🧝🏼 ☔️ 💃🏽 Emergency conditions in children: injuries, burns, poisoning. Urgent Care 😮 🚜 💪🏾

The children's body differs significantly from the adult in its functioning and imperfection. This is what determines its high vulnerability and exposure to various negative factors. Compared to adults, emergency conditions in children are much more common. A positive outcome completely depends on the correctness of first aid. In the article, we will get acquainted with the most common emergency conditions and the first aid that the victim needs.

The concept of emergency conditions

Emergency conditions in children are the presence of symptoms and signs that threaten the life of a small patient. In such a situation, immediate ambulance is required, the life of the little man will depend on its rendering.

The basis for helping children is the main principle: “Do no harm”. Quite often, parents (and this can happen among doctors) make a mistake in choosing the dosage of a medicine, incorrectly combine medicines, give medicines, which then, in a hospital, make it difficult to make a correct diagnosis.

If emergency conditions arise in children, they need immediate medical attention, because procrastination can be very expensive.

Body features predisposing to the development of emergency conditions

Young children have some features in the structure and development of organ systems, which contribute to the fact that situations requiring urgent medical care arise much more often.

If we consider the cardiovascular system, then we can distinguish the following features:

In the babies of the first two months of life, the right parts of the heart prevail, and the left have a small extensibility, which can contribute to the development of left ventricular failure.
The duration of systole is large, which predisposes to heart failure.
Uneven maturation of the conduction system and heart muscle, imperfect reflex regulation of the heart can lead to frequent heart rhythm disturbances.
The vessels have a well-developed muscle layer in the pulmonary circulation, which can cause the development of pulmonary hypertension.
The high permeability of the pulmonary capillaries predisposes to pulmonary edema, given that the pressure in the left atrium is 2 times less than in adults.
Even with slight decreases in circulating blood volume, clinical symptoms of blood loss develop.
The brain is richly supplied with blood, the blood-brain barrier has a high permeability, which contributes to the passage of toxins, poisons and viruses that circulate in the blood. And this can lead to brain damage.
The obstructed outflow of venous blood creates all the conditions for cerebral edema and the accumulation of fluid, which presses on the brain tissue.

2. The respiratory system is also not perfect:

The narrow larynx, trachea and bronchi, the weak development of elastic and muscle fibers in them, the softness of the cartilage, and the abundant supply of blood create the prerequisites for the development of inflammatory diseases of the respiratory tract.
The compensatory possibilities are sharply limited due to an increase in the tidal volume and respiratory rate due to the special structure of the chest.
The barrier functions of the epithelial tissue of the bronchi are poorly developed, the cough reflex is weak, which limits the protective function in case of infection in the child's body.

3. The nervous system has the following features:

The cerebral cortex is still slightly differentiated, it weakly affects the underlying parts of the nervous system, but the ascending reticular formation has a predominant tone, which contributes to diffuse cerebral reactions.
High hippocampal activity predisposes to seizures.
The tone of the sympathetic nervous system prevails, so babies often have a violation of peripheral circulation, are prone to hyperthermia, rapid breathing.

All these features contribute to the fact that emergency conditions in children are much more common than in adults, and require serious medical attention.

Symptoms requiring immediate medical attention

Most parents are very careful about the health of their little children and, at the slightest deviation, cut off the phones of pediatricians, but most often the experiences of mothers and fathers are in vain. Nevertheless, any doctor can name a few symptoms that indicate that the child urgently needs medical attention. These include:

High indicators on a thermometer, for example, a temperature of about 39 degrees, especially when after taking antipyretic drugs it decreases for a short time and again creeps up.
Vomiting in any situation requires replenishment of the liquid, and if it is practically non-stop, then urgent help is needed. This can result in dehydration of the body, which is dangerous for the child. In addition, vomiting can be a sign of more serious pathologies, for example, appendicitis, infection of the excretory system, bowel obstruction.
Dehydration can also occur as a result of severe diarrhea, which is difficult to stop. In such situations, again, urgent medical attention will be required.
Trouble breathing. They can appear as a result of getting into the respiratory tract of a foreign body or the development of asthma.
If clots or streaks of blood appear in the baby's feces, this may indicate that internal bleeding has begun, and in which area - only a doctor can determine.
Seizures, sudden aggressiveness, or drowsiness may indicate a traumatic brain injury. The provision of emergency care in such situations should be carried out immediately.
The use of pills, various medical supplies that a child finds in a home medicine cabinet. An overdose can occur quite quickly, and it is not known how the baby's body will react to the drug, so you need to urgently call a doctor.

Many mothers already on an intuitive level feel when their baby is really in danger, and when you can not panic, but take the necessary measures yourself.

First aid for head injuries

Young children fall often enough, but not every fall can result in a serious head injury. If a child fell from a small height, for example, from a sofa, then most likely this will not come to that, but falling from the table already threatens with serious consequences.

Often the parents themselves too underestimate the abilities of their child and leave the baby unattended on the changing table. Sometimes a few minutes are enough, and the baby is on the floor. If the child hits his head, it is imperative to show it to the doctor. The main symptoms that indicate a traumatic brain injury are:

loss of consciousness;
obvious signs of damage to the head;
nausea and vomiting.

After a fall, an intracranial hematoma may form , the presence of which is indicated by the following symptoms:

the nasolabial fold is smoothed;
tendon reflexes are reduced;
bradycardia;
language deviation.

