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June 25, 2010

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Donut Bandage

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The Donut Bandage is used to put pressure around an impaled object without putting pressure on the object itself. Attach with roll or gauze or tap

June 24, 2010

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What is heat rash?

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Heat rash (prickly heatClick here to see an illustration.) is a red or pink rash usually found on body areas covered by clothing. It can develop when the sweat ducts become blocked and swell and often leads to discomfort and itching. Heat rash is most common in babies, but may affect adults in hot, humid climates.

What causes heat rash?

In babies, heat rash can be caused by well-meaning parents who dress their baby too warmly, but it can happen to any baby in very hot weather. A baby should be dressed as an adult would be to be comfortable at the same temperature and activity level. Babies’ hands and feet may feel cool to your touch but that does not mean they need to be dressed too warmly in hot weather.

What are the symptoms of heat rash?

Heat rash looks like dots or tiny pimples. In young children, heat rash can appear on the head, neck, and shoulders. The rash areas can get irritated by clothing or scratching, and, rarely, a secondary skin infection may develop.

How is heat rash diagnosed?

Heat rash can usually be identified by its appearance and does not usually require medical attention. However, if doesn’t go away after 3 or 4 days, or if it appears to be getting worse, or if your child develops a fever, contact your health professional right away.

When you or your child has a rash, it is important to watch for signs of infection, including:

  • Increased pain, swelling, redness, or warmth around the affected area.
  • Red streaks extending from the affected area.
  • Drainage of pus from the area.
  • Swollen lymph nodes in the neck, armpit, or groin.
  • Fever of 100° F (37.8° C) or higher, or chills with no other known cause.

If any of these symptoms develop, contact your health professional immediately.

What is the treatment for heat rash?

Most prickly heat rashes heal on their own. The following steps can help relieve symptoms.

  • Start by removing or loosening clothing and move him or her to a cool, shady spot.
  • Let the skin air-dry instead of using towels.
  • If your baby’s skin is irritable to touch, calamine lotion or hydrocortisone cream may be used with your health professional’s approval.
  • Avoid ointments or other lotions because they can irritate the skin.

The following tips can help prevent future episodes of the rash:

  • Dress your child in as few clothes as possible during hot weather.
  • Keep the skin cool and dry.
  • Keep the sleeping area cool.

After the rash is gone, gradually expose your child to warmer temperatures so that his or her skin can acclimate.

June 23, 2010

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Kelowna First Aid Class

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In allergic individuals, peanuts are a well recognised cause of severe and rapidly occurring symptoms, such as vomiting, diarrhoea, urticaria, angioedema (swelling of the face, throat or skin), acute abdominal pain, exacerbation of atopic eczema, asthma and anaphylactic shock. If untreated, anaphylactic shock can result in death due to obstruction of the upper or lower airway (bronchiospasm) or hypotension and heart failure. This happens within minutes to hours of eating the peanuts. The first symptoms may include sneezing and a tingling sensation on the lips, tongue and throat followed by pallor, feeling unwell, warm and light headed.

Severe reactions may return after an apparent resolution of 1-6 hours. Asthmatics with peanut sensitivity are more likely to develop life threatening reactions. Peanuts are the most likely food to provoke fatal anaphylaxis in children and adults but many other foods (including tree nuts, seeds (e.g. sesame, sunflower), cow milk, eggs, fish and shellfish) can also precipitate this.

June 22, 2010

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Problems Backpacks Can Pose

Although many factors can lead to back pain — increased participation in sports or exercise, poor posture while sitting, and long periods of inactivity — some kids have backaches because they’re lugging around their entire locker’s worth of books, school supplies, and assorted personal items all day long. But most doctors and physical therapists recommend that kids carry no more than 10% to 15% of their body weight in their packs.

To help understand how heavy backpacks can affect a kid’s body, it helps to understand how the back works. The spine is made of 33 bones called vertebrae, and between the vertebrae are discs that act as natural shock absorbers.

When a heavy weight, such as a backpack filled with books, is incorrectly placed on the shoulders, the weight’s force can pull a child backward. To compensate, a child may bend forward at the hips or arch the back, which can cause the spine to compress unnaturally. The heavy weight might cause some kids to develop shoulder, neck, and back pain.

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You’ve probably experienced waking in the middle of the night to find your child flushed, hot, and sweaty. Your little one’s forehead feels warm. You immediately suspect a fever, but are unsure of what to do next. Should you get out the thermometer? Call the doctor?

