Choking ..... hot topic for the week.

Did you happen to watch the news item on the McDonalds' staff member that saved the little girls life? The 14 month old had choked on a chip and went unconscious and stopped breathing. So many things went through my mind as I watched the footage on-line. My heart went out to those poor parents and their little cherub. I thought wow what a hero the young man and bystanders were to step in and calmly help, and also how great were the emergency personnel who were on the phone. 

The scariest thing is that this can happen so fast and at any time. A happy ending is not always guaranteed. A little first aid training can go a long way, so here is some useful information and tips.

Choking is when a foreign object blocks the airway. We need oxygen to survive and a blockage can stop the movement of air and thus oxygen in and out of our lungs. This is therefore a life threatening situation.

There are 2 types of blockages, what we call a PARTIAL obstruction and a TOTAL obstruction. The key rule of thumb is to NOT intervene if it is a partial obstruction. If the patient displays an effective cough then it is known as a partial obstruction.

PARTIAL OBSTRUCTION:

Signs and Symptoms:

- coughing, wheezing, difficulty breathing, blue/mottled skin, noisy breathing

Management:

- encourage the patient to cough

- stay calm and reassure patient but do not slap their back

- if wheezing or breathing difficulty then call 000

TOTAL OBSTRUCTION:

Signs and Symptoms:

- no effective cough, unable to breath/speak or cry out, agitated and gripping throat, blue/mottled skin, altered conscious state and eventual loss of consciousness

Management:

- follow DRSABCD plan and call 000

- if possible place the patient in the recovery position and attempt to clear the airway

- if the airway can not be cleared then give up to 5 back slaps 

   (using palm of hand in the middle if the back in an upwards motion)

- if no improvement then give 5 chest thrusts (compressions) 

- check after each thrust to see if the obstruction has been cleared

- if no success and the patient becomes unconscious then commence CPR

- if at any point the airway is cleared and the patient is breathing normally then place them in the recovery position and observe them closely until help arrives

For the back slaps and chest thrusts an infant or child can be placed across your lap with head downwards, rather than in recovery position as mentioned above. If your baby or child becomes unconscious at any stage then commence CPR.

Choking is one of the top concerns for any new, or not so new, parent. It is most important to understand what action to take and when. With this knowledge you will feel more confident to be able to remain calm and help anyone in this life threatening situation.

~V~

 

K ... is for KITS

So it's school holidays and we're coming up to the Easter break so perfect time to talk about 'First Aid Kits'. Couple of questions to get you thinking:

1. Do you have a first aid kit? .....
2. Where is it? ................
3. How long since you've looked inside? .........

Are you like me and have first aid kit contents all over the house?! Bandaids in the kitchen, bathroom and in the medicine box on the top shelf of the wardrobe. Do you maybe check your medicine box once in a blue moon for use by dates on bottles and packets. I had one embarrassing moment where my little boy fell down in a car park and scrapped his knee badly. To my horror I had no first aid kit in the car! I felt like the plumber who always has leaking taps at home.


In no particular order ...... my top 10 tips involving 'First Aid Kits':

1. Own one ...  (or two)! (ideally have one at home and one in the car)
2. When you first buy a kit pull it apart and know what each item is used for.
3. Keep the kit in a protected but accessible (to adults) place.
4. Regularly check contents for use by dates (e.g saline will have a use by date)
5. Ideally gloves should be on the top of the kit.
6. Replace any items immediately after use.
7. Take your kit to the injured person rather than the other way around.
8. Regularly check items in the kit for deterioration.
9. Always take a kit away on holiday with you.
10. Add your own necessary items that you love (pain relief, asthma puffers etc) 



So do yourself a favour and go check out your supplies and add the 'First Aid Kit' to your list of things to take away on the family holiday this weekend. Of course I've heard that the 'Kiss It Better Bag' is a pretty good product that has special treats to help distract precious little minds! ;-)

Safe travels.
~V~

MARCHPHOTOADAY .... the second half.... enjoy!

Once again had a lot of fun with FatMumSlims #marchphotoaday on Instagram.
Thinking about doing April, still not sure yet. The question is do I need the distraction?
I do love the creativity and getting my brain going each day though.
Please enjoy the shots, taken each day with my phone.
~V~

Sunglasses  

Green

A corner of your home (or 3)

Funny (he makes me laugh daily)

Before / After (puzzle time)

Delicious (especially straight out of the tub)

Kitchen Sink (tough one to make interesting)

An Animal

Breakfast

Key (the few things left of our Kinglake home)

Your Name (great work Bambam)

Trash (rubbish and yes guilty as charged)

Feet (giants feet!!)

Toy (for young and old)

Where you relax ....

It's all about Attitude!

Hi everyone, sorry I have been a little slack on the blogging side of things. Life is just crazy isn't it!?! I have to tell you there are moments in life that make you stop, stand still and say .... 'Why am I complaining, life is actually pretty good.'

