According to a study by  Los Angeles County public health officals, a  drug resistant bacterium is spreading to patients in a Southern California Hospital.  More than 350 cases of the carbapenem-Resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae or CRKP for short have been reported at healthcare facilites in Los Angeles County. According to Mercury News  Fifty-three percent of the infections came from acute care hospitals, 41 percent form long-term acute care hosptials and six percent from nursing homes.  Most of those affected are elderly patients at skilled nursing or long term care facilities.   Reports of CRKP have also been reported in North Carolina , New York and New Jersey. CRKP has been found to infect those who are on ventilators or those who are taking a prolonged course of antibotics.      Health officals are warning the public not to panic over the superbug as it has been confined to patients that are in the hospitls and no reports  of the virus have been found in the general public.  

To prevent the spread of this superbug. Healthcare workers are strongly encouraged to wash their hands between each patient .  Patients can ask their healthcare provider to wash their hands before touching them.  Patients are also encouraged to wash their hands after touching any surface while in the hosptial and before eating. 

 Last week the at the International Stroke Conference it was announced that people younger than the age of 35 has seen an increase in strokes while those over the age of 45 has seen a decrease in strokes.  Researchers are blaming the increase of obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes as the cause for the increase. While more research is needed we need to watch not only the older adults for signs of stroke but also the younger generations.  
Signs and Symptoms of a Stroke:
1. Sudden onset of numbness or weakness of the face, arms or legs, especially on one side of the body.
2. Confusion, trouble speaking or understanding.
3. Trouble seeing in one or both eyes.
4. Trouble walking, dizziness, Loss of balance or Coordination.
5. Severe Headache with no known cause.

If someone is experiencing the above symptoms, Call 9-1-1 for immediate assistance.  
 Remember the acronym for FAST:
F- Facial paralysis or drooping. Ask the victim to smile. If they are unable to smile, they may be having a stroke.
A- Arms, ask the victim to raise both arms above their heads. If they normally can raise both arms, and are unable, stroke is a possible cause.
S- Speech difficulties. if the person has normal speech and is unable to form words or sentences,
T- Time is important for someone having a stroke. Immediate transport to the local Emergency Department is needed. Do no Delay in calling 9-1-1 for someone who you suspect of having a stroke.

The below website allows the public and healthcare officials to track the spread of the flu virus.  http://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/     

Flu (Infuenza)

The flu is a contagious respiratory disease.  During flu season, the flu can affect from the very young to the very old. 

  Flu is transmitted from person to person by the way of virus droplets from the infected person sneezing, or coughing.   The flu virus can also be spread by the infected person touching their eyes, nose or mouth and then touching a surface. When someone touches the same surface, they can be infected with the flu virus.

Prevention

The number one prevention or control of the flu virus is the vaccination of anyone who is eligible to receive the vaccination.  The below recommendations are from the CDC, on who should be vaccinated.

1.     Persons 2–4 years old who have recurrent wheezing and healthy persons 50 years or older.

2.     Persons with asthma, reactive airway disease or other chronic disorders of the pulmonary or cardiovascular system.

3.     Persons with underlying medical conditions, such as metabolic diseases, as diabetes, renal or hepatic dysfunction and those who have suspected immunodeficiency disease or who are receiving immunosuppressive therapies.

4.     Children or adolescents receiving aspirin or other salicylates.

5.     Pregnant women.

How to prevent or lessen the affects of the flu virus

1.     Respiratory Hygiene/Cough etiquette- If you feel that you have to sneeze or cough. Bend your elbow and sneeze into the crook of your elbow. This will prevent the droplets from spreading. This method also prevents you from sneezing into your hand or tissue and then touching an object, this spreading the flu virus.

2.     REMEMBER to always wash your hands. 

3.     If you are ill. Stay at home until you are fever free for at least 24 hours.

Seek medical care should your symptoms not improve or if you suspect that you are dehydrated. 

