16.02.2012
Prevent head injuries on children!
Did you know that ski helmets reduce the amount of head injuries by 60 % (sundhed-DR)? And did you in addition to this know that children younger than 18 have twice the risk of hurting the head than adults? These numbers from SOS International emphasize the importance of remembering the helmet – not least for the children.
Full speed ahead
When you unleash children on a ski slope, daily school attendance and homework are temporarily forgotten. Instead it is full speed ahead, as their little legs rush down the pistes. Sometimes it may even be faster than what the parents can keep up with.
Most children are crazy about skiing – and they are also very good at it. Nonetheless we cannot forget that there is a certain risk related to skiing. High speed and crowds of people on the slope can easily be an unfortunate combination. This is why it is even more important that parents prepare their children properly.
Many are already using the helmet
Fortunately parents are very good at protecting their children against serious head injuries or concussions. A study from Børneulykkesfonden does show that 86 % of all Danish children use a helmet. And it is not only Denmark who is focusing on the head. In countries such as Austria it is compulsory for children younger than 15 to ski with a helmet, while the Nordic countries, in some places, offers free use of ski lifts for children who are wearing the helmet.
The good example
As parents of an active ”ski child” it is a very good idea to be a good example. And while you are being a good example you also take care of your own head.
In case your child is hurt on a skiing holiday, here is a few good first aid advises:
- Make sure the injured person is lying down, e.g. with the head and shoulders slightly liftet
- Avoid moving the neck of the injured
- Make sure the respiratory passages are empty, by sitting on your knees behind the head of the injured. Hold your hands beneath the angle of the jaw on both sides and pull the jaw upwards without bending the neck.
- Stop possible bleedings with the bandages or a clean piece of clothes
- Observe changes (deterioration) in the state of the injured’s consciousness
- If the injured stops breathing, immediately begin CPR.