BURN INJURY

Burns occur when there is contact between the skin and fire, or heat from the sun, or corrosive chemicals, or electricity. A scald is caused by something wet, such as hot water or steam¹.

They lead to damage to the skin and can develop blisters and scalding. Although adults can get burn injuries, it’s very common with children

Tips on how to prevent Burn Injuries

• Do not carry a pot, container filled with hot water or hot liquid with children around
• Use a kitchen cloths to handle hot pans and pots and don’t carry them with your bare hands
• Clean promptly spilled fluids on the kitchen floor , as this can predispose to slips and falls and burns if the person is handling a hot object
• Keep hot objects out of reach of your children and away from the edge of tables
• Create boundaries in your home: don’t let your children wander around cooking stoves, or burners, or naked flame and wires.
• Keep chemicals in well labeled bottles and far from the reach of children. I’ve seen cases where corrosive chemicals are placed in a soft drink bottle or other harmless looking containers and handled by unsuspecting people.
• If in areas with high temperatures where you can be prone to skin burns, protect your skin with a sunscreen and wear protective clothing
• It’s important to train your house help on all these tips, because a lot of times they spend hours alone with the children

What to do in Burn Injury before presenting in a health facility

• Remove the person immediately from the source of the burn injury
• Apply cool or lukewarm water to the burn for some minutes for cooling. Avoid using iced water or creams on the burn area.
• Cover the burn with cling film (if available) and remove clothing and jewelry around the burn area. Take care not to rub anything against the burn area

• If in pain, you can administer pain killers like paracetamol
• Take the person to the nearest health facility

 

References

• http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Burns-and-scalds/Pages/Introduction.aspx?url=Pages/what-is-it.aspx

FIRE

How prepared are you if there’s a fire in your home, office, or car? Do you have fire extinguishers that are functioning? Do you know how to operate them? Fires extinguishers are best for small contained fires and the best time to learn how to use one is now (before a fire). Nobody prays for a fire to happen where we live or work, but we need to be prepared in the event of a fire to ensure safety.

If you are looking to buy or rent a house; one of the things you should consider is fire safety; are there escape routes? If it’s a story building, is there a safety staircase or fire escape?

Tips for preventing fire accidents

1. Always switch off electrical appliances at the main socket when not in use
2. Cultivate the habit of maintenance; Do not use faulty electrical appliances and make sure they are fixed promptly
3. Avoid overloading of electrical circuits
4. Candles are commonly used in many homes in this environment; make sure it’s placed in a candle holder, far from curtains, furniture and reach of children. When leaving the room, snuff out the light of the candle and don’t sleep off with a candle on.
5. Do not use insecticides, body sprays near naked flame.
6. Ensure that burners are turned off
7. Do not keep inflammable fluids like petrol, kerosene near burners, or stove

If a fire accident occurs

8. Don’t stop to pick anything and don’t try to hide in a closet, try and get out as fast as you can
9. Cover your mouth and nose with a piece of clothing while trying to get out to prevent inhaling the smoke and suffocating
10. Stay at low to the ground as possible as smoke always rises and crawl on the ground
11. Don’t stop to take personal belongings, your safety should be first
12. Never go back into a burning building once safely outside
13. Stop, drop on the ground, and roll to extinguish flames if an article of clothing catches on fire

Practice fire drills at home, even with your children. Fire drills are a simulation of how everyone will respond if there’s a fire and the alarm goes off. Teach your children these safety tips, teach them how to prevent fires, what to do if they are somewhere and there’s a fire accident whether at home or in school.

The Little things matter

One of the things that I find surprising when watching home videos is that if a person collapses, whoever is around just starts crying immediately and assumes they are dead, but they are rarely taken to the hospital. You’d say that’s a movie script; but I also see it commonly in real life. I once witnessed an accident, where a bus hit a motorcycle and the motorcycle driver and passenger were seriously injured. The accident happened a few metres away from a nearby hospital, but nobody felt those first few minutes after the accident were important. People gathered around the injured men and started shouting for some minutes; I managed to move closer and started shouting that there was a hospital nearby and they should be taken there but nobody listened and they just kept on screaming and wailing. 

  The little things you do in an emergency situation might just be what will save a person’s life. Accidents come up unexpectedly and a lot of times we feel, ‘God forbid’ it can never happen to me; but this is not about whether something negative will happen to you or not, it’s about equipping yourself with the knowledge and skill needed to save someone’s life if you are in a position to do so.

