Christmas Abroad?

Going overseas for Crimbo? This should be an exciting and enjoyable experience, whether your visiting the 'relies' or a far off and remote land, just to escape the cold. I don't want to sound like the angel of doom but just make sure you take a few simple precautions to ensure you can relax and enjoy your holiday.

Vaccinations
Go to your GP or see the nurse as soon as you know you're going abroad. Some jabs need several visits. Also, some places will not let you in if you have not had the right vaccinations.

Medication
Make sure you take any prescription medications you need, and enough for the duration, plus a bit. Keep these in your hand luggage and in the original packaging.

Insurance
Take out adequate medical insurance before you leave. If staying in the EU make sure you fill in form E111 (available from Post Office) to get your card entitling you to free emergency treatment in all EU countries. Remember to take copies of insurance policies and emergency phone numbers with you when you travel.

Deep Vein Thrombosis (and flying in general)
If you're on a long flight, get up and walk around as often as possible. Also drink plenty of water. This will help prevent DVT and the water will also help prevent dehydration caused by air travel. Most airlines have information on DVT on their aircraft, read it! Try and avoid too many alcoholic and fizzy drinks as this could make the dehydration worse. Try and change your body clock to the time zone you're heading to as soon as you take off, this will minimize jet lag.

More tips on safe travel soon.

First Aid Kits

First Aid Kits, probably not the most exciting subject to talk about, but unless you have one, and keep it stocked with appropriate items and replace anything you use, your first aid kit could let you down when you really need it. Have you ever cut your finger when draining the oil from a tin of tuna, then found that your teenage son has used all the plasters on his rugby wounds? Taking the time to look after your first aid kit will ensure that when an accident happens you will have what you need to deal with it. Yes, I know you can get tuna that you don't need to drain, but hey, accidents happen. My way of keeping track is to keep a list of everything that should be in your first aid kit stuck inside the lid, then every time you open it, for whatever reason, check that you have everything on the list. Do this after you have dealt with the casualty though, as bleeding to death while someone counts the plasters is never good. 
Some items have an expiry date on them, check these dates occasionally and swap the old stuff. I for one, would not want a 20 year old dressing on a wound. Every now and then, swap things like the gloves, these don't always have a date on them but become brittle with age and will end up in bits when you go to put them on. If nothing else, you should check your kit at least once a year. Don't throw away any out of date first aid kit, instead, be a local hero and send it to somewhere like St John Ambulance, The Red Cross, your local Ambulance Station or even me. We all use old kit to train people with and it all costs money, and in the case of SJA and Red Cross every donation will be greatly received. They are charities after all, and who knows, your old out-of-date dressing may just be used to train someone who might just use that training one day to save someone's life! 


Tips for stocking up

It's a good idea to make a note of what you use from your first aid kit. What I do is keep the wrappers from anything that is used, especially if I'm in the middle of nowhere, these wrappers then become my shopping list when I next stock up. I always make a point of telling wilderness/first aid volunteers and students this, as there's another reason to take wrappers home with you, it keeps the wilderness clean, remember “leave only footprints”.

OK so where do you get your kit from? There are loads of places in every high street. There are even more online. The choice is endless, but...

There is a place where you can get a kit that has just what you want and nothing more. If you want a kit for the car, a sterile kit for your travels to that far away place, or a kit for the rugby team (and even Digger the mascot), then look no further, just click here and tell me what you need.

One final tip...

Got a son who plays rugby, or football, goes fishing or takes part in 'Extreme Chess'? Put a small first aid kit in his kit bag!

Electric Shock

Yep, it's that time of year when all those dodgy looking Christmas lights come out of the shed, basement, or wherever else that the mice have been chewing away quite merrily for about ten months. You’ll throw them at the tree, or cast them over a fence in the front garden, get Uncle Albert to hold them up while you plug them in, just so you can see the full effect. This is about the point where Albert goes flying across the yard at the speed of sound because he just had 240V shoot up his arm, across his chest and down his other arm, which was clinging onto those rickety old aluminium step ladders you should have put in the rubbish tip three years ago. Oops!

After you’ve stopped shouting at him for dropping the lights in the pond, you run up to him and grab him by the arm and shake. Not trying to wake him, but because you also now have an electric current running up your arm. See, what you should have done is first make sure that the old fella was no longer attached to the electricity supply. (Actually what you should have done is got some new lights this year, but hey, we’re here now).

