A Coach's Guide to First Aid
Sep 22, 2016
First Aid On the Field - - - - - Any Field
As a coach, you want a winning team, and every parent wants their kids to be part said team, but we also want it to be a healthy winning team. As a coach, it is your job to teach the children how to play the sports they love to the best of their ability. It is also your job to keep them safe while they are doing it, and first aid is a vital part of that.
Very few coaches have formal medical training. Most of them are caring parents who are willing to make the necessary sacrifices to help their children and their friends have a great time while learning their favorite sport.
Injury Prevention - By Type of Sport
A Pediatrician's Perspective on Sports Injuries in Children
Avoiding Injuries - A Guide for Coaches and Athletes
Defining a Coach's Role
You don’t have to be a physician or a paramedic to help to keep kids safe while playing sports, but a key component is Preparation.
Preparation can be broken down into essentially two categories: Long-term preparation and Immediate preparation. Long-term preparation is what happens long before a practice or a game. This includes having coaches and staff and, in the case of older teams, key players trained in First Aid. It also includes regular inspection of equipment to ensure the safety of the participants and the developing of proper form, techniques and regimens to help reduce injuries due to repetitive movement associated to the sport.
Immediate preparation is what occurs the day of the practice or the game, but before any of the kids go out onto the playing area. It takes a few minutes to walk the field or court to assess for a safe sporting environment, look for damage caused by previous events, ensure that the goals and nets are secure, and check the weather for lightning or a high heat index..
Field Safety Tips
Proper Field Maintenance to Prevent Injury
Basic Guide to Making a Softball Field Safe
Review each child’s file for completeness. The following information should be contained in each file and be available to the coach at every practice and game:
- Contact information for parents/legal guardians.Having an additional emergency contact person is always a good idea. It is also important to obtain pertinent information such as medical conditions, allergies and pediatrician information.
- Medical Consent forms allowing the coach to seek treatment for the child while awaiting the arrival of the parents or legal guardians. This can save a lot of time, particularly in non-life threatening injuries that require transportation to the hospital. Without a consent, the child cannot be treated.
- Past Medical History, e.g. asthma, seizures, prior heat related injuries
Importance of Medical Consent for Coaches
Make sure that you and your staff are familiar with the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) response to your facility.
During the Event
Each and every coach should be CPR and First Aid Certified. This is not only so that you can treat those minor cuts and scrapes, but also so that you can assess injuries and make informed decisions regarding whether a child should continue to play or not. While serious injuries are rare during children’s sporting events, the moment they happen, they are often very catastrophic. Even relatively minor injuries like strains and sprains can be less frightening if you know what to do when they happen.
One of the most difficult jobs of a coach is deciding whether a child can or cannot return to a game following an injury or if they require evaluation by a healthcare professional. The following is not a replacement for trained evaluation of an injury by a medical professional. It is meant to be a general guideline in helping you to assess illness and injury.
When in doubt about the seriousness of any injury, you should always have the child assessed by a healthcare professional before allowing them to return to the game or even to leave the facility at the end of a game. A child with any significant injury should not be permitted to return to the activity without a medical release from a physician. It is better to miss one game than to miss an entire season or worse. Remember, a minor cannot consent to a treatment and therefore cannot refuse said treatment. When a parent or legal guardian is not present, you have (or should have) his or her medical consent. That makes you the decision maker, not the child.
Athletic Injuries - Primary Assessment
Classifying Sports Injuries
Head Injuries
Much research has surfaced over the past several years regarding the seriousness of concussions and head injuries in the sports community. They can have ramifications for many years following the injury. They can also be very difficult to assess at the time of the incident. For this reason careful evaluation is a must. When in doubt, always err on the side of caution and have the child be evaluated by a healthcare professional. Any significant blow to the head should result in the removal of the child from the activity and to be immediately evaluated by a healthcare professional.
If Unconscious:
- Immediately call for EMS services.
- Evaluate if there are signs of shock or skull fracture - look for bleeding around the eyes, nose or ears. Observe for the length of time that unconsciousness lasts
- Immobilize the child to prevent any further damage to the brain, spinal cord or neck. Wait for EMS to arrive.
