For Immediate Release
Contact: Paige Sheehan or Eric Morrison
704-943-6160

Every year in this country, nearly 6,700 children under the age of 14 die and another 50,000 are permanently disabled from preventable injuries. KNOWING THESE TEN THINGS COULD SAVE YOUR CHILD’S LIFE.

1. Know How to Spot an Emergency Situation.

• An emergency situation exists if you think your child could die or suffer permanent harm unless prompt care is received. If you are not sure, make the call for help.

2. Know How to Contact Your Local Emergency Service.

• In Mecklenburg County, simply dialing 9-1-1 in an emergency connects you to Medic, the police and the fire department.

3. Learn CPR and Choking Rescue Procedures for Infants and Children.

• Knowing how to perform CPR on a child who has stopped breathing could provide them with the lifesaving support that he or she needs before the professionals arrive.
  
• Understanding basic choking rescue procedures is essential to saving the life of any child whose airway is blocked by objects lodged in the throat.
  
• Your local American Red Cross or American Heart Association chapter has information on CPR classes offered in the area. Also check with local hospitals regarding CPR training, first aid and child safety courses.

4. Learn the Basics of First Aid.

• Knowing how to stop serious bleeding from an open wound, manage shock, handle fractures and control a fever could provide your child with the right amount of help during an emergency.

5. Immunize.

• Get all of your child’s immunizations on time. Failure to do so places your child at serious risk of permanent disability and even death from preventable illness.

6. Remember What to do if Your Child is Involved in a Car Crash.

• DO NOT MOVE your child unless they face further damage by remaining in the car.
  
• Moving the child unnecessarily could result in permanent injury.
  
• Keep the child warm and, if conscious, keep him still.

7. Understand What to do if Your Child is Poisoned.

• If your child has been poisoned, bring poison (and child, if possible) with you to the phone when calling the poison control center.
  
• Memorize your local poison control center’s number and post it by the phone.
  
• Have Syrup of Ipecac on hand, but only us it if you are directed to do so.

8. Learn What to do in Case Your Child Has a Serous Fall.

• DO NOT move any child who is unconscious or has struck his head. Doing so may result in a more serious injury or permanent disability.
  
• Call 9-1-1 in cases involving any loss of consciousness, blood or watery fluid coming from the ears or nose, or if the child has a convulsion or seizure.
  
• Cover the child with blankets and, if conscious, keep him still.

9. Know How to Treat Your Child in Case of a Burn – Stop the Process.

• For minor burns without blisters, place burned area into cold water until pain is gone (about 15 minutes), but do not use ice.
  
• For burns with blisters, call your doctor immediately, Do not use butter or petroleum jelly.
  
• Large and/or deep burns require an immediate call to 9-1-1. Keep your child warm with a clean sheet or blanket until help arrives.

10. Be Prepared to Act in Case Your Child Has a Seizure.

• Perform rescue breathing if your child is not breathing. If they are breathing, lay the child on their side.
  
• Protect the child from other injuries by moving them away from dangerous objects.

Information for this fact sheet is provided as a public service of EMSC and should not take the place of advice received from your pediatrician.