have a safe and enjoyable Memorial Day weekend

Pool Safety: Always supervise weaker swimmers around water. Appoint someone as lifeguard, rather than assuming one of your partygoers is keeping an eye on swimmers. Make sure younger children are within arm’s reach in the pool, and never drink alcohol while swimming or supervising swimmers.

Keep a watchful eye on drink coolers. As the ice melts, these items can become a drowning hazard for curious toddlers who look in the cooler and are unable to get themselves out.

Sun Protection: Consider providing shade, like umbrellas or covered picnic areas, to reduce sun exposure for yourself and your guests. A hat and sunglasses can offer extra coverage. Don’t forget to reapply the sunscreen after two hours of sun exposure.

Fire and Grill Safety: Make sure your grill has been thoroughly cleaned. Dirty grills cause many injuries, particularly propane grills. Keep items that you don’t want grilled away from the flame, and don’t wear loose clothing while you grill.

After your barbecue is over, make sure coals are completely out, and the propane is turned off.

Drink Responsibly:  If alcohol is part of your celebration, decide in advance how much alcohol you are going to be drinking, and stick to your plan.

The National Institutes of Health advises men from age 21 to 65 to have no more than four drinks in a day. Women should have no more than three, according to the institutes. Consume plenty of water in addition to your beverage of choice and don’t drink on an empty stomach.

Do not drink and drive. Elect a designated driver or find alternate transportation home.

First Aid Myth Busters

First Aid Myth Busters No.1 – Coughing to prevent a heart attack

Would you be worried if I said you have a 50% chance of experiencing a Myocardial Infarction before your 70th birthday? Maybe?

If you’re a medical professional you already know what we’re talking about here. In fact you probably call it for the sake of time and syllables, a “Myo-infarc”. Drop that one at your next social function and see your perceived social status climb a notch or two.

The rest of us might have already guessed that a myocardial infarction (officially an Acute Myo-Infarc or AMI) is the fancy name for a heart attack, which occurs when more than 85% of an artery supplying blood to the heart is blocked by fatty plaque.

Wait a second… I stand a 1 in 2 chance of having a heart attack before 70?

Going by current Australian statistics, yes. It’s a little closer to 1 in 3 for women, although not so if you smoke. They are prickly stats and whether it ends up being you or someone you know, the chances are pretty high that one day you might find yourself at the scene when a heart attack strikes.

It’s invaluable then to recognise the signs and know how best to respond.

Enter myth in question: Coughing to prevent heart attack

There’s been an email flying through cyber space for over 10 years now, recommending that if someone was caught alone experiencing symptoms of a heart attack that “these victims can help themselves by coughing repeatedly and very vigorously… with deep breaths” as a form of do-it-yourself CPR or “Cough CPR” as it’s now been coined.

The idea being that “deep breaths get oxygen into the lungs and coughing movements squeeze the heart and keep the blood circulating”.

So could “Cough CPR” save me from a fatal heart attack?

Let’s put this one to bed really quickly shall we? Those in need of CPR are those who have suffered a cardiac arrest, meaning their heart has stopped pumping blood around the body. There are two clear signs of cardiac arrest; 1) the person is unconscious and, 2) their breathing is abnormal or non-existent. They are down for the count.

So have you ever tried coughing while you’re unconscious? “What do you take me for, a fool?” Hey, I wasn’t the one forwarding the email to all my friends and family. You see our dilemma.

You might as well tell someone to perform their own open heart surgery, as both procedures are as impossible as the other. That’s why they call it unconsciousness I guess.

Cough CPR is busted but could coughing while still conscious help?

Another theory might be that coughing could prolong consciousness a little or help to “sweep out the cob webs” in the arteries from where a heart attack originates? For a conclusive answer I turned to First Aider trainer and experienced paramedic, Glenn Dudley.

“Ludicrous!” says Glenn.

“Coughing does not get rid of fatty plaque out of an artery… you need to go to a catheterisation lab and have stents put in to achieve that.”

Further to this, “when someone coughs, you get a raised intracranial pressure (that’s the pressure in your Mr Potato), which can then raise mean arterial pressure (blood pressure)”. Most heart attack victims will already have high blood pressure so in effect, coughing may actually worsen their condition.

Thanks Glenn. I think our job is done here. The verdict?

First Aid Myth Busted

Setting the record straight

When it comes to heart attacks, recognising the early warning signs is key to getting the best outcome.

