Make sure you stay warm during the cold snap

Over the last few days Eastern Europe has been plagued by extreme drops in temperatures that have led to many people dying due to the cold.  So far more than 110 have died across Europe as the temperatures have plummeted to -30°C.

That cold front is covering much of the UK but is likely to meet with mild air from the west causing problems from tonight to Sunday. The Met Office have today  announced  level 3 weather warnings for extreme drops in temperature and the possibility of the heaviest snowfall this winter so far.

Those who are vulnerable to extreme cold weather, young babies and children, the very old and those who are already vulnerable due to ill health should take extra care. Those with breathing problems such as asthma should also be careful as the cold may trigger attacks. Be extra vigilant with elderly neighbours to ensure that they are warm enough.

Are you ready to deal with cold weather?

There are some basic steps that you can take to keep yourself and those around you safe and healthy during the cold snap:

• Obviously you need to wrap up warmly using plenty of light layers to help trap the heat in, this works better than one thick layer.
• Ensure you keep well hydrated and have regular hot drinks and at least one hot meal a day if possible.
• Keep as active as possible.
• Check on any family members or neighbours who may be more vulnerable than most.

Could you recognise the signs and symptoms of hypothermia?

Hypothermia happens when the body’s temperature drops below 35°C.  It is often caused by being out in the cold or in an unheated or poorly heated room for too long.  It could also be caused by falling into cold water and failing to get warm and dry quickly enough.

Hypothermia is a dangerous condition and can be life threatening. The early signs are quite insidious and can creep up on a person.  They include:

• Uncontrollable shivering
• uncontrollable chattering of teeth
• tiredness, progressing towards extreme tiredness
• mild and growing confusion, perhaps ultimately becoming violently confused
• slurred speech
• slow, shallow breathing
• unconsciousness.

Ultimately, the condition can be fatal, if the causes and symptoms are not treated in a timely fashion.

Babies are particularly vulnerable to cold and may look pink and healthy but will be very cold to touch. They are also likely to be very limp and refusing to feed.

If you suspect someone is suffering with severe hypothermia:

• call 999
• remove any wet clothing and replace with dry clothing if possible
• cover with blankets
• try to keep them warm.
• Note: Do NOT use hot water bottles, or other direct heat sources, as these divert blood away from heart & lungs.

If the casualty is conscious, you can provide them with warm (but not hot or alcoholic) drinks.

Obviously, do not give any drinks to anyone who is unconscious!

Unconscious casualties should be placed in the recovery position and monitored carefully. If they stop breathing commence CPR.

For more information see:
http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/winterhealth/Pages/Verycoldweather.aspx
http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/uk/coldweatheralert/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-16852065

Heather Sawyer - Director of Training

The Author

Heather Sawyer is a Registered Nurse, First Aid Trainer and Director of Training at HTS Training Ltd, specialist provider of first aid training courses for businesses and individuals.

1 in 10 adults or children are known to be affected by it.

According to Asthma UK one person is hospitalised every seven minutes and 3 people a day in the UK die from asthma attacks. Many of these attacks could be preventable, according to Asthma UK, up to 75% of admissions could be avoidable- that’s a lot of time spent in hospital.

To try to prevent these admissions and to try to raise awareness of the need to keep asthma under control the charity Asthma UK have launched a new online test today. It is designed to help asthma sufferers gauge whether or not they are at risk of having an attack.

The online test is called Triple A: Avoid Asthma Attacks.

It doesn’t take very long to do and does give an indication of what the risks for having an attack are. The website also has useful tips for you to monitor your asthma and more importantly when to seek help when it gets out of control.

For more information see:

• Asthma UK
• BBC News story announcing Asthma UK’s online test
• HTS Training News story announcing Asthma UK’s online test

Guest Post – Hearing Loss

Hearing loss is far more common than one may expect. In 2005 the RNID, now Action On Hearing Loss, conducted a study amongst a group of 20,000 respondents. The results suggested that over 10 million people in the UK alone are thought to have some level of hearing impairment; with the most common reasons for the loss linked to age-related and noise-induced causes. The two causes could not be more different. Whilst age related hearing loss is a natural process that people can do little about, the same cannot be said for noise induced hearing loss. 

