I received an email today from a concerned rescuer who wondered how she could determine if a person is suffering from low blood sugar or high blood sugar and what to do for each. I thought it would be better if I simply video blogged my answer to her and to the rest of you who might benefit from it. It can be very scary to see someone with a decreased level of consciousness and not know why it’s happening. If one thinks that it may be due to low blood sugar, watching this video blog may empower you to know what to do and become a rescuer today.
If you would like to see a five minute training video on what diabetic emergencies are, please go to www.profirstaid.com and click on the video training tab at the top. Then scroll down to diabetic emergencies. Keep Rescuing!
I am taken back at the kindness and encouragement that I received during this wisdom teeth procedure. I wanted to let everyone know that it went very well, with no complications after one week. For those of you that didn’t have it so easy, my heart goes out to you. Other than eating very soft food or liquids for about a week and worrying that I was going to get a condition called “Dry Socket” it has been very non eventful. For those of you who still must get your wisdom teeth pulled…I hear it’s better to do it when you’re young because your jaw bone is less dense and the procedure not only goes more effortlessly, but heals in a shorter amount of time.
I’m looking forward to video blogging on some very interesting topics that have come to my attention and it’s great to be feeling better.
P.S. I do wonder however, if anyone else thinks that getting their mouth numbed makes them a little “brain-dead” too? Hmmmm.
Hello Everyone. Well, as the subject line suggests, I will be a bit out of the loop for the next few days while I recover from getting not 1, not 2, not 3, but all FOUR wisdom teeth pulled. The good news, or so “they” tell me, is that all teeth have erupted,(this is suppose to mean the procedure will go better) are not impacted and should be a “sinch”! Hmmm. Why do I feel skeptical but in Good Faith I march forward with the procedure. In the meantime, I wanted to include an educational, though quite simple, video on what the procedure includes for wisdom teeth extraction. I suggest this video because it didn’t turn the stomach unlike some other educational but graphic videos located on YouTube under Wisdom Tooth Removal. For those of you whom I spoke with prior to this procedure, who did not have such a simple procedure, and you know who you are, I’ll be thinking of you while undergoing the procedure.
So, please say a prayer for me while I undergo the knife and I want you to know that I looks forward to my next video blog entry when the swellings gone.
Ever see someone hit their head very hard? Wonder if it’s just a minor “Knock on the Noggin” or could it be a serious head injury? In this Roy On Rescue Video Blog entry, Roy Shaw, EMT-Paramedic answers those questions with directives on how to assess, stabilize and treat a person for a serious head injury or minor. There’s nothing worse than sitting with a crying child or an injured adult and wonder if we are over reacting by calling 911, or under reacting by not doing more. Watch this video blog for some interesting insights straight from the Paramedics mouth on what to do.
Don’t miss this entry where Roy puts a common sense spin on how to handle the next event where someone hits their head and no one knows if they should go in to the hospital or just sleep off the headache.
Watch the video below if you would like to see a video animation of what happens in the skull when a person hits their head.
A website that shows a video explaining a traumatic closed head injury is located at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmAML1-F2LE
Ever wonder what to do if someone chokes near you? Should you give them the Heimlich Maneuver or Chest Compressions? In this video Blog, Roy Shaw, EMT-Paramedic answers a students question about what to do if someone chokes and if Abdominal Thrusts or Chest Compressions are better. Roy takes a look at when to use abdominal thrusts as in the Heimlich Maneuver and when to use Chest Compressions for a person who is definitely choking.
Viewer Discretion Is Advised Due to Graphic Nature!
In this episode of Roy on Rescue, Roy Shaw had received an article on his desk from AutoWeek.com. It was an article that talked about the growing danger of drivers who are using not only there cell phones to talk, but to text message while driving. After Roy interviewed a full time professional dispatcher from a leading ambulance provider, and heard the same message, he decided to write this article and include this most disturbing yet realistic video.