In healthy kids, fevers usually don’t indicate anything serious. Although it can be frightening when your child’s temperature rises, fever itself causes no harm and can actually be a good thing — it’s often the body’s way of fighting infections. And not all fevers need to be treated. High fever, however, can make a child uncomfortable and worsen problems such as dehydration.

Here’s more about fevers, how to measure and treat them, and when to call your doctor.

Fever Facts

Fever occurs when the body’s internal “thermostat” raises the body temperature above its normal level. This thermostat is found in the part of the brain called the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus knows what temperature your body should be (usually around 98.6° Fahrenheit or 37° Celsius) and will send messages to your body to keep it that way.

Most people’s body temperatures even change a little bit during the course of the day: It’s usually a little lower in the morning and a little higher in the evening and can fluctuate as kids run around, play, and exercise.

Sometimes, though, the hypothalamus will “reset” the body to a higher temperature in response to an infection, illness, or some other cause. So, why does the hypothalamus tell the body to change to a new temperature? Researchers believe turning up the heat is the body’s way of fighting the germs that cause infections and making the body a less comfortable place for them.

June 21, 2010

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The abdomen contains so many different organs that isolating stomach discomfort can be difficult. A helpful guide, especially when you are talking to your doctor, is to pinpoint the pain in terms of quadrants or sections. If your pain is:

Anywhere in the chest, behind the breast bone or in the throat, it could be simple indigestion, cramp caused by shallow breathing, hiatal hernia, heartburn or reflex oesophagitis.Inflammation and pain around the breastbone and upper abdomen, it could be a viral infection, which can cause inflammation and pain in a condition known as Bornholm disease. Like other viral infections, it will clear up with rest, relaxation, plenty of fluid, nourishing soups, extra vitamin C and so on.

In the chest, it should be taken seriously as it could be angina or the early signs of a heart attack especially if accompanied by pain in the arms.

Behind the shoulder blades, it could mean gall bladder trouble. If it strikes the upper right quadrant, consider gastroenteritis, gastritis, gallstones, ulcer or hiatus hernia.

In the upper left or lower left quadrant, it may be diverticular disease, constipation, ulcerative colitis or irritable bowel syndrome. The pain of hiatal hernia may also radiate to the lower left or right side under the ribcage.

In the lower right area of the abdomen, sharp pain could mean appendicitis whilst groaning discomfort could be Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis.

In the lower back or lower abdomen, it may indicate kidney problems, cystitis, diverticulis, pelvic inflammatory disease or period pains.

The pressure of trapped wind, it can be excruciating and deceiving. Not only does the discomfort move around, it can also be an amazing mimic, aping the pain of gallstones, appendicitis and a heart attack all within the space of an hour or two.

June 19, 2010

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Helmet Basics

P_whichBike_buttonBicycle helmet use should not be optional for anyone in your family, no matter where you are or how short the ride. In many states it’s the law.

Here’s why: Most bike accidents involve a head injury, so a crash could mean permanent brain damage or death for someone who doesn’t wear one while riding. In fact, each year in the United States, about half a million kids are seriously injured in bicycle-related accidents, and most of those injuries could have been avoided if a helmet was worn.

Here are some things to keep in mind when buying a helmet:

  • Pick bright colors that are visible to drivers and other cyclists.
  • Look for a helmet that’s well ventilated.
  • Make sure that the helmet has a CPSC or Snell sticker inside. These indicate that the helmet meets standards set by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) or the Snell Memorial Foundation, a nonprofit group that tests helmet safety.
  • Make sure your child’s helmet fits correctly and can be adjusted.

P_helmet-fitYou should be able to get help finding a well-fitting helmet and adjusting it properly at any bicycle store.

When kids wear a helmet, make sure that the straps are fastened. Also make sure they don’t wear any other hat underneath it.

Be sure to replace any helmet made before 1999. If your child hits any surface hard while wearing a helmet, replace it — helmets lose their capacity to absorb shock after taking serious hits.

A few bike helmets can be used as protection for other activities, but in general, they’re best suited to biking. Most helmets are made for one specific type of activity — for example, special helmets also are made for inline skating, baseball, and snowmobiling.

Kids should not wear any helmet when they’re on a playground or climbing a tree — there is a risk of strangulation from the chin strap during these types of activities.

