Only female bees and wasps sting

Just another gloomy summer day in London and sitting in the garden with a friend,sipping good old english tea - menondade on a hot sunny day would have been preferred - we suddenly get visited by a bee.  "not seen many of these this summer," says my friend and hardly had she got the words out of her month when she gets stung!!! 

The poor bee had landed on her hand for a wee rest and she, not knowing it was there was describing an event to me and slapped her hand on the table - with the bee underneath.

And it was painful and there sitting in the middle of her hand was the Bee sting.  "Do you think the bee will die now," she ask worried. More important was to get the sting out immediately. "tweezers," she shouts. Putting on my Safe and sound hat, and remembering what our paramedics always teach on our first aid courses,  I explain, tweezer should never be used. You don't want to snap the sting or push it further in - I grab a credit card and gently edge the sting  off her hand.  I check her out for any signs of swelling or anaphylactic shock but all is good. Once the sting is removed it is important to use a cold compress or cold water to reduce the swelling.

Some people can have a severe allergic reaction to being bitten or stung and the whole body can react within minutes which can lead to anaphylactic shock. Anaphylactic shock is very serious and can be fatal.

So do bees really  die after they have stung you?  I search for answers.  Apparently it depends on which kind of bee stung you.  Honey bees do die after they sting but other bees and of course those horrible wasps, don't.  and another interesting fact I found out is that only female bees  and wasps sting.  Venom, pumped from attached venom sacs, is injected into the unfortunate victim through the stylus, the needle-like portion of the sting apparatus. The stylus is enclosed between a pair of lancets. When a    bees or wasp  stings you, the lancets become embedded in your skin. They alternately pull the stylus into your flesh, and then the venom sacs pump venom into your body.

My friend is fine and hopefully so is the bee.

WHAT TO DO  - First Aid for bites and Stings

Bee, wasp and Hornet stings cause localised pain and swelling but are not usually serious.

•        If the sting is still visible in the wound, carefully scrape it away with your fingernail or  a card such as a credit card ad ensure that the poison stored in the poison sac attached to the sting is not     squeezed into the bloodstream.

 

•        Place a cold compress on the area stung to relieve pain and reduce swelling and if possible raise the affected area.

•        If the sting is in the mouth, remove if possible and get the child to sip cool water or suck on a piece of ice.

•        TAKE THE CHILD TO HOSPITAL OR DIAL 999 IMMEDIATLEY IF THE LIPS, TONGUE OR THROAT BEGIN TO SWELL

Choking Baby - know what to do

On yesterdays  Safe and Sound  Paediatric First Aid Course for new parents the two questions that most parents asked us were: what to do if my baby starts choking? and what to do if he stops breathing?  This is not uncommon - we are alway getting asked this questions.  And of course parents are anxious and are always going to be worried about this.

Lucikly the latter -- stopping breathing is rare - but you do need to know what to do and we cover this very very thoroughly on all  Safe and Sound first aid  courses.  The former, choking, is not rare and will happen many times, most times it will pass without an issue - that said you still do need to know what to do.

Most important in both of these scenarios is keeping clam. A baby or child who is choking is going to be anxious and scared as they won't understand what is happening and the more they panic the worse it will become.   Your job, however upset and scared you are, is to remain calm. Your anxiety will transfer to the baby or child.  I know, not easy and this is where the correct training comes in. Because if you know what to do at least you can do something about it.

So below are some instructions:

If a baby is choking, you need to assess the situation quickly to see how best you can help.

 

 

This information applies to babies aged under one year old. For information relating to adults and older children, see

 

What should I do if someone is choking?

 

Choking happens when a person’s airway suddenly gets blocked so they cannot breathe. Their airway can be partly or fully blocked. In babies, choking is often caused if they put small objects in their mouths, which then get stuck. It can also be caused by food getting stuck.

Choking in babies under one year old

A baby who is choking will be distressed and may be unable to cry, cough or breathe.

• Lie the baby face down along your forearm or thigh, with their head low. Support their head.
• Give up to five firm slaps to the baby’s back between the shoulder blades with the heel of your hand. (The heel is between the palm of your hand and your wrist.)
• Stop after each slap to check if the blockage has cleared. Look inside the baby’s mouth and remove any obvious blockage. Do not poke your fingers into the baby’s mouth unless you can see and reach the blockage. You may push it further in.
• If the airway is still blocked, give up to five chest thrusts (see below).
• Stop after each thrust to check if the blockage has cleared.

If the baby’s airway is still blocked after three cycles of back slaps and chest thrusts, you should:.