If the Child is Conscious:
- Check for alertness and orientation - assess whether or not the child knows where they are or what day it is.
- Assess for numbness, tingling or weakness of any extremity.
- Check for dizziness, or general weakness. If the child is unable to stand, allow him/her to assume a position of comfort and summon EMS.
- Check the child for slurred speech, ringing in the ears, a full feeling in his head or memory loss.
If any of the above result in a Positive finding the child must be transported to a hospital and be evaluated by a medical professional. Contact EMS and remain with the child until they arrive. If a concussion is left untreated it can lead to what is called Second-Impact Syndrome (SIS). Second-Impact Syndrome occurs when a player has sustained a second head injury before the symptoms of the first injury have subsided. This syndrome is life-threatening and causes brain swelling or herniation and death.
Concussion - What's next?
Recognizing a Concussion
Prevention and Recognition of Concussion
Bleeding from cuts and scraps are very common injuries in any sport. Remember that blood is potentially infectious which means that the child must be removed from the practice/game until the bleeding has been stopped and the wound has been cleaned and covered. This is done to protect the other children from potentially infectious exposure. Most bleeding is not considered an emergency and can be controlled rather efficiently by the coach.
First Aid for Bleeding at Sporting Events
How to Apply Direct Pressure to Stop Bleeding
Fractures Even though most of the time they are not life threatening injuries, they can be very serious in children because they can affect the bones' ability to grow over time. All fractures in children should be taken seriously until proven otherwise by a healthcare professional. In the case of fractures of the upper leg, they can be life threatening and require immediate attention, especially if there has been any injury to the femoral artery.
Evaluating Rib Fractures at Sporting Events
Finger Fractures
How to Treat Fractures in the Outdoors
Sprains and Strains
While not generally considered medical emergencies, they can be pretty painful.
Do not allow the child to bear weight on the injured limb. He/she should be assisted off of the field.
Most sprains and/or strains can be treated with RICE - Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation.
If there is any doubt whether or not the injury represents a sprain/strain or a fracture, then it should always be treated as a fracture until proven otherwise by an x-ray.
The player can return to play when he/she can run figure eights without pain or limp and can hop on the injured foot.
The Sprains and Strains of Sporting Injuries
Sprains and Strains in Children
Sprains and Strains Prevention
Abdominal Pain
If abdominal pain is present without any injury, then the child should be evaluated for dehydration and heat exhaustion/heat stroke. Abdominal pain following injury should be evaluated with a careful assessment of the presenting symptoms.
Abdominal injuries can range in severity from simple muscle strain to internal bleeding and can potentially be as dangerous as a head injury. Signs and symptoms include tenderness, rigidity, and bruising of the abdomen. There should be medical attention for the child if conditions worsen.
Recognition and Management of Abdominal Injuries
Abdominal Strain - A Sporting Injury
Heat Exhaustion – Heat Stroke – both are very serious medical emergencies and can be prevented during sporting events.
An increase in body temperature and a decrease in the body’s ability to get rid of the heat are complicated by dehydration and loss of electrolytes. Heat exhaustion begins with profuse sweating, cramping of the extremities and the abdomen (sometimes referred to as heat cramps), nausea/vomiting, headache, dizziness, and cool, clammy skin. If left untreated it will quickly progress to Heat Stroke which is a life threatening emergency.
Heat Stroke is characterized by the body’s inability to deal with its increasing temperature. The skin becomes hot and dry because the body can no longer sweat. The patient begins to have difficulty breathing, becomes agitated and confused, and sometimes loses consciousness. This can quickly lead to irreversible brain damage and even death.
Prevention of dehydration is key to preventing heat stroke and heat exhaustion. Children should always remain hydrated. They should be drinking plenty of water and taking frequent breaks on hot days. Everyone should be drinking water during non-playing times. You should remember that even on a day that doesn’t feel hot to us, if you are coaching a sport that requires protective gear such as football, the body heat can be trapped and become exaggerated. If it is a hot day, players should be switched frequently to provide rest and to replenish fluids.
