With good asthma control, your child should not miss school and should be able to participate fully in school activities including sports.

Regular, clear communication with the school can help your child maintain good asthma control. You can help to prevent asthma problems at school by talking to your child’s teachers and by making sure you child has proper asthma treatment.

Meet with your child’s teachers each year before classes start

• Give teachers a copy of your child’s asthma action plan and explain what it says.
• List and explain your child’s asthma triggers and why it’s important to avoid them. (Some common triggers in the classroom include furry animals, dust, mould and strong smells.)
• Show teachers your child’s asthma medicines and how to use them properly – make sure the medicines are well labelled.
• Make sure the teachers know which medicine is the rescue medicine that helps in an asthma emergency (usually the blue inhaler).
• Ask about the school’s rules about asthma medicines – stress the importance of allowing your child to carry his medicines with him at all times.
• Ask about policies for field trips – with a bit of extra planning most trips should be safe.
• Offer to arrange an information session with a Certified Asthma Educator or Certified Respiratory Educator.
• Make sure your child’s teachers know what to do in an emergency and whom to contact

What to do in an asthma attack Sit child down, with her back straight. Give child 2 puffs of her rescue medicine. It’s usually in a blue puffer (for example, Ventolin®). If the child’s breathing is not getting easier, call 911 or your local emergency number. Keep giving child puffs of her rescue medicine until the ambulance arrives. Call the child’s parents or emergency contact person.

Kelowna First Aid Class

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.

Helmet Basics

Bicycle 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.

You 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.

Chemical Splash in the Eye First Aid – Kelowna First Aid Courses ( Okanagn, Kelowna, Vernon, Kamloops, Penticton )

If a chemical splashes into your eye, take these steps immediately:

Flush your eye with water. Use clean, lukewarm tap water for at least 20 minutes, and use whichever of these approaches is quickest:

• Get into the shower and aim a gentle stream of lukewarm water on your forehead over your affected eye. Or direct the stream on the bridge of your nose if both eyes are affected. Hold your affected eye or eyes open.
• Put your head down and turn it to the side. Then hold your affected eye open under a gently running faucet.
• Young children may do best if they lie down in the bathtub or lean back over a sink while you pour a gentle stream of water on the forehead over the affected eye or on the bridge of the nose for both eyes.

Wash your hands with soap and water. Thoroughly rinse your hands to be sure no chemical or soap is left on them. Your first goal is to get the chemical off the surface of your eye, but then you must remove the chemical from your hands.

Remove contact lenses. If they don’t come out during the flush, then take them out.

Caution:

• Don’t rub the eye — this may cause further damage.
• Don’t put anything except water or contact lens saline rinse in the eye, and don’t use eyedrops unless emergency personnel tell you to do so.

Seek emergency medical assistance
After following the above steps, seek emergency care or, if necessary, call 911 or your local emergency number. Take the chemical container or the name of the chemical with you to the emergency department. If readily available, wear sunglasses because your eyes will be sensitive to light.

Kelowna First Aid Course - Treatment of Burns

Kelowna First Aid Course Jan 10.2010 www.okanaganfirstaid.com 250-8786690

First Aid For Burns

A burn involves the destruction of skin cells, and sometimes the underlying structures of muscle, fascia and bone. It occurs when these structures absorb more heat than they can dissipate. What you do for a burn in the first few minutes after it occurs CAN make a difference in the severity of the injury!Safety Tips:

1. STOP THE BURNING PROCESS. Remove the source of heat…if clothing catches fire, “STOP, DROP AND ROLL” to smother the flames.
2. REMOVE ALL BURNED CLOTHING. Clothing may keep in the heat and cause a deeper injury. If clothing sticks to the skin, cool the material or cut or tear around the area to preserve good skin tissue.
3. POUR COOL WATER OVER THE BURNED AREA. Keep pouring the cool water for at least 3-5 minutes. Never put ice or cold water on a burn as it lowers body temperature and can make the burn worse.
4. REMOVE ALL JEWELRY, BELTS, TIGHT CLOTHING, METAL, ETC. Remove from burned areas and around the victim’s neck – swelling of burned areas occurs immediately.
5. DO NOT APPLY OINTMENTS, CREAMS OR SALVES TO WOUNDS. These things may cause infection due to their oil base and can convert wounds to deeper injury; hold in heat and worsen the burn, and have to be washed off by a physician causing the patient additional discomfort.
6. COVER BURNS WITH A SOFT, CLEAN, DRY DRESSING, BANDAGE OR SHEET.
7. COVER VICTIM TO KEEP HIM/HER WARM.
8. SEEK MEDICAL ATTENTION AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

