NGHE AN – Seeing a motorbike pass by carrying a wet, purple boy, Dr. Hau immediately drove after him to assist in performing heart compression and respiration, saving the child from death.
On the morning of July 19, Dr. Phan Nhan Hau, Head of the Department of Anesthesia and Resuscitation, Thanh Chuong General Hospital, was riding a motorbike with his wife through Ngoc Lam commune, Thanh Chuong district, when he suddenly saw the motorbike speeding away like the wind. In the car, a man was carrying a panicked woman holding a baby lying on her stomach with her arms hanging down.
“Maybe he had a foreign object in his airway, drowned, had a cardiac arrest or another emergency” Dr. Hau recalled guessing at that time. He immediately accelerated and tried to chase, because “a second at that time was more precious than gold”.
The motorbike stopped at the commune health station. Right behind, Doctor Hau also stopped, hurriedly rolled up his sleeves and went straight to the emergency room. At this time, the baby’s heart stopped, he stopped breathing due to drowning, he no longer had life reflexes, his pupils were dilated and a lot of fluid and food flowed through his mouth and nose.
The doctor immediately used his mouth to suck out all the phlegm, fluid, water… for the baby to open the baby’s airway. He continuously did chest compressions, breaths, breaths, and injections, “but didn’t dare to expect much.” Luckily, after 30 minutes of continuous artificial respiration, the baby had a better heart rate, breathing rate, and signs.
“The moment I heard the baby’s heartbeat return, I suddenly shed tears and had goosebumps on my hands because of extreme joy and happiness,” the doctor said.
Doctor Hau called Thanh Chuong District General Hospital, asked to prepare emergency treatment and then transfer the baby. At the district hospital, the child was intubated, ventilated and transferred to Nghe An Obstetrics and Children’s Hospital.
The two-year-old boy is being actively resuscitated, on a ventilator and treated for hypothermia. The doctors and nurses are trying to save the baby’s life.
Doctors say initial first aid for drowning children is very important because the cause of death is brain damage due to lack of oxygen. The brain’s maximum tolerance time for lack of oxygen is about 4-5 minutes. If this limit is exceeded, the brain will be irreversibly damaged, causing death or neurological damage. Therefore, when you see a drowning child who is not conscious, not breathing, or whose heart has stopped, it is necessary to give rescue breaths and chest compressions immediately.
Absolutely do not tilt the child upside down on your shoulder, as this will cause stomach fluids to reflux and enter the airway, wasting “golden” time to rescue the child. When providing first aid, do not stop cardiopulmonary resuscitation if the child does not have a breathing rhythm.
When a child drowns, the first step in first aid is to get the child out of the water, then assess the victim’s condition to see if he has stopped breathing or has a heart attack. If so, it is necessary to quickly revive cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and at the same time notify people around to call 911. The location of chest compressions is on the sternum, at the level connecting the two nipples. Press down on your chest about 1/3 – 1/2 deep. Compression speed is 100 times/minute.
If you are alone, perform 30 compressions, then give two rescue breaths. If there are two rescuers, perform 15 compressions, then give two rescue breaths. Every two minutes, re-evaluate whether the child is breathing again and has a pulse. After the child’s heart rate and breathing return, they should be quickly taken to a medical facility for treatment.
Parents when taking their children on vacation to places with swimming pools, seas, lakes, ponds, and rivers, need to pay attention and closely observe their children while swimming to avoid unfortunate situations.
