Karen’s Free Health and Fitness Tips

What is a sprained ankle? Well a sprained ankle is when you damage the band of ligaments that connect the bones together at the ankle. A minor sprain is when a ligament is stretched or partially torn; a severe strain is when the ligament is completely torn. A strain however is slightly different. A strain occurs when you stretch or pull a muscle.

Causes

The causes of an ankle sprain are often when an unnatural twisting motion occurs, for example when the foot is planted awkwardly, when the ground is uneven, or when an unusual amount of force is applied to the joint.
The most common type of ankle sprain is called an inversion sprain. Half of all ankle sprains happen when participating in sport. They are more common in sports such as football, basketball, and volleyball as these involve running and jumping, landing from a jump, fast changes in direction or lots of stop-starts.

Symptoms

When a sprain occurs there is sometimes a snapping or popping sound or a feeling of your ankle “giving way” as a ligament is torn. A sprain is often very painful, with the pain gradually getting worse when you move your ankle. With a severe sprain, you may not be able to bear weight on your leg.

My mother-in-law died recently. Her illness - a gradual, wasting decline - had been going on for months; she’d been taken into York hospital some weeks ago and it was tacitly accepted by all the family that she wouldn’t be coming out. However, towards the end of her life we received a phone call that was to have a profound impact on us.

Doris’s last wish, we were told, was to die at home. She would need 24 hour nursing which the NHS could not provide. Could family provide it? My husband consulted his brother and sister. Clearly this was too much to ask - all had work and family commitments, were untrained and unprepared for caring for a terminally ill person, were already exhausted and emotionally drained from weeks of hospital visits. There was no alternative - she would have to die in hospital. It was sad - tragic even - but what could be done?

Emergency Medical Technicians, also known as EMT’s are providers of medical care for emergency situations such as automobile accidents, drownings, heart attacks, gunshot wounds, and childbirth. Usually they are dispatched to the scene of an accident by a 911 operator where they work closely with firefighters and police officers. When they arrive on the scene of the emergency in their Cherokee medical scrubs, they assess the condition of the patients and extent of the injuries and they take the patients’ medical histories. The patients may be treated at the scene of the accident or transported to a hospital in the case of more serious problems. EMT’s use backboards and other equipment to immobilize patients before transporting them to the hospital. Usually one EMT administers treatment to the patient while the other EMT drives the ambulance. Some EMT’s are part of the crew of medical helicopters used to transport critically injured or ill patients from remote areas to trauma centers. When the ambulance or the helicopter has arrived at the medical facility, it is the EMT’s job to transfer the patients to the emergency room, to report on their observations, and often to provide additional treatment or support.

EMT’s should have considerable emotional stability in order to be able to handle the considerable stress of this job. They must be capable of lifting heavy loads, and must have good physical coordination, agility, and manual dexterity. They should have good eyesight (although corrective lenses are permitted) and good color vision. The average annual salary of the 180,000 Emergency Medical Technicians in Cherokee scrubs in the U.S. in 2002 was over $24,000 (range between $15,000 and $40,000). The average annual salary for EMT’s working for local governments was $27,000; for EMT’s working for general medical or surgical hospitals was $25,000; and for EMT’s working for other ambulatory health services was $22,000. Most are employed in metropolitan areas.

Usually, it covers everything we need as the injured or critically ill patient plus the family members, like bed-to-bed services, manages ground transportation, specialized medical care during transport, and other necessary things.

The staffs who work on the air ambulance service can be categorized as the medical and the flight crew. The flight crew’s duty is obvious, to keep the aircraft in flight. However these guys aren’t just rookies who’d just gotten their flying license, they’re in fact an experienced flight crew with thousands of hours of flight time. Some are even harden military veterans, because their skills are really needed to negotiate many treacherous terrains to extract patient. Most air ambulance crew consists of pilot, co-pilot, and flight engineer. Advancements in avionic technology however allows only two pilots or just one flying the aircraft, while still allowing them to monitor many engineering aspects during flight.

Many people believe that once they earn a nursing degree and become a registered nurse (RN) their education is complete. And while a nursing degree opens a whole world of opportunity, it doesn’t stop with an RN.

If you’re interested in working with people during life-threatening situations, you may want to consider becoming a critical care registered nurse or CCRN. Not only will you increase the excitement in your career, you’ll also increase your earning potential. You may be concerned that you’ll have to spend a lot more time going to classes and taking exhausting certification exams while you’re not being paid. However, nothing could be further from the truth.

Most major hospitals offer certification courses as well as the opportunity to take the exam. Once you’re enrolled in a class, it will take about a semester to complete the coursework.

After only a one-semester investment, you’ll be qualified for special duties including working in intensive care units and critical care units. You’ll also be able to work in telemetry, a special branch of medicine that deals with patients who have abnormal heart function.

