First Aid Guide

Are OTC Painkillers Safe?

When your muscles ache and your feet are sore, an OTC pain pill seems like a logical remedy. But popping the meds like candy can have bitter consequences for your workout and your body.

OTC Pain Med Misuse

Like most women who work out regularly, Jennifer Null is no stranger to feeling sore. And like many of the walking wounded, she relies on over-the-counter meds for relief. "When I'm hurting, I'll just pop a couple of ibuprofen's," says Jennifer, 28, a marketing coordinator in Baltimore. She does this at least three or four times a week -- a habit that started in college. Jennifer isn't at all worried about the safety of the pills. "They're harmless," she says.

This attitude, shared by many exercisers, could put your health at risk. While over-the-counter pain relievers such as ibuprofen (Advil and Motrin, for example), naproxen (Aleve and others), and acetaminophen (Tylenol and others) have become medicine cabinet fixtures -- used, according to a survey from the National Consumers League (NCL), by 175 million Americans yearly -- the meds are hardly innocuous. When taken incorrectly, as Jennifer and other active women are doing, the little pills can cause real damage.

Modern-day miracle workers for easing the discomfort of strained muscles, stiff joints, swelling, and soreness, OTC painkillers have safely helped countless women stick with their exercise routine instead of seeking refuge on the living room couch. The affordability and accuracy with which these drugs can now address specific pains has changed the way we recover from tough workouts, making it easier than ever to get back on the proverbial horse. And it's tempting to think that if a little pain relief works this well, a lot of pain relief must work even better. Not true.     

"Overuse of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as ibuprofen, aspirin, and naproxen, can cause bleeding ulcers, raise blood pressure, damage the esophagus, and lead to problems with the kidneys," says Jan Engle, PharmD, a pharmacist at the University of Illinois College of Pharmacy in Chicago and a past president of the American Pharmacists Association. The NCL reports that 3,200 to 16,500 people die each year from NSAID-related GI bleeding and up to another 107,000 are hospitalized for NSAID-related complications. Although those who suffer from NSAID damage are typically older or have conditions such as kidney problems or ulcers that make them more vulnerable, "young, healthy women who continually use painkillers can also harm themselves," Dr. Engle says.

Acetaminophen can be equally lethal. In fact, overuse of this drug is one of the leading causes of liver failure in the United States, with overdoses resulting in more than 56,000 injuries, 26,000 hospitalizations, and an estimated 458 deaths a year, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). "More than two-thirds of the cases are women, though we don't know if women are more susceptible or if it's just that they take more medication," says William M. Lee, MD, a liver specialist at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas and a principal investigator for its Acute Liver Failure Study Group.

And yet, ask for a show of hands of people who've popped three pills instead of two for a bad headache or doubled up on the recommended amount after pulling a muscle at the gym and the pervasiveness of overuse becomes clear. Many people are convinced OTC pain relievers are helpful -- and harmless -- in any quantity. It's so common for consumers to take too much that last year, advisers to the FDA called for significant changes -- including stronger warnings on labels, which have since appeared. They also suggested lower maximum daily dosages for OTC acetaminophen products, but if and how the FDA will proceed is still unknown.

 

 

Burns

What are burns? :

Burns are injuries that damage and kill skin cells. These wounds often need special consideration and require a trip to the doctors. Burns can be caused from hot liquids and materials,common household chemicals, fire, radiation from the sun, and other sources. When someone has been burned there are three important factors that must be looked at, depth (first, second, or third
degree), area (total body space covered), and location (where the burn is on the body).
 