• Special considerations:
  • FOR MINOR BURN INJURY: Keep clean, gently wash with a mild soap. Use an antiseptic spray or cream to help relieve pain and prevent infection before covering with a clean dry dressing. If wounds are not healing, appear weepy, or smell bad, seek medical help.
  • ELECTRICAL INJURIES: DO NO TOUCH the person who is in contact with electricity. YOU WILL BE INJURED. Disconnect the source of power or call for assistance for the power company…then begin first aid. Primary concerns are clear airways, breathing, circulation and cervical spine immobilization…then look for other injuries.
  • CHEMICAL INJURIES: Protect yourself from contact with the chemical. Read the container label information or consult with a Poison Control Center before administering first aid for specific chemical reactions. Dry chemicals: brush as much a of the dry chemical off as possible and remove it from the affected area from a minimum of 20-30 minutes or until a medical professional tells you to stop. Remove patient’s clothing, including shoes, before flushing with water. If chemical is near or is in the patient’s eye, check for contact lenses, which should be removed before irrigation of the eye. Don’t flush parts of body that are not contaminated.

Facts and Figures:

• A burn involves the destruction of skin cells, and sometimes the underlying structures of muscle, fascia and bone. It occurs when these structures absorb more heat than they can dissipate.
• Children and older adults, because they have thinner skin, get severe burns at lower temperatures and in less time than an adult.
  • Exposure for thus three seconds to water, which is 140 degrees F., can result in a full thickness or third degree burn on a child or an older adult. This type of burn would require hospitalization and skin grafts.
  • People with MINOR to MODERATE injury according to depth and percentage can be treated in a specialty Burn Center or Unit, a local community hospital with a surgeon who knows state-of-the-art burn care, or on an outpatient basis.
  • Burns are considered MINOR, MODERATE or MAJOR according to the depth and percentage of burn, but also the area of the body burned.
  • Burns covering more body surface area than an arm of the victim, or if burns are on the face, hands, neck, perineum or feet are considered MAJOR and should be cared for in a special Burn Unit or Center.

“Rule of Nines” Burn Size

Burns are judged by the size of the burn in relation to the whole body and by the depth of the burn injury. Different methods exist to calculate the extent or size of a burn injury. The most common method, which provides a quick estimate of burn size, uses the “Rule of Nines,” where the body is divided into areas equaling multiples of nine percent of the total body surface area. The palm of your hand, for example, is equal to about one percent of your body’s surface area. The head and arms are each equal to nine percent of the body surface. The chest and back are each 18 percent (two nine percent). Each leg is 18 percent (two X nine percent). This totals 11 nine, or 99 percent. The heads of infants and small children are in relatively larger proportion to the total body surface area, and the limbs are in smaller proportion than adults limbs. The total body surface area of a burn is referred to as TBSA. A patient might have the diagnosis of a 45 percent TBSA thermal burn, for example. The TBSA and burn depth analysis are recorded on a hospital chart known as a “burn diagram.” Determining the percent of body surface area burned is important for correct fluid replacement.

Next Kamloops First Aid Course January 09.2010 ( Standard / Emergency / Child Care / CPR )

Register Today Space Limited !! Start Saving A life ! 250.878.6690

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Red Cross - Kelowna First Aid Course

Charge into Action

Following Floods

Within hours after officials issued flood-related evacuation orders to residents of several Vancouver Island communities late last week, Red Cross staff and volunteers were on the ground, providing emergency hygiene and cleanup kits, as well as other relief supplies to affected residents.

