Medical skills preparedness

[smokey]

Not exactly a huge medical emergency, but I recently strained by medial gastrocnemius doing silly things at sky zone with my kids. The specific location of the pain, pop/snap when it happened, and loss of strength/ability to use it made the injury fairly easy to figure out. So, the treatment is essentially RICE... so rest, ice, compression and elevation. You don't want heat on it for at least the first day or two because it could make inflammation worse, but ice for about 20 minutes every hour or so can help. Due to gut issues(UC), I try to avoid pain-pills like ibuprofen and naproxen as much as I can...which leaves topical pain relief as the go-to. I realized I was pretty ignorant here and did some research to fill that gap.

https://www.practicalpainmanagement...pioids/sports-related-pain-topical-treatments

Conclusion
Many agents are available for the topical treatment of sports-related injuries; however, most lack reliable data to support their use. NSAIDs such as diclofenac, ibuprofen, and ketoprofen gels have robust evidence supporting their use with minimal reported adverse events; diclofenac is available in the United States in various topical formulations.4,11,14,16 The transdermal nitroglycerin patch has efficacy data for its use in tendinopathies.17 More studies in sports-related injuries are needed to make definite conclusions regarding the efficacy of menthol, methyl salicylate, lidocaine, tetracaine, and capsaicin, as well as the herbal products arnica, Traumeel, and comfrey root extract.

Soooo... it turns out topical pain killers generally suck for pain management, but diclofenac seems to be among the best choices to give you some relief. Tiger balm patches did jack squat, but salonpas with Camphor, menthol, and methyl saliclyate is giving some minor relief. Another hole in the medical kits plugged.

 

[Alphabrew]

Years ago I took Emergency Medical Technician training with a volunteer fire department. Not sure what I remember and I’m sure stuff changed a lot, but it was great training and it was paid for by the County.

 

[smokey]

Bump for 9-11. We all may have to be the first responders for ourselves and others.

 

[smokey]

In light of the Texas shooting, brush up on your skills and kit.

 

[Bob A]

Wife and I took a Stop The Bleed class at my gun club a few months ago. Picked up a couple good tourniquets at the time.

Probably a good thing to know about if you mess around with firearms. Keep the red stuff inside until the ambulance arrives.

 

[ToolAA]

Wife and I took a Stop The Bleed class at my gun club a few months ago. Picked up a couple good tourniquets at the time.

Probably a good thing to know about if you mess around with firearms. Keep the red stuff inside until the ambulance arrives.

Great class. That’s convenient that they had a session at your gun club. I had to take mine at UMD hospital in Baltimore.

 

[MDFF2008]

Not just for gunshots too, with motorcycle season coming up, I was on a call one time where a guy's life was probably saved by a bystander who applied a tourniquet when his leg got sucked up into a car's radiator fan.

 

[smdub]

I'd be interested in taking training. I have time now to go to a class during the week. I carry a med kit on my range bag but have no formal training. I'm actually more interested for motorcycle safety than a GSW though I see a huge overlap. I ride off road. We've had guys get large sticks shoved through heavily armored boots. Takes very little imaginiation to see one going through a soft part of your body. Or falling and being impaled on something pointy (someone fell last year (not in our group) and took a sharp rock betweek his helmet and goggles and f-ed his forehead up a scary amount and had to be carried off the mountain.) Or falling, breaking, and having your own pointy insides sticking out. We've gotten better as a group and carry tourniquets and some basic supplies to 'keep the red stuff in'. Several of us now also have inReach satelite radios in case we ever have to call in the cavalry but we need to know better how to buy time until they get there. Any suggestions that cover a lot of blunt force trauma / puncture wounds? Email/PM me privately if needed. Thanks!

 

[Bob A]

I'd suggest getting all the folks you ride with into a class together, Stop the Bleed, basic first aid, and some advanced training if it can be arranged. Providing your own group and training together will make it easier to hire a training team on your schedule at your location.

 

[Tower43]

That’s an incredibly short sighted view. Any idea how many first responders get exposed to fentanyl? Should they die? How about a child that gets into their careless parents meds? Yep, they should die too.


