Knitting Needles can be the source of warm mittens, cozy scarves and comforting winter sweaters. They can also become sharp pointed weapons or injury causing spikes when fallen upon or when they are thrust into the face, neck, chest or abdomen due to a car accident or accidentally falling onto them. In this RoyOnRescue episode, we take a look at the hidden danger of sharp pointed objects that usually remain harmless but when not respected and carried safely, they could cause great harm. Learn about the dangers of pointed objects and how to keep knitting needles a source of pleasure not pain.
Tag Archives: ProCPR
Heat Exhaustion vs. Heat Stroke
In this RoyOnRescue, I reply to a question a student emailed me about how to recognize heat exhaustion and heat stroke and how to treat both. If you ever wondered if a person was just “over heated” or if they might be in danger of suffering a life threatening heat stroke, you will want to watch this video blog reply.
In some parts of the country it doesn’t feel very hot but don’t be fooled…Summer is just around the corner. Be ready and don’t allow you or someone you love to become a victim of Heat Stroke!
How to Deal With Death When CPR Doesn’t “Work”
This response was written after receiving an email from a person, who has a cousin that is a trained CPR provider and attempted to save their own father’s life with CPR but their father remained dead despite their efforts. This person felt badly and didn’t know what to say to their cousin to help them not feel guilty or that their father’s death was in some way the rescuer’s fault. I responded to them, and afterward, felt that my response may be helpful to others who have suffered or are suffering or asking themselves the question, “Was there more I could have done?”. I hope that this response will be of help to anyone who may have feelings of failure or guilt as a result of their cpr efforts not ending in the survival of the patient.
Student’s Email Question:
(Paraphrased to protect students identity)
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Dear Student,
One of the most important things to remember when providing CPR to anyone let alone a loved one, is that people who need CPR are already in a state of death. When the person is not breathing and they don’t have a pulse strong enough to detect with obvious signs of life, they are clinically dead. From the point of clinical death, they are only a short distance from biological death, which is permanent.
One way of looking at the success of CPR, regardless of the outcome, helps me and I believe helps my students to be much more at peace with themselves. The fact that your cousin’s Dad did not survive cardiac arrest has very little to do with the CPR given to him. It’s important to remember that CPR, in and of itself does not save anyone’s life directly. CPR is designed to “Buy Time”. CPR only provides about 25% of the oxygen circulation that is required for someone to stay alive biologically. CPR was never designed to be life support viewed as a way to keep people alive indefinitely, but rather to slow down the process of clinical death to biological death. This is to provide a chance to intercept the patient with electrical therapy, advanced therapy and medications combined with CPR and time to fix the underlying problem which caused the person to die in the first place.
In my opinion what your cousin did, is give his Dad the best chance of survival possible if he was indeed going to survive. Let’s look at clinical death as a heavy iron gate that is slowly dropping to the ground, and once closed the person is biologically or permanently dead. CPR is like arms holding the heavy gate of possible survival open a bit longer. Again, not stopping the progression of clinical death to biological death, but slowing it down so that if there is a chance of survival, they would have the greatest opportunity of slipping back through the gate available. Eventually, the gate is going to close even if CPR is perfect. As I said earlier, CPR in and of itself is not enough to keep the human body alive. But if the person is going to survive and the person needs more time, CPR buys the precious time required to make this a reality.
Now, it’s important to remember a simple but powerful truth. Everyone dies. I have had patients that had everything go right in order for them to survive a cardiac arrest and they still remained dead despite our rescue efforts. That day was their day to die and nothing that the cpr providers, paramedics, nurses or doctors did changed the outcome. The CPR helped keep them viable long enough for the rescue and medical team to try and fix the underlying problem but the person remained dead. I had to realize that as a professional rescuer and paramedic, everyone has a day to die. It’s not my job to save everyone but it is my job to give everyone the best chance of survival possible. When I provided care to cardiac arrest patients, I provided care to them as if they were suppose to survive and didn’t give up hope unless they proved to me otherwise by not surviving. It may be frustrating but we just cannot know what day is the day a person is going to live or die until the outcome is evident.
