Author: Randy

Keep Your Kids Safe From Firearms

1141472158203459We need to take extra precautions when kids are in an environment where guns are present.

The Hard Facts

It is estimated that about one third of households with childrens ages 17 and under have a gun in the home.

Top Tips

  • Store firearms in a locked location, unloaded, out of the reach and sight of children.
  • Store ammunition in a separate locked location, out of the reach and sight of children.
  • Keep the keys and combinations hidden.
  • When a gun is not in its lock box, keep it in your line of sight.
  • Make sure all firearms are equipped with effective, child-resistant gun locks.

via Your Safe Kids | Safe Kids Worldwide.

Back Injury Prevention

introductionWhen you lift…

DO…

  • Plant your feet firmly – get a stable base.
  • Bend at your knees – not your waist.
  • Tighten your abdominal muscles to support your spine.
  • Get a good grip – use both hands.
  • Keep the load close to your body.
  • Use your leg muscles as you lift.
  • Keep your back upright, keep it in its natural posture.
  • Lift steadily and smoothly without jerking.
  • Breathe – If you must hold your breath to lift it, it is too heavy – GET HELP.

 

DO NOT…

  • Lift from the floor.
  • Twist and lift.
  • Lift with one hand (unbalanced)
  • Lift loads across obstacles.
  • Lift while reaching or stretching.
  • Lift from an uncomfortable posture.
  • Don’t fight to recover a dropped object.
  • Don’t hold your breath while lifting.

via Ergonomics Back Injury Prevention, U.Va..

First-aid Kits

Medical-First-Aid-KitA well-stocked first-aid kit can help you respond effectively to common injuries and emergencies. Keep at least one first-aid kit in your home and one in your car. Store your kits in easy-to-retrieve locations that are out of the reach of young children. Children old enough to understand the purpose of the kits should know where they are stored.

via First-aid kits: Stock supplies that can save lives – MayoClinic.com.

Work Safety Tips

safety-sign-collage1. Safety is a team effort. Ensure that every member of the crew knows the safety requirements before the job is started.

2. Safety is your responsibility.

3. Always communicate with co-workers during a job in order to maintain safety.

4. Don’t create unnecessary hazards. Notify others of both new and old ones.

5. Never take shortcuts. Always follow correct procedures.

6. Wear metal mesh gloves to protect your hands when using sharp knives regularly.

7. Keep your work area clean and orderly.

8. If you make a mess, clean it up. Never let safety be someone else’s job.

9. Keep access clear to emergency exits, equipment, and equipment shutoffs.

10. Prevent accidents by clearly identifying any hazards that cannot be removed.

via 80 Work Safety Tips to Remind Employees to Work Safe.

Be Active for a Safe and Healthy Life

for-exercise-shoesBe active for at least 2½ hours a week. Include activities that raise your breathing and heart rates and that strengthen your muscles.

Help kids and teens be active for at least 1 hour a day. Include activities that raise their breathing and heart rates and that strengthen their muscles and bones.

Physical activity helps to:

  • Maintain weight
  • Reduce high blood pressure
  • Reduce risk for type 2 diabetes, heart attack, stroke, and several forms of cancer
  • Reduce arthritis pain and associated disability
  • Reduce risk for osteoporosis and falls
  • Reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety

via CDC – Family Health – Tips for a Safe and Healthy Life.

Five Steps to Safer Health Care

safer-healthcare-03Patient safety is one of the Nation’s most pressing health care challenges. A 1999 report by the Institute of Medicine estimates that as many as 44,000 to 98,000 people die in U.S. hospitals each year as the result of lapses in patient safety.

Below are tips on what you can do to get safer health care. It was developed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in partnership with the American Hospital Association and the American Medical Association.

1.  Ask questions if you have doubts or concerns. Ask questions and make sure you understand the answers. Choose a doctor you feel comfortable talking to. Take a relative or friend with you to help you ask questions and understand the answers.