So, how do we hear and what can go wrong? 

The process of hearing, like many other functions in our sophisticated bodies, is a complex process. For the purpose of this article, we will simplify how our sense of hearing works. Hearing is the ability to capture waves of sound and to translate the sound into signals for the brain to interpret. The ear has three parts, which are all required for the normal hearing process: the outer, middle and inner ears.

Sound waves enter the ear canal, the visible outer ear portion helping to direct them there, and make their way to the eardrum. The changes in pressure causes the eardrum to vibrate. These vibrations reach three tiny bones in the middle ear (the ossicles). The ossicles are responsible for transmitting the sound through to the fluid-filled inner ear. Within the inner ear, specifically the cochlea, specialised sensory cells known as hair cells send electrical signals through the hearing nerve to the brain to make sense of the sound.  There are many things that can go wrong and affect our ability to hear.

When these special sensory cells deteriorate or are damaged due to the natural ageing process or due to prolonged exposure to excessive noise, hearing loss may occur. The level of hearing loss present (measured in dB against normal hearing) will vary from one person to the next depending on the severity of the damage and other conditions that may also be present within the ear. The two most important factors contributing to noise induced hearing loss are:

• The level of noise the person was exposed to
• The duration of the exposure

The tiny sensory hair cells that are crucial to our ability to hear cannot regrow or regenerate and any level of hearing loss that is caused due to hair cell damage is likely to be permanent.

Preventing noise induced hearing loss:

Noise induced hearing loss can be broken down further into two types, acoustic trauma and loss caused by repeated, prolonged noise exposure. Increasing loss is caused by repeat exposure to harmful levels of sound, typically over 85dB, while extreme acoustic trauma is caused by a sudden unexpected loud noise source, for example an explosion. 

By law, UK businesses are obligated to do as much as possible to prevent noise induced hearing loss from occurring at work. Under the 2005 government noise regulations, businesses are required to target areas with noise levels of 80dB and 85dB and provide ways to minimize risks to employee’s hearing health. Typically the efforts will be led by a health and safety consultant to ensure that accurate reading of noise is carried out.

When daily noise levels reach 80dB businesses must:

• Explain the risks of hearing loss to their employees
• Provide hearing protection such as earplugs and earmuffs and training on using these aids
• Move to quieter processes and quieter machinery where possible
• Continue to monitor noise levels on a regular basis

When daily noise levels reach 85dB businesses must:

• Follow the guidelines above
• Make wearing hearing protection mandatory (by law not subject to one’s discretion)
• Mark the noisy areas clearly using visible signs
• Install sound reduction equipment together with removing noisy equipment
• Note that after taking into the reduction in dB due to using hearing protection (typically 20dB reduction for earplugs and slightly more for earmuffs depending on their standard) noise should not exceed 87dB on average and 140dB in peak

When noise is suspected of exceeding permitted levels, a risk assessment needs to be taken. The assessment should be conducted by a health and safety professional to ensure that the advise, information and solution offered complies with UK laws.   

The Author

Joan McKechnie BSc Hons Audiology & Speech Pathology at hearing aids company Hearing Direct. You can read her blog for more information on hearing loss.

Guest Invitation

If you have a health-related article that you think that our readers may be interested in, and that you would like publishing on our blog, please feel free to get in touch.  We’d be very pleased to hear from you.  Please note, any submissions will be subject to editorial review, with no guarantee of publishing.  Only informational articles will be accepted; please do not send in sales / marketing pitches.

We would also be equally happy to submit first aid related articles to you, for publishing on your blog.  Please let us know if particular subjects are of interest to your readers.  Thank you.