Disconnect the lights from the power or remove the lights from Uncle Albert using a non-conductive, dry, broom, stick, cricket bat, anything that will not allow the electricity to bite you too. Basically, break the circuit between the stuff with teeth (electricity) and the casualty (Uncle Albert).

Never become a casualty yourself!

Now you can turn your attention to poor old Albert. The electric shock may have caused his breathing and his heart to stop. It may also have caused a couple of burns, one where the current entered his body and another where it left, or where he was ‘Earthed’

Check to see if Albert is breathing. If not, open his airway and begin cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) immediately. If possible get someone else to dial 999 or 112. (I’ll cover CPR separately).

If he’s conscious, flood the injury with plenty of cool water over the burns for at least 10 minutes. Cover any burns with a loose sterile bandage, ideally cling film if available, or a clean cloth. Cling film is my weapon of choice as you can carry on flooding the water over the area and still see what is going on underneath. Don't use anything fluffy as fibres can stick to the burns and he won’t thank you later. Don’t wrap anything tight around a limb as you will more than likely cut off the blood supply. (What may be wrapped loosely around his arm now may be very tight in 30 minutes when the arm is swollen due to the injury). Never use oils, lotions or potions to cool a burn. After all don’t you baste a turkey by doing that! Finally treat for shock.

CPR for what will seem like forever.

After I walked the dogs tonight I sat down to rest my sore feet (did 8 miles rather quick), so I thought that it was a good time to check the old emails, like you do! Had a look at Twitter and found this http://www.justgiving.com/eufas

Students at Edinburgh University First Aid Society are planning to carry out cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on a dummy. Nothing strange about that, I do it quite a bit myself. If I’m not brushing up on my own skills, then I’m teaching someone else. So, why are these guys doing it, and why are they doing it for two days? Yes, that’s right, two whole days.
Anyone who’s done any first aid before will know that after doing CPR for a few minutes, the skin starts to get damp, the heart rate quickens and you feel like you could end up needing CPR yourself! For those that haven’t, CPR involves bouncing up and down on someone’s chest while singing ‘Nellie the Elephant’ (I’ll explain this another time I promise, but first aid instructors, and student will know what I mean). Now depressing someone’s chest (even Resus Anne’s) around 4-5cm each time, for a long period like two days is madness. Normally on a first aid courses I get my victims to do CPR for a couple of minutes so they get the idea of how hard it may be doing it for 8 minutes while waiting for an ambulance to show up. Now someone wants to do it for two DAYS!

 Anyway, apart from being clinically insane, these fine chaps from Edinburgh are raising cash for the Red Cross. They’ll also be teaching members of the public lifesaving skills and spreading the message about the importance of first aid. All very noble stuff, I do it myself after all however, if it’s OK with them, I’m going to carry on climbing mountains and walking ridiculous distances to raise funds.

First aid tips for Bonfire Night

As an update on my 'Remember Remember' posting here are some tips from the British Red Cross and a short video.
First aid tips for Bonfire Night

Community Responders

For those of you who don't yet know, (where have you been, deep space?) apart from being a wilderness medic and teaching first aid, I'm also a Community First Responder (CFR).
A CFR is a member of the public who volunteers to help their local community by responding to medical emergencies. We are trained by the Ambulance Service in order that we can respond to emergencies before the arrival of an ambulance. We are trained in the use of automated external defibrillators (AEDs), oxygen therapy and how to assist with a wide range of potentially life threatening conditions such as heart attack and asthma. CFR's form small schemes in key areas as identified by the Ambulance Service. Most schemes meet regularly to plan rotas, organise fundraising activities and awareness days. Each member of the scheme decides how much time they are able to give and rotas are drawn up accordingly by the co-ordinator for that area (that's me).

