Between the Christmas holiday and the whole Tiger Woods’ scandal (dare this be mentioned in the same sentence) have we forgotten about one of the oldest winter woes? The cold and flu are still going strong even though we haven’t heard too much about them lately.

Here are a few tips to help you (hopefully) make it through the season.

Keep your distance – your family and your friends, you love them but do you love their germs too? If they appear to be sick staying a good 3 to 6 feet away will decrease your chance of getting sick. Hopefully if they’re sick they’ll stay home but just in case.

Wash your hands – tried and true, we all know frequent hand washing with warm water and soap puts up a huge fight against germs. If you’re at a loss for a good ole hand washing carry a pocket size hand sanitizer with you.

Maintain a healthy lifestyle – get your zees, if you miss too much sleep you can wear down your immune system. Eat a healthy diet and if you’re going to splurge do so in proportion (we all love a Christmas cookie or two but ten or twelve in a sitting is overboard). Stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water. If you’re going to drink alcohol limit your intake to one or two drinks per day. Keep up with your exercise routine to help relieve stress and maintain your weight.

Source: EHSToday.com

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November 11th is Veterans Day, a day to honor those who have served or are serving in the military. A day is not long enough to make up for the time veterans have given us and given of themselves but it is a dedicated day to say thank you. Say thank you to the veterans you know, to the ones you don’t and to the ones you have yet to meet.

PS
Veterans and Active Duty Military eat free today at Applebees

Source: Applebees.com, YouTube.com

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When someone says October you may think of fall leaves bursting into color or the macabre of Halloween but have you remembered to think pink? October, as we all should know, is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Breast cancer is the second most common cancer among American women (the first is skin cancer). Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer death among women ages 35 to 54. Another breast cancer fact is that approximately one is almost every eight women will develop breast cancer in her lifetime. The American Cancer Society estimates that in 2009, approximately 192,370 women will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer and approximately 40,610 will die.

These breast cancer statistics may sound grim but there are things women can do and be encouraged to do. Research shows that the mortality rate could decrease by 30% if all women age 50 and older who need a mammogram had one.

Everyday people, companies, government, city employees, etc. are working hard to bring breast cancer awareness to the forefront. Breast cancer walks, breast cancer fundraisers, breast cancer PSAs and breast cancer merchandise (specifically that donates proceeds towards breast cancer research foundations) are all ways these groups are coming together to make a difference.

Here’s just a few of the people making a difference:

Milwaukee Firefighters, Shawnee Firefighters, Yuma-area Firefighters and Dave Graybill, a firefighter from Glendale, Arizona, who made the two pink fire trucks covered with ribbons and handwritten signatures and inspirational stories cruising around America possible.

You can make a difference. Get a mammogram. Donate your time. Help someone in need. Give your love.

Sources: JSOnline.com, SeacoastOnline.com, ShawneeDispatch.com, WAFF.com, WebMD.com, YumaSun.com

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Hello Wisconsin! Of all the Midwest destinations The Battalion.TV hit up Milwaukee Fire and EMS to film our finest in a number of series entitled but what else? 24 Hours with the Milwaukee Fire and EMS.

If you didn’t know about it or haven’t had a chance to check it out you really should. It’s kind of like COPS but with Fire and EMS personnel on the scene and saving lives. Some of the scenes can be graphic and sometimes strong language is used but it’s really interesting to see first and foremost what these men and women are up against. Aside from the up close and personal footage you also get to hear personal interviews with the Milwaukee Fire and EMS.

Whether you’re a Wisconsin native or not check TheBattalion.TV out. Milwaukee is the main feature right now but there are plenty of other webisodes from the east and west coasts, the south, wildland fires and more.

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It’s no secret obesity rates in America have dramatically increased over the past twenty years. In fact, two-thirds of Americans are overweight or obese.

People who are overweight or obese are more susceptible to the following health conditions:

• Coronary heart disease
• Type 2 diabetes
  
• Cancers (endometrial, breast, and colon)
• Hypertension (high blood pressure)
• Dyslipidemia (for example, high total cholesterol or high levels of triglycerides)
• Stroke
• Liver and Gallbladder disease
• Sleep apnea and respiratory problems
• Osteoarthritis (a degeneration of cartilage and its underlying bone within a joint)
• Gynecological problems (abnormal menses, infertility)

It’s a sensitive subject but being at a higher risk of the above health conditions probably means being at higher risk for the need of emergency medical services at some point in time.

Paramedics and firefighters care for patients weighing 400 or 500 pounds or more, two or three times a week. If their department does not have specialized equipment (jumbo soft stretcher, bee board, backboard, bariatric stretcher) to move larger patients they need to come up with creative ways to move them (tarp, forklift).

Although large patients may pose more of a challenge to transport they’re always treated with the same respect as any other patient.

If you’re in the EMS field how often do you respond to calls that result in an overweight or obese patient needing to be transported? Does your department carry specialized equipment or do you have to improvise?

Sources: CDC.gov, Jems.com, Omaha.com, Syracuse.com

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Earlier this week off-duty Milwaukee firefighters Joel and John Rechlitz, off-duty police Lt. Mark Wroblewski and neighbors worked together to save a mother and her two children from their burning SUV.

The SUV had slammed into a tree and burst into flames. The 32-year-old mother, Angela Baldessari, was able to pass her two-year-old daughter, Beverly Harper, through the top of the SUV. She then escaped through the windshield after it was smashed open. However, David ‘DJ’ Harper, only four-years-old, was still trapped in his car seat.

