first aid

House fires often happen at night when everyone is asleep; especially if there’s a smoker in the house. Smokers sometimes go to sleep with a lit cigarette. If you smoke, never smoke when you are sleepy. Always extinguish your cigarette in an ashtray, and make sure it is totally out. Empty ashtrays only after all the heat is gone from its contents. If a fire should start from a dropped cigarette, it might smolder for hours before a flame appears. Everyone could be asleep or unresponsive from smoke inhalation. No matter how a fire starts, whether from careless smoking or some other cause, serious burns can result.

Many 3rd degree burns happen at home, and sadly kids are often the victims. Children playing with lighters can easily catch their clothes on fire. Parents can prevent this kind of injury by keeping their matches and lighters out of the reach of their kids. Flame resistant clothing can help prevent 3rd degree burns, because if the clothes don’t catch on fire there will be no contact with the heat source.

All 3rd degree burns are serious; when the area burned is confined to a small area it might be able to be treated in a doctor’s office or emergency room as an outpatient. When a major burn involves a larger percentage of the body’s surface it is a medical emergency. If you’re exposed to flames the immediate response is to halt what you’re doing and drop to the floor or ground and then roll to put out the flames. So many extensive 3rd degree burns have been incurred because the person on fire panicked and ran, rather than doing the basic stop, drop and roll life-saving method.

With thermal injury the person is exposed to heat or flame. If you’re in a situation such as this, after the stop, drop and roll maneuver, remove jewelry and clothing from the area burned if possible; the exception to this is if the jewelry or clothing are stuck to the burned area. Don’t ever try to remove anything that’s stuck to the injury. Let the professionals deal with anything that’s stuck to the wound. 3rd degree burns penetrate the whole thickness of the skin, and may also involve the fatty and muscular layers. 3rd degree burns sometimes involve the skeletal tissue; however, some professionals classify burning of bone tissue as a 4th degree burn.

A state of shock often sets in after a 3rd degree burn. Hypovolemic shock is caused when there’s huge fluid loss when a big area of the body is burned. The immediate treatment for shock is to lie the victim down and elevate the feet about 12 inches (30 cm) so that the feet and legs are above the heart. It is necessary to keep the blood flowing to the vital organs. Cover the victim with a blanket to prevent chilling.

Dial 911 immediately. Emergency workers will immediately insert an intravenous line to keep a vein open for any emergency drugs that need to be administered. The IV is to replenish the body’s fluid and electrolyte balance, but it is also a route for medications to be administered to treat the effects related to 3rd degree burns.

Everyone should have a working smoke detector in their home. Check it regularly. Have an escape plan in case of fire. Practice your escape route. Make sure everyone in the family comprehends what they are to do in case of fire. Practicing an escape route several times a year will help to avoid panic. Most often people die because they panic.

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When the lights go out and everyone is going to bed, those little crawling creatures like to come out in the night. Whether there is food on the counter or toys on the floor, these nasty creatures like to crawl over everything to explore for food. They are cockroaches and we’ve all seen them. Cockroaches are a huge nuisance to anyone and are so despicable. Just the thought of those things running loose where you lay or sit is a horrible thought. But, the fact is there are people with allergies and can have a reaction from one of the cockroaches crawling over him or her. Some of the reactions can be asthma, continual sinus and ear infections. An alarming fact is that cockroaches can actually slip into the ear of a child or an adult while asleep or lying in infested area. Although, the wax in the ears is comparable to a pesticide and will kill it, this is still something that needs to be avoided due to the allergens they stimulate.

As the winter months are passing, springtime begins to erupt and surface. The sound of birds singing with their babies chirping, squirrels running here and there collecting food and each other creature coming out for the warmer weather, so are the allergens in the air.

There are many things in the change in seasons that’ll possibly affect a person who suffers from allergies or hay fever. Cotton trees send forth those little white and fuzzy pieces that seem to float, until landing on whatever is in its path. Now, this may seem harmless, but, for the allergy or hay fever sufferer, this can become an enemy.

As soon as the person who is allergic to cotton will open the door to the outside, many things will occur as a result of the cotton in the air. The nose will start to stop up as the throat begins to burn. Eyes will water and become weak. The person might also have a tough time with breathing and have a thickness in the throat, which makes it difficult to swallow. This could all lead the person to an attack with asthma. These are just a few symptoms that can arise from easy little things like cotton.

Drink a lot of water and some green tea during this time and flush the body. Physicians can help with this.

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There are some chores that nobody likes to do and cleaning is one of those unsightly chores. Yet, if we do not clean, germs will begin to invade each part of our homes spreading bacteria, which can lead to bad things. So, cleaning is very important to do and is highly necessary. But, what about the products we use to clean and how many people are affected by using them. With all the cleaners we use, some can be very harsh and even harmful to someone who has allergies. Breathing many of the chemicals can be hazardous and cause painful side effects. If someone is cleaning the lavatory and has to breathe the fumes or smell of the cleanser, that person might experience a headache, eye and throat that burns, not being able to breathe too well and possibly nose bleeds. If that happens, that person should go to another area where there’s fresh clean air. Anytime you’ve to clean with a cleanser, make sure to have a way to have some kind of ventilation, so you can have fresh air to breathe.