ProCPR Blog

Back in December, Time released their annual list of the top ten medical breakthroughs.  I completely forgot about this list until today, and figured that it was better late than never.

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Time magazine has released it’s top ten lists for everything in 2009, and among those are their choices for the top ten medical breakthroughs of 2009.

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It’s Halloween!  Trick-or-treaters will be out and about this evening wearing costumes, and there will be parties galore.  For this, I’ve decided to create a list of ten ways that you can keep your kids safe today.

1. Drive Safely - When you’re out driving, be more aware of your surroundings than ever before.  Be aware of the school buses, the children on the sidewalks and the speed that you’re driving.  As an added precaution, try driving a bit extra below the speed limits when going through neighborhoods.  Expect kids to dart out in front of your car.  Two-thirds of driving fatalities on Halloween are alcohol related.  Don’t drink and drive.

2. Trick or Treat with the kids – Don’t send the kids out alone.  Go with them.  You’ll find that you will start having fun, you can keep your eye on them, and keep them out of harms way.  You, also, are make a bigger target, so when cars are around, it’ll be easier to notice the kids with an adult around.

3. Make the kids MORE visible – Regardless of costume, get something like reflective tape, glow sticks, glowing bracelets or necklaces, and flashlights.  This will aid drivers in seeing your kids at dusk and beyond, when it becomes more difficult to see them.

4. Make sure the kids know how to cross the street – Looking both ways, and then looking again is a vital thing to do.  If a car is coming, wait until it passes.  Simple advice that could save a life.

5. Buckle Up – Even if you’re making short trips from house to house, buckling up every time could save lives should anything unexpected happen.

6. Flame-resistant Costumes if at all possible – There are a lot of candles in use on Halloween night, and though they are usually inside of pumpkins, they could be found in the open as well.  Keep away from the candles to avoid the dangers of burns, or get flame-resistant costumes.  That way, if flame and costume do meet, very little will happen.

7. Walk, don’t run – Remind the kids to walk from house to house.  Do not run.  You’ll get to the same number of houses, and you’ll be safe.  Remember, safety first.

8. Be sure that costumes and shoes fit properly – That way, the kids have less of a chance to trip over their costumes and they can avoid falls.  If the child is wearing a mask, make sure the eye holes are big enough that the child’s vision isn’t too obscured.

9. Look before walking in front of a driveway – Be sure that there isn’t a car backing out before walking in front of a driveway.  It’s hard for a driver to see you when backing up, so it’s better to be safer that way, kind of like crossing the street.

10. Avoid entering any homes for treats – Unless you know the family, and are accompanied by a trusted adult.

It is very important that you follow your best judgement in all cases, including when eating the treats that you get.  Be certain to check all treats for tampering, and if someone hands out baked goods, be sure you know the chef very well.  All of these steps should help to keep Halloween a safe and fun experience for you and your family.

More Great Tips

Also read: 12 Tips to Prevent Your Kids from Eating Too Much Halloween Candy

MSNBC has a great article on how to beat stress, which features many people talking about what they do when the going gets tough.

Here, I’ve picked out seven of the tips that I felt were probably the most relevant to readers of this blog, and written up my own summaries for most of them.

When all eyes are on you at a critical moment

When you’ve established a routine, then the critical moment should become part of the routine.  You don’t need to change anything about how you work.  The trick is to treat the moment like you’d treat it when it wasn’t as critical.  Like shooting the last shot of a big game.  If you treat it differently than a shot in the first quarter of the game, then you risk over doing it and over thinking it.  Same thing in surgery: keep the same intense focus, and don’t panic.  Never forget to breath.

When your boss is hassling you

Get yourself out of the situation for a breather, and go wash your hands or use the restroom. Give yourself some time for the anger, and let it play out. Then, re-approach your boss with a simple question, like “what can I do to help work this out?”  This way, you can get things settled and become a team-player.  Let go of your anger, and be collaborative.

When you’ve lost a loved one

For this one, I think the solution they give is more than adequate:

For two days every week, schedule 10 minutes to grieve. Unless you plan, it’s too easy to dodge the sadness — especially in the first couple of months after the funeral. And taking control of the process prevents unresolved issues from lingering. Shoot for early evening, when anything kicked up won’t affect your sleep. Take a 5-minute walk to unwind, then pull out photos to bring the departed front and center. Now ask two questions: What have you lost? What’s the effect? You see what’s missing from your life, so you can shift to problem solving, says Michael McKee, Ph.D., a psychologist at the Cleveland Clinic. Now hit the gym. It’ll end the grieving session, and the endorphins will lift your mood. Overall, doing the two activities will model what you’re striving for — the knowledge that sad and happy can coexist.