I’m quite sure that no matter what I say, your cousin is really missing his Dad. I don’t think there is any amount of explanation of science, death, dying and CPR that’s going to change that. One thing I do know about what your cousin did the day he provided CPR for his Dad though, he showed others and his Dad how much he loved him. How much he really cared. Your cousin gave his Dad his own strength when his Dad didn’t have any of his own. In my opionion, that’s one of the most loving and unselfish ways to tell a daddy goodbye.
May God bless your cousin and all hurting friends and family during these difficult times.
Sincerely,
Roy Shaw, ProCPR, LLC
RoyOnRescue.com
Roy Shaw
New York Stabbing Victim Ignored Death
“On the surveillance video, a woman is followed by a man, who then appears to accost her.
Tale-Yax walks toward them. What can’t be seen is him being stabbed several times in the torso while trying to save the woman.
Within seconds, the camera captures the apparent attacker running away. Authorities say the woman fled from her assailant.
Tale-Yax, who was homeless, starts to chase the attacker but then collapses.
A minute later, a potential good Samaritan walks right by. And so does the next person and the one after that. A procession of more than 20 people seem to notice and fail to help.”
ABC Video and News Story of Stabbing Victim Ignored
Source: abcnews online
In this Roy On Rescue Video Blog, Roy W. Shaw, EMT-Paramedic explores a most disturbing news story about a man who comes to the aid of a woman being mugged, gets stabbed himself and then is left on the sidewalk to die. The most disturbing part of the whole story is that approximately 20 people walked, drove or rode their bicycle by the dieing man without doing anything to help.
Roy get’s a bit serious in this episode but wants to make sure that if there is a reasonable doubt about getting involved to save another’s life and one is being stopped because of a misconceived fear, that fear must be removed before another person needlessly dies.
Don’t let one of these fears stop you from rescuing:
1. Lawsuit
2. Catching a Disease
3. Unsure of What To Do
4. Might Hurt or Kill The Person by doing something wrong
5. Dangerous Environment (Legitimate)
Roy dissolves the misconceptions and misunderstandings of these top fears and hopes that if you know someone that may not rescue due to being afraid to try, you will pass this story on to them!
If you’re reading this or watching video right now, you are probably one of the ten percent of the total population that this story doesn’t apply to. That’s why we know we are probably “preaching to the choir” but Roy is sure that you probably know someone that wouldn’t get involved in a rescue. Please pass this on to them.
What’s A Seizure And How Do I Treat It?
Seizures can be caused by many different things and though they don’t mean that the person has a serious condition, it is important to know what to do during and after a person has one. A student wrote in asking if I could give some additional information about how to handle a person who is having a seizure. Though it seems complicated when you’re watching a seizure in progress, the treatment plan is quite simple.
1. Protect the person while they are having a seizure.
2. If this is the first time this person has ever had a seizure, call 911 or EMS.
3. Treat the patients needs after they stop having a seizure.
4. Wait for EMS to arrive and takeover.
For a detailed training on seizure first aid, go to www.profirstaid.com and click on the video review tab at the top of the page. Then search for the topic of seizures, get your favorite beverage and watch the video training.
Until next time…
Roy
http://www.epilepsyfoundation.org/answerplace/medical/seizures/types/
Gasping For Life!
If an unconscious person is gasping but not breathing normally should you call 911 and leave them alone, or should you begin aggressive CPR? In this Video Blog, Roy Shaw, EMT-P tells a true story about how a child may have died due to not having life saving CPR because she was showing signs of agonal breathing. This caused the rescuer to stop the life saving CPR and ended tragically.
Watch this Video Blog to learn what agonal breathing is and how to respond to it.
Can a Ball Hitting My Childs Chest Kill Him?
In some cases it has! The velocity of an object striking one’s chest can cause a phenomenon that could disrupt the normal beating heart. If this happens, everyone standing by should hope they can recognize it, and treat it. Here’s how I got on this subject.
An email came in to our offices asking about more information regarding what happens when a child is struck in the chest or abdomen ,ith a ball, puck, bat or other hard object.