Viewer discretion is advised! Graphic reproductions of actual car crash injuries are included in this video. The desire of showing this video is not to create anxiety for anxiety sake, but to create a disturbing awareness that will change behaviors while driving vehicles. We all have loved ones that drive everyday. Even if we as drivers don’t use the phone while driving, that doesn’t stop the driver in front of you, beside you or in back of you!
Let’s create a new and safer environment and prevent needless accidents…Now.
If after you view this video you decide to show it to your teenage drivers, please educate them to the graphic nature and then talk about the public service announcement after you view it together.
Please spread the word. Everyone’s life may depend on it.
Roy Shaw would like to specially thank the United Kingdom for producing such a realistic and educational Public Service Announcement in this fight against accidents and cell phone misuse.
Texting Kills: Cell Phone Use Impairs Drivers More than Alcohol
Jul 27, 2009 … Texting Kills: Cell Phone Use Impairs Drivers More than Alcohol, Charles Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 2009.07.27. lowendmac.com/misc/09mr/texting-kills.html
Driven to Distraction – Britain Sets Tough New Laws for Texting …
Nov 2, 2009 … When Texting Kills, Britain Offers Path to Prison …. DRIVEN TO DISTRACTION; When Driver Starts Texting, Back Seat Delivers a Message … www.nytimes.com/2009/11/02/technology/02texting.html –
Woman killed by teenage driver who was sending text messages at …
Jul 21, 2007 … A young bank worker who caused a fatal accident by sending a text message on her mobile phone while driving at 70mph on a rainy night was … www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article2112869.ece
FDI Voice | Driving While Texting Kills – What will it Take to Get …
Dec 29, 2009 … FDI Voice | Driving While Texting Kills – What will it Take to Get … found that truck drivers who were texting were 23 times more at risk …
Crap Cycling & Walking in Waltham Forest: Texting kills
Jan 17, 2010 … Texting kills. A girl of ten was killed by a passenger airbag after her mother … Driver who killed cyclist: “it was just one of tho. … crapwalthamforest.blogspot.com/2010/01/texting-kills.html
Ever think to yourself, “I’m just a bacon cheeseburger away from a heart attack?” Well you might just be. Newer research is showing that high saturated fat and unhealthy foods effect our overall health more than we realize. In fact, those who have cardio-vascular disease could determine if they are going to have a heart attack today or tomorrow simply based on what they decide to have for supper!
Author Bonnie Liebman wrote an article where it said; New research suggests that if your arteries are partially clogged with plaques–and if one of those plaques happens to rupture several hours later, that fatty meal could be your last.
“Hours after a fat-rich meal, an individual is at a higher risk of a fatal heart attack than at other times,” says researcher George Miller of the Medical College of St. Bartholomew’s Hospital in London.
Remember, the signs of heart related chest pain can be similar to pains you’ve felt in the past. But if you are experiencing pain in your chest, radiating up into your neck or down one or both arms, shortness of breath, nausea, dizziness, weakness and sweating, you may be having a life threatening heart attack. Don’t drive yourself into the hospital. Call 911 or have someone call 911, sit in a position of comfort, try and relax and let the paramedics treat you while you’re on your way to the hospital. Paramedics can give medications such as; aspirin if you haven’t already taken one before they arrive, nitroglycerin, morphine, and in some regions of the world maybe even blood clot dissolving medications. Either way, the ambulance knows the secret in getting you seen very fast and not having to stop at the front desk. In fact, in many cases the paramedics bring heart attack patients who have already been confirmed with certain 12 lead ECG results right into the Cardiac Cath Lab. This time savings could mean the difference between life and death. Time is heart muscle when it’s starving of oxygen due to a blocked artery.
Please don’t try to dismiss it as heart burn or gas. Chest pain should always be investigated and if it’s not something that you can 100% say is a pulled muscle, you should get evaluated by medical professionals.