When your to-do list seems insurmountable

Add some more entries.  10 more.  Add ten things to the list that you are grateful for.  It will help you to put things into perspective, and whenever you look at the list, you will be reminded of those things are you are getting the tough things done.

When your kid is stressed by won’t say why

Go for a long car ride with your kid.  It is private and there’s nothing else to do but to talk.  Start casually, and slowly start to talk about things that stressed you out.  Perhaps with a story from your own childhood.  They’ll respond in one of two ways: identifying with the problem, or by saying that it’s completely different than when you were their age.  The problem is most likely with school, friends or family, and you’ll be able to gather more information on where the problem is.  You might not be able to solve it, but it’ll do some good, because they’ll be opening up about it, and that’s the most important thing.  Just don’t push too hard or get too angry with them, if at all.  They might close themselves up completely.

When you need to handle every detail of a complex operation

Here’s another where I’m going to quote directly.

In the moment before you begin, take a mental inventory of the critical steps to success. Here’s how Ali Rezai, M.D., a neurosurgeon at the Cleveland Clinic, preps for the first cut. “While I’m scrubbing my hands, I’m reviewing all the aspects of the case. That puts me into a highly focused state and cleans my mind of distractions. During surgery, I’m constantly reviewing the steps with the operating-room staff. It takes everyone onto the next page and into a rhythm. When I’m faced with an emergency, the calmer I am, the calmer everyone else becomes.”

When you need to close the deal

Don’t over think it, don’t try to be perfect.  Play your role to the best of your ability, and rely on others that are focused on the same goal.  Remember, you’re looking for the same solution as the rest of the team, and you’ve got the ear of the potential buyer.  That makes ounce of an opening shows that they are looking for a solution of some kind, and are willing to give you a chance.  You don’t have to be perfect, but relax and you’ll make a better sales pitch.

-via msnbc

We’ve just added a poll asking you: What are your favorite Medical TV shows?  I’ve compiled a top ten list of Medical dramas and comedies, but I want to see what our readers think, and after enough votes are cast, I’ll post the results.

Please take a moment to select your favorites.

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If you have a favorite that isn’t on the list, please comment on this entry.

Newsweek has asked two experts to identify the 10 most common first aid mistakes, and what should be done instead.

1. Cut finger. It’s surprisingly easy for a person to amputate part of a finger – for instance, while chopping vegetables or using an electric saw.
Don’t try to preserve the loose part by placing it directly on ice.
Do wrap the severed part in damp gauze (saline would be ideal for wetting the cloth), place it in a watertight bag and place the bag on ice. Then be sure to bring the bag and ice to the emergency room. The patient will be going into surgery, so he’s best off with an empty stomach. As for the wound on the hand or body, apply ice to reduce swelling and cover it with a clean, dry cloth.

-via Newsweek

#2-10 are available here at Newsweek.com

We’ve decided to start a series of top ten lists, and in this first one, we’re covering the last ten years of fads relating to diseases. We’ve decided to only go back about ten years, because there are some really interesting ones that have been spreading. Some of the items on the list might be older than that, but the fad had a repeat in popularity within the time frame allowed.

This list is by no means meant to be an insult to any victims of these diseases, viruses or other medical related situations. It’s meant more as a reminder of things that the public has feared or been led to believe (as will be seen in the #1 fad). This list is also my opinion, and does not reflect he opinions of ProCPR, and should not be viewed as such.

#10: Blaster – Not necessarily a human affecting virus, this is a computer worm that affected Windows computers. It caused a few side effects, and the guy that wrote it received a prison sentence. (Wikipedia)

#9: Melissa – This is another computer virus. Not written with the intent of causing harm, it overflowed servers and caused Microsoft, Intel and more to shut down their E-mail gateways. Melissa spread itself via e-mail generated by scanning your address books and compiling e-mails to send from those lists. (Wikipedia)

#8: ILOVEYOU – This virus was released in the Philippines on May 4, 2001, and over the course of the next twenty-four hours spread around the world and infected ten percent of the computers connected to the internet. This worm would duplicate itself over important files, and then spread itself through your contact list. (Wikipedia)

#7: Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy – More commonly known as Mad Cow Disease, this is known to cause death amongt the cow populations, and has been pretty well spoofed time and again since it hit the news. Scientists, however, do not believe that there is much harm that it can actually do to humans, as the percentage of people being infected is very small, statistically. Order Mad Cow (Wikipedia)

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