Heat Stroke is a killer

FirstAidMike

Warning sign for Heat StrokeHeat Stroke can be fatal.

Heat Stroke is when your body’s core temperature rises above 40°C (104°F) .

Your body’s cells begin to break down and important organs stop working.

You become mentally confused, have rapid shallow breathing (hyper-ventilating) and will loose consciousness.

Without treatment you will develop, multiple organ failure, brain damage and die.

This is much more serious than Heat Exhaustion

Signs and symptoms of Heat Stroke

  • High body temperature 40°C (104°F)
  • Heavy and profuse sweating which suddenly stops – your body is unable to produce more sweat and has become over heated and dehydrated
  • Rapid heart rate
  • Rapid breathing
  • Cramps in your muscles

What you must do

  • Move the person to a cool area
  • Give them as much air as possible – open windows, use air-conditioning or a fan
  • Give them plenty to drink
  • Do NOT give them any form of medication – painkillers etc.
  • Shower the skin with cool, not cold water, immerse them in a cool bath, or cover them with cold wet towels or sheets and direct a fan over them to create evaporation
  • Gently massage the skin to encourage circulation
  • Beware they may start to have a fit or seizure, remove all danger and support them from injury.
  • If they start to have a seizure do not put anything in their mouth
  • If they loose consciousness and begin to vomit, protect their airway by putting them in the recovery position
  • Call 999 / 112 for an ambulance
  • If they stop breathing begin Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation

Heat Exhaustion – Beware

FirstAidMike

Beach flag warningBeware of Heat Exhaustion.

As the heatwave gets hotter, you need to be aware of the signs and symptoms of heat exhaustion, especially in the young, elderly and vulnerable.

Heat exhaustion is when your body’s core temperature rises from the normal 37°C to 40°C

Your water and salt levels in begin to drop significantly.

You will have symptoms like nausea, feeling faint and profuse sweating.

Untreated, you can quickly become a casualty of Heat Stroke, this is a medical emergency and life threatening.

Things you must watch out for with Heat Exhaustion

  • Skin that is hot and flushed
  • Heavy sweating
  • Dizziness
  • Nausea
  • Fatigue
  • Vomiting
  • Rapid heartbeat
  • Mental confusion
  • Urinating less frequently
  • Urine is much darker colour than usual

What can you do?

  • Rest out of the sun – ideally in an air-conditioned room or shady area
  • Drink plenty of fluids, water or sport rehydration drinks
  • Avoid alcohol and caffeine products – coffee, tea, cola drinks, Red Bull
  • Cool the skin with cold water – cold shower or bath
  • Cover with wet towels and use a fan to create evaporation
  • Loosen and remove unnecessary clothing
  • Give them plenty of air

Watch out for changes that could indicate Heat Stroke

 

Can you help?

FirstAidMike

people in town centre

Cardiac arrest can happen to anyone, any time. Could you help?

You’re in the supermarket, enjoying a coffee, in your local café, on a night out with old friends or just walking down the street.

Suddenly, someone if front of you drops to the ground. They’re unconscious and not breathing.

What will you do?

Walk by and pretend you didn’t notice.

Get out your mobile phone and start recording what’s going on, better still take a “selfie”

Stand there, transfixed in panic

Or will you be the one with the confidence to do something.

Check for signs of response and confirm if the person is breathing? They may have had a cardiac arrest.

Can you instruct one of the bystanders to call 999 to call an ambulance and find out where the nearest AED (Automated External Defibrillator) is kept?

Can you start CPR (cardio pulmonary resuscitation). Compressing the casualty’s chest 30 times and then giving 2 rescue breaths, repeatedly, until professional help arrives makes a difference.

Do you know where your nearest AED is kept, would you have the confidence to open the box and use it? If you want to know where your nearest public AED is located here’s the Save a Life app to help.

Making a difference

You really can make a difference by starting CPR and defibrillation, immediately. Follow the Resuscitation Council Chain of Survival

Resuscitation Council Chain of survival
Resuscitation Council Chain of survival

 

Learning Basic Life support skills like CPR and how to use an AED are brilliant life skills which you really should know. Book one of our CPR First Aid Training Courses

Remember, it’s not always someone else lying on the cold ground, unconscious and not breathing,

it could be a close relative, a best friend or

YOU.

Other similar links

Your Community Needs a Defibrillator

Don’t Play Hide and Seek

 

 

Pampering dangers

FirstAidMike

Beauty Treatment Me time

There’s nothing like a bit of pampering, so most women and some men, look forward to going to the hair salon, nail bar or spa.

Treatments are a luxurious pleasure and part of that valuable “me time”. Hopefully you’ll come out feeling fabulous and full of self-confidence.

