CPR AND CHOKING EMERGENCIES

Create two scenarios: one in which a child is choking and another in which a child needs CPR. In each of your scenarios, include who is involved and where it is occurring (for example, a 5-year-old in a preschool setting has stopped breathing and is apparently choking on a piece of food). Then outline the proper emergency procedures for dealing with each situation (see pages 179–180 in your text)

            In this scenario, a 5 year old is having breathing problem, in her classroom, from an asthma attack and has blanked out. In this case, the not breathing emergency situation is from the closed up airway from the asthma attack, which the child would need CPR.  In my second scenario, a small 4 year-old child has stopped breathing after eating a piece of candy that was left on the table after celebrating her 4^th birthday at their home. In this case, the choking emergency situation must be as a result of a blocked airway from food which is the candy (American Academy of Pediatrics, 1983). The candy causes the child airway to be blocked, which made her unable to talk, cough or cry. In both emergency scenarios, one child airway is blocked, and the other child airway is closed up, and it is certain to call 911 before starting to do cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) (Accident Rehabilitation and Compensation Insurance Corporation, 1990).

After reporting the child condition to 911, immediately start performing CPR. When performing CPR, place the child quickly but gentle on her back on a flat surface like the floor. Using one hand, tilt the head of the child back to open her airway, and slightly lifting her chin with the other hand. Check to see whether the child is showing any signs of breathing by putting your head close to her mouth, while looking toward her feet to see if her chest is rising. If the child is not showing any signs of breathing, pinch or squeeze her nose shut, put your mouth over her mouth and exhale into her lungs until her chest rises. Each breath should take one second. Lean close to her chest, and place one of your hands on top of the other using the heel of your hand, and gently on the child’s breastbone perform a chest compression allowing the chest to return to its normal position before you start performing another chest compression. Perform the chest compression at a rate of 100 compressions per minute while allowing the child rescue breaths after every chest compression.  Continue to perform CPR on the child until the doctor or paramedic arrives.

Next, summarize why advance planning is often the best way to respond to or prevent an emergency situation and the kinds of training (e.g., CPR or first aid training) you believe are needed in order to prevent or positively resolve such emergencies.

Advanced planning stands as the effective way to prevent choking emergency situation among young children, because it enable the identification circumstances causing emergency situations like food allergies, toys, hard candy, coins, and plastic bags suffocation. Choking and suffocation causing airway obstructions among children has been identified as the main causes of unintentional injuries or death in the lives of small children.  Advanced planning helps to identifying the appropriate procedure to handle each emergency situation (Accident Rehabilitation and Compensation Insurance Corporation, 1990).

Situation occurs daily in everyday life, but knowing what to do can turn the situation from hopeless to hope. Parents put their child’s life in a caregiver or teacher care daily, therefore the teachers and caregivers must be prepared for anything that might happen when the child is in their care. Parents as well as the teachers and caregivers should train themselves on infants, child choking first-aid, and CPR in the event of choking emergency from training institution such as Red Cross First-Aid, American Heart Association, or your local Heart and Stroke Foundation offices (Accident Rehabilitation and Compensation Insurance Corporation, 1990).

Finally, describe any other steps adults must take to ensure they are prepared to handle these kinds of crises, including such information as first aid supplies, family emergency contact information, and so on.

Parents, teachers, or Day Care providers should not buy toys that are hazard to the children. Avoid buying toys with long string, or beads on them that can come off. Children or infants can easily choke off the beads. When putting an infant to bed, be sure to place the child on their back to avoid suffocation. Never leave a child or infant alone in the bed sucking on a bottle, because the child can choke off the milk if it’s coming out the nipple to fast. Children being supervised at all time is the best strategy that can effectively ensure that choking emergency situation can be avoided. It is important that parents teach older children about their younger sibling, when they have certain allergies from food that they are not to eat. Also what food to give them and what food not to give them that might cause them to choke off.

Make sure that the older children toys are out of the reach of the younger children or infants, to avoid choking or injuries. Parents should teach their children that they should chew all their food before swallowing, and never talk with food in your mouth to avoid choking (American Academy of Pediatrics, 1983). Caregivers and teachers should always contact the child parent or legal guardian in case of emergency with the child that has happened at the Day Care facility, especially if the child has been hospitalized. They should also have other emergency numbers such as the nearest hospital to contact the ambulance dispatcher in case of an emergency.

Reference:

Accident Rehabilitation and Compensation Insurance Corporation (N.Z.).  (1990).Suffocation and choking in young children. Auckland, N.Z.?:

American Academy of Pediatrics. (1983). Foods and choking in children. Evanston, Ill: