Summertime shocker

Yesterday I enjoyed a swim in the sea in Deal, but was so upset to hear, when ! got home, about the terrible tragedy at Camber. These things can happen at any time and with a long weekend ahead of us, I hope that families will be mindful of how quickly tragedy can occur. 

There are some basic tips for dealing with a few first aid incidents here, however, nothing of course can replace hands on training!

Drowning

Contrary to popular belief, when a child drowns there is usually very little, if any, water in their lungs, especially if they are removed from the water quickly.  If a child is not breathing normally after being rescued from the water –

- Get someone to call an ambulance.

- Lie them on their back and turn their head to remove any water or debris in their mouth.

- Tilt their head back, pinch their nose, seal your lips around theirs and gently blow 5 times, taking a breath between each blow.

- After this place the heel of one hand directly between their nipples on their breast bone and push 30 times at a speed of around 2 compressions a second.  You need to compress one third of their body depth, so you may need your other hand on top of the first for a larger child.

- Then give 2 rescue breaths followed by 30 more chest compressions.

- Repeat the cycle of 2 breaths and 30 compressions until the ambulance crew, or someone else, takes over or the child recovers.  If the child starts to breathe normally again, roll them on to their side and keep checking their breathing every minute or so until the ambulance arrives.