Health Room

Did you know that each year during the 60 days surrounding the end of the year holiday season almost 11,000 people are treated in hospital emergency rooms due to injuries sustained while decorating? A gut reaction may be to snicker or maybe a flash of Chevy Chase trying to hang Christmas lights on his house in the movie National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation has just flashed through your head. These injuries, ranging from falls, cuts, shocks, burns, etc., are no laughing matter. The National Fire Protection Association estimates that each year an average of 240 fires involving dried-out Christmas trees results in 16 deaths and millions in property damage. Can you guess what other fire hazard results in 170 deaths and $390 million in property damage annually? You guessed – candles are the culprit according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

These statistics and holiday hazards seem like a killjoy but it doesn’t have to be that way. With a few simple safety precautions and staying alert your holiday can be full of peace and joy.

Check out these helpful suggestions:

Trees and Decorations:

• If you’re into artificial trees, purchase one that is fire resistant (it doesn’t make you exempt from any fire but it will certainly help)
• If you’re into live trees, purchase one that is fresh (strong needles, sticky with resin) and keep it that way by watering it regularly
• Place your tree away from fireplaces, vents and radiators as well as away from high traffic areas
• Trim your tree using only non-combustible or flame-resistant materials
• If you have children use ornaments and decorations that are kid-friendly (avoid the sharp or breakable, small pieces that could be swallowed/choked on, trimmings resembling candy or food)

Lights:

• Use lights that have been tested for safety by a nationally recognized laboratory for both indoor and outdoor lights
• Use lights that have thicker wiring and safety fuses
• New or old, check each set up lights for broken/cracked sockets, frayed/exposed wires or loose connections (toss them if any of these descriptions apply)
• Do NOT use electric lights on a metallic tree (electricity charge + human touch = possibly electrocution)
• Off to bed or out the door make sure you unplug the lights

Candles:

• Keep burning candles within your view
• Keep burning candles away from flammable items
• Use non-flammable holders and keep out of reach of children and pets
• Put out the flame when off to bed or out the door

Fireplaces:

• Use color-producing fire salts with caution and keep away from children and pets
• Do NOT burn wrapping paper or plastics in your fireplace
• Use a screen around your fireplace to prevent sparks from igniting nearby flammable material (like your shirt when you’re sitting by the fireplace to stay nice and toasty)

Stay safe and warm.

Happy Holidays,

School Kids Healthcare

Source: EHS Today

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Have you heard of Body and Mind (BAM) on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website? BAM is designed for kids 9 – 13 years old to provide them with information to make healthy lifestyle choices.

It’s a pretty snappy website that is colorful, user-friendly and offers up quizzes and information on diseases, food and nutrition, physical activity, safety, life, and body.

Although the BAM website is geared towards kids 9 – 13 years old as an adult it doesn’t hurt to check it out. It allows you to stay involved with your kids. It may give you insight on ways to talk to your children about peer pressure, self-esteem and more. As a school nurse or teacher there’s also the BAM! Classroom link that helps incorporate BAM! Topics into the classroom.

Check it out the BAM! website and take a moment to comment on the School Kids Healthcare Blog on how you communicate with your kids on the basics. Do you provide them with books, talk with them directly, both? Explain to us how you work with your children to help them ease into the preteen years.

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The holidays are upon us and it won’t be long before we’re ringing in the New Year. With the New Year so quickly approaching the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Ready Campaign is reminding Americans to Resolve to be Ready in 2009. This nationwide effort is designed to encourage individuals, families, businesses and communities to take action and prepare for emergencies in the coming New Year.

Emergency preparedness is a simple three step process:

These simple steps may take a few moments of your time now but could save your life and others in the event of an emergency or national disaster. Keep in mind to have a supply kit not only in your home but your car as well. You never know when an icy road or snowstorm could leave you temporarily stranded. Emergency kits should contain the basic necessities such as water, food, and first aid supplies to help you survive until help is available - for a complete checklist check out: www.ready.gov.

By committing to Resolve to be Ready in 2009 and following the simple emergency preparedness steps in advance you will minimize the impact of emergencies and their effect on you and your loved ones.

Lan Lamphere provides a wonderful website – www.LanLamphere.com - and an AM public radio show called OvernighAM that covers an assortment of public interest topics including emergency preparedness, current events and more. Take a moment to check out Lan Lamphere and listen live or read his articles online.

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Youth who report drinking before the age of 15 are more likely than those who begin drinking later in life to have other substance abuse problems during adolescence; to engage in risky sexual behavior; and to be involved in car crashes, unintentional injuries, and physical fights after drinking, both during adolescence and in adulthood.