Christmas is obviously a time when families get together to play, eat, drink and generally be merry. Unfortunately it is also a time when bizarre accidents are more likely to happen, (perhaps fuelled by alcohol or just by having too many people in a crowded space).

Each accident and emergency department across the land will, no doubt, have their fair share of people coming through the departments with injuries caused by cooking the Christmas dinner ranging from oven burns to more serious cuts.

Common Accidents

Various websites, hospitals and others  have listed a range of accidents from Christmas past.  Some are more daft than others.  Here’s a range of them…

Electrocution from…

• faulty tree lights
• watering the Christmas tree while the lights are still on!
• testing a 9V battery on your tongue!

Broken bones after…

• falling off ladders whilst decorating the tree
• pulling Xmas crackers too violently!
• tripping over new toys

Fires caused by:

• faulty Christmas lights (again)
• carelessness while using candles

Choking on…

• the turkey
• non-chocolate tree decorations

Cuts & bleeding from…

• slicing your hand whilst wrestling with the plastic packaging on new toys
• treading on toys, or on discarded toy packaging

Miscellaneous others

• various alcohol-related injuries, too numerous to mention
• being poked in the eye with a Christmas tree branch whilst trying to retrieve presents at the back of the tree

And our particular favourite…

• injuries sustained while colliding with out-of-control Scalextric cars!

With all these hazards in mind, while you are out getting new batteries for the kids toys, why not pick up a few extra supplies of plasters and hangover cures. Take a quick peek at your first aid book, just to remind yourself of common treatments for those unfortunate accidents that may just happen.

Above all, I wish you a safe and very Merry Christmas and a Prosperous and Happy New Year!

Heather Sawyer - Director of Training

The Author

Heather Sawyer is a Registered Nurse, First Aid Trainer and Director of Training at HTS Training Ltd, specialist provider of first aid training courses for businesses and individuals.

Not on your Nellie!

For years many of us in the UK have been taught to perform CPR in time to the tune of Nellie the Elephant as that had approximately 100 beats per minute.  In more recent years the Bee Gees track “Stayin ‘Alive” was also used as a training tool to help candidates practise compressions correctly.

However when the new Resuscitation Guidelines were launched in 2010 the rate and depth of compressions was increased to make CPR more effective. This rendered “Nellie the Elephant” and “Staying Alive” too slow!

New CPR Study

A study published today in The Emergency Medicine Journal has investigated whether performing CPR to music improves compression rate and depth. This study used two tracks in particular; “Achy Breaky Heart” by Billy Ray Cyrus  and “Disco Science” from Mirwais.

The study concluded that whilst students typically maintained a satisfactory rate of compression, the depth of compression achieved was generally found to be too shallow to be effective. They commented that while using music to regulate CPR may be useful in encouraging people to commence CPR, there are in fact better ways to achieve these ends.  In particular, it may be preferable to provide feedback to those learning to perform CPR, in the form of a metronome or other audible feedback mechanisms.

Current (UK) guidelines recommend that effective CPR should be performed by compressing the chest to a depth of 5-6 cm at a rate of 100-120 compressions per minute.

CPR – What to do

The key thing to remember is that if someone is  unconscious and unresponsive and not breathing normally, to call 999 or 112 and  to commence CPR immediately by compressing the middle of the chest hard at about two  compressions per second.

The correct procedure is to give 30 chest compressions followed by 2 rescue breaths (if you have been trained to give breaths) then a further 30 compressions. Keep going until help arrives.

Practical CPR Training is available as part of a range of first aid training courses available from HTS Training. 

Heather Sawyer - Director of Training

The Author

Heather Sawyer is a Registered Nurse, First Aid Trainer and Director of Training at HTS Training Ltd, a specialist provider of first aid training courses for businesses and individuals.

Fireworks are hot, fast & fun

Did you know:

• a sparkler reaches 2000°C? That is 20 times the boiling point of water!
• Rockets can travel at up to 150 miles per hour!

