“ An ‘A-B-C ‘ Of Home Health Care: A List Of
Things You NEED To Know (Which Might Just Save Your Life, Or The Life Of
Someone You Love), Incomplete As It May Be…Still “
Part
IV of IV
04/30/12
To my ever dearest, loyal friends, and constant
readers, I remain ever grateful to you for your caring, and support; in my
attempt to somehow repay that debt of absolute gratitude to you for your
kindness, and love, and of accepting me as I am, it is my goal to try to prove
to maybe be of some help to you; to maybe make your lives better and more
secure.
I delight in your wonderful company, and even as I
fully know that you have both mental and health issues, yet, you have somehow
made room for me. Never once have you
been unfriendly, or unkind, nor ever wavering in your support. You have made me feel welcome here, at
MDjunction, and yet, you have never been judgmental, or censorious, which is so
often so counter to those I meet in real life, that I count you among my
blessings, and, many times, I cannot believe my good fortune in having
stumbled-across MDJ, where I have made both wonderful, and lasting friendships,
so many I hope will be long and thoroughly enjoyable.
There seems to be too frequent times, during which I
am lost in pain and depression, unable to find but errant, short, or unreliable
relief; I know that many of you feel the same, yet, in being my dear friends,
and pausing to read my diary entries, and with your comments, and criticisms, you
bring to me a singular joy I thought I had lost; it is YOU who have been as
stalwart, always being ‘there’ for me, when my massed complaints would
otherwise wear me down and out, and, in utter hopelessness, I would be alone,
and full-given into my depression, my agoraphobia, panic, and a general
fearfulness of a Future without change, without cure, without refuge, and quite
without any sense of happiness.
And while I write these many diary entries to try to
regain some sharpness and clarity of old, I dedicate them to YOU, my dear,
sweet friends, in expectant hope that even some little bits will prove to be of
help to you. It remains among my fondest hope that—in them—you may find both
comfort, and direction that may further your own goals and aspirations, and the
successful intervention of illness, accident, or injury in perfecting your own,
‘First Aid Kit’; which, while it may appear long, unnecessary, tedious,
maybe…it is my offering to you to help keep you or a loved one safe, often
until an ambulance arrives.
And when I happen to receive a hug, or PM, or diary
comment that I have helped you, then, my heart is truly happy. And I thank you for all these things, and
more.
I realize that I tend to run overlong, but ask of
you to stay the course, and then make up your own minds. What matters is that I think of you so very
often, and want you to be well. With ALL the happiness that you most kind
hearts can hold.
And so to that end, if I may be allowed to present
you with Part V of V, on;
“
An ‘A-B-C’ Of Home Health Care : A List Of Things You NEED To Know…”
My dearest friends, EVEYONE needs to assemble a
fairly simple, yet fairly comprehensive First Aid Kit to have with you at home;
granted, this is—for me—an ideal, wish list, some of which you might never
need, but I nonetheless desire to provide you with various things that may—in
fact—save lives, and that will also buy you time until ‘911’ has been called,
and the ambulance arrives.
The list—as such—is not alphabetical, to lessen the
chance that in doing so, potentially valuable items might accidentally be forgotten, and unfortunately
left off the list. I am also thinking as I write. Frankly, the only time an
alphabetized list would come in handy, is to—at an eye-glance—tell you what you
have, and possibly, what you will need.
The Container:
You will want to make a First Aid Kit that is
accessible, but one not underfoot. An
empty 2-litre soda box with handles will suffice, but you want your supplies to
remain dry, and free from getting wet; equally, an old suitcase can be used (just
be sure that if you lock it, you will have the key on hand, which wastes
valuable time!). What you don’t want, is to have your supplies jostling-about,
and lose, as you want to be able to lay ready hand to whatever you may need
with as little delay as possible.
After careful consideration, what I would recommend
is one of those large, plastic tackle boxes that fishermen use, with the
fold-out drawers. These boxes close
compactly, and can be snapped shut in the front; further, they have carrying
handles on them, are fairly inexpensive, and are available in bright colors to
be more quickly and easily seen. The
many fold-out compartments help keep your supplies separated, and, if the top
of the box is white, you can take a magic marker, and boldly write upon it,
“First Aid”. This box should contain
your first aid supplies….and nothing else.
