Frightening: have you ever heard of an ALTE?

An Apparent Life Threatening Event, or ALTE. Have you ever heard of it? It's a situation no parent wishes to experience. One of our participants faced it up close and decided to immediately enroll in a first aid course with a group. What exactly is an ALTE and what can you do as a parent?

An ALTE is an unexpected, life-threatening situation that can occur in babies aged 0 to 2 years. In an ALTE—which is different from sudden infant death syndrome—it seems as if your baby is no longer alive: the child turns pale, limp, and may turn blue. Unfortunately, little is known about ALTE, but if it happens to your baby, it is crucial to act immediately.

What should you do in case of an ALTE?
Does your baby show signs of an ALTE? Then stimulate your child to stay alive as quickly as possible. You do this by picking up your baby, patting their back, stimulating, and (gently!) shaking them. If your baby turns blue, start CPR immediately and ensure that 112 is called. By acting quickly and appropriately, there is a good chance you can save your child.

How often does an ALTE occur?
As far as known, an ALTE occurs in about 0.6 out of 1000 children in the Netherlands and Belgium. It mainly affects babies younger than three months, with a peak around eight weeks. In most cases, an ALTE is a one-time event and recovery is swift. Model Kim Kötter experienced it with her son Muck:“Muck gave us a huge scare with an A.L.T.E. It was the scariest thing I've ever experienced. In short, it seems like your baby is no longer alive (blue, limp, not breathing, eyes open, foam around his mouth) and in our case, it lasted 7 minutes. (…) You wouldn't wish this on any parent. Thank God everything turned out well, no lasting damage. Hopefully, this is a one-time occurrence.”

First aid course for babies and children
During a course, you learn how to act in various emergency situations. Interested? Then exploreour websiteor get intouchwith us.

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