The movies aren’t real. Sorry to burst your Hollywood bubble, but the crushing chest pain and sudden collapse is not the usual and most victims have warning signs well before this occurs.

What to do if someone is having a heart attack

The best response to any of those signs is to act early by calling 000 (or your country’s emergency number).

Provide reassurance, encourage rest and make sure the casualty takes any medication that their doctor has prescribed in case of chest pain.

If you’re the victim, your energy is best spent getting help from a bystander or calling emergency services yourself and then resting until help arrives.

necprclass.com

Facts About Heart Disease in Women

Do you know what causes cardiovascular disease in women? What about the survival rate? Or whether women of all ethnicities share the same risk?

The fact is: cardiovascular disease is the No. 1 killer of women, causing 1 in 3 deaths each year. That’s approximately one woman every minute!

But it doesn’t affect all women alike, and the warning signs for women aren’t the same in men. What’s more: These facts only begin to scratch the surface.

There are several misconceptions about heart disease in women, and they could be putting you at risk. The American Heart Association’s Go Red For Women movement advocates for more research and swifter action for women’s heart health for this very reason. In this section, we’ll arm you with the facts and dispel some myths – because the truth can no longer be ignored.

AEDS

In August of 2017 the AHA announced new equipment requirements in order to teach CPR certification courses starting January 31, 2019. In a nutshell, in order to be compliant, an instructor needs to use an instrumented directive feedback device. The AHA defines these devices this way:

“An instrumented directive feedback device measures compression rate, depth, hand position, recoil, and chest compression fraction and provides real-time audio or visual feedback (or both) on these critical CPR skills. A feedback device can be integrated into a manikin or serve as an accessory to a manikin.”

In another article, it was more clearly stated the devices “must, at a minimum, measure and provide real-time audio and/or visual feedback on compression rate and depth, allowing students to self-correct or validate their skill performance immediately during training.”

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN TO CPR INSTRUCTORS?

So far the AHA has not given clear direction on the number of manikins required per instructor. Questions remain about whether or not an instructor can have one feedback device to use strictly for the skills test portion of training, or whether all practice performed in the class must be done on a feedback device. It has been touched upon in an FAQ to AHA Instructors:

“Q: What is the recommended ratio of feedback devices or manikins a Training Center must have in adult CPR training courses?

A: The recommended ratio of feedback devices is one per manikin (unless the device used is a manikin itself). Please note that any change to the ratio of manikins per students or Instructors in a course agenda could increase or decrease the length of the course. Use of feedback devices may actually reduce practice time as students will be able to self-correct as feedback is provided in real time.”

As of the publication of this article, the new requirement only affects Basic Life Support (BLS), Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS), ACLS for Experienced Providers and Heartsaver® adult CPR training courses in the US and internationally. The new requirements do not include child and infant CPR certification at this time; however, it is anticipated those requirements will also be included over time.  

WHAT KIND OF DEVICES ARE REQUIRED?

Since certification classes require rescue breath training, instructors will still need to have a manikin which allows rescue breath training. There are many manikins on the market right now which have feedback devices already and would satisfy the requirement, from full-sized full trauma manikins to torso-only manikins and everything in between. Several manufacturers also offer feedback infant and child manikins as well.

External devices which either sit on top of the manikin’s sternum or can be placed under the “skin” of the manikin are also acceptable.

The AHA does not endorse any particular brand or type of device.

REASON FOR THE CHANGE

Back in 2015, when the new AHA guidelines for quality CPR were announced, the findings from the research which went into the changes also included information on the more accessible feedback devices being used in some training classes and the impact it had on skills retention. They found students trained with these devices were able to self-correct during training, which gave them longer periods of training at the correct rate and depth. This translated into better CPR performed in an emergency situation.

Stay healthy in winter

Now that we're heading into the season when colds, flu, stomach bugs, and other infections can run rampant, it’s an ideal time to review strategies that can help us stay healthy this winter.

necprclass.com

Picking up the germs that cause these infections is as easy as touching a contaminated person or surface and then touching your eyes, nose, or mouth. That's something we do an average of 15.7 times an hour, according to a study at University of California, Berkeley.