2.  Keep and bring a list of ALL the medicines you take. Give your doctor and pharmacist a list of all the medicines that you take, including non-prescription medicines. Tell them about any drug allergies you have. Ask about side effects and what to avoid while taking the medicine. Read the label when you get your medicine, including all warnings. Make sure your medicine is what the doctor ordered and know how to use it. Ask the pharmacist about your medicine if it looks different than you expected.

3.  Get the results of any test or procedure. Ask when and how you will get the results of tests or procedures. Don’t assume the results are fine if you do not get them when expected, be it in person, by phone, or by mail. Call your doctor and ask for your results. Ask what the results mean for your care.

4.  Talk to your doctor about which hospital is best for your health needs. Ask your doctor about which hospital has the best care and results for your condition if you have more than one hospital to choose from. Be sure you understand the instructions you get about followup care when you leave the hospital.

5.  Make sure you understand what will happen if you need surgery. Make sure you, your doctor, and your surgeon all agree on exactly what will be done during the operation. Ask your doctor, “Who will manage my care when I am in the hospital?” Ask your surgeon:

  • Exactly what will you be doing?
  • About how long will it take?
  • What will happen after the surgery?
  • How can I expect to feel during recovery?

Tell the surgeon, anesthesiologist, and nurses about any allergies, bad reaction to anesthesia, and any medications you are taking.

via Five Steps to Safer Health Care.

Chronic Sleep Deprivation and Health Effects

sleep-deprived1The consequences of sleep deprivation.

In the short term:

  • Decreased Performance and Alertness: Sleep deprivation induces significant reductions in performance and alertness. Reducing your nighttime sleep by as little as one and a half hours for just one night could result in a reduction of daytime alertness by as much as 32%.
  • Memory and Cognitive Impairment: Decreased alertness and excessive daytime sleepiness impair your memory and your cognitive ability — your ability to think and process information.
  • Stress Relationships: Disruption of a bed partner’s sleep due to a sleep disorder may cause significant problems for the relationship (for example, separate bedrooms, conflicts, moodiness, etc.).
  • Poor Quality of Life: You might, for example, be unable to participate in certain activities that require sustained attention, like going to the movies, seeing your child in a school play, or watching a favorite TV show.
  • Occupational Injury: Excessive sleepiness also contributes to a greater than twofold higher risk of sustaining an occupational injury.
  • Automobile Injury: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates conservatively that each year drowsy driving is responsible for at least 100,000 automobile crashes, 71,000 injuries, and 1,550 fatalities.
  • The good news for many of the disorders that cause sleep deprivation is that after risk assessment, education, and treatment, memory and cognitive deficits improve and the number of injuries decreases.

In the long term, the clinical consequences of untreated sleep disorders are large indeed. They are associated with numerous, serious medical illnesses, including:

  • High blood pressure
  • Heart attack
  • Heart failure
  • Stroke
  • Obesity
  • Psychiatric problems, including depression and other mood disorders
  • Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)
  • Mental impairment
  • Fetal and childhood growth retardation
  • Injury from accidents
  • Disruption of bed partner’s sleep quality
  • Poor quality of life

via Chronic Sleep Deprivation and Health Effects.

Bloodborne Infectious Diseases

BBP TrainingExposures to blood and other body fluids occur across a wide variety of occupations. Health care workers, emergency response and public safety personnel, and other workers can be exposed to blood through needlestick and other sharps injuries, mucous membrane, and skin exposures. The pathogens of primary concern are the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), and hepatitis C virus (HCV). Workers and employers are urged to take advantage of available engineering controls and work practices to prevent exposure to blood and other body fluids.

via CDC – Bloodborne Infectious Diseases – HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis B Virus, and Hepatitis C Virus – NIOSH Workplace Safety and Health Topic.

Prevent Backing Over Accidents

childsafety-260x180In the U.S. at least fifty children are being backed over by vehicles EVERY week. Forty-eight (48) are treated in hospital emergency rooms and at least two (2) children are fatally injured every WEEK.

• The predominant age of victims is one year olds. (12to23 months)

• Over 60% of backing up incidents involved a larger size vehicle. (truck, van, SUV)

• Tragically, in over 70% of these incidents, a parent or close relative is behind the wheel.

via Backovers.