3 types of bleeding and how to control them…

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Stop the Bleed Month

 

May is National “Stop the Bleed Month” Here are some important tips to share

External blood is when blood leaves the body through any type of wound. First aid responders should be competent at dealing with major blood loss. There are broadly three different types of bleeding: arterial, venous and capillary.

How much blood do we have?
The average adult human as anywhere between 8 and 12 pints of blood depending on their body size.

Remember that children have less blood than adults, and as such cannot afford to lose the same amount – a baby only has around 1 pint of blood.

Stop the Bleed Month

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Arterial
With this type of bleeding, the blood is typically bright red to yellowish in color, due to the high degree of oxygenation. A wound to a major artery could result in blood ‘spurting’ in time with the heartbeat, several meters and the blood volume will rapidly reduce.

Venous
This blood is flowing from a damaged vein. As a result, it is blackish in color (due to the lack of oxygen it transports) and flows in a steady manner. Caution is still indicated: while the blood loss may not be arterial, it can still be quite substantial, and can occur with surprising speed without intervention.

Capillary
Bleeding from capillaries occurs in all wounds. Although the flow may appear fast at first, blood loss is usually slight and is easily controlled. Bleeding from a capillary could be described as a ‘trickle’ of blood.

The key first aid treatment for all of these types of bleeding is direct pressure over the wound.

 

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3 different types of bleeding and how to control them

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unifirstfirstaidandsafety

First aid responders should be competent at dealing with major blood loss. There are broadly three different types of bleeding: arterial, venous and capillary.

How much blood do we have?
The average adult human as anywhere between 8 and 12 pints of blood depending on their body size.

Remember that children have less blood than adults, and as such cannot afford to lose the same amount – a baby only has around 1 pint of blood.

What are the different types of bleeding?

Arterial

With this type of bleeding, the blood is typically bright red to yellowish in color, due to the high degree of oxygenation. A wound to a major artery could result in blood ‘spurting’ in time with the heartbeat, several meters and the blood volume will rapidly reduce.

Venous
This blood is flowing from a damaged vein. As a result, it is blackish in color (due to the lack of oxygen it transports) and flows in a steady manner. Caution is still indicated: while the blood loss may not be arterial, it can still be quite substantial, and can occur with surprising speed without intervention.

Capillary
Bleeding from capillaries occurs in all wounds. Although the flow may appear fast at first, blood loss is usually slight and is easily controlled. Bleeding from a capillary could be described as a ‘trickle’ of blood.

The key first aid treatment for all of these types of bleeding is direct pressure over the wound.

Call 911 if you have a medical emergency

 

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Washing Your Hands of a Situation Can Be a Good Thing

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Washing Your Hands of a Situation Can Be a Good Thing

One of the best ways to protect your hands—and the rest of you—is good, old-fashioned soap.

Ok, apologies in advance if this topic grosses you out, but there’s a study out that says more than half of the people who use their companies’ restrooms don’t wash their hands before leaving. That’s just wrong in so many ways, but what really gets me to wondering is: Why? It’s not like it costs the employee anything to use the water or the soap or the towels (whether paper, cloth or air-blowers). Plus, while we’re all understandably squeamish about those nasty germs being spread on doorknobs, desks and other things the employee might end up touching, the majority of those germs are staying right there with him or her. So again I wonder: Why?

I’m currently fighting a cold—living in Ohio, it’s a mere matter of time before the elements caught up to me—despite all my best efforts to wash my hands early and often and to avoid touching anything that looks in the least bit nasty. So I’m especially annoyed when people leave a restroom without even pretending to clean up after themselves. I mean, C’mon! That’s just nasty!

 

In a rush? Anyways, the study, which was conducted by Bradley Corp. (a company that manufactures commercial washroom, emergency safety, and industrial solutions), speculates that maybe the employees are in a rush to get on with something else, but that seems like a pretty lousy reason. They’re putting themselves and their fellow workers at danger for the sake of saving, what, an extra 30 seconds to wash and dry their hands? Nobody is that busy.

Part of it seems to be a gender thing, according to the survey, which says 63% of men frequently or occasionally don’t wash their hands after using the restroom, compared to 49% of women. I dunno… I’m not comforted much by the thought that only half of women don’t wash their hands.