Depth is a measure of how deep the damage to the skin goes. We will look deeper into the three degrees of damage in the section below. The total body area is also important, the skin is a barrier to protect the body, and when it’s damaged, the victim is subject to fluid loss and infections. If more then 15% of the body surface is damaged the victim can go into shock, and may require
hospitalization for IV fluid resuscitation and skin care. The most important factor is location. If a burn occurs on the neck or near the nose and mouth, the persons breathing passages may be affected.Burns often swell and this could become a life-threatening problem if the airways become constricted.
Another facial burn that needs special attention are the eyes. These should be looked at as soon as possible and handled very seriously as burns to the eyes may lead to clouded or lost vision. Because burned tissues shrink, burns that extend circumferentially around body structures often require the surgical removal of the dead and damages tissue, this procedure is called an escharotomy. Burns are often difficult to heal and may leave scars.

Burn Prevention
Burns of all kinds can be prevented easily. Keep household chemicals out of reach of children.Make sure hazardous chemicals are well marked and caps are screwed on tight. Keep hot object safely out of reach and make sure to turn off heaters and stovetops when finished to prevent burns. Also keep socket caps over all unused electrical sockets to protect against electrical shock, and keep all electrical wires away from water.

Classification and Treatment:

First Degree:

 
Most first degree burns are superficial and can be cared for at home without
the help of a medical professional. These burns are much like typical sunburns and are cared for in a similar way. You should immerse the burn in cool water (do not use ice!) and then blot it gently and apply burn cream and then cover with a dry,clean, non-stick pad.
 

These burns usually leave the skin red and mildly swollen. The skin
sensations are intact and the burn is painful to the touch. Most average sunburns are characterized as first degree burns. 

Second Degree: 

Second degree burns are more serious and should be seen by a medical
professional. If the burn seems very severe report to an emergency room or call 911. Although second degree burns often look like first degree burns, in the sense that they are red, the damage goes deeper. With these burns, the pain is more intense and blistering may occur. The burns may also be wet, or weeping and may have a shiny surface. It is advised that these burns are not touched or covered.

Third Degree:
 

These burns are the most serious. Third degree burns are very deep and the
burn often appears white, deep red, or black because of skin death. These burns are often without sensation because nerve endings have been damaged. It is important that these burns are not touched, or covered unless absolutely necessary. Any contact with the burned skin can cause more damage and heighten the chance of infection.

* For both second and third degree burns:
* If face is affected sit the victim up and watch for breathing difficulties, until medical
help is received.
* If arms and legs are effected, keep them elevated above heart level.
 

Burn Treatment: 

• Remove and constricting jewelry
• Do NOT use oils or butter on a burn
• Douse effected area with cool water ASAP! It can be cleansed gently with chlorhexidine solution.
• Do NOT use ice or ice cold water, this can cause additional damage

If you have not received a tetanus booster within 5 years, get one to protect against tetanus infections
 

Electrical Burns:
 

If someone receives an electrical burn, they should seek professional attention immediately.
These burns often result in serious muscle breakdowns, electrolyte abnormalities, and occasionally kidney failure. An important thing to note about these burns is that the damage is often internal and cannot be seen from the outside.

Chemical Burns:

These burns should be treated like thermal burns and doused with large amounts of water to flush out the effected area. Contaminated clothing should be removed . It is also very important that you DO NOT try to neutralize the chemical burn by adding another chemical, as this could result in a chemical reaction causing thermal burns or greater skin damage. Many chemicals can be treated to reduce skin damage, so when in doubt it’s a good idea to call your local poison control center or make a trip to the local ER. When working with chemicals always wear the proper protective gear to avoid burns and other injuries. 

Sun Burns:
 

A sunburn is the result of your skin being exposed to too much of the suns ultraviolet radiation. This threat varies greatly with the seasons and with changing atmosphere conditions. The amount of sunlight you are exposed to also depends on the geographic features of altitude and latitude, as well as clothing, lifestyle and occupation. Indoors, sunburn-producing rays are filtered out by ordinary window glass. Outdoors however the suns rays are able to pass through light clouds, 25 cm of clear water, and fog. 

Antibiotics : Use and abuse.

