CHILDREN'S RESUSCITATION
CHILDREN'S RESUSCITATION
Although resuscitation of children is very similar to resuscitation of adults, rescuers should start CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) before calling an ambulance. If you are the only person present and if you need to make a decision between starting CPR and calling 124 - start CPR! Children are more resilient than adults and their chances of survival are far greater if CPR is started immediately.
There are a lot of similarities in the BLS (Basic Life Support) guidelines for adults and children. The rule is the same - CAB (circulation, airway / breathing path, breathing / breathing).
The guidelines are as follows:
1. CONSCIOUSNESS CHECK - it is necessary to first check the child's consciousness. We can do this by placing the child lying on his back, holding the child by the forehead with one hand, and patting him on the shoulders with the other and calling out. If the child does not respond (does not open his eyes, does not react), we continue with the second step.
2. CHECKING THE PULSE AND BREATHING - for older children we can check the pulse over the carotid artery in the neck with two fingers - longer than 5s, but not longer than 10s. The place to check the pulse is the first indentation on the neck next to the Adam's apple. As we check the pulse, we observe the child to see if he is breathing - whether the chest is rising or not. If we have not felt a pulse or we are not sure if we feel a pulse, it is necessary to start cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) as soon as possible and ask someone to call an ambulance and bring an AED (automatic external defibrillator) if there is one nearby. If you are alone on the spot, call an ambulance after 2 minutes of CPR.
KPR is done as for adults - 30: 2. 30 chest compressions and 2 blows of air (mouth to mouth - behind a personal mask or over gauze for the purpose of safety of us and the injured). Chest compressions need to be adjusted to the age or size of the baby. For young children, compressions can be done with one hand instead of two. The place of compression is in the middle of the chest - the easiest way to determine this is to find the place where the ribs meet, ie. near the sternum - we put two fingers there and above that (towards the head) the edge of our hand. Depth and speed of compression must also be adjusted to the age of the child.
⦁ The depth must be at least 1/3 of the depth of the chest - or 3 -5cm for children.
⦁ Speed must be slightly higher than for adults - for children 100-120 / min.
⦁ It is important to do chest compressions in the right place, at the right speed and depth. It is extremely important to allow the heart to be refilled after each compression.
⦁ Avoid unnecessarily interrupting chest compressions.
Blowing air should also be done with caution. It is important to check for a foreign body in the child's mouth. If there is - remove it before opening the child's airway to ensure airway patency. In young children, the tongue may interfere with airway patency. The child's airway opens with a maneuver of lifting the chin and gently tilting the head. We check breathing using the look - listen - feel method. Place the palm so that half of the palm is on the chest and half on the abdomen, turn the head towards the patient's abdomen, and place the ear close to the patient's mouth and monitor whether we hear, feel and see the lifting of the chest. After we have done this we do two blows of air. Blowing air is done mouth to mouth, as for adults. Each breath should last about 1 second. The easiest way to check the correctness of air blowing is to monitor the lifting of the chest. After two puffs of air, continue with chest compressions.
After 2 minutes of KPR, if you are alone on the spot, call an ambulance. If someone has already called an ambulance, continue with CPR until the ambulance arrives. If an AED has been passed, stick the adhesives on the child on the front of the chest and back and listen to further instructions.