Yes the lack of privacy and constant whinging and competition between my boys drives me crazy. I would also love a bigger house where more than one person can fit in the kitchen, and I could have an office to run my business from rather than the kitchen table. But you know what life is all not that bad. The boys are healthy (touch wood), hubby is loving his new career, and we are planning a holiday full of sun, surf and sand. :-)

Sometimes I have conversations with people that just rock me. For instance the other day some friends came back from Fiji and were telling me about the local villages that don't even have access to hot showers. Then there is my dear friend who is doing the fight of her life and will probably have to learn to walk again after being in a coma. I mean really what AM I complaining about?! Mostly though what I love seeing is people giving when they have so little. I've been collecting books for a friend who is taking them back to primary and secondary schools in PNG. What has amazed me is that those that have donated are often people who have very little. I love this so much and it has re-vamped my faith in human nature. In the end it is all about attitude.

Thanks for letting me get this off my chest and I'll leave you with one of my favourite quotes:

"The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude to me is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than success, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, gift, or skill. It will make or break a company...a church...a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past...we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10 percent what happens to me and 90 percent how I react to it. And so it is with you... we are in charge of our attitudes. "                                   

                             

~ Charles Swindoll

Happy Monday everyone!

~V~

MARCHPHOTOADAY ...... half way mark.....

Loving the challenge once again of FATMUMSLIM's March photo a day
...... here's the first half.



UP

FRUIT

YOUR NEIGHBOURHOOD

BEDSIDE

A SMILE

5PM

SOMETHING YOU WORE

WINDOW

RED

LOUD

SOMEONE YOU TALKED TO TODAY

FORK

A SIGN

CLOUDS

CAR

~V~

FEBPHOTOADAY .....2012

Thank you for following my photos for the month of February and seeing a glimpse into my world. I've had so much fun being creative and sharing them. All photos were taken by me and apart from two photos they were all taken with my phone.

This was the challenge ....

In no particular order these were my photos ......

~V~

J is for ..... JELLYFISH

These magical creatures take my breath away! Having studied Zoology at Uni I was fortunate enough to be a part of some fantastic aquatic trips/camps that involved much water activity. We ran research on anything from seaweed and sea cucumbers to turtles and crabs. We snorkelled near some amazing blooms of jellyfish. Must say though, many of my memories do involve camp fires, crazy games and much student bonding. Not sure that any of those activities were on the initial information letters that went home to the parents.

A little back ground on these very cool animals:
- Jellyfish are a stage of the life cycle of Medusozoa
- They are found in every ocean, including down in the deep and up the top at the surface
- They have been around for at least 500 million years or more
- No brain, heart or bones
- Their body consists of over 95% water
- Box jellyfish have 24 eyes (360 degree view, how cool!)
- In Japan they are considered a delicacy
- They use their tentacles with stingers to capture their prey, usually plankton or small fish
- Jellyfish are not actually fish!
-   ....... the list is endless!!

Those of us that live in Victoria are very lucky as we have no dangerous jellyfish in our waters. Jellyfish in Victorian waters rarely cause serious illness but they can cause immense pain. Many of us Melbournites love to take trips up north, so it is important to be aware of what can be found in our northern waters and the necessary first aid. The Box jellyfish found up north has been known to kill more people than any other marine sea creature each year. Thanks to TV and movies we know the near fatal effects of swimming through a jellyfish bloom (Marlin and Dory on Nemo). My boys have even learnt from The Octonauts to put vinegar on a jellyfish wound.

Recognition of Blue Bottle and Non-box Jellyfish stings:
- pain to stung area
- sting marks that are often white and red around the edges
- pain in the groin or armpits
- headache
- nausea, vomiting
- breathing difficulty

Recognition of Box Jellyfish stings:
- immediate severe pain
- irrational behaviour
- ladder pattern in stung area
- loss of consciousness
- breathing stops and leads to cardiac arrest

First aid Management:
- when in doubt treat for worst case scenario!
- all victims of a jellyfish sting should be observed for at least 30 minutes
- assist patient from the water
- do not rub the stung area
- observe airway and breathing
- Box Jellyfish: flood the stung area with vinegar (this inactivates the stinging cells)
- Non-tropical jellyfish: apply hot compress or hot water immersion to help relieve the pain.
    (no hotter than 45C and review after 20 minutes) If not available then use cold pack.
- Tropical jellyfish: ice packs and topical anaesthetic agents may help reduce the pain
- pull off tentacles, this is not dangerous to rescuer, and rinse with sea-water
- In general keep the patient calm and still
- if unconscious follow DRSABCD
- seek urgent medical assistance

IN SUMMARY: Due to the large number of different types of jellyfish, and the limited ability to identify the culprit, there is no universal treatment for jellyfish sting. If you are in the tropics then think worst case scenario and treat with vinegar. In other cases outside the tropics with non life-threatening stings treat for the pain with either heat or cold.

Some facts about jellyfish in Port Philip Bay can be found here.
Australian Resuscitation Council also has some great information here.

~V~