Injuries

Every year in the UK, approximately 1000 people are seriously injured by fireworks, many of them at parties held at home. Most injuries are to the hands and face which can require grafting and lengthy stays in hospital.

To avoid injury, one option is to go to an organised firework display.  However, if you are going to hold a bonfire party at home there are few basic things you should remember to do.  Above all, follow the firework code:

Firework Top Ten Safety Code for Adults

Young people should watch and enjoy fireworks at a safe distance and follow the safety rules for using sparklers.

Only adults should deal with firework displays and the lighting of fireworks. They should also take care of the safe disposal of fireworks once they have been used.

1. Only buy fireworks marked BS 7114.
2. Don’t drink alcohol if yuo are going to be setting off fireworks. 
3. Keep fireworks in an closed box. 
4. Follow the instructions on each firework. 
5. Light fireworks with a taper, keeping them at arm’s length. 
6. Stand well back. 
7. Never go near a firework that has been lit – even if it hasn’t gone off, it could still explode. 
8. Never put fireworks in your pocket, or throw them. 
9. Always supervise children around fireworks. 
10. Light sparklers one at a time, and use gloves.
11. Never give sparklers to a child under five years old
12. Keep pets indoors
13. Don’t let fireworks off after 11pm
    (UK Government Firework Code – downloadable in multiple languages)

First Aid Treatment of Firework Injuries

If you are accidentally injured by a firework the important thing is to cool the area immediately with cold water, and to keep cooling for a Minimum of 10 minutes. This takes the heat out of the wound and prevents further “cooking” of the skin.

Remove jewellery where possible and clothing if it hasn’t stuck.  Then wrap the area in clingfilm to keep it clean and protected and seek medical advice.

Lastly, Have Fun But Remember to BE SAFE, NOT SORRY

For Further Advice

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents  (RoSPA)have Safer Fireworks website with lots of useful information about firework safety

The UK Government also has a useful firework safety website, covering firework safety and the law.

First Aid training for minor burn injuries is covered in the Emergency First Aid training course syllabus, while the full 3-day First aid at Work training course covers burns in more detail.

The Author

Heather Sawyer is a Registered Nurse, First Aid Trainer and Director of Training at HTS Training Ltd, a specialist provider of first aid training courses for businesses and individuals.

Causes of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

It is not just gas appliances that can produce carbon monoxide, coal, wood, petrol and oil can also produce it too.  Many may think that if you have a “living flame” gas fire you don’t need to sweep the chimney, this is not true. Those chimneys still need to be swept regularly to clear any blockages in order to prevent levels of carbon monoxide building up and causing low level poisoning.

Statistics

Over 50 people die and more than 200 are admitted to hospital each year in the UK as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning.  A further 4000 a year suffer from low level effects of the gas. The All Party Gas Safety Parliamentary Group stated earlier this week, (as reported by the Daily Telegraph newspaper), that this is costing the NHS approximately £178 million a year, not including the human cost of loss of life.

Spotting Danger

A clean, blue flame indicating proper combustion and reduced carbon monoxide

Take a moment to look at your gas appliances:

• The gas flame should be blue. If the flame is lazy yellow or orange your appliance may be faulty.
• Does the pilot light keep blowing out?
• Is there any dark staining around appliances?
• Is there an increase in condensation inside windows?

Some deaths caused by carbon monoxide poisoning may be preventable if people take a little time to service their gas appliances.

Prevention Measures

Ensure your boilers and appliances are serviced yearly by Gas Safe registered engineers. More importantly, ensure that you have fitted an audible carbon monoxide detector and have checked that it is working. You are particularly vulnerable to poisoning whilst asleep.

Example of an audible carbon monoxide detector

Carbon Monoxide alarms are relatively inexpensive. Check that it conforms to the British Standard EN 50291 mark or BSEN 50291 mark. The alarm should also have a British or European Kitemark or other European testing approval mark.  Most of us now have smoke alarms and consider them to be essential to our home safety, should we not also consider carbon monoxide alarms to be just as vital?
For more information, see our What is Carbon Monoxide Poisoning? FAQ.  If you require training in how to deal with first aid emergencies, including CPR and other treatments, please visit our first aid training website.

