Paediatric First Aid

Paediatric first aid is the immediate care given to a child / infant who has been injured, or who has
become ill prior to the arrival of qualified medical assistance.

Sometimes the situation is made more difficult when the bystander involved has not received any
sort of training. During an emergency this could result in someone not knowing what to do, freezing
or making a serious mistake. Just a little basic training could potentially prevent all three from
happening.

Standard first aid training typically focuses on how to keep a people alive in the period between
finding a casualty, notifying the emergency services and their impending arrival. Basic course may
examine how to check a casualty's breathing, the recovery position and Cardio Pulmonary
Resuscitation (CPR).

Non breathing infants and children require a different form of CPR. Young hearts are unlikely to
suddenly stop without the onset of heart disease. This is a good thing: however another deadly form
of cardiac arrest (respiratory) can occur when the heart is starved of oxygen. Children and infants
are prone to these forms of cardiac arrest through events like choking, drowning and illness.

Child Resuscitation

Care is needed when giving resuscitation to a child aged between one and eight years. Altough age
can be used as a guide it is also important to consider the physical isze and development of the child.
The very young child is likely to need very gentle breaths of air whereas a child closer to eight years
of age may require full breaths as for a small adult.

The degree of backward head tilt needed to obtain a clear airway for a child will also depend on the
level of physical development. In the early years very gentle head tlt may be needed, with slightly
more head tilt required for a child closer to the age of eight. Always apply backward head tilt with
caution to avoid stress on the immature neck structure.

A child older than eight years can be resuscitated using techniques used for a small adult altough
care is still nedded to avoid over-inflation of the lung.

Baby Resuscitation

Special care is needed when giving resuscitation to a baby aged up to one year. A baby is much more
than just a small adult because there are some significant differences in the structure of a baby’s
head and neck.

A baby does not have a neck like an adult so there is less air space to fill when giving rescue breaths
and small puffs of air are needed. Any backward tilt of the baby’s head will tend to obstruct the
airway because of the undeveloped neck spine and large amount of soft tissue. For this reason the
baby’s head is placed in a horizontal or “sniffing” position to obtain a clear airway.

A baby needs a clear nose to assist with breathing because of the requirement to continue
breathing whilst sucking. To aid sucking the baby has large amount of soft tissue in the mouth with a
well-developed soft palate and a large tongue. As the nose is the main route for the entry of air it is
important to clear the nose as much as possible before giving mouth-to-mouth-and-nose rescue
breathing.

Bleeding
An open wound is any break in the skin. A closed wound is where there is injury to the soft tissues
underneath the skin. The amount of bleeding depends on the type and depth of the wound and
varies depending on the blood vessels that have been injured.

If an artery has been damaged, bleeding is generally severe with bright red spurts of blood. If a vein
has been injured, the blood is usually darker in colour and flows out constantly without any spurting.
However bleeding may be severe and life-threatening if a large vein has been cut, e.g. the jugular
vein in the neck.

If a smaller capillary is involved following a surface wound, bleeding will vary depending on the
location, i.e. bleeding from the scalp often appears severe although the injury may be minor.

Apply direct pressure to the bleding wound

Unless an obvious foreign body is embedded in the wound, use a sterile or clean bulky pad and apply
it firmly to the bleeding area with hand pressure. Apply a bandage to keep the dressing in place.

Encorage the victim to apply pressure to the wound if this is practical

The pad should totally cover the wound with a small area of overlap. If it no bulky pad is readly
available, improvise with clean tissues or light coloured clothing folded into a pad.

Raise the injured area

If the wound is on a limb, raise it in a supported position to reduce blood flow to the injured area. If
an arm is injured, apply an arm sling or elevation sling

Choking

Choking occurs when a person is unable to breath due to an obstruction in the throat or windpipe
(trachea).

Partial obstruction

The victim will be able to breath, speak, cry or cough, usually the victim can clear the obstruction
without help. But if a small foreign body is trapped in the airway it may be still possible for air enter
and leave the lungs.

Total obstruction

The airway is completely blocked and no air can move up or down the windpipe into the lungs. The
victim may die of a total obstruction unless prompt first aid is given.

There is a real risk of complication if the wrong treatment is given and a person with only partial
airway obstruction receives back slaps and chest thrust; this may cause it to become a total
obstruction, followed by collapse and death within minutes.
Pernapasan bantuan untuk bayi dan anak di bawah usia 8 tahun

Letakkan bayi atau anak dalam posisi terlentang. Buka saluran pernapasan dengan menaikkan sedikit
posisi kepala sedikit ke atas. Bersihkan saluran pernapasannya. Setelah bersih, baringkan anak
sedikit miring. Untuk bayi berusia di bawah 1 tahun baringkan terlentang. Bila bayi atau anak tidak
bernafas, tutup mulut dan hidung bayi dengan mulut Anda. Beri napas bantuan sebanyak 2 kali. Jika
tidak ada tanda-tanda pernapasan dari bayi, beri tekanan lembut pada dada bayi atau anak
sebanyak 30 kali. Letakkan jari ketiga dan keempat Anda di tengah dada bayi atau anak 1.5 cm di
bawah puting susu bayi atau anak. Tekan ke bawah secara lembut sedalam 2.5 sampai dengan 3.5
cm. Periksa pernapasan bayi atau anak jika tidak ada perubahan, ulangi langkah ke 3 dan 4 sekali lagi.
Jika masih belum ada perubahan pernap

Jika korban berusia di bawah 1 tahun Tengadahkan kepala ke belakang. Wajah korban diputar sedikit
menghadap ke samping untuk memudahkan cairan keluar dari mulut dan menjaga saluran
pernapasan.