Is it a pride thing, one of those “I’m too cool to bother with washing my hands” attitudes? Is it a matter of upbringing, a lapse in common sense that can be laid at the feet of absent parents who never explained to their kids how and why to wash their hands? Is it just plain rudeness, or even worse, a deliberate act meant to spread nasty substances throughout the world? The survey doesn’t really say.

But for those of you who want to know what constitutes a good, thorough hand-washing experience, Bradley Corp. recommends using soap, running water and vigorous scrubbing for at least 20 seconds.

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CPR Saves lives at Food 4 Less

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Medford, OR. Fire-Rescue honored four distinct community members, as well as local business, Food 4 Less, on Thursday for their heroic and fast-acting efforts that saved two lives in December.

Over the Christmas holiday, two separate incidents that both involved people going into cardiac arrest, happened a week apart at the same Medford Food 4 Less. According to Medford Fire-Rescue, both patients required a “Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and Automated External Defibrillation (AED).”

The first incident, on December 22nd, began as a reported car crashing into the Food 4 Less building. Several employees and a customer moved quickly to check on the driver and realized she was not responsive or breathing.

They called for help, turned off the car, and pulled her out to begin CPR. One of the employees ran inside the building to retrieve the closest AED. The first arriving Medford Police officer on-scene assisted with CPR until Medford Fire-Rescue firefighters arrived to relieve them. “We happened to be walking by going in shopping and just rendered care to her as we saw fit to what’s going on,” Cliff Maris, local United States Postal Service employee said.

Maris has a history of valiant acts and medical training from his six years in the air force as a Medical Evacuation Specialist 452nd, who served during the first war in Iraq. Maris said helping and taking care of people are the two reasons that motivated him to join the military. “It’s just the training we had in the military that [tells us to] go to it and then take care of the problem instead of running away from it,” Maris said.

“Due to the rapid and effective CPR performance, the patient arrived to the hospital with a pulse, and a chance,” said Melissa Cano, Emergency Manager for Medford Fire-Rescue.

A week later on December 28th, a Food 4 Less employee was alerted of an unresponsive person, hunched over on a bench. The very same employee who assisted in the previous week’s incident again responded, and was instrumental in the life-saving efforts. They acted swiftly: calling for help, starting CPR, and even issuing a shock from the store AED before the first responders arrived.

“Both incidents are a true testament to the willingness of those in our community to help a person in need,” said Cano. “Medford Fire-Rescue is not only proud to recognize these individuals, but highlight the importance of being properly trained in CPR. Every community member can potentially assist others, and even, save a life.”

 

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Fire Prevention Week – Tips To Keep You Safe

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This week is Fire Prevention Week

UniFirst First Aid + Safety First & Safety would like to share a great resource from NFPA (National Fire Protection Association).  Fire Prevention Week is a perfect time to educate your family, friends and coworkers on the importance of fire prevention.

Below are some excellent fire prevention safety sheets to share:

 

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Source: www.nfpa.org

Small Business – Training Best Practices

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Training in the workplace

Just like large organizations, small businesses also need to ensure their employees are appropriately trained to succeed at their jobs. Not to mention the business’s obligations to stay current with any training requirements mandated by OSHA and other regulatory bodies.

Without the big labor pools to cover missed shifts and the larger budgets of a big company, what are the best ways for small businesses and startups to get their employees the training they need while minimizing lost time and keeping costs down?

Small Business Trends offers several tips for training small business employees, and the number one solution is to use online training options. Sometimes, those options might even be at no charge. For example, if your organization uses a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) application, does that provider offer any webinars or tutorials on how to use the features of the app? Spending 30 minutes listening to a recorded class is less time consuming than traveling to a workshop or taking a weekly course at the local community college, and those vendor-provided courses might be free and included in the CRM contract.

 

When a freebie isn’t quite enough, there’s a whole world of online training opportunities out there, the result of a growing market demand as more and more companies see the benefits of this convenient training solution. Some online training providers even specialize in solutions for small businesses such as UniFirst First Aid + Safety First Aid & Safety.

The Small Business Association blog also suggests tips for training, including:

  • Join Associations or Trade Groups – Check out your trade association(s) website or newsletter for training opportunities that may be included in your membership.
  • Cross-Train Employees in the Workplace – Different jobs in your organization [can be] hands-on training opportunities for others. Give employees new roles or responsibilities. Have them shadow someone who is already doing these tasks for a few days, until they are ready to try the new role on their own. Rotate roles frequently so your employees are continuously learning and challenged to achieve new things
  • Start a Mentorship Program – Consider partnering new or less experienced employees with mentors. For example, an up-and-coming sales rep might benefit from sitting in on sales planning sessions or attending important off-site customer meetings with a more senior employee.

