Daily 9-1-1

Helping EMS Care for Your Special Needs Child

2010-05-20T11:08:00.000-07:00

No matter if your child has had special needs for years, or is newly diagnosed, you can help EMTs help your child.

It's scary when your child becomes ill and requires the help of emergency services. It's also scary for the emergency medical technicians who respond to your child's emergency. Sick and injured children always spark urgency and dread for EMS units because ultimately, many EMT's are likely parents themselves, and no one wants to see a child in misery.

However, when a child with special needs requires emergency care, a bigger problem can be presented for ambulance personnel. Despite having in-depth knowledge about the human body, conditions and diseases, EMTs don’t know everything about every condition; especially if your child suffers from a rare or uncommon problem. That’s why we rely on you-the parents and caregivers-to be our information source when we come to care for your special needs child.

Kidshealth.org states that a special needs child is any child that might need extra help because of a medical, emotional, or learning problem. This can encompass a range of conditions from cerebral palsy to severe peanut allergy. Basically, if your child has a condition which limits his physical, mental or daily functions, likely it can be classified as ‘special needs’.

How can you help emergency responders take the best possible care of your special needs child?

* Keep a current medication list in a handy spot, and be willing to give it to EMTs when they arrive

* Talk to us about your child’s medical condition. Don’t be alarmed if we are not familiar with your child’s condition or act like we don’t know the medical terms you may use related to the condition. Some childhood conditions are not common to EMS and your child may be the first the EMTs have dealt with that specific problem.

* Educate EMTs about your child’s baseline, or normal, physical and mental status. For instance, if your child has a heart condition and is experiencing a rapid pulse rate, tell us what her normal pulse rate is. How does your child normally act, eat, behave, express herself, etc…? Paint a picture of how your child acts when she is well.

* Be prepared and willing to help EMTs operate any needed medical equipment for your child. Do the same for any pharmaceutical treatment (medicines) your child takes.

* Allow EMTs to take medical equipment and medications for your child along to the hospital if warranted. Many times, a physician will need the equipment or want the equipment available for the child in the emergency room.

* Be prepared to ride with emergency services to assist with the care of your child. In many cases, parents of special needs kids become an opt-in care provider right along with EMTs in an emergency. Your experience and knowledge of your child’s condition is invaluable to emergency responders. Please don’t view this as incompetency on behalf of EMTs, but rather, assurance that the best possible care will be given to your child based on the knowledge you provide-a team approach.

Ultimately, emergency responders will go to great lengths to take care of your special needs child. Parents may not think about needing an ambulance; however when and if the time comes, parents can make a world of difference in helping EMS provide great care.

KidsHealth.org: Kids with Special Needs

Car Seat Sticker Tip

2010-05-11T18:13:00.000-07:00

Car seat ID stickers definitely have a place in every parent's safety toolbox. In case you're not aware, car seat ID stickers are self-adhesive labels which contain vital information about your child; such as your child's name, weight, height, date of birth and contact information. This information is imperative if a car accident occurs and an adult is not available-or unable-to provide identification and medical information for child passengers in the vehicle.

A car seat ID tag can be made for each child and placed on the rear of his/her car seat. Theoretically, emergency responders will be able to locate this information when responding to your car accident by looking behind the car seat for the sticker.

Injured children are transported to the hospital in their car seat whenever possible, after an accident. However, there are many instances in which the child needs to be removed from the seat and does not ride in it to the hospital.

How are emergency responders going to know an ID sticker is behind the car seat in cases like this? Some ID sticker programs, like the WHALE program, have an additional sticker to be placed on the car door window which alerts responders to look behind car seats for child information. For programs which do not offer window stickers, emergency responders may never know an ID sticker exists; especially if the child is removed from the seat.

You can help responders know about your child's ID car seat sticker by placing an additional sticker on the car seat in a visible location. Simply use any shipping label-in any size you find appropriate-and write "ID sticker behind seat", or something similar in red marker. Place the label on the inside seat (where your child's back touches the seat) and press firmly to adhere.

When a medical responder checks your child, he is likely to see this additional label and look behind the seat.

Car seat ID stickers are valuable, however, a new product will soon be on the market that is fail-proof in providing emergency responders with the ID info they need for anyone involved in a car accident. I'm excited to share more about this product, coming soon.

In the meantime, this tip should help when you need it the most.

