He who saves one life, saves the whole world (c)Probably, each of us at least once in our lives heard the expression "Children are the flowers of life." To some extent, this is true - any child is like a flower, just as beautiful and just as fragile. All parents try to protect their children from any misfortune. However, to our great regret, illness does not ask permission from either mom or dad, but simply comes and makes itself known. And sometimes children are in for extremely serious illnesses and injuries that threaten not only the health of the little person, but also his life. That is why all parents should know the basics of first aid in order to help their child even before the ambulance team arrives. This article will discuss such a phenomenon as respiratory arrest. Very often, it depends on how quickly and how correctly assistance was provided whether the child will survive. Of course, at first glance it may seem that you will never need this information. Perhaps so, and this is worth hoping for. However, remember that no one is immune from accidents, and, after all, at any moment absolutely any child can be overtaken by such a misfortune as sleep apnea. Doctors distinguish three main groups of causes of sudden cardiac and respiratory arrest in children: respiratory, accidents and all the rest:
- Aspiration of the respiratory tract
When aspirating the child's airwaysare blocked by a foreign object. Simply put, this happens when a child chokes on something. Small children have a habit of putting everything in their mouth, so they can choke not only on food, but also on small objects - eyes from toys, small parts of them, buttons, etc.
- Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
Sudden infant death syndrome or, asit is often called "death in the crib". In this case, the child dies just like that, without any obvious reason. Every year, about three babies out of every hundred thousand are found lifeless in their cribs by their mothers and fathers. Most often, cases of sudden infant death occur between the ages of two and four months and, characteristically, mainly in winter. Sudden infant death syndrome is a nightmare for any mother, because everyone has heard that it is possible. And of course, any mother knows the feeling of anxiety for her child that a woman experiences when she regularly listens to snoring from the crib. Unfortunately, treatment is not relevant for such a phenomenon as sleep apnea.
- Bronchial asthma
With bronchial asthma, a child experiences severe spasm of the bronchi. And if at the time of the attack the child does not receive the necessary medicine, respiratory arrest may occur.
- Accidents
In addition to respiratory aspirations, the reason forVarious accidents can cause respiratory arrest. No matter how carefully parents monitor their child, it is simply impossible to foresee everything. And absolutely no one is insured against accidents. Heartbeat and breathing can stop as a result of a child drowning, road accidents, severe intoxication. The principle of respiratory and circulatory arrest in children is slightly different than in adults. It is typical for adults that the heart stops first, usually due to arrhythmia or ventricular fibrillation, and only then does the respiratory process stop. In children, on the contrary, the respiratory process stops first. And only then, as a result of rapidly increasing hypoxia, the development of profound acidosis, bradycardia, occurs. And only after this does the circulatory process stop. A much longer process of extinction of all vital functions is typical for children than for adults. This feature significantly increases the chances of saving a child's life - cardiopulmonary resuscitation in children is often much more effective than in adults. However, there is also a negative side to this feature - a child has a much higher chance of facing various persistent functional disorders after clinical death, especially neurological ones.
Rules for cardiopulmonary resuscitation in children
So, the child has stopped breathing. Parents should immediately call an ambulance and begin resuscitation. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation in children is carried out as follows.
- Restoration of airway patency
Before starting resuscitationmeasures, you should make sure that the child's airways are free, and if necessary, clear them of foreign bodies, or sand, blood. Also, you should not forget about the tongue retraction, which significantly reduces the patency of the airways. In the event that the child's tongue is retracted, you just need to tilt the child's head back - this will move the baby's lower jaw forward and the tongue will clear the airways.
- Make sure the baby's breathing has not recovered
After you have cleared the airwaybaby, check if the child's breathing has been restored. Listen carefully to the child's breathing, watch the movement of the abdomen and chest. Very often, restoring the patency of the airways is enough to resume the independent breathing process. However, remember that cardiopulmonary resuscitation, if necessary, should begin as quickly as possible, so you have no more than 5 - 10 seconds to determine whether the child's independent breathing has been restored. When performing artificial ventilation of the lungs in young children, there are some nuances that must be taken into account in order not to harm the child. And the most important of them is the small diameter of the baby's airways. Because of this, the child has very high resistance to air entering the lungs during artificial respiration, which is why cardiopulmonary resuscitation can be difficult.
- Check for blood circulation
Try to determine if blood circulation is impaired.the child has a pulse or not. To do this, you need to determine whether the child has a pulse or not. As a rule, only a specialist can find a pulse on the wrist of children. It is much easier for parents to look for it on the baby's neck. Or just put your palm on the chest - if there is a heartbeat, you will feel it. If the pulse is normal, then continue, if necessary, to perform artificial ventilation of the lungs. If not, complex cardiopulmonary resuscitation is necessary.
Equipment for cardiopulmonary resuscitation
The child must be placed on his back,making sure that nothing gets under the child's back, to avoid spinal injuries. After the child's airways are cleared, you can begin artificial pulmonary ventilation. If assistance is provided to a child under one year of age, an adult should cover the baby's mouth and nose with his or her mouth. Older children need to pinch the nose with their fingers and cover the mouth with their mouth. After this, place your palm on the child's chest so that the fingers cover the nipples on the left breast. Your movements should be sharp, abrupt, and jerky. For each breath, there should be three presses on the heart. Thus, in a minute you should take twenty breaths and about sixty presses. Extreme care should be taken when performing cardiac massage on the smallest children. They need to press on the chest with the tips of three fingers, to avoid breaking the ribs. Of course, this is an extreme option, but if this does happen, don’t blame yourself – the rib will heal, and you saved the most valuable thing that can exist – a child’s life! We recommend reading:
