Handling Childhood Emergencies - part 1

Many parents feel ill-equipped to handle household injuries and emergencies.  With some preparation and training, you can start to feel equipped and ready for some common emergencies that may happen in your household.

When emergencies happen, parents have to be ready to make quick decisions: whether to call 911 for emergency aid/ambulance, whether to take their child by car to an emergency room, or call their child's regular doctor for advise.  If a child is not in a life-or-death situation, their physician's office should be able to see them sooner than an overwhelmed and busy emergency room.  It is important to know, however, what the pediatrician's office can handle -- asthma flare-ups, injuries, etc.  Most physicians are equipped to see you on a same day basis if the office is open, and give medications (like breathing treatments or steroids) and order X-rays if needed.  Some doctors' offices do not do stitches, so if your child has a laceration that may need to be repaired, an urgent care center or emergency room is more appropriate.  Find out the closest emergency room and urgent care center to your home, and which hospitals or after hours clinics your physician prefers.  Once you know where to go, write down the directions and keep them easily accessible in your house.

When visiting an ER or urgent care center, be prepared to answer the following:
Proof of insurance coverage if any, regular doctors' name, address, phone number
Time of your child's last meal (in case anaesthesia is needed)
List of your child's medical conditions (if any), regular medications taken, and date of last tetanus shot
Consent form for someone else (grandparent, babysitter) to seek emergency care for your child; it should read "I hereby grant [name] permission to seek emergency medical help in the event that my child [name] is injured or otherwise in need of medical care.  I will assume financial responsibility for treatment rendered during this time".  This can be handwritten.  Place a phone number (such as a cell number) where you can be reached if needed.
Emergency room physicians also like to remind parents to bring any medicine or cleaning substance that children have swallowed to the ER with them.  In a panic, most parents forget this and then cannot recall exactly what their children have ingested.

It is wise to keep these written instructions together near the kitchen refrigerator or phone in case you need to grab them quickly.
A list of emergency numbers should also be posted by a central telephone, including: pediatrician's phone number, phone number for the local ER or after hours clinic, phone number for poison control.
The local poison control center can be invaluable in the case of an accidental ingestion, and can direct you in home treatment vs. the necessity for an emergency evaluation.    Give poison control any specific information that you can - oftentimes, it is necessary to estimate how much a child has ingested, especially with medications.