Life Line Words

Beware: Burns and blisters

2010-07-09T08:48:00.000-07:00

Burns are injuries to the body tissues caused by heat, chemicals or radiation.

Scalds are caused by wet heat such as steam or hot liquids.

Warnings

1. Never put butter or greasy ointments on a burn. They seal heat into the wound
and may cause infection.

2. Always seek medical attention if:

- Victim is a child or elderly
- Burn covers more than one body part.
- Burn is located on any sensitive area of the body (hands, face, feet, etc.)
- Burn is third degree
- Burn is caused by chemicals

First Degree Burns

First degree burns damage the outer layer of skin.

*Signs* *1. Redness* *2. Mild pain* *3. Swelling*
*Treatment* *1.Plunge the burned area into cold water, or hold it under a cold running tap for 10 minutes or until the pain stops or lessens.* *2. Cover with a clean gauze dressing for protection.*

Second Degree Burns

Second degree burns go through to the second layer of skin.

*Signs* *1. Blisters* *2. Rough, red skin* *3. Swelling* *4. Extreme pain*
*Treatment* *1. Remove all clothing, jewellery andwatches from the burned area unless it is sticking to the skin.*
*2. Pour copious amounts of cold water over the affected area for at least 10 minutes.* *3. Gently blot area dry. Do not rub. Rubbing may break the blisters, opening it to infection.*
4. Lightly cover the entire burned area with a clean, dry dressing (sterile if possible). If fluid soaks through, cover with another layer. An arm or leg can be protected inside a clean plastic bag. *5. Raise a burned arm or leg to reduce swelling, but be careful not to burst any blisters.* *6. Call a doctor immediately.*

Third Degree Burns

Third degree burns are less painful than second degree burns because the nerve cells in the affected tissue are actually destroyed, but the damage is greater. The burn goes through to the third layer of skin.

Characteristics

1. Whitish or charred appearance

Treatment

1. Do not remove any clothing near or at the site of the burn.

2. Do not apply cold water or medication to the burn.

3. Place clean, dry cloths (strips of a clean sheet) over the damaged area.

4. If burns are on arms or legs, raise the arm or leg to reduce swelling.

5. If victim has burns on face, check frequently to make sure he is not having difficulty breathing.

6. Get victim to a hospital immediately.

Sun Burn

Treatment

1. Remove the victim to the shade and cool the skin by sponging gently with
cold water.

2. Give sips of cold water at frequent intervals.

3. If the burns are mild, gently apply an after sun cream.

4. For extensive blistering, seek medical help.

Stomach's Multivitamin Management

2010-07-08T10:45:00.000-07:00

Multivitamins are terrific supplements. Unfortunately, many of the ones in the market are worthless. The reason: They don't break down in time to be absorbed properly, says Cheryl Hastsough, R.D., a nutritionist from the PGA National Resort and Spa in Palm Beach. If a vitamin doesn't dissolve quickly, it bypasses the first part of the small intestine, where most nutrients are absorbed.

To see how well a vitamin is absorbed, drop it in a glass of vinegar. "If it doesn't break down in 30 minutes, try another brand," she says.

The DareDevil Dr.ABC

2010-07-07T11:48:00.000-07:00

Although not alive, Dr. ABC has saved lives all around the globe with its own simple nature. Some of the readers may have guessed by now that Dr. ABC is no real person. In fact Dr.ABC is the simple name given to the CPR technique. The CPR stands for Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation. The process, as shown in its name, is a revival technique to be used if any person injured or affected by some dangerous contact (electric shocks, burning or drowning etc) is not breathing or his/her heart is not beating.
D R A B C
Danger Response Airway Breathing Circulation

The above given abbreviation of Dr. ABC is the whole procedure of Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation applied by rescue workers, doctors and even trained civilians in a life-threatening emergency to save the life of a dying person. The rescuer should, however bear in mind that calling for help is the utmost priority even before Dr. ABC.
The procedure is explained in detail below.