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Try almost none. Its almost always psychosomatic... in fact the only truly documented case of exposure and becoming symptomatic is in VA

 

[Tower43]

I know after my training for it, I got a card to pick it up for free.

It's funny, when my county started giving it out they wanted you to take their class.... they wouldn't give me, the deputy chief of the medic unit in county, who has probably given more narcan than they've touched....they insisted i had to take their class... so i dont have narcan.

When my neighbor ODd... we had to wait for the cops for narcan... of course after my wife and I had performed about 8mins of cpr and gotten a pulse back first....

 

[BurkeM]

I'll bite . Are there any quasi reliable statistics about Narcan usages ? Ie first responders , industrial accidents , young children vs deliberate drug abusers ?

Probably not. Lots of anecdotes about WASTING perfectly good Narcan doses on people who are BREATHING and don't need it.

Most EMS uses are for actual OD cases, with a variable mix on people already dead (wasted dose) and actual saves. Less trained folks (LEO and similar) tend to use twice as often as needed.

I've seen trained EMS use Narcan on someone who is in rigor mortis, but they document the use for CYA purposes.

 

[teratos]

It's funny, when my county started giving it out they wanted you to take their class.... they wouldn't give me, the deputy chief of the medic unit in county, who has probably given more narcan than they've touched....they insisted i had to take their class... so i dont have narcan.

When my neighbor ODd... we had to wait for the cops for narcan... of course after my wife and I had performed about 8mins of cpr and gotten a pulse back first....

The health department offers a quick Narcan class and gives it to you for free. You could also ask your doc for an Rx. I give it to people who ask.

 

[teratos]

Probably not. Lots of anecdotes about WASTING perfectly good Narcan doses on people who are BREATHING and don't need it.

Most EMS uses are for actual OD cases, with a variable mix on people already dead (wasted dose) and actual saves. Less trained folks (LEO and similar) tend to use twice as often as needed.

I've seen trained EMS use Narcan on someone who is in rigor mortis, but they document the use for CYA purposes.

There is great evidence for Narcan use. So what if it’s used more than needed. It is especially useful for folks living with a high risk person.

 

[BurkeM]

There is great evidence for Narcan use. So what if it’s used more than needed. It is especially useful for folks living with a high risk person.

It's a case-by case assessment. Better training for all prevents squandering resources.

 

[teratos]

It's a case-by case assessment. Better training for all prevents squandering resources.

Yeah. No. It’s not a resource that’s expensive or in short supply.

 

[BurkeM]

Yeah. No. It’s not a resource that’s expensive or in short supply.

In your office, perhaps you have dozens of doses. Few people have access to more than one dose - period. Most ambulances only carry one or two on the road.

 

[Crosseye Dominant]

It's a case-by case assessment. Better training for all prevents squandering resources.

Exactly. Easy to jump to conclusions though when someone has the appearance of a potential addict... Could possibly be anaphylactic shock or hypoglycemia. I've had to intervene when a medic was trying to give narcan to a guy having an allergic reaction that was swelling his tongue. Narcan itself wouldn't hurt, but not treating the actual issue could kill the patient.

 

[Tower43]

Probably not. Lots of anecdotes about WASTING perfectly good Narcan doses on people who are BREATHING and don't need it.

Most EMS uses are for actual OD cases, with a variable mix on people already dead (wasted dose) and actual saves. Less trained folks (LEO and similar) tend to use twice as often as needed.

I've seen trained EMS use Narcan on someone who is in rigor mortis, but they document the use for CYA purposes.

I'd beg to differ. I do QA/QI... and Im now working on a quick refresher on narcan for our 1200+.providers.... bc we suck at giving it only when appropriate...and we're the "professionals"

 

[Tower43]

The health department offers a quick Narcan class and gives it to you for free. You could also ask your doc for an Rx. I give it to people who ask.

Doc... Ive been a paramedic for 12 years. an EMT 3 more on top of that. I'm not wasting my time with some watered down nonsense from some clerk at the health department because theyre too inept to realize I'm much higher trained than they are....