Sports can be fun but not when someone gets seriously hurt or dies. One type of injury that is a real concern to everyone is cardiac arrest secondary to chest trauma from a blunt object. This can happen when a baseball, soccer ball, basketball, hockey puck, bat or person hits another persons chest with a great deal of velocity or force.(http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/122/2/437) In some cases, it is suspected that if a ball or other object hits a person chest over the top of the location of the heart, the strike works somewhat like a technique that was once used to mechanically cardiovert a heart called a precordial thump(http://www.heartrhythmjournal.com/article/S1547-5271%2809%2900687-0/abstract). This technique used force vs. electricity to create some form of rhythm or Arrhythmia/ Ventricular Fibrillation in order for the heart to be corrected so as to regain a purposeful and organized heart rhythm. This technique though used rarely today, may be the effect that is causing sudden cardiac arrest in children and adults who are involved in a chest trauma from sports. If this does happen, the person may collapse immediately and stop breathing with no palpable(you can’t feel it) pulse. If the person is in cardiac arrest or is not showing signs of life, 911/Activation of EMS and CPR should be started immediately and an AED may be very useful if the person is in a shockable condition. If an AED is not present, CPR will be done continuously without interruption unless the person becomes conscious and begins to move or attempts to speak(signs of life). Be on guard, bruising, punctured lung or other underlying conditions could cause the person to return to a state of cardiac arrest so frequent reassessments will be required until the person is turned fully over to the care of emergency medical services. The best cure for this injury is prevention. Many companies are designing and selling chest guards and protective devices to help prevent this condition from happening.(http://www.allsportsarmour.com/CHEST_ARMOUR_SHIRT_p/asa100%20dual.htm A well trained professional or volunteer coaching team in CPR and First Aid (http://www.profirstaid.com)would be highly suggested and an AED can be purchased for less than a laptop today.(ProFirstAid.com)
In comparison another condition related to a blunt trauma to the abdomen is a condition nick named, “getting the wind knocked out”. This condition usually occurs when a person receives a blow to the upper center abdomen which is approximately where we provide inward and upward abdominal thrusts for a choking victim. This area is physiologically perfect for compressing the diaphragm and compressing the lower lobes of the lungs. This forces residual air out of the lungs and feels scary. Normally, after a few minutes of one trying to breath deeply, fighting hard for that first real deep breath, the spasm releases in the diaphragm and air is gradually brought back into a normal state. Complications related to this fairly common condition could include ruptured or torn internal organs. If a person is hit hard enough, as in situations where a bat or object was used, or the lower half of a steering wheel which is common in unrestrained, non airbag vehicular accidents, the trauma could rupture/tear internal organs and even the descending aorta. If the Aorta is torn or ruptured, it is well know to be a usually fatal injury as time to surgery is quite a few minutes away and one can loose enough blood internally to die from hypovolemia. A condition where there is not enough blood to circulate oxygenated blood or maintain an adequate blood pressure which leads to death if not corrected. Treatment for this more serious condition is activation of emergency medical services while providing CPR, Shock Therapy(http://www.profirstaid.com) and minimization of movement. A way to prevent this injury is to avoid the types of conditions that could present it. Another way is to incorporate an aggressive core strength training program which will build strength in the abdominal muscles so as to help protect against sport related injuries.
It is important to consult with your health care professional or physician before beginning any intense workout program and if you are at all concerned that you or someone you know may have internal injuries, call 911/EMS and seek medical help.
Most of the signs and symptoms related to an internal injury in the chest or abdomen are severe pain that disables a person from performing normal behaviors. Tender abdomen to touch, distending(bulging) belly, rigid or hard belly) bruising or marks over the abdomen or chest, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, pale, cool, sweaty, increased anxiety, increased respiratory rate, dizziness, fear of dying and unconsciousness. If any of these signs or symptoms are present or appear after an injury, activate the Emergency Medical Services immediately and/or seek medical help right away.
I hope this answers the question and I hope the next time you are by someone who is struck in the chest or simply gets the wind knocked out of them, you’ll better know what it is, what to do, and how to help.
Best Wishes,
Roy Shaw, EMT-P, RoyOnRescue
www.royonrescue.com
Tweet: @royonrescue
P.S. Here’s a link to a real life scenario. It’s worth the read Mom and Dad.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/05/19/family-of-boy-hit-by-base_n_102439.html
When Is Cell Phone A Weapon?
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
I’m Going To Eat This If It’s The Last Thing I Do!
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
For Full Article mentioned in blog go to:
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0813/is_n4_v21/ai_15224643/
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.
What To Do If A Person Falls and Hits Their Head
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!
Best Wishes,
Roy On Rescue