Knowing your hair, nails and skin look great means, you look good and boosts your self-confidence, esteem and attractiveness.

Fashion demands that how you look is important, and something you must cherish. Whether that is hair colour to nail varnish or other cosmetic treatment.

With colours coming in a vast array of shades and tones, few of us give any thought to how these hues are achieved.

The dangers

Pampering is luxurious and pleasurable why should you have any worries?

Hair colouring foilsYou put all your faith in the colourist or stylist. They must make sure bleaches, colours and other chemicals are not going to be harmful.

You expect they will be properly applied and used in accordance to the manufacturers’ instructions.

In return for this faith we expect the salon to observe a duty of care to you the customer.

Making sure they’re meticulous about allergy testing. Carrying out skin patch tests 48 hours before the treatment.

Giving plenty of opportunity to see if you have any kind of reaction to the type of dye they’ll be using.

All too often you find this as a bit of a chore, or you pressure the salon into doing the colouring now. Telling them you’ve never had any problems before, and you don’t have time to wait for the skin test.

Typically, this is when problems arise.

What you should know

It’s essential that you  never ignore any kind of allergic reaction.

The first sensitivity may only result in minor symptoms. But subsequent exposure can produce a rapid, severe reaction called anaphylaxis, a life-threatening condition.

You may regard allergies as an inconvenience and often overlook them as being just a rash or a bit of irritation.  For the person with a genuine sensitivity, it is a serious, life threatening, condition

Sensitivity is not limited to the chemicals and dyes in salons and spas, it can be something as simple as the gloves the therapist or technician is wearing.

With latex sensitivity being one of the more common allergens it’s vitally important that you tell your therapist or technician so they can use an alternative product.tattoo parlour

And of course there are many other occasions when protective gloves are worn so you need to be aware of these too.

Links to related subjects Allergies can be life threatening

 

Act FAST if you suspect a stroke

FirstAidMike

Act FAST if you suspect a stroke

Stroke victims are becoming younger according to the latest Public Health England report, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-42871861

“Everyone needs to be aware of the signs of a stroke”, these are the words of Professor Julia Verne, director of Public Health England, on learning that strokes are affecting younger people.

Between 2007 and 2016 the number of first-time strokes suffered by 40 to 69-year-olds rose from 33% to 38%

She continued, “Calling 999 as soon as you see even one of the symptoms develop – in the face, arms and speech – is essential. Speedy treatment will help prevent deaths and disability.”

Knowing the signsStroke symptoms listed

The importance of knowing the signs and what to look for is crucial.

Although there is little in the way of first aid to be done, apart from making sure the person is safe and comfortable.

The most important advice is to call 999/112 immediately you notice the symptoms.

 

Worried about being sued?

FirstAidMike

Scared to help?Sign post to Police and Law Courts

If you witness an accident or see someone taken ill, what’s your first reaction?

Will you avert your eyes and carry on past?

Stand back and wait for somebody else to make a move, because you don’t feel confident?

Pick up your phone and call 999 and hope someone will come along to help?

View things with suspicion, because it may be a scam to steal or attack you?

Worry you may be sued if you help and something goes wrong?

Or do you just roll up your sleeves and confidently do something positive to help?

Our first consideration must always be, for our own safety and that of any bystanders.

What’s happened is it an accident or some mendacious scam.

Will you put yourself at risk of injury if you attempt to help.

These are just some of the questions you ask yourself and the assessment you must make.

Any first aid instructor will tell you, the first thing you must do is check for danger to yourself and others.

The casualty:

Maybe they’re lying in a busy road?

Holding on to an electrical appliance?

Surrounded by an unidentifiable liquid?

In an unstable building with debris hanging above them or collapsed floors?

Or do they have a knife sticking out of their chest?

Whether you favour walking past or have the empathetic urge to rush to help, are polar opposites, but both are natural human reactions to a situation.

If the casualty is conscious, always ask them first if they want your help and if they decline don’t force them, but if their unconscious do what you can.

The scriptures of 2000 years ago relate the story first, and in the two millennia, nothing has changed.

Your worry may be that in these highly litigious times, you could be sued, if something goes wrong.

In the UK, the Social Action, Responsibility and Heroism (SARAH) Bill, known as the Good Samaritan’s Act, protects anyone trying to help, as long as they believe they’re doing something for “the benefit of society”.

Finally, as long as what you attempt is in good faith, with the intention to help, there really is no reason to be scared to help

CPR First Aid Training has a course suitable for your needs, whether First Aid at Work, for the full qualification or Basic Life support skills, we want you to have the confidence to act in an emergency – Book here