The first priority of wound care is to control bleeding.   Major blood loss can cause the blood pressure to fall dangerously low; this is known as cardiovascular shock.   Shock occurs when the body’s tissues do not receive enough oxygenated blood.  The steps below are guidelines to help when you come across a wound. Always seek medical care if bleeding cannot be controlled, wounds are deep  and if infections are present.

To control bleeding follow the steps below.

1.       If possible, wash your hands  with soap and water before caring for a wound

2.       Ask the victim to sit or lie down. Fainting reactions can happen.

3.       3. Expose the wound. Remove any clothing barrier. Do not cut the clothes unless absolutely necessary.

4.       Put on medical gloves to protect against bloodborne infections. If gloves are not available cover hand with a plastic bag or similar material.   If not available you can have the victim assist you by holding pressure on the bandage and wound.

5.       Place a sterile gauze pad over the entire wound and press evenly for 5-10 minutes. Direct pressure stops almost all bleeding.  Wounds of the scalp, hands and feet bleed more profusely because of their rice blood supply.

6.       If bleeding is from an extremity, elevate the injured area above the level of the heart to reduce blood flow while continuing to apply direct pressure on the bleeding site.

7.       If bleeding persists after you have maintained pressure on the wound for at least 10 minutes, press harder over a wider area.

8.       Apply a pressure dressing. This will allow you to attend to other injuries.  You can make a pressure bandage by covering the wound with a thick layer of gauze or the cleanest material available, and then wrap a bandage over the dressing, extending above and below the site. Do not cut off circulation.  

9.       If dressings become soaked with blood, place a fresh dressing on top of the soaked one.   Never remove a blood soaked dressing from the wound until all bleeding has stopped.

Below are suggestions of what your first aid kit should contain. Each kit can be customized to fit  your needs.
Motorcycle First Aid kits

• 1 First aid instruction booklet
• 1 Non-adherent pad (10x8cm)
• 8 Non-adherent band aid (72x19mm)
• 1 Gauze sponges 3”x3” (5pcs/set)
• 1 Non-adherent wound pad (10x10cm)
• 1 Net bandage (head and digit)
• 1 Adhesive tape (1/2”x10yds)
• 2 Safety pin (5.0cm)
• 1 Emergency thermal blanket (130x210cm)
• 1 Triangular bandage
• 1 Latex gloves
• 2 Alcohol prep pad
• 2 Providone-lodine prep pad
• 1 Scissors (s)
• 1 Plastic tweezers
• CPR Mask
• Mole Skin
• Sun Screen
• Instant Cold packs
• Sterile eye wash, such as saline

Basic First Aid Kit

·         Adhesive tape

·         Antibiotic ointment

·         Antiseptic ointment or toweletts

·         Bandages, including a roll of elastic wrap, Band-Aids in assorted sizes

·         Instant cold packs

·         Cotton balls and cotton tip swabs

·         Disposable gloves

·         Gauze Pads and roller gauze in assorted sizes

·         First Aid Manual

·         Safety Pins

·         Scissors and tweezers

·         Soap or hand sanitizer

·         Sterile eye wash, such as saline

·         Triangular bandages

·         CPR Mask

·         Over the counter oral antihistamine (Benadryl)

·         Aspirin and non-aspirin pain relievers

·         Calamine lotion

·         Sun screen

. Chances are, at some time you will have to help another person in distress. Effective actions are based on pre-emergency planning and training.
As you approach the scene, review what to do, who to call for help and how to contact help. If outside of your home, do you know that address of where the emergency is? IS the scene safe for you to assist the victim? Do you have a First Aid Kit or CPR Mask? How many victims are injured?
When you are the first to arrive at an incident scene, do a 10 second scene survey. is the scene safe? Remember you cannot help if you become a victim.   After you determine the scene is safe, try to determine the cause of the injuries. The mechanism of an injury may help you to determine its extent or suspect hidden injuries.  
 Let’s take a look at the Mechanism of injury.  Consideration of the mechanism of injury will help you understand the injury and predict its severity.   Most injuries involve and impact between a moving object and another moving object or stationary object. 
At the scenes try to reconstruct the event? Was this a fall and if so, How far did they fall? How did the victim land? Are internal injuries likely? Is spinal injury likely?
We will look at how to treat various injuries in future blogs. This blog is to get the rescuer to think about the scene and the patient. Knowing your surroundings and the conditions of where you are is very important to keeping you safe and allowing proper care of the victim. 
If you have any questions feel free to contact any of the East-West Safety staff and we will be glad to answer any questions you may have