• dial 999 (or 112) for an ambulance immediately. Do not leave the baby. Take him or her with you to the phone 
• continue with the cycles of back slaps and chest thrusts until help arrives

Chest thrusts for babies under one year old

In babies under one year old, chest thrusts are used in an emergency to clear a blockage from their airway. Important: do not use abdominal thrusts with babies under one year old.

• Lie the baby along your forearm on their back, with their head low. Support their back and head.
• Give up to five chest thrusts. Using two fingers, push inwards and upwards (towards the head) against the baby’s breastbone, one finger's breadth below the nipple line.
• Check if the blockage has cleared after each thrust, by looking inside the baby’s mouth and removing any obvious blockage. Do not poke your fingers into the baby’s mouth unless you can see and reach the blockage as you may push it further in. 

Complications

Once the baby’s airway is cleared, some of the material that caused the blockage can sometimes remain and cause complications later. If the baby still has a persistent cough or difficulty swallowing, they need to see a health professional urgently. You should take the baby to A&E, an NHS Walk-in Centre or your GP if it’s during GP hours.

 

For more inforamtion about paediatric first aid courses go to :

http://www.safeandsound.uk.net/catalogue_main.php?catID=4428

 

Heart Attacks

I have a new question that I pose to everybody I meet. "Would you know what to do if I had a heart attack?"  The scary thing is that almost everybody has either said 'no' or given me the wrong answers. The most common response is ”I would put you in the recovery position" which is not correct.    

This doesn't make me feel very comfortable, especially as last year I was rushed to hospital with a suspected heart attack. How reassuring it would be to know that if I did collapse in the street, started choking or stopped breathing somebody near to me would know what to do. Now you might well say 'well she would say that wouldn’t she because she runs Safe and Sound which is a First Aid Training Company. '  But it isn't just about getting more business - it has to be the most important skill that we will ever learn. Why wouldn't we want to learn first aid? 

For some reasons we Brits are really bad at this and I am not sure why. Maybe because it is scary and easier to hope that it will just never happen.  But it happened to Heather who was only 48.

Last year she, a receptionist at Highgate Dental Practice in London had a heart attack just after she arrived at work in the morning. She was fit and healthy and only 48.  Her heart stopped three times and she was in a coma for four days. She survived because the surgery, had she finished their training with us and it was fresh in their minds. Everyone  knew exactly what to do. It is these crucial moments before the ambulance arrives that are so important and it stopped heather from suffering brain damage or dying.

“Had we not had the training, we would have been at a loss,” Dr Hagan explained. “At the early stages, the most important thing is to keep the oxygen circulating around the body. We all worked like clockwork."

 

Here are some interesting heart attack facts.

Overall cardiac arrest survival rate

259 out of 3,246 cardiac arrest patients who ambulance staff attempted to resuscitate survived to be discharged from hospital (8%).

In 2009/10, 237 out of 2,973 cardiac arrest patients treated by ambulances staff survived (also around 8%).

 Around two thirds of cardiac arrests in London occurred in the home (67.7%)

·         Just over a fifth of cardiac arrests occurred in public (20.8%)

·         Between a third and a half of all cardiac arrests were witnessed by bystanders (44.1%)

·         However, bystanders only gave cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in just over a third of all cardiac arrests (36.7%)

·         The average age of a cardiac arrest patient was 68

·         The majority of patients (64%) were male

·         Female patients were on average six years older than males (72 compared with 66)

·         Cardiac arrests occurred most frequently on a Monday

·         The highest number in a single month occurred in December (10.8%) and the fewest in July (6.9%)

Chain of survival and defibrillation

For every minute that a person in cardiac arrest must wait to be defibrillated, their chance of survival decreases by approx 10%.  If a cardiac arrest happens in the home and there is no defibrillator it is important that good quality CPR is carried out to keep the brain oxygenated and the heart pumping.

 It is not rocket science so common guys do yourself a favour and make sure you are prepared.

 

Drinking Enough Water

Just a reminder about the importance of drinking lots of water in this wonderful hot weather which hopefully will stay with us for a while.  It is  very easy to become dehydrated and if you wait to drink water when you feel thirsty you are probably already dehydrated.

A good general recommendation is to drink enough fluid so that you're not thirsty for long periods of time, and to steadily increase your intake during exercise or hot weather.

Some of the early warning signs that you're dehydrated include:

•feeling thirsty and light headed
•having dark coloured, strong-smelling urine
•passing urine less often than usual

A baby may be dehydrated if they have:

•a sunken soft spot (fontanelle) on their head
•few or no tears when they cry
•fewer wet nappies
•drowsiness

The body is affected even when you lose a small amount of fluid. Read more about the symptoms of dehydration www.nhs.uk