A 28-month-old girl (Long An) was admitted to the City Children's Hospital (HCMC) in a lethargic state, with a fever of 38.5 degrees Celsius, purple lips, labored breathing, soft abdomen, soft neck, no signs of skin and mucous membrane bleeding, no scratches.
Blood gas test showed metabolic acidosis and hypoxemia. Chest X-ray showed infiltration in both lungs. The child was diagnosed with drowning at 4 hours and aspiration pneumonia.
Before that, the family saw that the child was absent for about 20 minutes, so they went to look for him and found him lying face down in the water in the pond in front of the house, not knowing how long he had been submerged. After bringing him to shore, the family found the child unconscious, unresponsive to calls, and with no clear heartbeat or breathing.
The family performed first aid, chest compressions, and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. After 3 minutes, the child was able to breathe on his own. The family took the child to the local hospital for first aid, oxygen, and then transferred him to the City Children's Hospital.
On the occasion of Lunar New Year 2025, City Children's Hospital received many pediatric patients hospitalized due to household accidents such as drowning, boiling water burns...
For example, an 11-month-old patient (Kien Giang) was hospitalized with symptoms of shock, weak pulse, cool extremities, low blood pressure, burn area of about 46%, level II, with many blisters.
Taking the patient's medical history, the family cooked sweet soup in a rice cooker. The toddler toddled to the stove and pulled the electric cord, causing the pot of sweet soup to fall on his body, causing burns to his face, neck, chest, abdomen, legs, and arms.
The family bathed the baby with vinegar, applied vinegar to the wound, then took the baby to the district hospital for first aid, then transferred the baby to the provincial hospital for oxygen and IV fluids, and transferred the baby to the City Children's Hospital.
Doctor Nguyen Minh Tien - Deputy Director of City Children's Hospital - recommends that parents need to observe and look after their children to avoid the risk of children having accidents with serious consequences.
Parents also need to know first aid at the scene when a child is drowning by performing chest compressions and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation when the child shows signs of cyanosis and respiratory arrest. Note that you should not shake the child, roll him/her around, or apply abdominal pressure, etc., as this will waste precious time to save the child.
In case of severe burns, quickly rinse the child with water to reduce the burn and pain... In particular, do not apply toothpaste, fish sauce, vinegar... because it will make the burn worse, making it difficult to treat and care for the burn later.