DR. ABC

D Danger
Before treating any casualty, the rescuer must ensure his/her own safety. Safety first is a rule which applies to all situations. The rescuer must make sure that the factor which affected the casualty may not affect or disable him/her. For example, in case of an electric shock victim, touching the victim would result in the electricity passing on to the rescuer, causing a shock. The resuer first of all must assess the scenario. If any wire is in contact with the casualty, the rescuer must remove the wire ONLY AFTER TURNING OFF THE SWITH connected to it.
To give CPR and for the following steps, the casualty's body must be lying straight on an even, hard surface. The rescuer should take great care to shift the casualty as being rough can be very harmful if there is any spinal injury.

R Response

The rescuer then should check for any kind of response from the casualty. Sitting down on the RIGHT SIDE of the casualty, the rescuer should call out the casualty's name, try to get his/her attention vocally. If that does not work, the rescuer should shake the shoulders of the casualty lightly. If even that extracts no response, the rescuer should resort to the final step and try to cause some pain to the casualty. The safest effective way to do this is to pinch hard on the shoulder.
Note : The shaking and pinching should be applied only upon the shoulders because they are the sturdiest part of the body. All this process should be quick and take the least possible time without hurting the casualty. If the casualty shows some response, immediately shift his/her body into the recovery position (explained below) IF there is no disability like fractures, broken bones or heavy bleeding.
If there is no response, resort to the next step.

A Airway
The most threatening situation which may arise in an unconscious state is the inability to breathe. The rescuer must, therefore, clear the airway of the casualty. Pushing the forehead backwards and downwards, support the chin and push it upwards (as shown in picture). This will straighten the airway of the casualty.

Another problem which may arise is that the casualty's tongue may have rolled back and would be blocking the airway. After straightening the airway, the rescuer should gently open the casualty's mouth and peer inside. If the tongue has rolled back, or any foreign substance is present in the mouth of the casualty, the rescuer should use a sweeping motion of his/her finger to straighten the tongue or remove the foreign object.

B Breathing and C Circulation
After clearing the airway, the rescuer should check to see whether the casualty is breathing and has a heartbeat or not. This done by using the three sense method called LLF. LLF stands for Look Listen Feel. The rescuer should lean over the casualty and turn his/her head to the right so that the rescuer's gaze lies on the casualty's chest and left ear near the
casualty's nose and mouth. The left hand should be placed lightly on the casualty's head and the right hand should be upon the casualty's neck (on the point shown in the picture) to check the pulse.
If the pulse and breathing both are present, then the patient should shifted into the recovery position.

The recovery position involves taking care of a few things, which include ensuring that any fluids may not go into the windpipe, and the circulation remains steady.

The rescuer should, with a firm grip of one hand on the shoulders and one hand upon the pelvis of the casualty, PULL him/her over to lie on the left side. The left leg should be straightened and the right leg place in the folded resting position shown in the picture. The right arm should be placed, palm down, either under the casualty's head or beside it. The left arm should be straightened out horizontally to the body.
The recovery position should be applied if the breathing and pulse both are present. If any one of these is absent, the rescuer should immediately resort to CPR (Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation).

The CPR is an emergency technique which involves artificial respiration to reactivate the lungs and/or chest compressions to reactivate the heart.
The ratio to apply CPR is 2:30, which means 3o chest compressions after every two mouth blows. Following are the steps of performing CPR.

Sit on the casualty's right side on your toes, with your knees on the ground.

If breathing is missing and pulse is present :

1. Hold the casualty's nose in a pinched grip to prevent any air from leaving that way.

2. Take in a quick deep breath, put your mouth onto the casualty's and give a hard blow, enough for you to see a rise of at least 1.5 cm at the chest.

3. Pause for a moment and lift your head to take another quick deep breath and then give another hard blow into the casualty's mouth.

4. Continue giving rescue blows every five seconds until help arrives or breathing resumes.

5. Use LLF after every minute to check if the breathing has resumed. If breathing does resume, shift the patient into the recovery position and wait for help.