Emergency care in this case should be carried out urgently, otherwise everything could end in disrepair. It consists in the following:

Lay the victim down and provide him with peace.
If breathing is disturbed, insert an air duct.
If consciousness is absent, the child must be put on his right side.
Pear mucus from the mouth with a pear.
If there is a strong overexcitation, you can enter a 0.25% solution of droperidol in the calculation of 0.2 ml per kilogram of weight.

After first aid, children should be hospitalized without fail. If the child fell, do not hope that everything goes away by itself, it is better to play it safe once again.

Eye injury

When falling, quite often the baby can stumble on a sharp object and injure the eye. Eye injury can be through when all layers are damaged, and through. To clarify the degree of damage and provide the necessary assistance, the child urgently needs to be sent to a specialized institution.

A slight eye injury can occur after the ingestion of foreign objects, which the optometrist must also remove. A child can get eye burns, this often happens during fires or after careless handling of chemicals. As an emergency, it is necessary to rinse the eye under running water and instill Albucid, and then show the child to the doctor.

Assistance is necessary because untimely treatment or generally ignoring the problem can result in blindness.

Help for poisoning

Kids - lovers constantly pull something in their mouths, so poisoning happens often. The reason may be:

Various chemicals that the baby finds casually thrown in the kitchen or bathroom.
Tablets from a first-aid kit.
Mushrooms and much more.

It often happens that parents do not know what their baby was poisoned with, but he himself cannot say yet. Assistance in emergency situations of this kind should be as follows:

If a poisonous substance gets on the skin, wash it well under running water and grease with a greasy cream or ointment.
In case of contact with eyes, rinse them, apply a sterile dressing and go to the doctor.
If poisoning has occurred with carbon monoxide, the victim must be taken out to fresh air. When you stop breathing, be sure to do artificial respiration before the ambulance arrives.
If a poisonous substance gets inside, it is first necessary to provoke vomiting and rinse the stomach with a solution of potassium permanganate.

This should be the first aid in case of emergency in children, if poisoning has occurred. All other procedures are carried out by the doctor in the hospital, where it is necessary to deliver the baby.

Burns

If you visit the burn departments or centers, you can simply be horrified by the number of children who are there. Quite often, the culprits of all this are the parents themselves. Carelessly left on the edge of the table a pot of boiling water, matches in the reach of the child - and now it’s all within reach. It’s enough for the baby to pull the edge of the container, and hot water pours it from head to toe. A careless mother can only clutch her head and rush to the hospital with her child.

After getting a burn, you must immediately give your child first aid. PMP for burns is as follows:

A bandage with furacilin or novocaine should be applied to the injured surface.
Anesthetic can be given inside.
If at home there is any anti-burn spray or gel, for example, Panthenol, Livian, then the wound must be treated.

If the child has a large body area burned , then PMP for burns should be provided only in the hospital.

Injuries in children

Most children, due to their age, are very curious, they constantly research something, practically do not sit in one place. To receive various injuries is a trifle for them. Among the injuries there are those that parents can cope with, and sometimes, you can not do without first aid:

Cuts. Children like to mess with sharp objects, especially boys, so getting such an injury is easy enough. If the child is cut, then first of all, it is necessary to rinse the wound well and treat it with a septic agent, for example, hydrogen peroxide. Then apply a sterile dressing. If the injury is so great that severe bleeding begins, then first aid will depend on which vessel is damaged. Arterial bleeding requires the application of a tourniquet, and in case of venous, a sufficiently strong pressure bandage.
Children often get dislocations and sprains, which is not surprising given their mobility. It is necessary to apply ice to the injured place, apply a bandage and go to the traumatologist to clarify the type of injury. The main thing is to detect a fracture in time in order to provide effective assistance.
Fracture. Such injuries are less common in children, since their bones contain more organic matter than minerals, which is why bones in babies are flexible. But still, such damage does occur. If a fracture is suspected, it is necessary to immobilize the injured limb to prevent bone displacement, and go to the hospital if possible. You can call an ambulance. In the hospital, a traumatologist will take a picture to clarify the location of the fracture and apply a cast.

Fainting

Diagnosis of emergency conditions in children should be at least a little, but familiar to parents so that they can promptly seek the necessary medical help. For example, if the skin becomes too pale, cold sweat appears, dizziness appears, this may be a symptom of an approaching fainting.

A child can lose consciousness for various reasons:

severe pain;
Fright
exhaustion of the body;
heat or sunstroke, which is especially relevant in the hot season;
if you sharply change the horizontal position to vertical;
if a child hits his head, it can also cause loss of consciousness.

Parents should know what first aid is necessary for the child in such situations:

Spray your face with cold water.
You can bring a cotton wool moistened with ammonia to your nose.
Rub whiskey with ammonia.
Be sure the head should lie on its side, because often in this state there is vomiting.
In the absence of ammonia, you can grind the auricles, fingertips, nasal tip.
After the child returns to consciousness, give him a little rest and drink warm tea.

If a syncope occurs for an unknown reason, you must urgently visit a doctor so as not to miss the development of a serious pathology.

Conclusion

From all that has been said, it can be concluded that, compared with adults, emergency conditions in children are much more likely to occur. First aid for babies should be provided immediately to prevent the development of serious complications. First of all, you need to be careful parents, because, to be honest, most often children become victims of negligent and irresponsible adult behavior.

Take care of your children, all dangerous objects must be removed from their reach, then you will not have to call an ambulance to save the baby.

Emergency conditions in children: injuries, burns, poisoning. Urgent Care