The heart is a wonderful muscle and it works every second of every minute of our whole lives. Let’s not kill ourselves one bite at a time. In fact as I write this blog, I’ve decided to do something a little special to try and get healthy myself.
Cheers,
Roy Shaw, EMT-Paramedic
RoyOnRescue.com
Tweet me your comments: @royonrescue
P.S. I’m sharing a great video by the British Heart Foundation. My good friend and business partner introduced this to me. Please feel free to send the video to anyone you think might be at risk for a heart attack and is too stubborn to listen to the symptoms.
A concerned Good Samaritan(G.S.) wrote me a question and I thought it would be good to share it with you on RoyOnRescue(ROR).
G.S.: “In my scenario, the person fell down hit their head twice and then fell onto the floor face down. I am now wondering if we did the right thing. We picked the person up and carried her outside for fresh air where she revived immediately. We then monitored the person but nothing else seemed to be wrong with her.”
ROR: It sounds like the story ends well regardless of the treatment given which is always great! There may be a few things that we cold improve upon for the future. Let’s analyze what happened and what we might be able to do differently next time to protect and help the fall victim even more.
Whenever a person falls, there is a risk for head and neck injury. As stated in your scenario, this particular person did hit their head… twice. This would be enough mechanism of injury that instead of moving the person right away, we would want to minimize movement while assessing the person for any signs or symptoms of other injuries. We can minimize movement by softly but confidently speaking to the patient who is either conscious or unconscious and place one hand carefully on the victims forehead to help remind them and us not to move their head and neck. Try to find out if the person is breathing on their own and if their skin color is somewhat normal while they are lying in the position found. If they are breathing and skin color is good, we do not have to move the person before Emergency Medical Services arrive.
If assessing the person’s airway is impossible in this position,(face down) we may need to carefully roll the person over onto their back even if we suspect that there may be a serious neck or back injury. We do not move spinal chord injury patients unless they need cpr, their airway is compromised or they are in danger due to the environment.
If we determine that we must roll, or move a person with a suspected spinal chord injury, utilize several people if available, in order to minimization spinal movement. If you are the only person, then do the job the best way you can and follow the “Life Over Limb” philosophy. If the person wakes and is not complaining of any pain or numbness and they don’t allow you to minimize movement because they want to get up, they should be allowed to do so. It is not wise to hold the person down as this can complicate injuries the patient already sustained trying to wrestle. Keep encouraging the person to stay still until help arrives by the ambulance service. Keep the person in a position of comfort with confident words of encouragement like, you are in good hands, I’m going to take good care of you and help is on the way. If they still refuse treatment, there is little you can do at that point other than inform 911 of what has happened.
It sounds as though you did the best you could for this person at the time. Remember, most people don’t even get involved when someone needs help. The fact that you did get involved and tried to help makes you a natural rescuer!
I thought a video clip of all different fainting episodes would not only get my point across that falls can cause injuries to the person even if the fainting spell or the reason they fell wasn’t serious. I hope you don’t feel faint watching others faint but if you want to see what happens to people when they fall from standing up, take a look at the clip below.
P.S. One of the most effective rescue moves for a person who is starting to faint, is to simply help them to the floor before they fall!
Today during the Olympic Luge Practice, a Luger lost control and crashed at over 90 miles per hour into a steel pole. Roy Shaw, Paramedic, talks about the potential injuries associated with such a crash and why people can die so suddenly after an accident such as this. This Olympiad lost his life, though CPR was attempted. Let us keep him and his family in our Prayers.
Ever wonder why someone passes out unexpectedly? More importantly, ever wonder what to do if someone passes out? Today, Roy Shaw, EMT-Paramedic answers a question that was sent to him where someone who really cares about rescue asks, “How do I handle a situation where someone has passed out?” Roy explains what is happening when someone passes out and how to apply basic first aid in order to help. So, the next time someone goes unconscious for any reason, you may know what to do.
