Child Safety and Fractures
Jacqueline Todorov
School age kids. Fractures and road safety (whatevery kid needs to know about crossing the street and riding a bike).
Childhood is fraught with danger. From birth to adulthood there are so many ways a kid can get hurt that even a 20 year veteran emergency room nurses are still amazed at the imagination and innovation children use to injure themselves. Before children, most adults hardly know where the local hospital is. After kids, they know the way and every possible shortcut.
ROAD SAFETY
Most accidents can be avoided with proper supervision, the proper tools and knowledge. Teach your children to cross the road safely and re-inforce it every time you are out together. Teach your children the rules of the road when on foot and when on a bicycle and how they are different. You can obtain this information from your local police station. When you go to the station bring your kids with you to have a look around and to met a policeman. They need to be able to trust public figures if they find themselves alone. Teach them to dial 911 so if you are the one in trouble the child does not panic, because he know he can call for help and be taken seriously.
If your child has been helping in the workshop be sure that they know that the are not to go there without an adult present. A power saw in the hands of a 6 year old equals disaster of major proportions. Teach them to use tools in the proper way and to wear the appropriate gear, such as safety goggles, ear plugs, work gloves, and anything else that may be warranted.
[Editor's note: Similarily, teach your children that cars are not for playing in. And firearms should be inaccessible, with firing pin, ammunition, and gun locked in separate cabinets.]
When riding a bicycle, insist on helmet, lights, a rear view mirror, knee and elbow protectors. The helmet has been shown to save lives, especially in children who by nature have a proportionally heavier head than adults. This means in a fall, the head falls faster that in an adult. Teach your children to use the hand signals well and all the time, even if they know there is no one behind them. Another bike ridden by an adult may be behind them but your child be unaware of it. In making a sudden move the bike behind could plow right into your child.
FRACTURES
Fractures are common in childhood. Fortunately, God put in a great repair system.
You should suspect a broken bone if:
-The victim
can't move the injured part.
-The part is
deformed, or appears to be out of shape. (one leg
shorter than the other)
-Movement is
painful.
-Sensation is lacking (can't feel
anything)
-The skin is swollen and bruised.
A simple fracture exists under unbroken skin and may not be obvious. A compound fracture shows bone protruding from the skin, or and open wound at the fracture site; frequently there is severe bleeding from the wound.
PRICIPLES OF FIRST-AID FOR FRACTURES.
-Do not move the person unless he or she is at risk to
further injury. Great harm can can be done if the
patient is moved hastily, pulled, bundled into the back
seat of a car, or allowed to stand or sit up, or to move
the injured part.
-If moving is absolutely
necessary, pull at the legs or from the armpits along
the axis of the body.
-Examine the person first
for other injuries. Stop serious bleeding by hand
pressure or a gauze dressing over the wound.
-Check the victim's mouth and throat for possible
obstruction of breathing (Chewing gum?)
-Keep the
patient warm and lying down.
-Do not put a pillow
under the person's head if the neck is injured. Instead
block the head with padding to prevent neck
movement.
IF THERE IS A DELAY IN TRANSPORT:
-Do not try to set bones.
-Always apply splints
before moving or transporting the patient. Splint the
patient where he or she is.
-Apply a clean
dressing and bandage (no antiseptic) if a bone protrudes
through the skin. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO PUSH THE BONE BACK
INTO PLACE.
Properly cared for, a fracture will heal in less than a month. More severe may take up to 3 months but generally the patient will be back to their old selves in no time.
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