 

In addition to fulfilling compliance requirements, training your employees makes good business sense, too. According to an article at Forbes.com, “Small business owners who invest in training are more likely to report growing, and more likely to report growing more. In other words, what is good for employees is good for the business,” and that “‘Hiring and retaining good employees closely follows ‘finding and keeping customers’ as the top two challenges reported by small business owners who are committed to growing their businesses.”

So, before you lose a day’s productivity because your team is driving back and forth from yet another seminar at a distant hotel, have a look around online. The topic you need might already have a robust online solution.

Set your team and your business up for success with the training solutions from UniFirst First Aid + Safety First Aid & Safety. From emergency care to first responders to workplace safety for companies big and small, let us help you meet your training goals and keep your company in compliance.

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Training in the workplace – How Important is it?

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Training in the workplace

Just like large organizations, small businesses also need to ensure their employees are appropriately trained to succeed at their jobs. Not to mention the business’s obligations to stay current with any training requirements mandated by OSHA and other regulatory bodies.

Without the big labor pools to cover missed shifts and the larger budgets of a big company, what are the best ways for small businesses and startups to get their employees the training they need while minimizing lost time and keeping costs down?

Small Business Trends offers several tips for training small business employees, and the number one solution is to use online training options. Sometimes, those options might even be at no charge. For example, if your organization uses a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) application, does that provider offer any webinars or tutorials on how to use the features of the app? Spending 30 minutes listening to a recorded class is less time consuming than traveling to a workshop or taking a weekly course at the local community college, and those vendor-provided courses might be free and included in the CRM contract.

 

When a freebie isn’t quite enough, there’s a whole world of online training opportunities out there, the result of a growing market demand as more and more companies see the benefits of this convenient training solution. Some online training providers even specialize in solutions for small businesses such as UniFirst First Aid + Safety First Aid & Safety.

The Small Business Association blog also suggests tips for training, including:

  • Join Associations or Trade Groups – Check out your trade association(s) website or newsletter for training opportunities that may be included in your membership.
  • Cross-Train Employees in the Workplace – Different jobs in your organization [can be] hands-on training opportunities for others. Give employees new roles or responsibilities. Have them shadow someone who is already doing these tasks for a few days, until they are ready to try the new role on their own. Rotate roles frequently so your employees are continuously learning and challenged to achieve new things
  • Start a Mentorship Program – Consider partnering new or less experienced employees with mentors. For example, an up-and-coming sales rep might benefit from sitting in on sales planning sessions or attending important off-site customer meetings with a more senior employee.

 

In addition to fulfilling compliance requirements, training your employees makes good business sense, too. According to an article at Forbes.com, “Small business owners who invest in training are more likely to report growing, and more likely to report growing more. In other words, what is good for employees is good for the business,” and that “‘Hiring and retaining good employees’ closely follows ‘finding and keeping customers’ as the top two challenges reported by small business owners who are committed to growing their businesses.”

So, before you lose a day’s productivity because your team is driving back and forth from yet another seminar at a distant hotel, have a look around online. The topic you need might already have a robust online solution.

Set your team and your business up for success with the training solutions from UniFirst First Aid + Safety First Aid & Safety. From emergency care to first responders to workplace safety for companies big and small, let us help you meet your training goals and keep your company in compliance.

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Shoveling Snow? This might shock you…

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Snowmageddon, Snowpocalypse, SnOMG!

There is no end to the terms for “really big snowstorm,” and those terms came in handy, particularly in America’s snowiest cities. Just check out these average annual snowfall totals, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration:

  • Mt. Washington, NH – 281.2 inches
  • Houghton, MI – 207.7 inches
  • Syracuse, NY – 123.8 inches
  • Sault St. Marie, MI – 120.4 inches
  • Caribou, ME – 108.7 inches
  • Flagstaff, AZ – 101.7 inches
  • Traverse City, MI – 101.4 inches

But with really big snow storms – and even everyday, run-of-the-mill snowfalls – comes a risk of death by shoveling. Nationwide, snow shoveling is responsible for thousands of injuries and as many as 100 deaths each year.