About a dozen Red Cross volunteers and staff sprang to action with approximately 15 more on standby. Nathan Huculak, Communications Coordinator for the Red Cross, says the quick response from the Disaster Management team was fantastic.

“Having enough trained volunteers to deploy to the affected area made it possible for us to assist people immediately,” says Huculak. “Right now we have enough people activated to provide assistance, but the situation and weather continues to be unstable, so we may need to call on more volunteers in the near future,” he says.

The area was hit last week with significant flooding after heavy rain overwhelmed a number of Island rivers. Hundreds of residents in more than 150 homes were forced to evacuate. More than 80 homes sustained damage. Bouts of heavy precipitation continue to rain down on saturated river channels, and a good portion of the Island remains on high alert.

Right now, Huculak says volunteers are focused on providing capacity and needs assessments for flood affected residents on behalf of the Cowichan Valley Regional District. The Red Cross in BC is part of a multi-agency committee established earlier this year to coordinate recovery efforts in the Cowichan Valley. Red Cross is one of several agencies in addition to government representatives working together to provide emergency services including temporary housing, food, clothing, and other items to flood affected residents.

Huculak says the partnership is a great example of how agencies are stronger together than apart. “We are already seeing the impact of this new recovery group. We were all at the table together within hours, ready to coordinate our efforts and help people more quickly and efficiently.” he explains.

Families wishing to make an appointment for a flood assessment can call 250-746-2561. The Red Cross is conducting assessments out of the Cowichan Flood Resilience Centre at the Duncan Christian Reform Church at 930 Trunk Road.

50- Assorted Band-Aids, 1- Adhesive Tape 1″x5yds, 2- Abdominal Pad 8″x10″, 4- Gauze Pads 4″x4″, 6- Cotton Tip Applicator 3″, 2- Pressure dressing – Sterile 4″x6″, 4- Triangle Bandage, 2- Tension Bandage 3″

30- Wet-nap Hand Cleaner, 12- Antiseptic Towels, 1- Bandage Scissors 5 1/2″, 1- Splinter Forceps 4 1/2″, 1- Cold Pack, 12- Gloves, Pocket Mask With Soft Nylon case

1-Splinter forceps 4 1/2″, 2- 24-Antiseptic Towelettes, 30-Hand Cleaner, 100-Assorted Band-Aids, 6-Gauze pads 4″x 4″ 2/pkg, 4-Pressure dressing 4″x 6″ elastic tails, 2-Tensor bandage 3″, 1-Adhesive tape l” x 5yrd.

4-Surgi pads 8″x 10″, 6-Triangular bandage, 1-Bandage scissors 51/2″, tip applicators 6″ 6/pkg, 1-Pocket Mask C/W one way valve, 6pr Nitrile gloves, 1-Accident record book, 1-Cold kompress instant, 1-Pencil, Pocket Mask 

BC-Level 2 First Aid Kit (Bag & Contents)

24-Antiseptic towelettes, 150-Assorted bandaids, 6-Gauze pads 4″x 4″ 2/pkg, 4-Pressure dressing 4″x 6″ elastic tails, 12-Triangular bandage, 6-Surgi pads 8″x 10″, 2-Adhesive tape l”x Syrd, 2-Adhesive tape 2″x 5yrd.

6-Tensor bandage 3″, 1-Saline solution 500ml., 1-Green soap 60ml, 1-Scissors universal all purpose, 1-Kelly Forceps 5.5″, 1-Pen lights disposable, 1-Esmarch Bandage, 6pr. gloves, 1-Pocket Mask C/W one way valve

1-Airways oral size 0-6 in each kit, 6-Patient assessment chart, 1-Accident record book, 1-Pencil, 1-Cold kompress instant, With Soft Nylon Case, Level 2 Complete – As Above Plus Bag Valve Mask 3 Blankets

Oxygen Therapy Kit

Level 2 Bag & Contents PLUS, Bag/Mask Resuscitator, Rescue-Vac Suction Unit, Oxygen therapy unit, 3 Blankets in zippered bag, Individual blanket

Please note that the Level 3 Kit is designated as Dangerous Goods and cannot be shipped by bus and certain other forms of transportation. Please inquire with us as to the best shipping method

Below are the differences between WCB OFA level 1 Level 2 and Level 3 Courses.