Treatment is aimed at cooling the child down. Interventions such as removing clothing, applying cool water to the skin, and placing ice packs to their underarms and groin should assist with reducing their temperature. HEAT STROKE is an extreme emergency and requires emergency medical treatment at a hospital. EMS should be summoned immediately if a heat stroke is suspected.
Preventing and Treating Heat Stroke at Sporting Events
10 Ways to Prevent Heat Stroke in Student Athletes
Heat Related Illness in Children
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Written by David Patterson and last updated Jul 1, 2016
A Parents Guide to First Aid
Mar 17, 2017
In homes where there are small children, safety is an important issue. Parents want to protect their children from all potential dangers and will most often take steps to make their home as safe an environment as possible. Unfortunately, despite one's best efforts, accidents may still happen. The National Safety Council cites injuries as the leading cause of childhood death. Of the accidents that cause these injuries, half occur in the home. When they do, parents or guardians will need to be prepared to take the necessary action. Understanding basic first aid and how to apply it according to the injury and age of the child is critical and can save the life of their child.
How to Keep Your Home Safe
Prevention is the first step that people should take in order to protect their family. There are various threats to take into consideration when making safety plans and changes to the home. To prevent poisoning, chemicals and other toxic items should be stored appropriately. Most often, this means storing them in a locked cabinet or in a location that is high enough that it is inaccessible to children. In efforts to prevent fires and burns, matches and lighters should also be kept in locations that children do not have access to. Fire and carbon monoxide detectors on every level of the home are important to warn families of fire and carbon monoxide, the latter of which has no taste or smell. In addition, parents should create fire escape plans and conduct practice drills to ensure that everyone understands what needs to be done if there is a fire. Create an emergency phone number and contact list, put on the walls, tables so that children know who to contact in the event of an emergency.
How to Teach Your Child about First Aid and Emergencies
Emergencies happen, but it isn't always the child who needs emergency care. If a parent is injured, it may be the child who must administer care and contact the authorities or emergency medical services. For this reason, children should be taught basic first aid so that they know how to react in an emergency situation. These skills can also help them if they are in a situation where an adult is not readily available but immediate action is required in order to help a friend or other family member. Children should be taught what to do to stop bleeding, how to help if someone is choking or if someone has fallen and injured themselves. Parents should discuss what to do in an emergency situation and can even find useful online resources to help them teach their children.
Even before a parent teaches a child first aid, it is important that the child is taught how to call for help. All children should know how to call 911 in the event of an emergency. They should also know their full names, their parents' full names, and their address and phone number so that they are able to provide this information over the phone. Children must be taught when it is appropriate to call 911 and the importance of only calling it for emergencies.
First Aid for a New Parent
It's natural for new parents to be overly concerned when it comes to the wellbeing of their offspring. Despite the desire to prevent injuries and illness, some first-time parents don't know exactly where to begin. Babies, toddlers, and younger children are commonly injured by falls, burns and scalding. A prepared parent will know how to prevent a baby from rolling off of a surface and will have moved sharp objects out of the way when toddlers are learning to walk. A bad fall can result in trauma to the child's head and even brain injury. Infants can burn easily, even from bath water that is too hot. To prevent burns, care should be taken to ensure that temperatures are tolerable for delicate babies.
Babies also have a high risk of choking, suffocating, and drowning. Babies are at risk of falling from beds, tables, or sofas. Both babies and toddlers are known for putting items in their mouths. If an item is not approved as a toy for infants, the child may choke on it and risk suffocation. Loose buttons, marbles, and other small objects should be placed in safe locations to avoid choking or accidental suffocation. Care should also be taken to buy the appropriate type of toys. Careful parents will also want to take infant and child CPR classes. Due to their smaller frames, techniques for infant and child CPR will differ from techniques for adults. First aid classes will also provide parents with the knowledge of what to do for other types of injuries such as burns from overly hot water. Food is another area of concern for parents. Food should be properly stored and heated to prevent illness or accidental injury from heat.
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