Its the beginning of a New Year.   Have you checked your First Aid kits to make sure that they are up to date and that they are fully stocked?
  First Aid kits come in a varity of sizes and shapes and contain differnt products.  To ensure that your first aid kit is up to date, check for any experation dates on any liquid products or antibotic ointments.  Does your ice packs feel solid or do they have crystals on the outside of the package? If so its time to throw them away and replace them with new ones.  If your First Aid kit comes with a face shield or CPR Mask is it still pliable.? Extreme heat and cold can change the plastic on the face shields and make them unuasable. 
Check to see that you have gloves in your kit. Does your kit contain Latex free products. In the United States we are seeing more people with Laxtex alleriges. Newer first aid kits contain latex free products and you can easlily pick up a refill kit to replace your products.   

  First Aid kits are generally inexpensive and cover a wide range of needs. Personal First Aid kits can range in price from $15.00-100.00, depending on the equipment inside.   If you are not sure what type of First Aid kit you need, you can discuss it with any EMT or First Responder and they can assist you on putting your first aid kit together.   East-West Safety can also assist you in finding the right first aid kit. 
Have a safe and Happy 2011.

As we approach the Holiday season, we must be aware of the fire hazards that can happen.  While most homes prefer the "live" tree, we must be extra careful to assure that the tree does not dry out.  When purchasing a tree from a lot. Check the needles , by taking your hand and  grasphing the needles between your fist. Run you hand up the limb, if the needles come off in your hand, the tree is not fresh.  The second step is to take a limb and bend the limb, if the limb does not break the tree is fresh.  After  bringing your tree home make sure that you check the water daily.   Before decorating check all of the lights for breaks or shorts.   If you find any DO NOT USE.  
  Make sure your smoke dectectors have new batteries and are in working condition. Replace the dectectors as necessary.   
  In 2009 fire departments responded to 377,000  house fires in the United States in which 2,765 people lost their lives.   Most of these could have been prevented, if the homes had working smoke alarms and evacuation plans.   
 Does your family know how to evacuate your home should there be a fire?  Do you have a meeting place? Do you practice drills, so your family knows exactly what to do?  If you answered no to the above questions, please take the time to sit down with them and make a plan. A few minutes of your time, can save your families life.   

Please feel frree to leave comments about this blog. Happy and Safe Holidays from East-West Safety.   

 

Flex Spend and HSA Rules to change as of December 31,2010.

THis week we received a letter from our HSA that Over the Counter healthcare expenses are changing as of December 31.   In March  2010, President Obama signed Public law 111-148, Section 9003 into law.
The law states what is defined as an Over the Counter medication.  It reads in part " reimbursement for expenses incurred for a medicine or drug shall be treated as a reimbursement for medical expenses only if such medicine or drug is prescriped( determined without regard to whether such drug is available without a prescription) or is insulin". 

Under this new law any over the counter medication that you buy, will need a LETTER OF NECESSITY from your physician.   The prescription will need the following information.  1) The individuals name and the medicine you or your family require. 2) The dosage, frequency for each over the counter medicine needed. 
Below is a small list of OTC that WILL require a prescription.
Acid Controllers, Allergy and Sinus Mediciations, Antibiotic Products, Anti-Gas and Diarrheals, Anti-Itch and Insect Bite, Baby Rash Ointments and Creams, Cough, Cold and Flu medications, Digestive Aids, Laxatives, Pain Releif, Respiratory Treatments, Sleep Aids and Stomach remedies. 

Remember you can still buy these products until December 31, 2010 without a prescription. 

information received from flexsystem HSA