Each scheme raises money within the local community to purchase the equipment it needs. Generally each scheme has one kit which is passed between the relevant members during their on-call time. If we had more kits, we could potentially save more lives, so next year (March 22nd 2010) my wife is going to drop me at Reading station to catch a Rail Air coach. Rail Air is going to take me to Heathrow then I'll be flying to Glasgow, easy!. Then all I have to do then is get back to Reading, on foot, walking, with my feet, and legs, am I mad, yes!
I've got to stop at a few places on the way down, a hospice here (Glasgow), a charity ball there (Leeds), you know how it is. It'll be a bit like doing 2 London Marathons every day for 10 days. Just me and a pair of boots. All my food, clothing, waterproofs etc. will be in a rucksack on my back. I will be sleeping in my one-man tent wherever I decide to stop each day. If I can't carry it then it stays at home. Then on April 1st I'll arrive back in Reading, I'll have walked over 500 miles, have sore legs, lost a bit of weight and more than likely be sporting a fine set of blisters. Most importantly, I'll hopefully have raised loads of money for Community First Responders, someone may even offer to get us a complete kit!

NEWS FLASH

There is a possibility that a well know music/food/comedy type venue in Reading may be helping me to put on a night of entertainment when I get back to Reading.

(Don't panic, I'm not singing)

I'll know more about this soon so stay tuned and keep checking my web for details, ticket prices etc. It'll be a good night out I promise.

Money from one of my JustGiving pages goes straight to South Central Ambulance Service Community First Responders. You can however offer services and/or goods to help my cause. Take a look at www.steveblethyn.co.uk to find out what else you can do to help me. You can also get updates from my blogs, you're reading one of those now, and here's the other one http://blethyn.blogspot.com

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

I've made it easy for you, all you have to do is click on the JustGiving logo (there's another one on the right), put a large number in the box and click send. So please dig deep and donate now.

Remember, remember!!

With November 5th just around the corner (where did that year go?) I thought it only right that I should start my First Aid Blog off with a bit about burns. The best thing of course is not to get burnt in the first place. May sound obvious but, every year it happens, A&E will see kids and adults turning up with burns to hands and face. Burns happen when your skin comes into contact with something hot, such as fireworks, hot metal, (sparkler after it's gone out!) or even the BBQ. Yes we in the UK still light the old BBQ when it's freezing cold and dark outside.
You can also be burned by certain chemicals, electricity, and friction. A scald is a burn that is caused by a hot liquid, or steam, and can be treated in the same way as a burn.
Burns are usually divided into three categories depending on how much of the skin they affect. Superficial burns affect the surface of the skin, making it red, swollen, and painful. This sort of burn can be treated at home and usually heals in between 7-10 days. Partial and full thickness burns are much more serious, and require medical attention.

Treating minor burns
To treat superficial (minor) burns at home follow the advice below.
Cool the skin using cool running water for between 10-30 minutes, (under the cold tap) ideally as soon as the injury happens. This will prevent the burn getting worse.
Do not use ice, iced water, creams, or greasy substances, such as butter.
Cover using cling film over the burn, rather than wrapping it around a limb. (Too tight and you'll cut off the blood supply, not good) A clean, clear plastic bag is suitable to use for burns on hands. Taking a mild painkiller, such as paracetamol, or ibuprofen, can help. However, always check the packaging to make sure that you take the correct dosage.

Do not interfere with the burn, or break any blisters. If the burn is very painful, or seems to be getting worse, call NHS Direct on 0845 46 47, or visit your GP for advice. Burns to the mouth or throat can be potentially life threatening as swelling in this area can affect a person's breathing. If this occurs, dial 999 for an ambulance immediately, loosen all clothing around the person’s neck and be prepared to resuscitate. Deep, or large burns, or burns to the face, hands, or across joints, must always be checked by a doctor and may require hospital treatment.

Bonfire safety tips
Once the bonfire is lit, make sure you:
keep a bucket of water or a garden hose nearby, in case of emergencies
don’t leave the bonfire unattended
keep children and pets away from the bonfire
don’t throw any fireworks into the fire
Once the bonfire has died down, spray the embers with water to stop it reigniting.

Trivia
Fireworks cause hundreds of avoidable injuries every year. In the six years between 2000 and 2005 (the last year for which statistics were collected) 6,637 people were hurt and required hospital treatment. In the same period there were two deaths, in 2005 there were 990 injuries. The highest number of injuries (475) occurred at family or private parties, followed by incidents in the street or other public places and large public displays. The most common firework injuries were caused by rockets (216), air bombs (111) and sparklers (104).

Before you start thinking that it’s not going to happen to you, consider this. Around half of all injuries happen to children under the age of 16 years. That’s a lot of kids who may have ugly burn scars – for life.