Book 21 of 2015

First Aid for Infants and Children: 30 Common Emergency Procedures to Save Your Child's Health and Life by Mikolaj Laski
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

First Aid for Infants and Children: 30 Common Emergency Procedures to Save Your Child's Heath and Life by Mikolaj Laski is not a replacement for a First Aid Training Course as the author points out in her Introduction. It also is not intended to diagnose medical emergencies however it is designed to help remind the parent/adult what to do should one arise.

The book appears to be set up as large index type cards with the emergency situation at the top and what to do listed underneath. Although it can't possibly cover every emergency situation that comes up with the circumstances around it, it does a good job at reminding the reader what to do for the 30 common ones. Now you might think that you wouldn't need a reminder since you took a course but I had taken the Red Cross First Aid Course many years ago and I have never used it since then. If I had to give CPR I may not remember how many chest compressions to give before the rescue breaths or even how hard for an infant vs. toddler. Also, in an emergency situation the parent can be so shocked that they can forget everything including their own name and I know this for a fact. Years ago someone had a heart attach in my house which I lived at for years and naturally I called 911 but I could not remember my address. I didn't realize I was in shock and my name and address just wasn't there. I could not remember it. Thank goodness my mail has my address on it so I read it to them but the point is, it can happen to anyone even if you passed your first aid course yesterday and it is fresh in your mind. So it is good to have this information on hand to refer to. Of course you can ask me if I couldn't remember my address, how would I remember that I have this book? How did I remember I had the mail to read the address off of? I can't explain it, it is the way the mind works under stress and even if there is the slightest chance that you will forget what to do but remember you have this book, wouldn't you want it?

As I said, it appears these are like cards so there is not a lot of reading. It states the emergency and tells you the symptoms, danger, and what to do in a type of bullet format which is great because in an emergency I don't want to be reading a story. They are straight to the point of what it is and what to do. The only thing I want to add is to use common sense. If your child isn't breathing because he drowned and it tells you to start chest compressions, remove the child from the water first. If your toddler broke his leg and it is twisted up and around, don't pull it straight and try and lay it down with the other one. You can possibly turn it wrong so the blood is cut off, if the foot/leg isn't turning black just support it where it is until the ambulance comes.

I have made two suggestions to the author since the book only comes in Kindle format. The first suggestion is asking if there is a way to click on the title (or number) in the content page and go directly to that page instead of having to physically flip each page until you get there or use the scroll bar at the bottom of the Kindle and hoping you stop somewhere near where you need to be. And the second suggestion is to offer this book in an index style or booklet format so that it can be added to the first aid box. I don't think I am much different than many people and have a first aid box in my car as well as one in the house. If the emergency happens at home then there is no problem since my Kindle is home but I do not always take my Kindle with me so if it happens at a park or beach and I don't have my Kindle, it doesn't help much if I 'forget' what to do.

I think the information in this book is a great way to refresh anyone's memory on what to do in an emergency and I recommend it for everyone who is around infants and children.

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