What To Do When Your Child Is Choking

Over the weekend, there was a nine month old baby girl who choked to death when she was:

1. alone in the living room
2. attempted to eat a half inch sized fruit found on the floor

She did not survive by the time she was rushed to the hospital.

It is very important to be always on guard with newborns and babies as they can get into trouble very quickly, sometimes taking just less than a minute to die from some hazard. In Malaysia, there have been cases of young children drowning in rivers and buckets, choked on small objects and equipment such as foldable chairs and tables.

Caretakers and parents must assess whether the child can chew and if not, whether the food item is small enough to be swallowed without choking. Bones in fish and meat must be taken out beforehand, no matter how small or soft they are. In the above case, it shows that proper baby-proofing of the house needs to be done to ensure that there are no dangerous objects accessible.

Below are some links to procedures that you can perform when your baby is choking. I'll summarize it as follows.

1. Observe your child for specific symptoms and react accordingly. If your child is not able to cry or cough, you may need to help remove the object in his or her mouth. If your child is coughing, encourage him or her to cough the object out. If you are going to help your child by giving back blows, be prepared to call for help within two minutes.
2. Give back blows on the back area between your child's shoulder blades while you position him or her such that his or her throat is pointing downwards. If your child becomes unconscious, you may have to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or CPR.

I've created a procedure chart (PDF document) that you can download, print and paste it in the rooms your child usually plays and eats in. Remember to write down your local emergency numbers at the top.

Links:

BabyCenter.com - Infant First Aid for Choking and CPR: An Illustrated Guide (Babies Under 1 Year Old)
<URL:http://www.babycenter.com/general/9298.html>

BabyCenter.com - First-Aid for Choking and CPR: An Illustrated Guide (Toddlers)
<URL:http://www.babycenter.com/general/11241.html>

BabyCenter.com - First-Aid for Choking and CPR: An Illustrated Guide (Preschoolers)
<URL:http://www.babycenter.com/general/72329.html>

BabyCenter.com - First-Aid for Choking and CPR: An Illustrated Guide (Grade-schoolers)
<URL:http://www.babycenter.com/general/72434.html>

Technorati Tags: safety, safety tips, child care, choke, cpr, choked to death, procedure, caridopulmonary resuscitation, first-aid

Most Child Car Seats Fail New Crash Tests

New tests done by ConsumerReports.org, the website of the Consumers Union of United States, show that nine out of twelve car seats for babies, toddlers, and young children performed very poorly. The crash tests were done at 35 mph frontal and 38 mph side crashes, in addition to the mandatory federal government 30 mph or 48.3 km/h frontal crash for cars. Only two were recommended in the end.

These two that passed all new tests are:

• Baby Trend Flex-Loc
  
• Graco SnugRide with EPS (expanded polystyrene)
  

The others tested resulted in the products being twisted violently or lifted completely off their bases. The tests also showed that car seats sold in Europe performed better than those sold in the U.S. Car seats with the LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children) system, a mandatory feature, performed worse than those using just vehicle safety belts.

The seats were fitted with a 30 pound test dummy, which was covered with impact sensors to gauge the amount of injury caused to the children passengers. In the frontal crash test, seven seats separated from their bases or caused serious injuries. In the standard 30 mph test, all passed except Evenflo Discovery, which ConsumerReports.org urged a market recall of the model. This model was also involved in a NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) investigation 3 years ago but did not pursue the matter further.

Eight models failed the 38 mph side impact test.

These car seats failed all the new tests conducted by ConsumerReports.org in late 2006:

• Evenflo Discovery
  
• Graco SafeSeat
  
• Britax Companion
  

The Consumers Union found that car seats, with or without LATCH, fail in crash protection if they are not properly fitted into the car and secured snugly. LATCH seems to work better if their bases were attached to floorboard anchor points. The common and worrying trend of parents is that they are not well informed on how to install the seat using LATCH, or choose to use the safety belt instead.

At the end of the ConsumerReports.org report, it recommends the following to keep your children safe when in the car:

• Choose your car seat carefully, preferably according to the models it recommends and avoid those it reported to have failed its tests.
• Use the car safety belt to secure the child car seat, even if the LATCH system is used.
• Register your car seat so that the manufacturer can contact you if your model has problems or is being recalled.

Here are some more tips that I've learnt from browsing through the web, especially from NHTSA's website:

• The statistically safest location of the child car seat is at the rear center seat.
• Ensure that the safety belts and harness of the car seat are not frayed and twisted and should be snug when your child is seated.
• Place the car seat in the rear-facing position if your child is less than 12 months old. If your child is more than 12 months old AND weighs more than 20 pounds or 9.1 kilograms.
• Child car seats must not be placed in a seat where there is an impact airbag from the front or side.
• Children who exceed the car seat manufacturers' weight limit or whose top of the head is higher than the top of the seat should use a booster seat instead. This is typically between the ages of four and six.
• When a child reaches six years of age, a backless booster seat should be used.

Gabriel is using the Safety1st Comfort Ride convertible car seat, released as one of the first LATCH-equipped models. Bought in early 2005, it is quite stable and easy to maintain. He sits well and can fall asleep in it. Hopefully, it can protect him in any situation, in addition to God's blessing on him.

Update: 19 January 2007

CR has withdrawn their recent safety report pending further side-impact collision tests of the involved seats. This comes after CR received concerns raised by the NHTSA on the methods the tests were conducted in. The speed of the side-impact collisions may be inaccurate.

ConsumerReports.org - Consumer Reports withdraws infant car seat report
<URL:http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/cu-press-room/pressroom/2007/2/0702_eng0702ccs.htm>

Related links:

MSNBC - In crashes, infant car seats 'failed disastrously'
<URL:http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16473196/>

ConsumerReports.org - Safety alert: What if this were your child?
<URL:http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/babies-kids/child-car-booster-seats/car-seats-2-07/overview/0207_seats_ov.htm>

ConsumerReports.org - A seat sold abroad outperforms U.S. models
<URL:http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/babies-kids/child-car-booster-seats/car-seats-2-07/european-models/0207_seats_euro.htm>

NHTSA - Child Passenger Safety Program
<URL:http://www.nhtsa.gov/portal/site/nhtsa/menuitem.9f8c7d6359e0e9bbbf30811060008a0c/>

Technorati Tags: car seat, child car seat, baby car seat, infant car seat, consumer reports, consumers union, crash test, latch, safety belt, child passenger, booster seat