Infant Convulsions

'Infant Convulsions', sounds frightening doesn't it? For those that have ever gone through it I can only imagine how terrifying it must be. Touch wood, neither of my boys have ever had one but I do have close friends that have gone through it. One friend in particular has given me permission to share her story with you today. 


Firstly a little background, what are infant convulsions, or as they are also known, febrile convulsions? These are epileptic type seizures in children usually between the age of 6 months and 6 years. They are caused by high temperatures usually due to viral illness. Often the illness may be something like a cold, throat or urinary tract infection. The good thing about these convulsions is that they are rarely dangerous if first aid management is quickly started. They are not harmful to the child and do not cause brain damage. The Royal Childrens' Hospital state that these type of convulsions occur in 3% of healthy children.


How to recognise an infant convulsion:
- hot and sweaty skin
- lips become blue as may skin
- stiffness to body
- head and back may become arched
- frothing of saliva from the mouth
- eyes may roll
- little one may hold breath
- development of projectile vomiting


What to do:
- protect from danger by removing objects and laying little one on the ground
- turn on side to keep their airway open
- try not to panic
- minimal clothing, only nappy or light layer
- lightly cover with sheet
- seek medical advice


The advice is that if convulsion lasts longer than 5 minutes or one quickly follows another then ring 000 as soon as possible. More information can be found at the Royal Children's Hospital website.

My lovely friend Manda had them as a child and she recalls stories of how scared her Mum had been going through them with her. Amanda now has her own little tribe and has gone through 4 convulsion episodes with her oldest and 2 with her middle little man. She says the first one with her oldest was probably the scariest. Manda is a fellow first aid educator and can recognise the signs and knows the management for infant convulsions. Even with this training and knowledge she still says as a parent convulsions are horrible to watch and very distressing. She says she was a mess after each and every episode. 


When Manda's first born was 10 months old he was suffering from a bad cold. Both her and hubby were up all night with a feverish bub that they had been treating with paracetamol.  Hubby was cuddling the little man on the couch when he screamed to Manda that bub was 'fitting'...the eyes rolled back, there were jerky movements in all of his limbs and he had gone quite grey in colour, and he was also boiling hot to touch. They immediately called 000 and Manda figured he was probably having a febrile convulsion given that he had a temperature. 


Manda says there wasn't really a warning to the convulsion and the doctors told her they are caused by the sudden spike in temperature and not just a high temperature. This little man had 3 other convulsions at 18 months, 20 months and 2 years. Manda didn't go to emergency with the middle two as they only lasted about 30 secs but took him to the doctor the next day (all happened at night). The last one lasted for almost 4 mins though and he was quite blue around the lips by the end of it so they called 000 again. He hasn't had one since, not even with the high temperatures he had when he had pneumonia, so she thinks he might have grown out of them.

Manda's second bub had convulsions but they did not last for as long and the signs were a little different. There wasn't as much jerking of the limbs, but he instead he would go very floppy and unresponsive with his eyes rolling back. Again though, it co-incided with high temperatures. Because of the unresponsiveness they took him to hospital both times.

Acting on instinct Manda placed her little man onto his side in the recovery position while he was convulsing, holding him gently until he stopped. Afterwards he was very agitated and stressed, crying and screaming for about 30 mins before he could be settled. Her second little man would seem to 'come out of it' after a convulsion but then wouldn't respond to his name or touch, which to Manda was a lot scarier.


These experiences have definitely given Manda a certain perspective on life and she feels so very lucky to have three gorgeous little munchkins to keep her entertained! 

What strength Manda and her hubby have shown to deal with these situations, and to positively move forward always thinking it could happen again. Once again makes me realise that everyone has their own stories and problems they are having to deal with in life. I can not thank Manda enough for sharing her experiences. Brings me to tears every time I read her story and amazes me how tough we become as parents. Sometimes we need to trust our instincts, and most importantly remain strong and calm for our little ones. Toughest job I've ever had that's for sure!

~V~

HANDY Emergency Numbers and calling for HELP!

Welcome to this weeks blog! Did you know that we are already in the 8th week of the year?!
Included this week are some tips on ringing for help and some emergency numbers that you MUST have on hand somewhere like the fridge, and definitely programmed into your phone.

Some tips about calling 000 or 112:
- Ask for the appropriate emergency service eg. fire, ambulance, police
- Give the location, street name and number, nearest main rd etc
- Pass on a brief summary of what has happened, number of injured, type of injures etc
- Talk slowly and clearly, stay calm and listen to what they are asking or telling you
- Never hang up until the operator does!

For those of us in Victoria here is a great list of numbers to have on your fridge. Very handy!

If you are the only first aider at an incident then briefly assess the situation and then send a bystander to call. Make sure this person reports back to you with any feedback or information from the emergency services. This ensures they have definitely made the call and gives the bystander a feeling of importance and responsibility. If you are by yourself then it is important to know where the speaker button is on your phone. You can be talking to emergency personnel and using both hands to help the injured.

Never heard of 112? That's ok, 112 is a great one to remember as it can be used with your mobile phone from anywhere in the world with GSM coverage, and is automatically translated to that countries emergency number. In Australia, ideally ring 000 first, and if this doesn't work then try 112. Often if your service provider is not available then 112 will take you through to one that is. Saying that, 000 is the best to ring as then the emergency personnel are more likely to be able to identify you and where you are.

Another good thing to know is about the ICE programme. This stands for 'In Case of Emergency'. It means that emergency personnel at the site of an incident can look in your phone and find next of kin or an emergency contact person. They can then contact these people and obtain important medical information and/or pass on information. All you need to do is enter the acronym ICE into your address book in your phone and list the name and number of your emergency contact person.

