Woman seriously burned decanting petrol

The threat of a fuel tanker drivers strike before, or even over Easter - has been ruled out by Unite. It is to join conciliation talks and says there may still be a strike after Easter if those fail.

Unfortunately this didn’t happen before a poor lady in York had suffered 40% burns to her body whilst decanting fuel to put in her daughter’s car.

The fire service has issued very clear guidance about the storage of petrol and I would urge everybody to take note of that.

I thought that this might be a really good opportunity to remind people about the treatment for a burn – no matter how it is caused.

The rule is always to cool the burn – not the casualty.  If it is a serious burn you should still be cooling it when the ambulance arrives.  You will need to cool the burn for a minimum of 10 minutes (20 minutes if it is caused by chemicals which either corrode the skin or create heat). Cold running water is best – but if that is not available then any cold liquid (such as milk or soft drink) is better than nothing. When the burn has cooled you can cover the burn loosely in cling film. 

You might be tempted to immediately put the casualty in your car and drive them to hospital BEFORE cooling the burn – thinking that you are doing the right thing.  I have heard many sad stories of people doing just that, but this has almost always resulted in the burn being much more serious than it might have been because the skin continues to cook!

One of my tutors had to deal with a very serious burn to her grand-daughters face and chest when she pulled over a jug of boiling water.  She cooled the burn consistently until the ambulance arrived.  The grand-daughter spent some time in hospital but I am happy to say that she made a complete recovery and has no sign of any damage to her face or chest.

So…always cool the burn before you do anything else.

Seek medical advice if

• The burn is larger than 1 inch square
• The burn goes all the way around a limb
• The casualty is a child
• The burn involves face, hands, feet, or the genitals
• You are not sure

NEVER

•  Burst blisters
• Touch the burn
• Apply lotions, ointments or fats
• Apply adhesive tape or dressings
• Remove clothing that has stuck to the burn

The main risks from burns are shock and infections – so if in doubt call 999 

Miracles can still happen

All of the recent publicity surrounding Fabrice Muamba, the young footballer, who suffered a cardiac arrest during a televised football match has really brought the issue of cardiac arrest to the forefront of many people’s minds. 

 

Muamba's recovery has amazed the football community as much as it has medical experts. His heart stopped for a staggering 78 minutes, saved by the immediate CPR and AED given by paramedics and doctors to continue his circulation which minimised damage to his brain. Sadly the same can’t be said for the young 15 year old Luke Chapman who collapsed on Tuesday afternoon during a school rugby match in Worchester and died.

 

The Sun launched its love heart campaign, to get basic life-saving skills taught in schools across the UK. Andy Murray joins a host of stars on the campaign backed by The British Heart Foundation. The 'Love Heart' campaign reinforces the message following the recent advert featuring Vinnie Jones.

However, 'Hard and Fast', the hands only method is not the most comprehensive way to perform CPR.  The message in the video and The Sun is intended is to give someone who has had no formal training in first aid the confidence to 'step up and have a go' should they be faced with a person suffering a cardiac arrest.

The BHF have stated in their recent publicity material that “CPR with rescue breaths should remain the gold standard but if someone is untrained, or unsure about how to give rescue breaths and chest compressions, Hands-only CPR is still more likely to increase a casualty’s chance of survival”. 

The fact that Fabrice Muamba survived his cardiac arrest is quite simply due to the fact that there were fully trained medical staff on hand who were immediately able to give rescue breaths and compressions and there was a defibrillator available that was used at the earliest opportunity.  This sequence of life saving first aid was continued by the ambulance crew until advanced medical care was provided in hospital.

It is extremely unlikely that there would have been the same outcome had compression only CPR been used.

So...just to be absolutely clear, compression only CPR is only being promoted as a suitable method for untrained members of the public. 

Anyone who has received formal first aid training will still be expected to carry out full CPR, which includes Rescue Breaths, because this is the best way of increasing the casualty’s chance of survival.

Correctly performed CPR (rescue breaths and compressions) is lifesaving and is thought to triple survival rates.

So…if you haven’t had any first aid training and you want to learn how to increase someone’s chance of survival in the event of a cardiac arrest – get yourself booked on to a training course. Phone 01908 612413 to find out more details.

It’s official – Men and Women are Different!!

You may have heard on the BBC news this week that new statistics have been published in an American study highlighting that heart attack symptoms ‘differ in women’.

We have known for years that equal numbers of men and women have heart attacks, but more women die as a result.

In a study of hospital admissions for heart attacks, none of the classic chest pains were present in 42% of the women and 30% of the men. The death rates were higher for women at 14.6% and 10.3% for men.

Just to remind you - the usual symptoms of a heart attack are:

§         Tightness or pressure in the chest

§         Pain in the chest area which can radiate out to either arm, neck, jaw, back or shoulders.

§         The attack usually lasts longer than 30 minutes

§         Skin takes on a grey colour and may sweat profusely

§         The pulse will be variable, often irregular and missing beats

§         Shortness of breath dizziness, nausea, vomiting

§         Usual medication GTN may give no relief.

The study shows that although women under the age of 55 do not have heart attacks very often, when they do, they very often will not present the symptoms as in the text books. Women may only suffer from mild chest pain or heaviness which can be overlooked by inexperienced first aiders and consequently they are more likely to die.

First-Aiders need to remain vigilant and open minded about diagnosing a suspected heart attack and phone 999 if they are in any doubt.

If you have any questions about the contents of this e-mail then please do not hesitate to contact me.

It's official! Men and women are different

You may have heard on the BBC news very recently that new statistics have been published in an American study highlighting that heart attack symptoms ‘differ in women’.

We have known for years that equal numbers of men and women have heart attacks, but more women die as a result.

In a study of hospital admissions for heart attacks, none of the classic chest pains were present in 42% of the women and 30% of the men. The death rates were higher for women at 14.6% and 10.3% for men.

Just to remind you - the usual symptoms of a heart attack are:

§         Tightness or pressure in the chest

§         Pain in the chest area which can radiate out to either arm, neck, jaw, back or shoulders.

§         The attack usually lasts longer than 30 minutes

§         Skin takes on a grey colour and may sweat profusely

§         The pulse will be variable, often irregular and missing beats

§         Shortness of breath dizziness, nausea, vomiting

§         Usual medication for Angina may give no relief.

The study shows that although women under the age of 55 do not have heart attacks very often, when they do, they very often will not present the symptoms as in the text books. Women may only suffer from mild chest pain or heaviness which can be easily overlooked and consequently they are more likely to die.

Everyone needs to remain vigilant and open minded about the possibility of a heart attack and phone 999 if they are in any doubt.

If you have any questions about the contents of this e-mail then please do not hesitate to contact me.