Parents Must Be Alert, Fast Handling Can Save Children's Lives In Emergency Conditions

JAKARTA - Emergency conditions in children can occur at any time and often come without warning ranging from strangling, high fever, to seizures. In such situations, speed and accuracy of initial handling can be a distinction between safety and greater risk.

Unfortunately, many parents do not understand the basic steps of true first aid, even though their role is very important before medical personnel arrive.

This was conveyed by dr. Rizki Amrullah Nasution, Sp.A, a pediatrician, in a health talk activity with the theme "Pediatric Emergency: What Every Parent Must Know" which was part of the inauguration of Brawijaya Hospital Taman Mini, East Jakarta, on Tuesday as quoted by ANTARA.

According to dr. Rizki, many emergency cases in children have worsened not only because of their illness, but because of wrong or late initial treatment.

"Situations such as fever seizures are almost 80 percent genetic from parents who had seizures when they were babies. In that condition, the first three minutes are golden time for children, because they will kill the brain," said Rizki.

dr. Rizki explained that in a stuttering situation, the most important thing is to ensure that the child's airway remains open. Parents should not immediately insert their fingers into their children's mouths because they can worsen the blockage.

Meanwhile, in cases of fever seizures, children need to be laid on a hard and flat surface, then tilted off so that the airways remain open. He emphasized that children should not be given food or drinks when having seizures because it can cause aspirations or choke.

"Awareness of simple steps like this needs to be understood by parents as at the forefront of children, so that the risk of higher complications or morbidity can be prevented," he added.

In addition to the presentation of the theory, participants who are mostly parents are also invited to do direct simulations using training mannequins. Through this practice, they can learn how to deal with emergency conditions such as strangling, fainting, or seizures with more confidence.

The atmosphere of the discussion was interactive, with many questions from participants about handling it safely and effectively when the child was in an emergency condition.

The importance of educational activities like this as part of efforts to build family awareness and preparedness against the risk of an emergency child's health.

"We as a family hospital always try to provide the best service. In addition to focusing on treatment, we are also committed to providing education and preparing parents to be alert to face the child's emergency condition. After the initial treatment, the selection of proper health facilities is also an important factor to support the safety of children," Rizki explained.