We have listed above the 'Nurse-On-Call'  number. I have to say that we have used this number numerous times and they have been absolutely fabulous! So calm and informative. They provide 24 hour a day, 7 days a week health and medical advice from a registered nurse. They had all our calls and incidents on record so knew our history, which is great as the last thing you want to do is to spend valuable time giving background info. How fantastic are our nurses!!

Thanks for reading and hope you're having a great week everyone! 

~V~

A Graze, a Gash and a bit of Gore

I've had my fair share of cuts and bruises. Growing up I was determined to do everything that my brother did, whether it was climbing trees or riding motorbikes. Not only was I determined to be a part of the action, but I often wanted to be better than him. (It's no wonder my boys are so competitive with each other!) On special occasions when Mum and Dad took us out for dinner we would often have post meal sprint races. Out the front of the restaurant on the footpaths we'd keep ourselves entertained. I remember the infamous night I was nearly beaten, that was the night that I decided I was too mature for these types of silly childish antics. He never did beat me and surprisingly over the years I have never broken a bone (touch wood!).

My body, however, does have a few scars with some very interesting tales to go with them. When we are injured our first instinct in seeing blood is to put pressure on the wound. You don't need to do a first aid course to know to do that. I often say in my courses that a lot of first aid is just that ...  common sense. Three things you do need to know when dealing with wounds are:

Pressure + Elevation + Immobilisation

A graze in general is a scrape of the skin that causes little or no bleeding. These can be cleaned up with some saline solution or just some clean running water. No blood a 'kiss it better' approach often does wonders. A little blood and a bandaid may be required. My little ones love the coloured variety and super heroes at the moment.

A gash is usually a bit bigger and can be along the lines of a long, deep slash or cut. In this case you need to put pressure on the wound asap. If possible clean the wound. If not then ideally put a sterile dressing or pad on the site and then bandage securely with a crepe or some type of wound dressing. Elevate the body part and try to not move it unecessary. Seek medical assistance as soon as possible.

Couple of extra tips:
- Consider the use of disposable gloves, they should be on the top of your first aid kit
- A little TLC goes a long way, slowing the heart rate and therefore reducing the blood loss
- If bleeding continues through the dressing then apply another on top of the one already there

Some people are not so great with the sight of blood. My Dad for instance will faint with the first sign of his own blood. Although, he is the first to help and get in there to put pressure on someone elses' wound. In an emergency situation he is the man you want to have nearby and ready to deal with any situation.

As a Mum I've had a few of the 'you're the parent now' moments. A couple of years ago I was riding my bike with number one son sitting in a seat on the back. We went over some pretty hairy terrain and well, we ended up toppling over. I had a split second where I lay on the ground waiting for my Dad, or anyone, to help me up and deal with my wounds. Realisation hit and I had to quickly suck it up, laugh it off and say wow that was fun before my son lost it. Of course there are no secrets in our house and the little man (who was not injured by the way) couldn't wait to tell his Dad how we had a spill. I dealt with my own wounds as soon as I could and then my bruised ego sometime later. In hindsight I'm quite happy no one was there to see it.

~ V ~

Fires and Fate

3 years ago today our lives were pointed in a new direction.
Today 3 years ago we lost our house and home in the Kinglake fires.
Three years ago today fate delivered my husband to the side of the road where I was parked surrounded by smoke and fire, in tears and in a panic, to lead me in the right direction.
3 years ago today someone was looking out for me and my family.

Today 3 years ago was the start of a new life.

I wrote a long blog of this day and in the end I realised I wrote it for me. I talked of walking away with nothing, I talked of walking away with everything: my life, my sons life, my husbands life and my dogs life. In the end what more do we need except each other.

Ask me at any time and I will be happy to tell you my story. The more I tell it the more it becomes just that ...  a story. In some ways for me this makes it easier to deal with, to move on, to look forward to the future. It has not been easy but I believe sometimes life throws challenges at people that can either cope or have the strength or characteristics to keep going.

I have learnt a lot from this experience, including:
- material things mean nothing, family means everything
- the power of human generosity in times of need still takes my breath away
- relationships are not easy, what is easy is to walk away
- friendships change and you know what, that is ok
- it's times like this that you have to swallow your pride and except help
- you're crazy if you have no insurance, nature is so unpredictable
- know what your fire plan is and stick to it, be prepared
- the media can be ruthless, take what you read and see with a grain of salt
- I felt honoured to be a part of such a strong and giving school community
- it's also ok to ask for help, and I mean it any type of help

We found out we were pregnant with our 2nd baby a couple of days after the fires. For us this was the light we needed to move forward. We needed to make a new home for our family and we needed to do it quickly. Sure there are things that I miss like photos of overseas travels, my sons first 12 months of maternal health records and sentimental old letters. The way I look at it though life threw us a curve ball and here we are still in the game.

I wouldn't be where I am today without this life changing event. I have taken a huge risk and started my own business, hubby has completely changed careers and you know what we regret nothing. We feel so thankful for everything we have and for everyone who comes into our lives. Sure some days life sucks, but all it takes it to look at our two gorgeous laughing munchkins to make us appreciate what we have.

This week I would like to take the opportunity to thank my amazing family and friends for their continual support and love. You know who you are and you rock! Also a huge thank you to all those who are involved in any of our community and/or emergency services, you do a phenomenal job! 

Hope you all don't mind but this week I have given you more of me and less of first aid education. Thanks for reading.

~V~

xo