So, why so many deaths? Shoveling snow is just another household chore, right?

Not really, says the American Heart Association. While most people won’t have a problem, shoveling snow can put some people at risk of heart attack. Sudden exertion, like moving hundreds of pounds of snow after being sedentary for several months, can put a big strain on the heart. Pushing a heavy snow blower also can cause injury.

 

Cold weather can increase heart rate and blood pressure. It can make blood clot more easily and constrict arteries, which decreases blood supply. This is true even in healthy people. Individuals over the age of 40 or who are relatively inactive should be particularly careful.

National Safety Council recommends the following tips to shovel safely:

  • Do not shovel after eating or while smoking
  • Take it slow and stretch out before you begin
  • Shovel only fresh, powdery snow; it’s lighter
  • Push the snow rather than lifting it
  • If you do lift it, use a small shovel or only partially fill the shovel
  • Lift with your legs, not your back
  • Do not work to the point of exhaustion
  • Know the signs of a heart attack, and stop immediately and call 911 if you’re experiencing any of them; every minute counts

Don’t pick up that shovel without a doctor’s permission if you have a history of heart disease. A clear driveway is not worth your life.

 

Snow Blower Safety

In addition to possible heart strain from pushing a heavy snow blower, be safe with tips from the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, including:

  • If the blower jams, turn it off
  • Keep your hands away from the moving parts
  • Be aware of the carbon monoxide risk of running a snow blower in an enclosed space
  • Add fuel outdoors, before starting, and never add fuel when it is running
  • Never leave it unattended when it is running

Source: https://www.nsc.org/home-safety/tools-resources/seasonal-safety/winter/snow-shoveling

 

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Getting Workers to Use Their Protective Gear

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Respiratory Protection

Small changes in training can lead to big results.

Buying safety equipment and getting workers to use it are two entirely different things. Anecdotally, almost every safety professional I’ve spoken to finds it much easier to go shopping for the latest hard hat and safety glasses than getting workers to comply with PPE requirements.

The usual advice to improve compliance to provide new, more comfortable PPE that looks good. But what happens when you’ve purchased new protective equipment that fits well and looks good, but it still doesn’t get used when it should?

There are several often-overlooked ways to get workers to wear their PPE. In most cases, these are small changes in what many workplaces are actually doing—but collectively, they can lead to major improvements.

The Whys of Training

Training should cover more than how to properly wear PPE. It should also discuss why. One of the biggest causes of PPE noncompliance is that many workers simply don’t think they need it. When they’re asked why they aren’t wearing PPE, people will often say things like, “I just never thought to put it on.”

PPE trainers should take a cue from basic marketing tactics and present workers with more impactful value propositions. Explain why PPE use is necessary, make it feel urgent, and appeal to them with compelling stories.

Good stories are personal and relevant. One of my own go-to stories is about a time when I was walking through a worksite—and out of the blue, a rivet struck my hard hat. It had been dropped by someone working on a raised platform several stories up and could have caused serious damage if I hadn’t been wearing PPE.

This story works well because it demonstrates that wearing PPE is a practical choice we can make to protect against other people’s mistakes. It also shows that I personally believe in the value of PPE, and it provides a good prompt for a discussion about when it’s necessary to wear hard hats.

 

More than Monthly

If you want PPE use to become a regular practice, then you need to make it a regular topic of conversation. This means discussing PPE with workers at every opportunity and from every angle. Provide verbal refreshers of key teaching points from PPE training, talk about why it’s so important to wear PPE and chat about different situations in which workers may be tempted to remove their PPE so that people will be on the alert and prepared to act in the safest manner possible.

These refreshers can be delivered in a variety of ways. At the end of a one-on-one conversation with a worker, take a few moments to remind them about PPE issues. You can also discuss PPE when assigning workers to new tasks or when talking to them about non-safety elements of their job. Also consider more passive forms of reminders, such as noting PPE requirements in safety posters, and on video displays in break rooms and other common areas.

Many manufacturing companies already have group discussions built into the work schedule. In most cases, these are either monthly safety meetings or weekly toolbox talks. A short conversation about PPE can usually be worked into these meetings with minimal effort. But monthly discussions typically aren’t enough (especially because other safety issues also need to be covered).

 

When It’s Time for an Intervention

Sometimes proper training and regular toolbox talks on PPE isn’t enough to get everyone to comply. If someone consistently fails to wear their PPE, then it’s time to have a one-on-one conversation with them.