If the pulse and breathing both are missing :
1. Give two rescue blows followed by 30 chest compressions to complete a cycle.

2. On the lower left side of the sternum bone, give 30 quick compressions with arms held straight, half your weight on your arms, and the full palm exerting force upon the mentioned point, which is the location of the human heart. To apply the compressions, the master hand should be above the other hand, with fingers locked together. The full palm of the other hand should apply the force exerted by the master hand and the body. The force of the compressions should be such that the chest should move downwards at least one and a half inch.

6. Continue repeating the full CPR in quick succession to complete the ratio 2:30 (two mouth blows and thirty chest compressions). The whole procedure should be so quick that it should take about 3-4 minutes.

7. After completing one cycle of the 2:30 ratio CPR, use LLF for at least 10 seconds to detect any change in the patient's condition.

8. Continue this cycle until help arrives or the patient gives any signs of movement or revival, like chest rise and fall or the pulse. If the patient gives any signs of revival, immediately shift him/her to the recovery position and wait for help.

The Heimlich LifeSaver

2010-06-29T09:50:00.002-07:00

The world-famous Heimlich manouevre has been the means of saving countless lives since its discovery. However, few people actually know the origins of the development of this effective and efficient procedure.

The Heimlich maneuver applies a series of actions to aid a choking person. In the case of the Heimlech, choking specifically means blockage of the human airway due to some foreign material or object. In such cases of choking, coins and other small trinkets are common objects which can probably block the airway of person. The case with coins is most probable with infants who are left unattended while playing with them. The Heimlich maneuver gives a detailed procedure regarding choking case with both adults and children. In adults, a study proved that peanuts cause most choking hazards.

The Heimlich maneuver's development is credited to Henry Heimlich. The before mentioned person, being a physician, first published the Heimlich maneuver in an informal article in the journal Emergency medicine in June 1974. He described the whole procedure along with details about the positioning of the abdominal thrusts, another name given to the Heimlich maneuver. However, he disagreed with the other name of the maneuver (abdominal thrusts) because he thought that the name may confuse the rescuer about the point of action, as the name makes the point seem to be the abdomen.

The procedure is described below with illustrated diagrams to further enhance the understanding of the reader.

The Heimlech Maneuver applied on adults,

teens, and children over 7 years of age:

The Heimlech maneuver is by applying pressure on the diaphragm of body with short, quick and powerful thrusts. It is a point below the rib cage, covered with soft internal muscles. The patient will obviously not be able to speak due to the lodged obstruction. The Universal Sign of choking should be used by the patient to indicate the problem.

Steps to be performed by the rescuer:

1. Ball your right hand into a tight fist. Bend the patient over a bit

2. Next, facing the back of the patient, move your arms around him/her and rest you fist on the diaphragm area below the sternum bone, making sure that your arms are not touching the ribs of the person.

3. Place your other hand upon the fist and hold tightly.

4. Squeeze with sufficient force to lift the person of his feet.

5. This should most probably release the obstruction and push it up though the mouth.

Note : The squeezing part should consist of quick, hard, upward thrusts.

If a person is alone, or if nobody around is familiar with the procedure, the patient can himself/herself perform the maneuver. To substitute the grip of the rescuer, the patient can put his/her hands on the diaphragm the same way, lean against a railing or the back of a chair and then exert pressure on the diaphragm to dislodge the obstruction stuck in the airway.

The Heimlich Maneuver applied on infants:-

Infants are fragile and weak, and must not be handled in the same way as the adults and teens. The Heimlich Maneuver provides special instructions to follow if an infant is choking. If it is a case of choking, the infant would be trying to breathe laboriously and slowly turning blue. In such a condition the following steps should be followed to dislodge the obstruction from the airway.

1. Lay down the baby straight, face up, on one arm. Grip his/her neck to provide support.

2. With two fingers, jab the diaphragm five times quickly and with gentle yet adequate force.

3. Next, turn over the baby and give five quick jabs with the heel of your hands.

4. Continue repeating the above two steps till the obstruction is lodged out or rescue help arrives.