Head2toe First Aid

The age old first aid debate… Shoe on or Shoe off with an ankle injury??
I am often on the side of a netball court (at least 3 games on a Saturday) and I hear this debate a lot. In fact, I saw it play out in front of me on Saturday… I had just arrived at the courts and saw a girl that we knew with ice strapped to her ankle.

Her shoe was still on, but it had been decided that she had likely sprained her ankle and was going home. I noticed that no bandage had been applied for compression.

As I knew the family and the team first aider I decided to ask if I could help. I recommended that they take the shoe off if the player would let them and apply a compression bandage. They thought that the shoe should be left on.

I am a big believer with first aid that you are best to have a good understanding of your priority and what needs to be achieved and then you can work out how you will do that. Our priority with a sprain was to minimise swelling and inflammation by applying RICER.

I know that a shoe does not provide a lot of compression and that the ankle will swell quickly without it.

If a player says they can get a shoe off within minimal discomfort and we can apply a compression bandage and ice, then that can will be the most effective way to reduce swelling which will potentially improve recovery time. Not to mention, the shoe will need to come off and best to do it before swelling makes it trickier.

If someone is in too much pain to remove a shoe or it is difficult, you can leave the shoe on and bandage over the top for them to then seek Medical help.

Thankfully, she could get her shoe off and I bandaged her ankle and then reapplied the ice for her to get home.

So if it is possible…. I am a fan of the shoe off theory so you can properly assess and apply RICER.

What are your thoughts?

If you can, please give this Daffodil Day.

Daffodil Day is Cancer Council’s most iconic and much-loved annual campaign that raises life-saving funds for world-class cancer research. Every year, 3,800 South Australians lose their life to cancer. That’s more than the total population of Ceduna.

Spring is coming soon, are you ready if you suffer from hay fever and allergies?

If allergies and hay fever is something that you only learnt about recently and experienced last spring, have you sought assistance from a GP on how to prepare in case you are hit again this spring?

Most people know that they need to minimise the exposure to their allergen/s, and treat the symptoms with antihistamine to make themselves feel more comfortable. However, less people know some of the other tricks such as the importance of using a steroid nasal spray (see your Dr) regularly to desensitize the mucous membranes to the allergen. A steroid nasal spray can prevent symptoms of hayfever or minimise their impact. However, many people do not use it regularly enough to notice the impact.

Check out my other tips for managing hayfever in this blog https://head2toefirstaid.com.au/top-10-tips-for-hay-fever-relief/

Occupational hazard of what I do is occasionally catching sight of my back-seat and forgetting I had Rona tucked away....
This is what I saw when I went to back out of a carpark last night after a meeting.... took 5 yrs off my life thinking someone was hiding in my car 🤣

Head Check is a fantastic app that helps parents and first aiders assess a child’s head injury for signs of symptoms of concussion and tells you the best course of action based on the symptoms.

Even if you do not have children in sport, this app is great to have on your phone, just in case something may happen while you are around.

Download Head Check - https://www.headcheck.com.au/

The AIS return to sport protocol for community and youth sport includes;
> Introduction of light exercise after an initial 24–48 hours of relative rest

> Several checkpoints to be cleared prior to progression

> At least 14 days symptom free (at rest) before return to contact/collision training. The temporary exacerbation of mild symptoms with exercise is acceptable, as long as the symptoms quickly resolve at the completion of exercise, and as long as the exercise-related symptoms have completely resolved before resumption of contact training.

> A minimum period of 21 days until the resumption of competitive contact/collision sport

> Consideration of all domains throughout the recovery process.

Now that we are starting to learn about the long term implications of concussions, it is important to be aware and act on all cases, even if there is some doubt of a concussion.

Young skulls are large compared to their brains because their brains are not fully developed, therefore easily move within the skull and potential to cause more harm. As well as this, neck muscles of children not as strong as adults which increases their risk of concussion.

Concussions are common in children and adolescents. By the age of 10 years, one in five children will experience a concussion but only 25% of those concussions result from sport participation. This is a high percent of children getting concussions and therefore clinical assessments in any case are vital.