Frequent hand-washing is the leading expert-recommended infection-prevention strategy. But a few additional steps can also help you stay healthy this winter. Here, a quick rundown of the other strategies everyone should adopt and how to keep your germs to yourself if you do get sick:

1. Use the Right Soap

You can skip the antibacterial stuff—which has ingredients such as triclosan, which was recently banned by the Food and Drug Administration. The agency declared that there’s no evidence antibacterial soap eradicates bacteria any better than regular soap, and it may contribute to the rise in antibiotic-resistant superbugs as well as disruptions in hormonal regulation.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends scrubbing with basic soap and water for a full 20 seconds to reduce the number of bacteria or viruses you may have picked up on your hands. 

2. Avoid the Handshake

It’s becoming more common—and less socially awkward—to skip hand-to-hand contact (and the subsequent germ exchange) during cold and flu season.

“Fist bumps and elbow bumps are replacing the handshake in many settings,” says William Schaffner, M.D., professor of preventive medicine and infectious disease at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn. “Among my infectious-disease colleagues I see a version of the South Asian ‘Namaste,’ where we put our hands together at our chests, make eye contact, and give a little bow.”  

3. Cover Coughs and Sneezes Properly

If you’re the one who’s spewing germs, one way to keep them to yourself is to sneeze or cough into the crook of your elbow. “When you cough or sneeze, that air comes out with a good degree of force, spreading virus particles to anyone within a 3- to 6-foot range,” says Lisa Grohskopf, M.D., a medical officer in the Influenza Division at the CDC.

Sneezing or coughing into your hand will help keep the germs from going airborne, but if you don’t wash your hands immediately, you’ll spread the germs the minute you touch anything or anyone.  

4. Keep Your Distance

Respiratory viruses, like colds and flu, can spread easily through the air. “When someone who’s sick exhales, they breathe out microscopic droplets of fluid containing the virus,” Schaffner says. “And anyone else within their ‘breathing zone’ can then breathe in that infected air.”

To stay healthy this winter, put about 6 feet between you and any sick person who is likely to breathe, cough, or sneeze in your direction.  

5. Know That Germs Can Linger

Another reason to wash your hands frequently is that surfaces stay germy for longer than you might think. A study from the University of Buffalo found that stuffed toys, books, and cribs at a day care tested positive for bacteria that cause ear infections and strep throat even after the facility had been closed overnight.

And according to the CDC, flu viruses can live on hard surfaces (such as doorknobs or phones) for 2 to 8 hours.

A 2013 article published in the American Journal of Infection Control noted that the bug that causes norovirus—an extremely contagious viral infection that brings diarrhea and vomiting—can survive for up to seven days on a hard, dry surface. It also found that the bacteria that cause MRSA—a type of staph infection— have been found to survive for months. Even cold germs can live for anywhere from two hours to seven days on hard surfaces, and for about two hours on skin.  

6. Clean Often-Touched Surfaces

Because those bacteria and viruses stick around on surfaces for hours or even days, cleaning is key. “I recommend an approach called 'targeted hygiene,'” says Elizabeth Scott, Ph.D., co-director of the Simmons Center for Hygiene and Health in Home and Community at Simmons College in Boston, and co-author of the 2013 study. “This means targeting cleaning and disinfection practices when and where there is a risk of infection transmission."

Say, for example, that a coworker or family has a respiratory infection. At the office, it would be wise to regularly (at least daily) wipe down shared workspaces and equipment, such as copy machines that everyone in the office touches. At home, focus on hard surfaces—like doorknobs, faucets, and TV remotes—on which bacteria live the longest.

Just as with hand-washing, you can skip the antibacterial cleaning products. Experts say any household cleaner—or a diluted bleach solution—will do the trick.  

7. Get Vaccinated

Although there's no guaranteed protection against influenza, the annual flu vaccine is still your best defense. Experts can’t predict the effectiveness of this year’s vaccine, but for 2016, getting the shot resulted in a 42 percent lower risk of coming down with the flu.

“And if you do get sick, you may have milder symptoms,” Grohskopf says. It takes two weeks after the shot for your immune system to build up the necessary, protective antibodies, so going for you vaccine in the fall—before flu activity ramps up—is ideal. 

8. Know When to Stay Home

“At the height of your symptoms, you need to stay home for one or two days in order to not get other people sick,” says Aaron E. Glatt, M.D., chairman of the department of medicine at South Nassau Communities Hospital in Oceanside, N.Y.

And while you’re home recovering, take precautions to help the rest of the household stay healthy this winter. Don’t take charge of the family’s food prep while you’re sick, and try to hole up in one room as much as possible in order to keep your germs to yourself.