On the bright side the level of alcohol use dropped among those aged 12 to 17, from 17.6 percent in 2002 to 15.9 percent in 2007. However, the level of underage drinking by persons aged 12 to 20 has remained unchanged since 2002, at 27.9 percent.

As a school nurse, teacher or parent what can you do? Educating children about the effects of alcohol is a great start. Teaching age appropriate information will increase the chances your child will say “no” when they are presented with the opportunity. Give your child suggestions as to how to deal with peer pressure and other stresses in a positive manner. Build their self-esteem and reinforce healthy behaviors.

As responsible as you may be, at the end of the day your child, teenager, or young adult is going to make the decision as to whether or not they choose to drink. If they do decide to try alcohol be aware of how easy it is for them to obtain it. It could be as simple as a friend or irresponsible adult offering them a drink or to “take a sip”. Curiosity, peer pressure or addiction could lead to sneaking liquor or beer from their home. Do not assume all stores check IDs, even if they do, it is possible that your teenager or young adult may have a fake ID and are able to purchase it on their own.

The holiday season is in full swing. Family and social gatherings abound and there’s a strong chance alcohol will be available at these functions. Regardless of the amount of adult supervision there is at these outings it’s important to talk to your child about the effects of alcohol and alcohol abuse. Be a good role model and practice what you preach.

Sources: Family Guide, KidsHealth.com, StopAlcoholAbuse.Gov

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Some school districts have sophisticated sexual education courses for their students, offer contraceptives, pregnancy test kits, and advanced health classes. In addition to this many high schools and some junior high schools offer clinics in addition to the traditional nurse’s office where students can get personalized support on a wide range of sexual topics and services. Still other school districts see sex education, STDs and in-school contraceptives as taboo and want to leave that topic for parents to cover with their children. And what about college age students? Many university campuses have a full spectrum of sex education, sexual health products and clinics. How does your part of the country fit in? Is morality, ethics, or personal responsibility part of the discussion?

Then again many parents may be embarrassed or not know how to talk about these issues with their children and hope the schools, churches, or civic groups provide the facts about sexual health. At the other spectrum are engaged and open parents who feel it’s their duty to teach their children about the more than just the birds and the bees. Some families, schools, and areas of the country educate children at a very young age. Where does your school fit into the broad spectrum?

School Nurse News featured the article Teen Pregnancy and the Role of the School Nurse by Arleen Barlow, BSN, MA in their November 2008 issue. The article talked about the importance of education and counseling. Barlow noted in the article that the high school she works at has a school-based clinic that provides many services including strep throat, MRSA, mental health and venereal diseases testing.

Obviously not all schools offer these services whether due to funding, political and/or religious beliefs, etc. However, consider this - according to the Guttmarcher Institute almost 750,000 women aged 15 to 19 become pregnant each year. At the same time, the teenage pregnancy rate is at its lowest level in 30 years, down 36% since its peak in 1990. Have the teen pregnancy statistics improved through sexual Education, Abstinence programs, more engaged parents or a mix of all of these? Please tell us about what’s happing where you work in our comments section.

As good as a reduction in teen pregnancy is many areas of the country have rates as high as 50 newborns per 1000 female students per year. In a school with 4000 high school teens that’s an average of 400 births across the campus by graduation!

What about sexually transmitted diseases/infections? According to the CDC the highest age-specific rates of reported Chlamydia in 2006 were among women ages 15 to 19 (2,862.7 cases per 100,000 females). Chlamydia is the most common STD however 2006 was the first time reported cases exceeded 1 million.

How do you feel about sex education in US schools? Is there a certain age you think is the right age to start teaching appropriate information? What is the policy/standard in your school district? Should it be up to the parents to educate their children about sexual health, including “risky behavior”? As a school nurse are you allowed to distribute condoms or other contraceptives? If so, who is distributing them? The school nurse? Where are they distributing them - the library, cafeteria, or in PE/gym class? Does your school provide pregnancy tests to students? At what age is it too young to begin sex education? What improvements do you think could be made?

We would love to know your thoughts, and that of your peers. Please encourage nurses, and teachers to contribute to this topic and let us know what you think and what is going on at your school, campus, or college.

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The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) bloodborne pathogen standard, 29 CFR 1910.1030, requires that employers supply employees with proper instructions, equipment, personal protection equipment (PPE) and disinfectant to safely clean up body fluid spills. This OSHA safety standard applies to employees who have occupational exposure to blood or other potentially infectious material.

Does this apply to you? Yes. Whether you’re a school nurse, teacher, a campus security guard, administrative assistant, janitor, work at a daycare center, in a clinic, etc. this applies to you. No matter how crazy, mundane or completely serene your work environment, this applies to you.