International nursing jobs are the best options for those who wish to work abroad as nurses. Today there are several websites providing information on international nursing jobs that are listed by region, position, and type. Emergency room nurse, licensed practical nurse, nurse practitioner, intensive care nurse, labor and delivery nurse, operating room nurse, critical care registered nurse, maternal child services nurse, acute care registered nurse, cardiac rehab registered nurse, home care registered nurse, and telemetry registered nurse are the different positions which job seekers generally search for.

Recruiters play a vital role in finding jobs in developing nations or in major cities. They provide one with all the details that help secure work abroad as nurses. Additionally, they provide job seekers with advice regarding housing, banking, and other relevant issues. There are recruiting websites that help one to finding a nursing job across the nation or in one’s neighborhood.

Several nursing agencies are there which offer international nursing jobs with exceptional assignments, competitive pay rates, and free accommodation. Moreover they offer the support of an experienced professional who will provide the guidance that one deserves.

The tragic accidental death of respected actress Natasha Richardson has brought attention to how a bumped head might seem minor enough, but can turn out to be a life threatening brain injury.

Just as Natasha reportedly did, it’s common for someone who’s had a fall or been in a car crash to seem perfectly lucid just after the impact, only to deteriorate rapidly later on.

“A patient can appear so deceivingly normal at first,” said Dr. Carmelo Graffagnino, director of Duke University Medical Center’s Neurosciences Critical Care Unit. “But they actually have a brain bleed and as the pressure builds up, they’ll experience classic symptoms of a traumatic brain injury.”

You may have heard this called “talk and die” syndrome.

The fall doesn’t have to be all that bad. Natasha fell on a beginner ski slope and didn’t seem to hit her head on anything. You don’t have to see external injury to have injury to your brain. She was able to talk and joke with her ski instructor after the fall, and rejected medical care.

The onset of symptoms can be anywhere from five minutes to three hours after the accident - for Natasha it was two and half hours before she complained of the headache that brought an ambulance to her hotel.

After a person has been in a car accident, they are understandably in shock. Car accidents happen quickly, oftentimes before either party had time to react. For those who have been injured in a car accident, most of the trauma often ends up being in the head and neck, although cars with airbags are supposed to protect on impact.

Once the initial shock is over, it is time to get the extent of the injuries checked out via a CT scan. In order to understand what getting a CT scan means, it is important to understand the basic idea behind x-ray technology. Obviously, a doctor cannot look at a person’s bones just on site. Rather, the doctor needs the patient to get an x-ray.

The same thing goes for a CT scan, which is a more advanced form of x-ray technology. While an x-ray can see the bones, a CT scan can see the bones and the tissue in a far more detailed manner. This can be of help to a car accident injury victims, because head traumas can result in brain damage or clots, which this kind of scan can detect.

The most notable reason they exist in the first place is VTOL or VerTOL capability, which stands for Vertical Take-Off and Landing. Although helicopters were invented in the 20th century, the idea was firstly thought out by Leonardo da Vinci in the 15th century, which he defined as ‘air screw’. Helicopters ability to fly and land vertically, eliminates the need for a runway like in a winged aircraft. This particular feature enables the helicopters to hover and access many impossible areas.

Helicopters as air ambulances have greatly increased the percentage of severely injured victims that being saved because of the lifesaving equipment prepared on the helicopters and the aerial speed generated by the helicopters to get to the nearest health care facility. The universal flight capability of a helicopter makes them favorable among many military transports and emergency services. The most iconic helicopter is the Bell Huey, designated UH-1 “Iroq” which serves as the main transport aircraft during the Vietnam War in the 60’s. This helicopter was the star of many popular Vietnam War themed movies such as Tour of Duty and We Were Soldiers. Apart from serving its purpose as a light assault platform, they were mainly responsible as a “Medivac” or Medical Evacuation, much like an air ambulance helicopter, except with bullets flying past (and through) them.

The main goal for treatment of cardiogenic shock is reestablishing myocardial circulation, minimize heart muscle damage, and improve the pumping function of the heart. First-line treatment can utilize antishock trousers which compress the legs and shunt blood flow to the vital organs. Metallic PET film blankets can be used to reflect the patient’s body heat to keep the patient warm (Wikipedia, 2008).

If a structural disorder is causing cardiogenic shock, they are repaired surgically. These may include septal rupture or dysfunction of the valves. Thrombosis of the coronary arteries is treated usually with angioplasty or stenting, coronary artery bypass grafting, or thrombolysis. Arrhythmias are treated medically or with cardioversion if indicated (Weil, 2007). Shock resulting from an acute myocardial infarction is usually treated with fluids if the CVP is low. If a pulmonary artery catheter is not in place, often small boluses of fluid (250 mL to 500 mL) are given to see if the patient’s vital signs improve. This is done with care, while frequently auscultating the lungs and looking for signs and symptoms of fluid overload. Vasopressors may also be instituted to maintain adequate blood pressure (Weil, 2007).