How to apply first aid on drowning babies
Nigerian musician Dbanj lost his 1-year-old son, Daniel to the cold hands of death Sunday afternoon. The boy drowned in a pool at his father’s Ikoyi residence.
Dbanj, who had been a doting father since he welcomed Daniel with his wife, Lineo in May 2017, confirmed the devastating incident via his Instagram.
“Trying Times. But my God is Always and Forever Faithful,” he wrote.
While the details of the sad incident are still sketchy, it is important to note that children can drown in as little as an inch of water.
Here are first aid measures that should be administered to drowning children:
Take the child out of the water
Hurry to take the child out of the water and ascertain whether he/she has stopped breathing. Place your ear near the child’s mouth and nose. While checking for breathing, you can also call the child’s name to see if the child responds.
Perform CPR
According to redcross.org, starting CPR immediately after a baby drowns is the most important thing you can do to prevent a child from dying.
If the child is not breathing, perform a quick CPR. You do not need to remove water from the child’s throat to start CPR.
Carefully place the child on his or her back on a firm surface. Tilt the child’s head back and lift the chin. However, if you suspect a neck injury, do not tilt the head, just open the jaw. For a baby, be careful not to tilt the head back too far.
If the baby is an infant, place your mouth over the baby’s nose and mouth to form a tight seal, but with an older child, pinch the nose closed and put your mouth over the child’s mouth, forming a tight seal.
Proceed to blow into the child’s mouth for 1 second. The child’s chest should rise when you do this. Repeat the breath a second time.
Do chest compressions
Place two fingers on the breastbone, then begin to rapidly press down on the chest about 11/2 inches deep and then releasing the pressure. Make sure you’re not pressing on the end of the breastbone.
Do 30 chest compressions, at the rate of 100 per minute. Let the chest rise completely between pushes. Check to see if the baby has started breathing, by observing if the chest rises and falls on its own.
Repeat these processes, until the child starts breathing or until emergency help arrives.
Get help
Immediately call for help. Dial #112 to alert the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency’s response unit.