Antibiotics- the wonder-drug of the 20th century. These powerful drugs attack the bacterial infection in your system and within days the person afflicted feels remarkably better. Unfortunately these drugs require a dose of responsibility, and we have been taking them for granted for far too long. Now a days it’s all too common for a concerned parent to bring a child with a cold into the doctors’ office and demand that they be put on antibiotics, and doctors are too often allowing themselves to be pressured into prescribing them. Each year about 50 million of the 150 million antibiotics prescribed to patients are unneeded for the illness to be cured. This needs to stop. Antibiotics are becoming obsolete because the bacteria they are fighting are becoming immune to them. The following will explain the current situation as well as provide tips and information about keeping your family safe from these “super bugs”.

First off, it is important to note that Antibodies only attack and affect illnesses caused by Bacteria. They are totally useless against viruses, and when used to fight a virus often only provide a way for the bacteria in the body to learn to resist the drugs and grow stronger. Some illnesses that you should take antibodies for are

·         Strep Throat

·         Pneumonia

·         TB (tuberculosis)

·         Infections

·         Lyme disease

·         Legionnaires disease

·         Meningitis (bacterial, not viral)

·         Ear infections

·         Sinus infections (some)

Illnesses that you should NOT take antibiotics for are

·         Bronchitis

·         Common colds (in children 90% of colds and flus are viral)

·         Influenza (the flu)

·         sore throats (with the exception of strep)

·         coughs  

However sometimes a viral illness will turn into a bacterial infection. when this happens consult your doctor. These are some signs to look for in children.

o   Illness lasts longer than a week.

o   high fever (which means your body is trying to fight back). If your child is younger than 6 months contact your doctor whether the fever is high or not.

o   sinus pain, ear or toothache develops.

o   cough of other symptom suddenly gets worse.

If you are prescribed antibiotics, it’s very important that you do exactly as your doctor and pharmacist says. Take the pills when prescribed, and make sure you take the full dosage given to you. Stopping the medication early, even though you feel better is a bad idea as it is likely that only the weak bacteria would have been killed and the stronger bacteria has a chance to become immune to the antibiotics and return within a few weeks. Once this happens new drugs must be prescribed for you and your immune system will be weakened further. When your doctor tells you that you need antibiotics talk with them about it. See if you can take a shorter term prescription as opposed to a longer one, as shorter courses will give resistant bacteria less time to recover. Be sure to ask about anything you’re unsure of. It is also important never to take drugs prescribed for someone else.

Bacterial resistance

So what is this resistance that keeps coming up? It’s simple. It basically means that the antibiotics are no longer effective against these strains of the bacteria. This happens because in many cases not all the bacteria are killed after taking antibiotics- some of the strongest will survive. These few that survive become immune, or resistant, to the drugs. If the person gets ill again then they may need a different type of drug to cure the infection. The scary thing is that in 1994 some bacteria were found that could resist all available antibiotic drugs at that time- even the drugs used as a “last resort”.

Recently some illnesses that we thought we had defeated (TB) have come back, and this time they’re able to resist our antibiotics. Because of this pharmacists and druggists have been working hard to come up with new drugs to protect us. Drug resistant strains can lead to prolonged hospital stays, complications and even death, and unfortunately drug resistant strains can spread fast. Currently about

30% of Strep throat infections are immune to penicillin, and the back up antibiotic, which forces doctors to use the “last resort” drugs, until recently the use of these drugs was rare.

If people start using antibiotics only when they really need them we’ll see a drop in the resistant strains of bacteria and hopefully we will once again have a steady upper hand on the infections. As a parent you’ll be able to better protect your family by keeping they’re use of antibiotics to a minimum. Only give them antibiotics for bacterial infections, and if you can avoid using antibacterial creams, ointments and bandages on cuts and wounds. Sterilizing the wound will not help, and may in fact do more damage. Instead wash the wound with a water and salt solution. Also avoid things like harsh alcohols, peroxides, and detergents, as they are damaging to healthy cells. Once you’ve washed the wound with water or solution apply a regular bandage and it should be fine. if you start to see the early signs of an infection (swelling, redness, tenderness) then call up your doctor and they may advise you to apply an antibacterial ointment.