John, who usually carries a pocketknife with him, did not have one at the time of the accident. Luckily, a local came through with a pocket knife. After cutting the seat belt restraints from the boy’s body the brothers were able to save him, suffering burns to their hands and forearms.

“If that person didn’t come forth with that pocket knife, things would have been different. If that lady didn’t come through with the garden hose, the burns sustained to that child would have been much more severe,” Joel Rechlitz of the Milwaukee Fire Department said.

“Officer Wroblewski, with bringing the fire extinguishers, gave us five to then seconds, and five to ten seconds made the difference between this boy living and dying,” Rechlitz added.

DJ had burns, many considered third-degree, over 20 percent of his body covering most of his scalp, upper back and upper extremities and less severe burns on his face. As of Tuesday he was in “serious condition but stable” at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin.

A time ago it was very common to have average citizens carry pocketknives but not so much today. Luckily on the day of this horrible accident someone was carrying a pocketknife. No one ever expects to be put in one of these situations but there are some inexpensive rescue tools that wouldn’t be a bad idea to consider having on you or accessible in your car such as a seatbelt cutter, window punch, or a lifesaver hammer.

With today’s technology quite a bit of the dramatic rescue was caught on film. It’s chilling and heartbreaking to watch.

Source: foxnews.com, sky.com, wbay.com, youtube.com

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Saving someone’s life is part of your job but as a first responder have you ever wondered what the aftermath is like for an extensive, severe burn victim? Time consuming, painful treatment, including surgeries and skin grafts, as well as the psychological trauma may make you wonder if you did the right thing.

Every year the Phoenix Society for Burn Survivors sponsors the World Burn Congress (WBC) giving first responders the opportunity to meet, interact and bond with burn survivors. This year’s meeting will be held August 26 – 29, 2009 at the Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers in Manhattan’s Midtown.

The WBC provides first responders and burn survivors a chance to connect and find the closure that’s often missing from first responder/patient encounters.

“We see people at their worst and then never see them again,” said FDNY firefighter and president of the New York Firefighters Burn Center Foundation Bill Leahy. “It is an eye-opening experience to see what people can overcome.”

The WBC also offers first responders the chance to learn about the latest developments in burn prevention and burn treatment. It also provides resources for survivors, rescuers and their families on coping with loss and adaption.

Emotional and inspiring the positivity shown here can not only be humbling but life changing.

Source: Jems.com, Phoenix-Society.org

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“Call 911” written and performed by Farooq Muhammad and directed by Christopher Marquardt is a catchy rap that aired publicly during EMS Week and has been viewed on YouTube over 14,000 times.

Made to be an EMS recruitment video it’s cool just to watch and see the action. The video features the Crews of Battalion 38 in Central Brooklyn “Kings of the County” hard at work.

Whether or not you’re in the EMS field it’s hard not to watch this music video and see how many medical supplies you can spot. Obviously, this is nowhere near all of them but here’s a head start: stethoscope, rescue bags, backboard straps, cervical collar, AED pads, bag valve mask, backboard, blood pressure cuff – there’s plenty more. Have fun and enjoy the music!

Source: JEMS.com

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Who knew? New Line/Platinum Dunes is remaking A Nightmare on Elm Street. If you’re not a horror film buff or at least A Nightmare on Elm Street fan why do you care? Joan Philo Casting is currently seeking real life police officers, firefighters and paramedics for non-speaking roles. These are paid positions people. If you’re interested here are the requirements:

If you meet the requirements check out fangoriaonline.com for the email address and specifics you need to send about yourself to be considered for the role. Maybe you could butter up the casting director if you offer to bring along one of those Simulaids Deluxe Simulation Kits with all the flesh wounds, burns, blood, you know the one. Or, how about the forensic science wound package – including shotgun close range wound, exit gunshot wound, contact wound, ice pick exit wound and more.

Freddy’s back.

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Riverside County paramedics are no longer allowed to insert breathing tubes in children under nine years old. Dr. Humberto Ochoa, medical director for the Riverside County EMS Agency, suspended the procedure on April 27. Los Angeles and Orange Counties have not used the procedure for years, however nearby San Bernardino County is still allowed to practice intubation on children.

The need to intubate a young child, technically called pediatric endotracheal intubation, is not a common practice among paramedics. The procedure is not simple and if done incorrectly (using the wrong size equipment, placing the tube in the esophagus instead of the trachea) carries a high risk of serious complications.

Instead of pediatric intubations paramedics are instructed to use bag valve masks. Ochoa referenced a well-known study in Los Angeles, albeit ten years old, that showed using bag valve masks outside of a hospital setting to help children breathe was just as effective as intubation.

Dr. Daniel Davis, professor of clinical medicine at UC San Diego and regional medical director for Mercy Air Medical Services, said that for every argument that suggests the procedure should not be used outside hospitals, there is another that suggests it should.

Davis noted that technology is always changing in regards to the well-known study Ochoa spoke of. For example, there is a device available to paramedics that monitors the concentration of carbon dioxide in exhaled breath and can show if the tube has been inserted incorrectly. While Davis agrees the mask is generally effective, there are situations, such as an allergic reaction which could cause the airway to swell shut before reaching the hospital, where intubation would be the better choice.

Each procedure has its pros and cons and has caused much debate. What if the nearest hospital is far away and the situation called for intubation, shouldn’t paramedics be able to go ahead with the procedure? What is the protocol at your department?

Source: PE.com

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