A continued list of ‘What You Will Want To Get:
PLEASE note that to be on the ‘safe side’, regarding
ANY O.T C. (over the counter) preparations that I may recommend, I will always
err on the side of prudence and caution in their use; I urge you to do the
same. Not all directions to these
‘medications’ should even be followed by the directions on the box,
but—rather—to be used more sparingly, enough to help you, as I’ve seen a
tendency, especially in America, an attitude that, “If one pill works, two will
work better and faster…and so on.” This
may pose a decided problem for you, among two more concerns: when it is time to
call ‘911’, or take the ill person to a Primary physician; hence, ALL my
recommendations—as may be necessary—will be as general guides, only. And then,
to be used sparingly, for my conscience dictates that—in any help to you—too
much of anything is never good, nor wise.
In order to save time, and to marshal my thoughts, I
have ‘listed’ what you may need, with any, necessary explanation for these
items as we go along. Doubtlessly, some
of the things will make more sense than others; should you have further
suggestions, remarks, questions, or criticisms, I would most kindly ask you to
leave them in comment section, or in PM’s, or even ‘hugs’ to me, and I will be
more than happy to reply. And if—in
still natural, further doubt—I would urge you to speak to your Primary, or Pain
Management Physician. Thank you. ‘Zahc’
1)
Aspirin. Discovered in 1890, and one of the class of
drugs called ‘NSAIDs’, such as Tylenol, Motrin, Aleve, etc., which stands for, “Non-Steroidal,
anti-inflammatory drug”, which means that they do not contain steroids such as
cortisone, or prednisone. Aspirin comes
in many brands, and strengths, from ‘baby aspirin; to regular aspirin (326 mg.
tabs); to extra-strength aspirin (500 mg. tabs); to now, ‘adult-strength’
aspirin (81-83 mg. tabs). Aspirin is
cheap, and performs a variety of uses.
It is an ‘anti-inflammatory’, to reduce swelling; an ‘analgesic’, to
reduce pain; and an, ‘anti-pyretic’, to reduce elevated temperatures.
Further, The American
Heart Association recommends that—as may be tolerated, adults should take an
81-83 mg. dose, daily, to help prevent, or lessen the severity of heart
attacks. Since aspirin can upset your
stomach, these adult doses should be coated (enteric coating), so that the
aspirin will dissolve in the intestines, rather than in the stomach; further
reading has suggested that in doubling the dose, to one in the morning, one at
night, may slow the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. And as with all, O.T.C preparations always
look for the ‘sell buy’ date to ensure freshness and efficacy. To many,
partially dissolved aspirin tastes very bitter.
2)
Tylenol.
An ‘NSAID’ to be used, in lieu of aspirin, for those for whom aspirin
upsets their stomachs, or, who are allergic to aspirin.
3)
Imodium.
An O.T.C. preparation that is used to slow, and stop diarrhea. However, as nasty as it is to have diarrhea,
where possible, it should be allowed to continue at least two to three days,
untreated, as diarrhea is the body’s way of rapidly removing toxins from the
system, such as those in flu; some types of food poisoning, etc. However, you
want to keep in mind two things: that unchecked diarrhea can rapidly lead to
dehydration, which is why you want to continue to ‘push’ fluids and soup. As important is: that over-use, can cause the
stool to ‘concretize’ in the bowel, resulting in severe constipation, or
‘impaction’, which, if left untreated, can be life-threatening. Constipation that lasts for more than four days
should require a trip to the emergency room; and, should I not have previously
mentioned it, one of the signs of an impaction is ‘fullness, the inability to
express stool, except for slight diarrhea that is forced around the impaction,
and out.
4)
Laxatives. These, too, should be used with prudence;
pain medication can often be very constipating. So ‘stool softeners’ (generic
name: docusate sodium, or docusate potassium), gently help to encourage the
production of stool. These—too—should be
used, with caution, as the ‘docusate sodium’ contains salt, for those who have
hypertension. Perhaps, the powdered
versions mixed with either water, or fruit juice, taken daily, should provide
necessary bulk, and ease of passing stool.