- Recognise the signs of a possible concussion
- mandatory removal from sporting environments following actual or suspected concussion
- Refer to HCP for clinical assessment

It is vital that these steps are followed. If in doubt, the player should be remove and referred to clinical assessment. Until the assessment has been returned to the club, no further action towards return to play can be established.

Concussive presentations and symptomology may vary significantly and can be complex in nature. There are several clinical presentations that can exist following concussion and these can be classified into 5 domains: somatic, musculoskeletal, neurological, fatigue and sleep.

Recently there has been the introduction of new guidelines in relation to concussion in sports, released by the AIS.

Do you know the signs of concussion and the importance of having an appropriate assessment for diagnosis?

Over the month of July we will be posting information in regards to concussions and these relevant changes.

You can review the complete document – ‘Concussion and Brain Health Position Statement 2024’ on the AIS’ website.

If a person who is wet requires defibrillation, yes and AED can be used, however there are a few things you must consider:
- Be sure to follow DRSABCD and assess for danger as the first point
- Remove the person from the water
- Remove their wet clothing to expose the bare chest
- Dry off the chest before placing on the pads to allow the pads to stick correctly
- Keep the pads/electrodes away from conductive surfaces

Continue to follow the prompts from the emergency services and AED device.

With the cold weather coming for winter, I am sure most houses have their heaters and fires on. It is important to take special care with kids around these potential burn hazards.

Kids Safe have a wonderful checklist you can use at home, print out and use for yourself.

You can see the whole download on burn care here -https://kidsafesa.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/rp51-burns-and-scalds-fs.v1.7.web_2020.pdf

Community Course Dates –

Do you need to renew your CPR or First Aid certificate? We offer small groups at Thebarton Community Centre, allowing us to ensure that the training is high quality and ample time for practice and questions in a supportive environment.

Our upcoming date is the 24th of June 2024.

- HLTAID009 Provide Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (45mins face to face)*
- HLTAID011 Provide First Aid (2hrs face to face)*
- HLTAID012 Provide First Aid in an Education and Care Setting (2.5hrs face to face)*
*Online pre-course work is required prior to the face to face session which is designed to consolidate the online theory with the practical skills and have you walking out feeling confident.

Training and Assessment delivered on behalf of Allens Training Pty Ltd, RTO 90909.

If you would like to book in, you are able to do this here – https://head2toefirstaid.trainingdesk.com.au/enrol

Today is world food safety day - prepare for the unexpected

This year’s theme underlines the importance of being prepared for food safety incidents, no matter how mild or severe they can be.

This brings up the topic, if you have someone in your family or know of someone who has a food allergy and are eating with them, are you prepared for the unexpected?

This may be at a friends house, a restraint they frequent or somewhere new. Food accidents can happen by accident but also due to inadequate controls.

Learn about their allergies and make sure you know how to respond.
- Do they have an epi pen?
- Know how to call 000

You are never too young to learn, look at these cuties getting their CPR training in.

CPR compression rate - 100-120 a minute. How do you know what speed to go, to get 100-120 a minute?

If you call 000, the operator will help you by counting OR if you use an AED (defib), they will give you a beat. But in the case that you do not have either of these or are still waiting on it, you can try to remember the beat of songs.

There is even a Spotify play list for CPR songs. The most common ones are:

- Stayin Alive
- Baby Sharp
- Another one bites the dust
- Dancing Queen

Do you have a CPR song you keep in mind, just in case?

Has your child ever got something stuck up their nose? I am sure we all know the phase of kids sticking strange things in their noses.

One it is stuck it can be scary for you and the child, especially if it does not come straight out.

This is when the ‘Mother’s Kiss’ or ‘Parent’s Kiss’ comes in.
1. places mouth over the child’s open mouth, forming a firm seal as if performing mouth-to-mouth resuscitation
2. cover the unaffected nostril with a finger
3. blows until they feel resistance caused by the closure
4. gives a sharp exhalation to deliver a short puff of air into the child’s mouth which passes through and should pop the item out

If necessary, the procedure can be repeated a number of times.

Read more about the kiss here - https://www.racgp.org.au/afp/2013/may/mothers-kiss

We Will Remember Them

When your child is ill or in pain and requires paracetamol or ibuprofen, you will notice that the dosages usually have both an age and weight range.