Concussion Symptoms in a Child

2010-05-07T11:32:00.000-07:00

Summer is here-well, for some of you anyway-and with it, all the fun and crazy things kids do to hurt themselves. Can you guess what the number one cause of head injury is in kids across the US? Yep, bicycle accidents. Whether or not your child wears a bicycle helmet, she still may sustain a concussion if she falls off her bike and hits her head. Summer football programs bring lots of tackles and rough-housing, and if your kids are like mine, they can get hurt simply walking through thin air.

How do you tell if your child has sustained a concussion? First, go with your gut. If something doesn't look or feel right to you, have your child checked by a doctor-even if everyone else is telling you not to worry.

Learn more about concussion in a child; just in case a little noggin' takes a beatin' this summer.

Bladder Infection Symptoms During Pregnancy

2010-05-07T11:13:00.000-07:00

Even though women are miserable enough during pregnancy, a sneaky bladder infection often shows up to make matters worse. If you, or someone you know, is pregnant, become aware of the symptoms of a bladder infection, or UTI. Not only can a UTI make you feel terrible, it can be harmful to your pregnancy.

Read More...

and pass it along to someone you know.

If Your Child Goes Missing: Be Prepared; Part One

2010-05-07T11:02:00.000-07:00

It’s a sobering statistic: 800,000 children under the age of 18 go missing every year, according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Roughly 2,000 children are reported missing each day across the United States. Of these, only a handful of missing children cases gain media attention, but the ones that do, such as the Nadia Bloom case, shed some light into the nightmare this situation causes.

Of the children who end up missing, a fraction simply becomes lost. Most parents have experienced how quickly a toddler can run off in a store, or disappear from sight while playing in the park. Older children, as well as toddlers, can find themselves lost in an instant. With the help of search and rescue dogs (SAR dogs), law enforcement can get a jump start on locating missing kids.

Preparing a search-and-rescue friendly child identification kit can be your child’s best chance for discovery. Search and rescue (SAR) dogs are highly trained canines with the ability to follow scent trails through any terrain or location; helping to locate missing people. Every parent should take the time to discover whether or not a SAR canine unit is located in their home state, and if so, the name and contact phone number of the closest unit. Not every police department has SAR resources; however volunteer and private SAR groups exist nationwide, and they will respond! But, only if they are asked (you must tell law enforcement that you want a SAR unit to respond for your missing child).

Prepare a Child Identification Kit

You may be surprised to hear that the best child identification kit you can make is kept in your freezer! You’ll need:

• 2 quart-sized freezer bags
• Permanent marker
• Worn, unwashed sock or underpants from your child (gross, I know, but bear with me here).
• A used toothbrush from your child
• Recent picture of your child
• Disposable gloves
• Index card

You will need to assemble these items for each child that you’d like to make a kit for. If you have more than one child, you will need one pair of disposable gloves for each child. Begin by dressing your child in the morning and having him/her run around and perform daily activities as normal. Using the permanent marker, write your child’s full name, birth date and the current date on the outside of the freezer bag.

At the end of the day, put on one pair of disposable gloves and undress your child. Collect your child’s worn under ware and socks, and place them into the freezer bag. Do not touch the items with your bare hands (you must wear the gloves), and do not allow the items to touch the floor or any other surface. This helps prevent contamination of other scents-from your hands or household surfaces-from getting onto your child’s items.

Next, have your child brush his teeth. Do not rinse the toothbrush. Simply place it into the bag with a gloved hand. Using the index card, write your child’s full name, birth date, hair and eye color, weight and height and any identifying markers, such as a birth mark or scar, and any medical conditions. On the photograph of your child, write the date of the picture and child’s age. Using your gloved hand, place the completed index card and photograph in the second freezer bag (the clothing and toothbrush and index card and photograph should be in separate bags).

Do not allow the second freezer bag to touch any household surface. Fold it in half if needed, and insert it into the same bag with the clothing items and toothbrush. Gently squeeze out any air from the clothing bag and seal it shut. Place in the back of the freezer-or area of your freezer which gets the coldest. Repeat this process for any additional children.

Replace every child ID kit every 6 months. This is critical to update your child’s scent markers and photograph/ID information. The deep freeze keeps scent fresh longer than simply placing the kit in a drawer; however will begin to fade after about six months. To remind yourself, make a large red X on your calendar-or in your smart phone-for the six month date.

Don’t forget and be prepared~

Next time we’ll discuss how to prepare your child if she is ever lost outdoors with tips from the Hug-A-Tree Program.