Plus, the too-frequent use of laxatives may contribute to one becoming,
‘laxative dependent’, especially in the elderly, where normal bowel motion may
be lost, until one cannot go to the bathroom without laxatives.
5)
Oil of Clove, or ground, powdered
Clove. This is an absolute, non-habit
forming, nor potentially dangerous Godsend for tooth and/or gum pain.
While
nothing—of course—will take the place of regular, dental hygiene, or visits to
the dentist, often, toothaches occur at all the wrong times, and can be severe,
and these days, few can afford to visit a dentist regularly, or at all.
Add
a little water to the ground cloves to make a paste that will adhere better to
teeth and gums, or directly apply the oil to the toothache with—of
course—washed hands, or with a palette made or a tongue depressor; rub it
thoroughly into the top of the tooth that hurts, and massage it into the sides,
and gums. Since it is a ‘natural’
product, without noted side-effects, it can be used repeatedly to buy you time,
or to just temporarily eliminate toothache pain, which can be so severe, it can
be applied as often as you may need.
While
this is a wonderful approach, it does NOT replace dentist visits in case of
abscess, or infection. It
is—however—safe-enough to use in moderation on small children who may be
‘teething’.
6)
‘Burn Cream’, or—where possible—silver
sulphathiazide cream, in the treatment of minor burns, to help reduce the pain,
and encourage healing. Please note that
severe burns ( ones that cause blistering, or lack of pain sensation, or ones
that cover larger areas of skin, should immediately necessitate a call to
‘911’, and an ambulance trip to an emergency room, or nearest burn center).
7)
Flashlights. For the ‘Home First Aid Kit’, I would
recommend having two: one regular one for illumination in dark settings, and
one, ‘pen light’, smaller flashlight that may be held in the ‘on’ position in
the mouth, to free-up use of both your hands.
Always keep on hand a pack of fresh, unopened, and unused batteries.
8)
Thermometers. For years, we have become accustomed to the
old, triangular, glass thermometer which contains mercury, and requires keeping
sterile in alcohol, or with alcohol-based wipes; these must be ‘shaken down’,
by several, quick, ‘whip’ motions, while holding the top. These came in two types: blue at top for oral
thermometers, and red, for anal use.
These thermometers can
break easily, especially when attempting to ‘take’ the temperature of one who
is ill, and may have chills. In
addition, old, glass thermometers contain mercury, which is very
poisonous. I would not recommend their
use. Instead, I would suggest that you
purchase a plastic, disposable, digital thermometer (along with end-covering
sleeves, to help keep them sterile), that is light-weight, and ‘beeps’ when the
correct temperature is arrived at. Since
the end of a digital thermometer is lightly weighted, it still may prove
difficult to keep it in the mouth of those who are ill, children, and the
elderly, or those who lack the teeth to hold it in their mouths. There are two, other ways in which a
temperature may be reached, and these you need to know. First, in babies, the temperature should be
taken rectally. To the value that you
receive, deduce one point. Thus, if your
young child (or, grandchild’s rectal temperature is, say, 103.0, deduce one
point, to make it now, 102.0, a proper reading.
For those who simply cannot keep a thermometer in the mouth, any
value—there obtained—will be useless.
Instead—where possible—place the thermometer securely under the arm pit,
and make sure the thermometer is held tightly there; this is referred to as an
‘axillary temperature’, whose value you will need to add one point. While ‘oral’ temperatures are supposed to be
more accurate, what good is it if the person cannot keep it in the mouth, under
the tongue. However, should you use
either of these alternative ways, and subsequently need to report them, always
designate whether taken rectally, or axillary
9)
Every Home First Kit should have a bottle of
peroxide; allow to dribble over wounds, or apply—carefully—with sterile cotton
balls, before bandaging.
10) One
bag of sterile, cotton balls.
11) One
package of sterile Q-tips, to use in dabbing ointment to a wound; NEVER use
them in your ears to clean them, as you will probably compact the wax that is
there, which may lead to ear pain, or ear ache, or infection!