The Author

Heather Sawyer is a Registered Nurse, First Aid Trainer and Director of Training at HTS Training Ltd, a specialist provider of first aid training courses for businesses and individuals.

On 12th September, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) changed the way in which work related injuries are to be reported. In addition, from 30th September, they closed their Infoline telephone service, starting instead to direct all enquiries to the HSE website.

Accident Form

Legal Requirement

All businesses are required by law  (the Reporting of Injuries and Dangerous Occurrence Regulations-  RIDDOR) to report any deaths, causes of disease, injuries that are directly attributable to the workplace  and near misses relating to the workplace.

For most businesses the part of the regulations that applies most frequently are those injuries that cause the injured person to be off work or unable to do their normal working duties for more than three  consecutive days (not including the day of the accident). These must be reported within 10 days of the incident.

The types of injuries that are reportable include death, fractures (except to thumbs, fingers, toes), amputations, loss of sight, burns, and any loss of consciousness or any injury that requires treatment in hospital.

Online Reporting

From now on these injuries can be reported via one of 7 new online forms which are designed to be easy to use and send with the click of a button. They may be found at on the HSE’s RIDDOR site.

For most  businesses this won’t cause too much trouble, as much of our working life is now done online.

If you’d like more information, please visit the HSE, or download a copy of our RIDDOR mini e-book.

The Author

Heather Sawyer is a Registered Nurse, First Aid Trainer and Director of Training at HTS Training Ltd, a specialist provider of first aid training courses for businesses and individuals.

Increasing numbers of jellyfish are being found in British waters

Last week the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) reported an increase in the number of Jellyfish inhabiting British waters including the barrel, moon, compass, blue and lion’s mane jellyfish.  None of these jellyfish has a lethal sting.

The MCS has asked members of the public to report sightings of these creatures as they give a good indication of the state of our seas.  The MCS urge the public to look but not touch as some of the jellyfish can sting, particularly the Lion’s Mane jellyfish which is swarming in huge numbers off the coast of the North West.

Jellyfish Soup

Currently the Irish Sea is described as a bit like “Jellyfish soup”, as the waters appear to be great grounds for them blooming. Other coastal areas have also been affected including the North West and North East. Indeed Scotland’s Torness power station was temporarily shut down a few weeks ago as swarms of the creatures blocked the water intake cooling systems.

Painful experience

If you are lucky enough to be holidaying near the sea then you may be unlucky enough to be stung by a jellyfish, which can be an intensely painful experience.  Popular rumour aided & abetted by episodes of “Friends” suggests you should pee on a jelly fish sting to neutralise the pain. But is there any truth in this or is it urban myth?

There is an element of truth in this rumour, but it really depends on how acidic your urine is. Acidity of urine is wholly dependent on your diet and most of us don’t produce urine that is acidic enough to neutralise the jelly fish sting. A better and less embarrassing option is to use vinegar. This deactivates the nematocysts (stinging cells) that may still be attached to the skin.

Treatment advice

If you are stung then the first aid advice is to:

• Gently remove any tentacles that are still attached ideally by using gloves and tweezers.
• Flood the area with vinegar, this deactivates the nematocysts (stinging cells) that may still be attached to the skin.
• Do not rub the skin as this may cause the nematocysts to release more venom.
• In the absence of vinegar pour more seawater over the area to help reduce the rash. Freshwater is not advised as it may cause more irritation.
• Over the counter painkillers may be of some help in reducing the pain.
• If breathing difficulties develop seek urgent medical help. If the inflammation does not seem to settle or the rash gets worse, seek medical help.