June 18, 2010

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Signs and Symptoms of Anaphylaxic shock

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with other allergies, anaphylaxis can trigger symptoms in any of these four body systems:

  1. skin
  2. gastrointestinal system
  3. respiratory system
  4. cardiovascular system

An allergic reaction may be a medical emergency if it happens in two or more of these systems — hives on the skin, for example, together with stomach pain.

The most common signs that a child who has been exposed to an allergen might have anaphylaxis are:

  • difficulty breathing
  • tightness in the throat or feeling like the throat or airways are closing
  • hoarseness or trouble speaking
  • wheezing
  • nasal stuffiness or coughing
  • nausea, abdominal pain, or vomiting
  • fast heartbeat or pulse
  • skin itching, tingling, redness, or swelling

June 17, 2010

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What are the different kinds of casts?

A cast, which keeps a bone from moving so it can heal, is essentially a big bandage that has two layers — a soft cotton layer that rests against the skin and a hard outer layer that prevents the broken bone from moving.

These days, casts are made of either:

  • plaster of paris: a heavy white powder that forms a thick paste that hardens quickly when mixed with water. Plaster of paris casts are heavier than fiberglass casts and don’t hold up as well in water.
  • synthetic (fiberglass) material: made out of fiberglass, a kind of moldable plastic, these casts come in many bright colors and are lighter and cooler. The covering (fiberglass) on synthetic casts is water-resistant, but the padding underneath is not. You can, however, get a waterproof liner. The doctor putting on your child’s cast will decide whether a fiberglass cast with a waterproof lining is appropriate.

How is a cast put on?

First, several layers of soft cotton are wrapped around the injured area. Next, the plaster or fiberglass outer layer is soaked in water. The doctor wraps the plaster or fiberglass around the soft first layer. The outer layer is wet but will dry to a hard, protective covering. Doctors sometimes make tiny cuts in the sides of a cast to allow room for swelling.

Can plaster of paris casts get wet?

Absolutely not! A wet cast may not hold the bone in place because the cast could start to dissolve in the water and could irritate the skin underneath it, possibly leading to infection. So your child shouldn’t swim and should use a plastic bag or special sleeve (available online or sometimes at pharmacies) to protect the cast from water. And instead of a shower, your child may need to take a sponge bath.

Can synthetic (fiberglass) casts get wet?

Although the fiberglass itself is waterproof, the padding inside a fiberglass cast is not. So it’s still important to try to keep a fiberglass cast from getting wet. If this is a problem, talk to the doctor about getting a waterproof liner. Fiberglass casts with waterproof liners let kids continue bathing or even go swimming during the healing process. Although the liner allows for evaporation of water and sweat, it’s still fragile. Also, only certain types of breaks can be treated with this type of cast. Your doctor will determine if the fracture may be safely treated with a waterproof cast.

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The common fall is more dangerous than it may seem. While the majority leave behind no more than a few bumps, bruises, or scratches others can be the injury behind a concussion, broken bone, seizure and other unpleasant situations.

When a person falls, the first thing to do is make sure there are no serious and obvious injuries- no broken bones, heavy bleeding, seizures, and that the person is conscious. If the fall was ‘bad’ do not allow them to move until you are sure no injuries have been done to their head, neck, back, or hips.

If there seems to be a serious injury, like any of the ones listed above and more, call 911 for aid. Also call if you see any of these signs

Unconsciousness- even if it is very brief (concussion)

Becomes very sleepy or is difficult to wake up (concussion)

Walking in an abnormal fashion- off balance, dizzy (concussion)

Difficulty breathing

No breathing -begin CPR

Clear fluid or bleeding coming from nose, ears or mouth.

Complains of intense or increasing pain

Vomiting

Deep or large wounds

Trouble focusing eyesight, distorted vision. (concussion)

Odd behavior or symptoms

Irritable and oddly moody, nonstop crying.

If the fall does not seem to be an emergency, but the child is young, keep watch over them closely for the next 24 or so hours, to make certain that no symptoms of injury or strange behavior develop. If you fear a concussion, due to a fall involving the head, even if there are no symptoms always go see a doctor.

Prevention

Preventing falls, especially with young children is tough, but it there are ways to minimize risks. With very young children or infants, always trap them securely into strollers, car seats, high chairs, and onto changing tables. Discourage children from playing on furniture or jumping on beds. Active children should be taught to wear helmets and other safety pads when biking, skating, skiing, and climbing.

*** Before administering any first aid to anyone outside your family, be aware of your rights and responsibilities: The Good Samaritan Law. ***

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