12) Traditional,
metal boxes of band aids usually offer different sizes, many of which you may
never, ever have a use for.
Look—instead—for a box of band aids that are at least 3/4ths inches
wide, or one inch wide. Those tiny
lengths, and little, round spot band aids are useless, do not cover the wound,
and never stay in place. If—for
example—one has a fairly simple finger cut, drape one band aid over the wound,
and secure it in place, by wrapping another one around it. Band aids should be changed regularly, about
every day, or, every other day. We all
have had experience with band aids that have been left on too long; the
skin—beneath—is always super white, mottled with blue, and feels odd to the
touch. While you want the wound to heal,
you do not want to compromise the blood circulation in the fingertip, or,
indeed, anywhere else on the surface of the body.
13) Blood Pressure Cuffs. For general ease of use, portability, and
convenience, I would fully recommend a Velcro, wrist blood pressure cuff; these
are fairly inexpensive, and are very accurate.
And, they stay in place, better, being held in place by Velcro.
So many accidents happen at home, many of which go
way beyond any treatment that little, rusted, box of band aids in your medicine
cabinet can provide.
Dressing equipment (bandaging), and other needed
supplies:
14) At
least two boxes of gauze pads, 4 inches X 4 inches. Use it to apply to wounds; but please keep in
mind that plain gauze can sometimes stick to an open wound, and so;
15) At
least two boxes of “Telfa”, 4 X 4 inch pads; these do not stick to wounds.
16) Several,
packaged lengths of elastic, netting, often called ‘Curlex’. This is used to wind-around a wound, to help
keep the pads in place; they also promote air to reach the wound, to help in
healing. Always remember that dressings
should be changed every day, and kept as dirt-free as possible.
17) Now,
you will need some kind of tape to use to secure the Curlex; basically, there
are two types: A) Paper tape, and; B) Cloth tape. While cloth tape may prove to better hold a
dressing shut, you will need a set of scissors to cut it, as it is difficult to
tear into desired lengths. Paper tape is
much easier to tear, but may require more of it to be effective. Also, some individuals are allergic to paper
tape, so it would be most wise to keep both kinds on hand.
18) Where
possible, it is always best to first wipe the wound or affected area to remove
from it any dirt present. Then use a
couple sterile, gauze pads to clean the wound with peroxide, stop the bleeding,
and apply with clean Q-tip, antibiotic cream, and bandage gently.
19) Remember,
please, to always keep your First Aid Kit in some semblance of order, so you
won’t have to repeatedly dig-around, or look for the supplies that you may
need, which wastes time, is frustrating, and postpones intervention and
treatment.
My friends, this series
has been of some difficulty to write, as I knew it would run long, yet, I did
not want to miss more than I probably did miss.
One often thinks
something as prosaic as a ‘First Aid Kit’ to be of little importance, or use,
in day-to-day living. From past
experience, I feel quite the contrary, that your home First Aid Kit—when
equipped, and maintained properly, is nothing less than your first line of
defense, in the treatment of even simple wounds, to conditions that will
require you telephone ‘911’ to summon an ambulance to your home.
It is at least a
partial measure of my love and regard for you that you and yours be kept as
well, and as safe as possible. Those were my only motives. And in wracking my poor and tired brain to
point of headache, I have tried to share with you things that I had experienced
over the years. I still think the points are valid, and may prove to be of some
possible help to you, whenever you most need it. Remember—always—that you are special and
unique to all the world.
As always—my most dear,
and treasured friends—I wish so much for you days of much lessened, or of ‘no
pain’; quiet, contemplative days, recalling dreams; afternoons, surrounded by
both friends, and family members who love and care for you; happiness
unbounded; pantries full, with no thought of need, or want; peaceful evenings,
leading to nights of natural tiredness—looking forward to climbing into a cool
and crisp bed; and blissful and untroubled sleep combining comfort, and
pleasant dreams, protected—ever—by gentle angels, ‘to lead thee to thy wondrous
rest’.
Please
always know I love you dearly,
‘Zahc’/Charles
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