1st March, Self Injury Awareness Day.

Not all poisonings are intentional, in 2013-2014 almost 150,000 people were admitted to hospital with poisoning in England (NHS England) Knowing what to do in the event of a poisoning could make a difference.

First things first, there are lots of different ways in which a person can become poisoned. These are

• Injected
• Ingested
• Inhaled
• Absorbed through the skin

Symptoms will vary based on method of entry but can include:

• Paler skin with possible blueness around the lips
• Nausea/Vomiting
• Stomach pains
• Breathing difficulties
• Agitated behaviour
• Confusion/drowsiness
• Burns or skin irritation
• Visible signs of injection
• Evidence of poisoning - boxes, bottles or packets
• Fits/Seizures
• Unconsciousness

CHECK FOR DANGERS - the person may not want your help or the environment could be dangerous if for example the poison has been inhaled. You should not put yourself in danger, call the professionals instead.

If the person is not seriously ill call 111 for advice
If the person is vomiting, drowsy or confused or having breathing difficulties call 999 and follow their advice.

DO NOT try to make them sick of they have ingested poison - if the poison is corrosive it will cause more damage on the way up.
If you think the poison might be on the persons skin try to wear gloves if they are available, if not try to protect your skin if you need to touch them.
If you need to administer Basic Life Support you should make sure you have adequate protection when giving rescue breaths.

In either of these situations you should call 999 for an ambulance if they are breathing and awake sit them in the W position and take advice from ambulance control.
If they are not breathing start CPR

Since the discovery of the HIV virus and the stigma that has attached itself to the transmission of this disease it has been on everyone's radar of things to watch out for.
As we all know science and medicine have come on a long, long way since the discover of the virus in the 1980's. Back then no one really knew anything about it, other than it was deadly. They weren't sure how easily it was transmitted. Whether just breathing the same air was enough for you to become infected with the virus.

Thankfully now we know an awful lot more than we did nearly 40 years ago.
We now know that most people diagnosed with HIV in the UK acquire the virus through unprotected vaginal or anal sex.

We know that other body fluids, like saliva, sweat or urine, don't contain enough of the virus to infect another person.

We know that although there is still no cure for HIV there is medicine effective to stop you becoming infected if you think you have been infected through a high risk activity. Giving mouth to mouth resuscitation is not considered a high risk activity, even if there was blood around the casualties mouth. Although body fluids like blood can pass through broken skin, wounds, or mucous membranes it's very rare for this to lead to infection.

We know that these medications are so effective the lifespan of someone living with HIV is near enough normal and their quality of life is as good as a person living without HIV.

Does that mean that you're expected to give rescue breaths every time?

No, giving rescue breaths is still a choice, the aim of this blog isn't to make everyone give breaths every time but it is to educate people about the level of risk involved.

Why are rescue breaths so important anyway? I thought we didn't have to do them?

Rescue breaths help to ensure there is enough oxygen in the blood stream to keep the brain and the rest of the vital organs alive as best as possible until the professionals arrive to take over. The brain tissues start to die after as little as 3 minutes without oxygen. The longer the lack of oxygen continues the more of the brain becomes damaged. This can decrease the chance of survival or make it more likely the casualty will be alive but with brain damage that can cause physical and or mental deficits for the surviving casualty.

There are other diseases that can pass on through giving mouth to mouth resuscitation such as Tuberculosis, Hepatitis and Herpes. However this risks of these illnesses passing on are very low. And these very low risks can be further lowered with the use of a face shield during mouth to mouth. 

You can find these in and around first aid kits. You can also purchase little Keyring versions of these for when you're on the move.

If you see someone having an anaphylactic emergency, this may have happened to them before in which case they may have with them an Adrenaline Auto Injector (AAI)

There are a few different brands of these AAI's such as EpiPen, Jext and Emerade to name a few. All these devices work by injecting a dose of adrenaline into the system to slow down the bodies over reaction.

Chances are unless you've been hiding under a duvet for the past few weeks, no judgement here (just jealousy!) you've heard a lot about anaphylaxis on the news.
Tragically lives are lost each year because of this over reaction of the immune system.
Most, if not all parents are very aware of anaphylaxis as there seems to be a childhood epidemic of allergies at the moment. Particularly to that deathly little legume... the peanut!

Ok, so imagine your immune system being a bit like guards around a castle. They're on patrol all the time just waiting and watching for any signs of attack from an outside invader.
Now if a foreign solider came along you'd expect them to go into attack mode to deal with the intruder. Well this is how your immune system normally works. So this is what a normal reaction looks like to something that could be harmful.

Back to the soldiers around the castle.
If you have anaphylaxis your soldiers are on super high alert, a small animal moves in the undergrowth and they launch a full scale attack, cannons, arrows the whole lot! Bit of an overreaction? There's anaphylaxis.

• IF this has happened before the person might have an Adrenaline Auto Injector AAI. Sometimes called an EpiPen though there are other brands of these AAI's. Call 999 and administer pen.
• If this is the first reaction, call 999 straight away. Tell them you think it's anaphylaxis
• if they're having breathing difficulties, keep them sitting up to help them breathe.
• if they're not having breathing difficulties, lie them down and elevate their feet to help their circulation.

Check out our how to use an epipen blog if you're not sure how to do it.