Another thing to be careful about is whom the antibiotics are being administered for. Elderly people may be affected in a negative fashion by the powerful drugs, as the side effects may keep them bed ridden or in pain. People who are very vulnerable to antibiotic resistant bacteria should be extra careful about the drugs they take to sure the infection. If the person in question is any of the following be extra careful and ask lots of questions when consulting a doctor.

• ·         Premature infants and very young children
• ·         Elderly
• ·         Burn victims
• ·         Bone marrow transplants
• ·         People with weakened immune systems, such as AIDs, Leukemia, Cancer etc patients.

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Allergies

Allergic reactions are caused by a hypersensitive immune system that reacts when it is exposed to a usually harmless substance. For example, if you’re allergic to peanuts and you eat a Substance that has peanut extract in it your body will react against this harmless substance as though it were a bacterium, virus, or other harmful toxin. Often the exposure to an allergen needs only to be slight for a reaction to occur, and sometimes a reaction may not occur for several hours.        

Some common allergens are:

Food: nuts, shellfish, egg, wheat, beans, citrus, milk, additives

Medicines: penicillin, ibuprofen, aspirin, latex (gloves, condoms etc)

Plants & animals: pet dander, poison ivy, insect stings/bites, pollen, grass, dust

Symptoms are as follows:

• ·         Mild reactions (most common):
• ·         l Itching
• ·         Flushed skin
• ·         Hives
• ·         Coughing, sneezing
• ·         Headaches
• ·         Asthma like symptoms (wheezing, coughing, shortness of breath)
• ·         Red or watery eyes

·         More severe reactions:

• ·         Intense hives
• ·         Intense itching
• ·         Swelling of the face, eyes, tongue, throat
• ·         Difficulty swallowing (often because of swelling)
• ·         Increased heart rate
• ·         Drop in blood pressure
• ·         Shortness of breath, hoarseness / asthma like symptoms
• ·         Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea
• ·         Pale skin, sweating
• ·         Cramping and intestinal pain

·         Most Severe:

·         Anaphylaxis or anaphylactic shock

Even after being treated some symptoms may persist or reappear 8-12 hours after the initial reaction.

The symptoms are usually less severe and often will go away by themselves. Some symptoms, such as hives, will appear and disappear over 4-6 hours, even if the person is no longer being exposed to the allergen. Hives may last for several days or even weeks, so over the counter antihistamines, like Benadryl, can be used to treat hives.

Treatment:

One of the easiest ways to prevent allergic reactions is to avoid the substances that cause the reactions. If you leave your children in the care of a babysitter it is important to let them know if the child has any allergies and what to do if a reaction occurs.

If a reaction does occur most (mild, and some more serious reactions) can be treated with antihistamines, like Benadryl. These stop the asthma like reactions, and cold like symptoms. Those with asthma should be especially careful if they are highly allergic to a substance.

If the reaction takes place on the skin (like poison ivy) use ice wrapped in a towel, cool oatmeal baths, and hydrocortisone cream to lessen the itching and swelling. If these things don’t help, call your doctor.

With things like poison ivy, you should wash everything the person who touched the plant has touched to avoid spreading it further and causing more reactions among them or other people. Wash everything, skin, hair, clothing, toys, countertops, and even pets.

If you think the reaction may be due to a medication the child has taken, immediately stop treatment and contact a doctor.

Even mild reactions should be treated quickly, because if they go untreated the reaction may jump from a mild to a serious reaction in a short amount of time. In more severe cases CPR and oxygen may need to be administered.