Sometimes it can be confusing to know which one to go off.

In these cases, it is recommended to ALWAYS give the dose that is written on the bottle or packet according to your child’s weight!

The age and weight ranges are suggested with average weights for children those ages. To ensure that your child receives the correct dose, always refer to the QTY under their weight range.

A SUCCESSFUL TWO DAYS 🥳🥳

An absolutely successful and fulfilling week doing what our team loves best... delivering training specially designed to meet the needs of those in the course!!

This week it was 2 days of first aid training to 150 Year 10 students at a large local school, and it went SO well.

The course was designed to meet the learning styles of year 10 students and our team really enjoyed it, as did the students.

The way we delivered the training ensured all of the students were engaged, having fun and life saving information was learnt!

An absolute success! 🥰

What does ‘Send for help mean’?

Whilst most people remember that this means ‘Call 000’, what else does it mean?

- Send for people to come and help other casualties
- Send for an AED and first aid kit
- Send for people to crowd control or monitor traffic
- Send for people to reassure family members
- Send for people to meet the Ambulance, especially if you are in a hard to find place

In an emergency, if there are enough people, all of them can help out in one way or another. It may even help to appoint one person the ‘leader’ of the emergency, to delegate tasks.

Did you know that some Easter treats can be a choking risk?

A quick tip and reminder, with smaller kids try selecting larger, hollow eggs as they have a lower chance of choking. Try to stay clear of small solid eggs, egss with whole nuts and also eggs with really sicky insides, like marshmallows.

WE ARE HIRING!!!

We are looking for someone who genuinely enjoys working with people and has an engaging and empathetic teaching style. As an Educator/Trainer, you'll deliver a range of courses, including:

-Nationally Recognised CPR and First Aid
-Family First for Parents
-First Aid for kids
-Assist with Medication for Disability Support Workers
-Seizure Management and Midazolam for Disability Support Workers
-Pressure Injury Care for Disability Support Workers

If this sounds like you, please apply now through our seek ad - https://www.seek.com.au/job/74520991

Thank you 😆

Such a fun morning training the wonderful Hosts at Holidays of Australia and the World
Such a great group of people with amazing energy and are now first aid ready...
You are in great hands if you do a Hosted Holiday with these wonderful Hosts.

Keeping your certificate current is important, not only as it usually a requirement of many jobs, but also to ensure you keep up to date with changes and important information.

If you would like to book in, you are able to do this here – https://head2toefirstaid.trainingdesk.com.au/enrol

Training and Assessment delivered on behalf of Allens Training Pty Ltd, RTO 90909.

Adrenaline injectors can be given through a single layer of clothing, but not through seams, pockets, or very thick clothing.

When administering to the outer mid-thigh, be sure to make sure there is nothing obstructing the way. This could be things inside pockets like cargo pants or gym shorts/pants. Usually items like phones, ear pod cases or ATM cards.

Check that you are going through one layer of clothing and no seams/pockets are in the way.

Community Course Dates –

Do you need to renew your CPR or First Aid certificate? We offer small groups at Thebarton Community Centre, allowing us to ensure that the training is high quality and ample time for practice and questions in a supportive environment.

Our upcoming date is the 8th of April 2024.

- HLTAID009 Provide Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (45mins face to face)*
- HLTAID011 Provide First Aid (2hrs face to face)*
- HLTAID012 Provide First Aid in an Education and Care Setting (2.5hrs face to face)*
*Online pre-course work is required prior to the face to face session which is designed to consolidate the online theory with the practical skills and have you walking out feeling confident.

Training and Assessment delivered on behalf of Allens Training Pty Ltd, RTO 90909.

If you would like to book in, you are able to do this here – https://head2toefirstaid.trainingdesk.com.au/enrol

Sometimes it can be hard to tell the difference between bacterial and viral infections, especially as some of the symptoms are the same or very similar.

If you are unsure, you can visit your local Doctor who may need to test urine, stool, blood or a swab to determine so they know the best way to treat.

Bacterial (such as whooping cough, strep, UTI) is usually treated with the most suited prescription antibiotic.

Viral (such as common cold, chickenpox, most coughs) is usually rest, paracetamol to relieve any fevers and managing symptoms at home.