​https://www.head2healfirstaid.co.uk/blog/how-to-use-an-epipen

As the seasons start to change, the leaves go golden, mornings become more crisp and asthmatics everywhere collectively sigh.
The change of the seasons means it's more likely their asthma symptoms are going to worsen.

Asthma is an allergic reaction that takes place in the lungs.
There are lots of "triggers" to asthma that are individual to the person, they may include things like:

• Pet fur
• Pollen
• Air Pollution
• Smoke/Aerosols
• Stress/Exercise (yes, exercising is stressful!)

 "oh, it's just asthma! What are you moaning about?"

Just asthma? JUST ASTHMA!

Did you know Asthma kills 3 people per day in the UK... 3 people every day somewhere in the UK will lose their lives to "just asthma".
​
​I'm going to pause here and let that sink in.
*dramatic pause*

Still think it's "just" asthma...

Asthma is a Breathing Problem. Oxygen = Life 
I'm not sure why some people have decided that a breathing problem isn't cause for serious concern.
​If you're going to learn only one thing from this blog post I'd like it to be that Asthma is life threatening and should be treated as such.

Signs that someone is having an asthma attack include:

• Wheezy sound on the outward breath (this isn't always present)
• Shortness of breath
• Paler skin with possible blueness around the lips
• Difficulty speaking
• Tightness in the chest
• Exhaustion
• Unconsciousness

If you think someone is having an Asthma attack

• Encourage them to sit up tall, shoulders back to open the chest and airways
• See if they have their blue reliever inhaler. Allow and help them to take it if they do.
• Give up to 10 puffs of the blue inhaler if no improvement call 999
• If no blue inhaler call 999 straight away
• If someone else has a blue inhaler they have offered, check with 999 before allowing the casualty to take it.
• DON'T move them from where they are unless they are in danger.

Concussion is when your brain gets shaken within your skull.
Imagine a jelly in a box.
Now shake the box.
​Kind of messy right?

It's not much fun having a concussion, any one who's had it will tell you it can make you feel a bit rough.

Some of the typical symptoms usually develop fairly soon after the bump and include the following:

• Short loss of consciousness
• nausea and vomiting
• blurry vision
• confusion
• tiredness
• dazed or vacant look
• headache

Before I get into what you should do, here's some things they SHOULDN'T be doing

• Driving
• Operating machinery
• Any sports activities
• Eating, Drinking or Smoking are also ill advised

If you think someone has concussion you should:

• take them to hospital for a check over
• treat any injuries to their head (see above)
• keep them quiet, calm and still

If they become unconscious again or are very difficult to wake Call 999 for an ambulance

Now we’ve covered that… Here’s why you should choose us!

1. Skillbase First Aid are our Awarding Organisation, all of the above are compliant so everything is taken care of!
2. We are passionate - We believe in what we do.
3. We love common sense - No PhD required to get to grips with our courses! (Though if you have one that's great too!)
4. We get YOU involved - No death by PowerPoint here!
5. We don't believe in scary tests ​- We take a more relaxed approach with ongoing assessment throughout the course​

WE MAKE A DIFFERENCE - Our courses are aimed at instilling you with the confidence to deal with emergencies both in and out of work. We also include Child and Baby CPR and Choking on EVERY COURSE!

What does a heart attack look like? Does the person always stop, clutch their chest looking momentarily terrified and drop to the floor?

​In the real world a heart attack can look very different, symptoms can even vary between men and women.

Just a bit of background...
​A heart attack is a blockage in the heart, which stops oxygen getting to all parts of the muscle which makes the heart muscle die. Blockages can be caused by blood clot or narrowing of an arteries by build up of cholesterol, (you know that stuff they go on about in the Flora adverts!).

Imagine your circulation system being like a motorway all around your body, a heart attack is like the road to the heart being closed for roadworks or traffic cones cutting the three lanes down to one.

If it doesn’t always look like it does on TV, what am I looking for? I hear you ask

Signs and symptoms may include:

Pain in the centre of the chest, though many women do not experience this symptom which may be why only 2 in 1000 women compared with 6 in 1000 men between 30-69 years old are known to have heart attacks each year in the UK.

Pain may spread into the back, between the shoulder blades and into the arms (particularly the left arm)
Some women complain of neck or tooth ache or upper abdominal pain

Struggling to get their breath

Paler than usual or grey skin, maybe with blueness around the lips

Sweaty

Feeling or being sick

Dizzy and weak


So now comes the really important bit… What can you do to help?!

Dial 999 for an ambulance. Do not wait to see if the pain subsides.

Sit the casualty down. This will take pressure off the heart and also prevent the casualty hurting themselves if they collapse. It is best to lean the casualty against something and lift and support their knees. This is commonly referred to as a ‘w’ position. (pictures at the bottom!)

Reassure the casualty and try to keep them calm (easier said than done I know!)

If the casualty has their own medication for a heart condition let them use it. If they do not have any medication, we can offer aspirin if we have it and they are able to take it. (not allergic for example) They should take a normal dose as indicated on the packet (usually 300mg). The casualty should chew the tablet slowly, which will allow it to get to work quicker than swallowing. If you are unsure, ask 999 ambulance for advice.

If the casualty loses consciousness or stops breathing ask 999 for advice.