For some people it is very hard to avoid the substance they are allergic to. For these people a more expensive, but more permanent option is available. Immunotherapy, or allergy shots, is small doses of the allergen that are given to the patient and increased over time in order to develop an immunity to the allergen. They are almost 100% effective but usually require at least 5 years of monthly (in some cases weekly) shots.

For those who are very allergic to a substance often only a slight encounter with an allergen will send them into a potentially fatal reaction known as anaphylaxis, or anaphylactic shock. In these cases, time is very important and epinephrine (Epipen) must be administered. Unless you are trained, do not administer the shot, call for help instead.

In future a healthier article will be published on Allergic Rhinitis, Asthma, causes of allergies? Who is at risk for allergies and why? What are common allergic conditions and what are allergy symptoms and signs? Treatment.

Bites

Classification of Bites:

Bites of all kinds are serious, as bacteria and diseases are released directly into the body, and can spread quickly. Below is an outline of different kinds of bites and how to handle them.

Human bites- these should usually be treated as minor puncture wounds, and

The area should be washed thoroughly with soap and water and then bandaged.

Human bites can kill      

Marine creature bites- for bites and stings from creatures like jellyfish or

Portuguese-men-of-war you need to be careful. Common jellyfish stings are

Usually not a big problem unless you are stung many times or are either very

Young or very old.      

                                                                

You handle jellyfish stings much the same way as a Portuguese-man-of-war sting,

Even though p-m-o-w stings are more serious and can sometimes be fatal if you

Are stung too many times and do not receive the proper attention. Cover the

Jellyfish, or broken off tentacles with sand and Very Gently remove them and

Brush them off with a glove or piece of clothing. Do not touch them with your

Bare hands. P-m-o-w tentacles are paper thin, and even if they have broken off

They will cling to you and continue to sting, hence the reason their stings are

Considered more harmful. It is possible to become ill from their sting, so if you’ve

Been stung by one make sure to seek medical attention quickly. If you are not

Hypersensitive to stings such as these, then you may treat these wounds as follows

1.    Thoroughly wash the area and apply rubbing alcohol (or salt water) several times, while being careful not to touch the area with your bare hands.

2.Coat the area in a thick layer of baking soda and water paste, which may be removed (scraped off) about 30 minutes later.

3. Once you have removed the layer, you should reapply the rubbing alcohol or vinegar. Salt water will also work if you have neither at hand.

If a stingray has stung you, then seek medical help immediately. Wash

The wound in fresh or salt water thoroughly and keep the wound submerged in

Hot water while you get help.

If a larger animal such as a shark or other toothed creature has bitten you, refer to the animal bites section below.                                                     

Animal Bites- These can be superficial, but they can also be very serious.

Most bite and scratches from household pets are superficial and can be treated

With a simple washing of the wound, dab of antibacterial ointment and an

Adhesive bandage. But sometimes, Fido and Fluffy get a bit too risky and really

Take a good bite out of you. When this happens, and when you are bitten by an

Animal that is not a pet of yours; you need to follow a different procedure.

1. Wash the wound well with soap and water unless there is heavy bleeding. Then

Consult your doctor to determine if stitches are needed. If the wound appears

Serious do not attempt to clean it yourself.

         

2.    If the wound is large or deep you should see your doctor as soon as possible, as the wounds must be cleaned and bandaged properly to prevent the spread of bacteria and lower the risk of infection. If the wound is large and deep, stitches will be needed. In some cases, a tetanus shot and antibiotics will be necessary.

3. If swelling, bruising, extreme pain, increasing redness (sometime seen as streaks), tenderness, warmth or drainage around the bite area occurs then

Consult your doctor immediately.

4. Also any flu-like symptoms, such as fever, exhaustion, and swollen glands

That occur soon after the bite or scratch should be reported to your doctor

As soon as they appear. This is crucial as it could be signs of infection or a

Disease.

5. If someone else’s pet bit you, you must notify the owner and determine

When the animal’s last rabies shot was. Vicious animals that were allowed to roam free should be reported to the local health departments.