We will never get tired of repeating it: the terrible accidents that all too often witness children dead because they are forgotten inside cars parked in the sun, can and must be stopped.
The figures also need to be repeated, because they provide an idea of the scale of this phenomenon: we are talking about 1000 documented cases all over the world since 1998. Thousands of children (often very young children) have lost their lives due to dissociative amnesia. For this reason, it is important that the law on mandatory anti-abandonment devices, introduced in Italy in 2019, is extended to as many other countries as possible.
Unfortunately, even in our country, not every parent and person carrying children has already adopted solutions such as Tippy Pad, complying with the law.
So what do you do if you happen to pass by a car and notice that there is a child left inside it? Or maybe a pet that might have been forgotten as well in the car and that runs the same risks, especially if the vehicle is parked under the sun with the internal temperature that can quickly exceed 50/55 degrees.
Here are the rules to follow to make a difference:
- do not wait for the driver to return, call 118 (or the local emergency number) immediately and report the problem asking for urgent intervention;
- if the child does not seem conscious or does not respond, get into the car by any means, take the child and move him or her to a cool place or at least in the shade, then take off his or her clothes to help the body restore its temperature and if you can gently wet him or her in fresh (not cold) water;
- if the child is conscious and responds, stay close to the child until help arrives and maybe in the meantime try to find the driver through passers-by or people working in the area.
Thank you for your interest: we are sure that – in the unfortunate event that it happened to you – you will remember what you read and will do everything possible to avoid more serious consequences.