The conversation should be direct but it shouldn’t be focused on reprimanding the worker for unsafe actions. Instead, let the worker share why they think certain behavior is acceptable and then have the supervisor follow up with an explanation of the risks.

People are more likely to listen if they feel listened to in turn, and if they believe in the underlying need for PPE rules. So even when a frank conversation is required because someone isn’t wearing safety gloves or eye protection, it’s still important to focus not on current noncompliance but on desired behavior in the future.

 

From Decision to Habit

Every time a worker makes the decision to use PPE, there’s always a small chance they could choose to not use PPE. That’s why the goal is to transform PPE use into an unconscious habit.

It’s not something that happens overnight. In most cases, building safety habits requires a lot of small course corrections and encouragement, both of which come from group and individual conversations. Eventually, though, PPE use will go from being a rule that must be enforced to something that happens automatically.

Source: https://www.ehstoday.com/ppe/safe-any-speed-getting-workers-use-their-protective-gear

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Telephone CPR could save lives, but…

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Immediate CPR can drastically increase the survival rate of someone who is experiencing cardiac arrest.

When someone calls 911, the time it takes for paramedics to arrive can be the difference between life and death.

Minnesota lawmaker Julie Sandstede knows this. She represents a rural area, where ambulances may take longer to arrive on the scene of a medical emergency.
When her husband experienced cardiac arrest in 2011, the dispatcher sent the ambulance the wrong way. Luckily, he was saved by a bystander who performed CPR on him under the guidance of a 911 operator.
“(The operator) was able to assess the situation and give direction to what intervention was needed,” Sandstede said. “We were so fortunate.”
Her husband, Evan Sandstede, was lucky to have an operator who knew how to walk someone through CPR. But that’s not always the case.

Heart attacks: What you should know

Heart attacks: What you should know
“When I learned that not all 911 operators are trained in how to instruct CPR over the phone, I couldn’t believe it,” Sandstede said. “I was shocked. … This is unconscionable.”
This legislative session, the Democratic lawmaker has proposed legislation in Minnesota that would require all 911 operators to be trained in telephone CPR.
Telephone CPR is the process in which a 911 operator helps the caller identify cardiac arrest with a short script and provides “just-in-time” instructions on how to provide CPR, said Dr. Michael Kurz, chairman of the American Heart Association’s Telecommunicator-CPR Task Force.
Sandstede proposed the bill after she was approached by the American Heart Association, which has been lobbying for these kinds of laws nationwide.

At least six states already require telephone CPR

At least six states already require 911 operators to be trained in telephone CPR, according to the American Heart Association. They are Louisiana, Kentucky, Wisconsin, Indiana, West Virginia and Maryland.
However, the American Heart Association has been lobbying for all states to adopt telephone CPR requirements. The organization said it would be a cost-effective way to increase the survival rates of people who experience cardiac arrest outside a hospital.
Widespread implementation of telephone CPR would include three to four hours of initial training and a yearly refresher, said Kurz.
“When we talk about public health interventions, this is a relatively low-cost, very high-yield way to improve public health,” he said.
Sandstede said her bill is modeled after Wisconsin’s law, which was enacted in 2018 and set aside $250,000 for telephone CPR training.

Telephone CPR could increase survival rates

About 350,000 sudden cardiac-arrest events occur in the United States each year, and survival rates nationwide average about 10%, Kurz said.
A 2018 Cleveland Clinic survey found that 54% of Americans say they know how to perform CPR. However, only 11% of respondents knew the correct pace for performing the chest compressions, the survey found.
Having a bystander provide CPR before paramedics arrive on the scene can double or even triple the rate of survival, Kurz said. Telephone CPR-trained 911 operators can identify whether someone is going into cardiac arrest with two questions, and can provide CPR instructions in about 20 seconds.

Heart attacks are on the rise among young women, study shows

Heart attacks are on the rise among young women, study shows
“The public largely assumes that if you call 911, you’ll receive instructions on whatever the medical emergency is,” Kurz added. “In reality, we know that there’s a very large disconnect.”
Some people think that telephone CPR is equivalent to practicing medicine and only physicians who are licensed should do that. However, Kurz said that is a misconception that is hindering public health.

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Source: https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/09/health/telephone-cpr-trnd/index.html