doom and gloom just taking a few careful precautions can ensure that the children are kept safe and sound over the holiday period.

 

What to do if your child chokes

 

How can I tell that my child is choking?

 

1. She may be gasping for air and unable to breathe
2. She may be holding or clutching her throat
3. She may be unable to speak
4. She may lose colour or look blue

 

What should I do?

 

1             Encourage your child to cough. If this does not quickly release the object:

2             Bend your child forward from the waist so that the head is lower than the chest and give 5 sharp back slaps between the shoulder blades.

3             If the object is still not released give up to 5 abdominal thrusts: kneel or stand behind your child with both arms around their waist. Make a fist with one hand and place it just above the belly button (below the ribs) with your thumb inwards. Grasp this fist with the other hand. Thrust sharply inwards and upwards. Try this up to 5 times. Check between thrusts and stop if you clear the obstruction.

4             If the obstruction is still not cleared repeat steps 2 and 3. Ask someone to dial 999 for an ambulance.

5             Be prepared to resuscitate if the child stops breathing.

 

 

 

If your child suffers a burn or scald

 

Treatment

 

        Cool burn with cold running water for at least ten minutes. If cold water is not available, use another cold,, harmless liquid, such as milk

        Get Medical help for any burn or scald which is larger than a 50p coin

        Remember to keep calm and give lots of comfort and reassurance to the child

        DO NOT remove burnt clothing which has stuck to the skin. Burnt clothing is sterile and will protect the wound.

        Remove carefully any jewellery, belts, restrictive clothing or footwear (that is not stuck to the skin) from the injured area before it begins to swell

        Cover the burn with a clean, dry, not fluffy dressing and secure loosely.  A plastic bag or piece of cling film are ideal

        DO NOT put butter oil or any sort of grease or lotion on a burn or scald – these can cause further damage and increase the risk of infection

        DO NOT apply sticking plasters or any other type of adhesive dressing to the skin – they will cause pain and damage when removed

        DO NOT break blisters – you may introduce infection into the wound

        DO  NOT give the child anything to eat or drink with the exception of painkillers

        Give the recommended dose of children’s painkiller syrup

 

REMEMBER Tell medical staff when, what and how much medicine you have given. Not all medicines are suitable for all children; please consult your doctor or pharmacist before giving any medication to your child.

 

 

The above is not a substitute for professional first aid training. For details of paediatric first aid courses in your area please call safe and Sound on 0208 445 8998 or go to www.safeandsound.uk.net 

 

 

I am trying to understand why people don't want to learn first aid. It seems odd to me that when it can take as little of 3 hours of someone's life to learn how to save another life, there are so few people that opt to do this. Is it cost? surely not as it is just about the same cost as a reasonably inexpensive dinner. Maybe it is fear or more likely the head in the sand approach "It won't happen to me." way of thinking. 

 

 A GP receptionist  who  had recently attended a Safe and Sound First Aid  Training Course told us that just a few weeks afterward they had their annual refresher training with Safe and Sound a man had walked into the surgery complaining of chest pains. He then collapsed and died 3 times before they managed to save him. "We started CPR immediately while someone went for the defibrillator and then attached him to administer the shocks," explained the receptionist.  Paramedics told them had they not been trained the man would not be alive today.  

 

Luckily Sue did know first aid. And when her  husband collapsed, turned grey and stopped breathing she knew exactly what to do. Everything she had learnt on a first aid course at her nursery school a few years ago kicked in and after calling 999 she started CPR (cardio pulmonary resuscitation).

“It’s amazing how when the adrenalin starts flowing you just do what you have to and I remembered the trainer at the nursery telling us that resuscitation was exactly the same for children as adults except for the rescue breaths at the beginning and that we needed to be more forceful when working with adults. I also remember the trainer telling us not to worry about breaking any ribs because broken ribs are not as serious as dying, which is just as well as I broke two of my husband’s ribs.”

What most surprised Sue was her quick reaction and the fact that without thinking she followed the DRSABC procedure she had been taught. “The dog was running wildly around my husband’s head and so I first locked him in another room before starting to resuscitate.”

Her husband Chris had a major heart attack. Sue resuscitated for 20 minutes until the paramedics arrived and it then took them 2 hours to stabilise Chris, who they four times, before they could transfer him to the ambulance. He has since made a full recovery.

Chris is 42, slim, and certainly doesn’t look like a heart attack victim, apart from smoking too much which he has now given up.

“Both Sue and I feel that everybody should do a first aid course because something could happen at any time,” says Chris. Maybe not a heart attacks but an accident, a child choking, drowning, or getting a head injury, and if you know what to do, whether it is resuscitation, or anything else, it could save a life. Let’s face it I am very very lucky to be here and if Sue hadn’t been on a first aid course I probably wouldn’t be.”

Sue explains that Chris woke up in the middle of the night with a headache.

“I didn’t think anything because he had had a headache for the past two days. But then he said that he felt very weird and he asked me to come downstairs with him because he felt scared. I thought that was very odd and unlike Chris.

“I thought I couldn’t take him to hospital just with a headache so I was on the phone to NHS direct when he collapsed. The dog was going crazy going round and round Chris’s head so I put the him away in another room and called 999.

“I realised that Chris was going grey and couldn’t breathe, so I started to do CPR. Everything from the course at the nursery came back to me. I remembered the breaths to chest compressions, knew that if it was an adult I needed to be forceful and I just went on auto pilot.

“The 999 people were very helpful talking me through the steps. It took 10 minutes for the ambulance to arrive and I just kept doing the CPR. When the doorbell rang I didn’t know what to do, should I answer it or carry on with CPR? The 999 people said just leave him quickly.

“It took 2 hours for the paramedics to stabilise Chris so they could transfer him to hospital. They had lost him 4 times. They told me that if I hadn’t had done CPR my husband would have just died. And if I hadn’t have been on a course I really wouldn’t have known what to do. It just all came back to me instantly, even though we had done it on child dummies.

“It was very scary and it was only when the paramedics arrived and took over that I thought thank goodness it is out of my hands now.

“So many of my friends have gone on first aid courses now because they have told me that they wouldn’t have known what to do had it happened to them and that their husbands would probably have been dead by the time the paramedics arrived.

 

Call us on 0208 445 8998 to book a first aid course

or go to:

www.safeandsound.uk.net