GREENSBURG – For parents and guardians, a child’s trip to the emergency room can be a stressful and frightening experience. Recently, Decatur County Memorial Hospital Emergency Department director Rhonda Venable offered some words of advice to individuals who find themselves in those difficult situations.
Venable began working in the DCMH emergency department in March 2017 and took over as the director that September. She became a nurse in 1999 and started an emergency career in Kentucky in 2001.
“I left the ER in 2008 and began my flight career, which lasted for five years, three years on a helicopter and two years on a fixed wing (plane),” Venable said. “I went back to the ER and transitioned into an interventional cardiac cath lab before coming to Decatur County. I moved from Kentucky to Greensburg due to marriage. My husband is a paramedic with DCEMS. Although I left the ER for a bit, the ER never leaves the nurse, so I returned to emergency nursing.”
Now back to working in the emergency department, Venable spoke about the most common reasons children visit the emergency room.
“In 2015, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) published a statistical brief No. 242 (McDermott, Stocks & Freeman, 2015), which gives an overview of pediatric emergency department visits. “In that brief, the 10 most common reasons for pediatric visits are listed, with respiratory complaints ranking No. 1,” Venable continued.
“Examples of these complaints are colds, flu, asthma issues. The second complaint most often sending children to the emergency department is injuries and poisonings. The most usual cause of childhood injuries is motor vehicle accidents, and the most common poisoning cause is accidental ingestion, usually medications that a child finds that an adult in the residence is taking (over-the-counter or prescription medications).”
Venable says injuries and poisonings are usually preventable. For example, ensuring a child is properly restrained in the car by car seat or booster, depending on age and weight, prevent most motor vehicle injuries. Venable recommends parents and guardians visit cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety/child_passenger_safety/resources.html for more information.
“Injuries incurred while playing are often preventable,” said Venable. “It is important to follow any safety recommendations by manufacturers of toys and sports equipment. For example, wearing a bicycle helmet while biking, wearing a helmet while skateboarding or horse riding, or making sure that the safety net is installed correctly on trampolines and activities are being monitored by an adult.”
Furthermore, Venable says poisonings are preventable by storing medications in a childproof place and using childproof caps on medication bottles. She points out adults shouldn’t take their medication in view of as toddler a that may make the toddler curious and feel that it is OK to do.
As for illnesses, Venable mentioned the best prevention is vaccinating your child, hand washing, limiting contacting with anyone who is ill, staying away from crowded places during flu season, using hand sanitizer and covering mouths when coughing.
“Teach your child the importance of hand washing and covering their cough to help prevent the spread of illness,” the director advises. If you’re new to parenting, childproof every area of your home a child can access, and if an area isn’t childproofed, one must prevent any access to the area by the child, Venable recommends.
“Children are naturally curious and do not realize the danger in most common items that they can reach,” she adds. “If an item is in their area or view, they will get to it eventually. This includes things like hot water, cleaning supplies and tubes of ointments (diaper rash ointment, etc.). Make sure that the hot water thermostat is set to a low temperature, as water over 120 degrees Fahrenheit will cause burns.”
Additionally, parents should keep these numbers in their cellphones or close by in the event that their child ingests anything toxic: 800-222-1222, Poison Control Center; and 317-338-5437,Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital Ask-A-Nurse line.
The Poison Control Center has nurses who will tell you what to do, and if they direct you to the emergency room, they will call the emergency department before you get there and give guidance on what should be done and what antidote should be administered.
While the Ask-A-Nurse line is not for emergencies, nurses can answer questions about symptoms and can give guidance on fever care and when to go to the emergency room.
“If your child is running a fever for more than 24 hours that is higher than 100.4.