OSHA compliance would mean being provided with all the items necessary to properly clean up and dispose of any reasonably anticipated spill. As an employee you must be protected from:

• Puncture wounds from glass or other sharp objects contaminated with blood
• Contact or splatter to eyes, nose or mouth
• Contact to non-intact skin or clothing

The supplies needed to meet these OSHA regulations may be purchased as a biohazard spill kit or as individual items. However, it is usually best practice, more convenient and economical to buy spill kits as a whole instead from a reputable and respected source as opposed to piecing supplies together.

OSHA states that the PPE your employer provides should be based upon an employees reasonably anticipated exposure while performing a task or procedure. However, it is impossible to anticipate or predict the degree of exposure to every possible circumstance or situation that could arise.

Flu season is now upon us and it can and usually does sneak up on someone. What if that someone doesn’t make it to the restroom and now there’s vomit on the classroom or office floor? Whether it’s you or the janitor do you have vomit absorbent?  Let’s say someone has a bad experience in a chemistry lab or technical education class and now there’s blood in more places than you thought possible.  Who is on blood cleanup duty?

Accidents can happen any time. Make sure you and your employer are prepared with an OSHA compliant spill kit and infection control supplies.

Sources: OSHA, Sharps compliance Inc.

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November Is American Diabetes Month®. Throughout the month the American Diabetes Association (ADA) will be working hard to raise awareness about the seriousness of diabetes and its potential complications such as heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, blindness and amputations.

Diabetes affects 7.8% of the American population, that’s 23.6 million people. Of that 23.6 million 17.9 million people have been diagnosed but the remaining 5.7 million people have yet to be diagnosed. Adults and children alike are susceptible to diabetes. This disease does not age discriminate.

What exactly is diabetes? Diabetes is a disease that causes blood glucose levels to be above normal. People with diabetes have trouble converting food to energy. The food you eat is broken down into a sugar called glucose. Your blood carries the glucose to cells throughout your body. Cells use insulin, a hormone made in the pancreas, which aids in converting blood glucose into energy.

How do you know if you could be at risk for diabetes? Check these risk factors:

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The awesome colored leaves in your neighborhood have probably dried out by now and are begging to be stomped on making that great crunching noise. You know what that means – no, not just the end of October – Halloween! Who doesn’t dig dressing up and getting candy? Whether you’re a skeleton, witch or this year’s “it” character have fun and stay safe. Here are some tricks ‘n tips for both the young and the young at heart:

Wishing all a safe and spooky Halloween!

Sources: American Red Cross and Los Angeles Fire Department

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Who knew? “Stayin’ Alive” by the Bee Gees is not only a great song to dance to but it also provides an ideal beat to perform chest compressions as part of CPR on a heart attack victim.

Dr. David Matlock, of the University Of Illinois College Of Medicine at Peoria, tested his theory on a small group of 15 doctors and medical students. Matlock discovered that having the small study group listen to “Stayin’ Alive” aided them in performing chest compressions on dummies at the correct speed.

So, what is the proper speed? The American Heart Association (AHA) calls for a rate of 100 chest compressions per minute. Where does the 1977 “Saturday Night Fever” anthem stand? A close 103 beats per minute.

After five weeks of practicing CPR on dummies while listening to the disco tune the study group was then asked to perform it without hearing the music. Instead, the group was asked to keep the song in their heads while performing CPR. The group again kept up a decent pace.

Matlock’s findings will be presented at the American College of Emergency Physicians meeting in Chicago later this month.

What do you think? Is it a fun coincidence or really a great learning tool? Take a moment to comment once you finally got the song out of your head. Can you believe that classic is over 30 years old?

Source: Reuters

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The common cold, sore throats – you think those are bad but what about the flu? Sometimes people mistake the common cold or a sore throat for the flu but anyone who’s ever had the flu knows you get slammed with what seems like every symptom possible (fever, headache, exhaustion, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, diarrhea, vomiting, etc.).

Although the flu symptoms sound really attractive most people try to avoid it like the plague. Flu season can start as early as October and lose its steam as late as May. So, are you getting a flu shot this season? If you are, October and November are considered the best times to get one so you’re ahead of the game. If not, do you have any flu season precautions or just chance it? It’s a bit unrealistic to wear gloves and masks while out and about but it is easy to wash your hands properly and sanitize to prevent the spreading of germs and bacteria.

The American Lung Association has a cool Flu Clinic Locator tool on their website to quickly help you find where you need to go to get your flu shot - check it out.

Sources: American Lung Association, CDC, WebMD

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