Register for a first aid course 250.878.6690

www.okanaganfirstaid.com

Occupational First Aid Level 1

A basic one day/8 hour course covering the essential ABC’s – airway, breathing and circulation. How to deal with obstructed airways, breathing distress and control bleeding. One person CPR, minor wound care and records / reports are also part of the course.

Occupational First Aid Level 2

A 36 hour first aid course primarily designed for the urban first aid attendant but is applicable whenever the WorkSafe BC Regulations require certification to the OFA 2 Level.

Covers the basics of airway, breathing and circulation which includes how to deal with obstructed airways, breathing distress, bleeding control, Shock and one person CPR. In addition, patient assessment, hard collar application, upper limb splinting and minor wound care are covered.

Course fees include textbooks and Exams.

Written and practical exams are required after the course is completed. A minimum mark of 70% is required, on both the written and practical exams, to successfully complete the course.

Occupational First Aid Level 3

A 70-hour first aid course designed with the rural or attendant in heavy industry in mind. A prerequisite for employment with the BC Ambulance Service, many ski patrols and some Fire / Police Departments.

Covers the basics of airway, breathing and circulation – includes how to deal with obstructed airways, breathing distress, bleeding control, Shock and one and two person CPR. In addition, continuing patient assessment, hard collar application, securing a patient to a spine board, upper and lower limb splinting and minor wound care are covered. Completion of records and reports are an integral part of the course.

Course fees include textbooks and Exams.

Written and practical exams are required after the course is completed. A minimum mark of 70% is required, on both the written and practical exams, to successfully complete the course. Course medical required.

Take your child seriously

Bullying is not teasing (that can happen amongst friends and your child is on equal plan” with the teaser). Bullying is frightening and humiliating at any age, so listen to your child. Reassure your child that you believe him and will find a way to keep him safe.

Gather facts

Next, you need all the facts so you can help your kid create a plan to stop it. Ask questions like:

• “What happened?”
• “Who did this?”
• “Where were you?”
• “Who was there?” “Were you alone?”
• “Has it happened before?” “How often?”
• “How does it start?”
• “What did you do?”
• “Do you think he’ll do it again?”
• “Did anyone help you?”
• “Did an adult see this?”

Make an action plan

Most kids can’t handle bullying on their own: they need your help. Depending on your child’s age and the bullying situation, here are a few tips to consider:

• Bullying usually happens in unsupervised areas so tell your kid to be near others at lunch, recess, in hallways, near lockers, parks, or other areas.
• Tell your child there’s safety in numbers, so help him find one supportive companion.
• Emphasize that sometimes the best thing to do is leave the scene or walk towards an adult, crowd or older kids.
• Identify a trusting adult who can help your child when you’re not around. They must take this seriously, protect your child, and, if necessary, keep this role as protector confidential.

Teach confident body language

Research finds that kids who learn how to be assertive and appear more confident are less likely to be targeted by bullies. Teach your child to stand tall, holding his head high, to look more confident and less afraid. Tell your child to use a stone-faced glare or try a mean stare that looks straight through the bully.  If your child needs to respond, he should use a strong, firm voice and say a short, direct message: “No.” “Nope.” “Cut it out.” “Leave me alone.” “No way.” Crying, whining, insulting, or threatening only makes things worse. Bullies love knowing they can push kid’s buttons.

Boost self-confidence

Being bullied dramatically affects your child’s self-esteem, so find ways, such as a hobby, sport or talent that your child enjoys and can excel at, to boost her confidence. Then help her develop the skill so her self-esteem grows.

Step in when needed

If there’s ever the possibility your child could be injured, step in. Talk to a teacher, supervisor or parent.

Source;// http://parenting.kaboose.com/behavior/borba-bullying.html