1. Check out the local emergency rooms—now. Don’t assume that the nearest hospital or the one your pediatrician is affiliated with are the best for your child. Some hospitals have pediatric specialists, pain-control methods, and a general approach that’s more child-friendly. So ask your doctor’s advice on the best place to take children. Then, make a dry run. The last thing you want to be doing in an emergency is frantically searching Google Maps or circling a neighborhood, lost.
2. Ask for a child life specialist. Don’t know what one is? Neither did I. These are health professionals that work in hospitals and offer emotional and other support to children and their families. There are at least 2,800 in the United States, and many children’s hospitals have one. “Most parents don’t know they exist,” says Dr. Sears. “They are valuable hospital tools that parents need to [know are] available.” If your hospital doesn’t have one, you can ask for a social worker. They also offer support to families in emergency situations. Check out ChildLife.org for more information.
3. Get a handle on the pain-control options. Yes, there are options for reducing pain before a blood draw or IV insertion. But you need to know what to ask for (and in my experience, you will have to ask for it). There’s a cream called EMLA, which can numb the skin, although it can take 30 minutes or more to work. Other skin-numbing options include a new product called Zingo (the sponsor of Dr. Sear’s site), which numbs pain in just 1–3 minutes by delivering lidocaine crystals through the skin. The painkiller just came out in July, and at $14 a dose, it’s more expensive than EMLA and is less likely to be available in your ER.
4. Have your child’s health history on hand. When things are frantic, you won’t have time to gather the scattered documents of your child’s health records. Record the pertinent info ahead of time and stick it in your wallet. You can print out a hospital wallet card on Dr. Sear’s site to get an idea of what information is the most important to have with you. “Doctors love this information at a glance,” says Dr. Sears. “In the emergency room especially, things go quickly—you need information.”
5. Plan on channeling your inner Zen master. You can be freaking out inside, but on the outside you need to project confidence. Your child will be looking to you for emotional cues. Keep your voice low and soothing, and stay as calm as you can. The only thing scarier to your child than a gushing head wound is the hysterical parent trying to attend to it.
6. Pack some stuff. If you have time, grab a snack, a few toys, and a quick change of clothes for your child. If you don’t have time, call a friend (see tip 7) when you can and ask them to bring these things. Regardless of the injury or illness, you will be waiting—sometimes for hours. You won’t want to leave your child’s side for even a minute to grab him or her a snack or a drink. And if you do, your hospital’s only option may be a candy machine or, sadly, a fast-food restaurant (another thing to keep in mind when choosing an ER ahead of time.)
7. Arrange some go-to friends and family. If there’s a time in your life to call in your chips, this is it. Lucky enough to have family nearby? Great. If not, make it a priority to talk to a friend or neighbor and offer to be their go-to emergency friends. If you need them, they can babysit other children, or make a quick trip back and forth to the hospital as needed. You’d do the same for them, wouldn’t you?
(PHOTO: ISTOCKPHOTO)
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