Useful information

 To report jellyfish sightings follow this link:
http://www.mcsuk.org/what_we_do/Wildlife%20protection/Report%20wildlife%20sightings/Report%20wildlife%20sightings

The Author

Heather Sawyer is a Registered Nurse, First Aid Trainer and Director of Training at HTS Training Ltd, a specialist provider of first aid training courses for businesses and individuals.

Sugary drinks can help relieve the symptoms of hypoglycaemia

Almost 2.8 million people in the UK live with some form of diabetes. It is one of the most common illnesses that affect people and perhaps one of the most misunderstood. In addition around a million people are estimated to have the condition but are as yet undiagnosed.

This week is National Diabetes week and the UK charity Diabetes UK is trying to raise the profile of the work that they do in helping us to understand the condition more clearly. They have discovered that nearly a million people with the condition are too embarrassed or scared to let close friends and colleagues know in case they are stigmatised or bullied at school or work. The issue was raised in this week’s Prime Minister’s Question Time by the Adrian Sanders, MP for Torbay, who is helping with the campaign, encouraging those with diabetes to speak out more about the condition and what it is like to live with.

It is an issue that all of us should be aware of, as with increasing levels of obesity, lack of physical activity and poor diets, many of us are putting our long term health at risk, running the very real possibility of developing the condition as we go through life.

What is Diabetes?

Incidents of Type 1 & Type 2 Diabetes

Diabetes is a condition which causes problems with controlling the level of sugar in our blood. There are two main types; Type 1 and Type 2. Type 1 diabetics typically do not produce any of the hormone insulin which is needed to utilise the sugar in our blood and turn it into usable fuel for our bodies. It typically begins in childhood or early adulthood and accounts for about 5-10 % of all cases of diabetes. It is not caused by poor diet and lifestyle factors.

Type 2 diabetes, which accounts for around 80 – 85% of all cases, develops later in life and is heavily influenced by diet, and physical activity. Being overweight significantly increases your chances of developing diabetes.  Lack of physical activity and a sedentary lifestyle and a poor diet are known risk factors for developing diabetes.

Either type 1 or type 2 diabetes, if left untreated, can have serious implications on the long-term health of sufferers.  If you suspect that you may be affected by diabetes, you should contact your GP.

Risk factors in developing Diabetes

Your genetic make-up has a large influence on your chances of developing either Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes.  If you have a strong family history of diabetes, your risk increases significantly.

Obesity is becoming a global issue with knock on effects on healthcare. Approximately one in five adults in the UK is overweight and this is increasing steadily.  Diabetes and it’s associated complications are costly to treat and with an ever increasing population that is ageing and becoming more unhealthy the cost to the NHS is huge.

A report out this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association has also suggested that watching too much television can also contribute to a 20% higher risk of developing the disease.  However, it is important to note that this is more likely down to the fact that those who watch television for more than two hours per day are also more likely to snack on unhealthy foods and participate in less physical activity.  It is likely that this, rather than television itself, is the true cause of this relationship.

Reducing the Risk

Small changes in the way we live our lives, losing weight, eating healthily and exercising can do much to prevent us developing diabetes.

Don’t Suffer in Silence

For those that already have the condition, ensure that all around you know about it so that if you become unwell they can help you. You never know, telling others about it may help someone else get the treatment they need or prevent another person developing the disease.

Further information

• www.diabetes.org.uk  - home of the UK’s diabetes charity
  www.diabetes.co.uk - online community giving information and support for sufferers and those wanting to know more about diabetes.
• The NHS’s diabetes pages - general information on the condition and its symptoms
• Our Diabetes FAQ page - more information on the condition and its symptoms
• www.hts-training.co.uk – provider of first aid training courses, including those covering recognition and treatment of diabetes in a first aid environment.

Recognising and treating a hypoglycaemic attack is covered in the 3 day first aid at work course. For more details see our First Aid at Work syllabus page.

The Author

Heather Sawyer is a Registered Nurse, First Aid Trainer and Director of Training at HTS Training Ltd, a specialist provider of first aid training courses for businesses and individuals.