General principles of managing emergency situations include;

1. DON’T PANIC  :The easiest thing to do in any strange and fearful/deadly situation is to panic, but it is more helpful to control your emotions or horror, pause and think fast; ask yourself what is happening and what can I do?
2. SAFETY FIRST : if the situation is unsafe for you, do not endanger yourself; wait for experts to intervene
3. CALL FOR HELP: have an emergency number you can call in case of emergencies; make sure it’s a reliable one/ call a professional who can run you through on what to do 
4. ACT: in case of emergency situations where you have the skill to administer first aid eg stop active bleeding; act fast to save the person's life.

Watch this space as i start a new series on my blog in the next few weeks on what to do when faced with some common medical emergencies. It will also feature how to prevent these accidents from occurring.

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What to eat when you're expecting

Pregnancy is a time in a womans' life that comes with a lot of changes; physically, emotionally and socially. Every pregnancy is different; and people have a whole range of varied experiences with food; from wanting to eat peppery food, to loss of appetite, to craving sweets and chocolates, to getting easily nauseated by the smell of food. Some women have a normal appetite throughout and don't even feel like they are pregnant at all. Others have several episodes of vomiting for months that makes it hard to keep food down; in situations like these, eating small regular meals might help with the nutrients you need. Eating healthy is a very important investment to make during your pregnancy as it helps you to stay healthy and is also important for your baby's growth and development.

An interesting part of my consultation with pregnant women during their antenatal care is hearing a lot of questions about they should eat or avoid eating; questions that stem from cultural food taboos. A lot of these food taboos suggest that some particular foods have direct effects on the baby. When food is eaten,it is digested in the gut and nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream of the mother. The baby gets nutrients from the mother through the blood exchanged in the placenta; so technically its not the 'rice or beans' literally eaten that gets to the child but nutrients from them. Some common false food taboos in this environment include

• staying away from eating snails to prevent excess spit in the child and having a child that is slow in learning : Snail is actually a good source of protein for the mother and growing baby

• Pregnant women are told not to drink cold water as this can lead to early Labor and give the child epilepsy

• Eating meat is said to cause the swollen legs seen in pregnant women

• Eating plantain causes the baby to have 'awka' or anterior fontanelle. which is a natural space in the skull of newborns.

• Eating egg (especially fried) causes early contraction

• Boiled groundnut and coconut will cause the baby to vomit a whitish substance

• Sugary drinks will lead to 'Jedi-Jedi in the baby

So what should your diet consist of when you are expecting the birth of your baby? Generally, the principles of eating healthy in the normal population are the same as in pregnancy. Diet varies according to your preference and family eating pattern and
should consist of the following:

• Fluids: take a lot of fluids daily to keep well hydrated. Avoid caffeinated beverages. Be careful with sugar containing drinks so as not to have excessive weight gain. Water is preferrable to other fluids.

• Fruits and vegetables

•  Milk and dairy products

• Protein

• Whole grains, cereal and Carbohydrate

• Alcohol should be avoided as it can be harmful to the baby

Overeating should be avoided, as this can lead to obesity and cause problems for the baby.
It is important to avoid eating raw vegetables,raw eggs,unpasteurised dairy products eg 'wara'as this can predispose to having bacterial food poisoning. Ensure that all foods eated are properly cooked

Also, the following are a list of vital nutrients a pregnant mother needs

• Folate: folate requirement increases during pregnancy and a woman requires  about 400ug of folate/day for supplementation. It is more important in the first 28days post conception to prevent some malformations in the baby and since most women do not know they are pregnant until weeks after conception, it is adviceable to start supplementing before conception. It is also important in the last trimester. It can be taken as supplements or in  dietary sources which include leafy green vegetables, citrus fruits, beans, peanuts. It is destroyed by prolonged cooking.

• Iron; Iron requirements increase in pregnancy and during lactation.Meat is a good source of absorbed iron, however iron is usually also supplemented in pregnancy with pills.

• calcium: a good way of getting calcium needed for placenta and lactation is by drinking milk. 0.5litre supplies about 600mg of calcium.

Women with special health needs in pregnancy like diabetes, obesity, hypertension might have special dietary needs and will need to discuss with a dietician for a suitable diet.






References
1.A Stewart Trusswell. ABC of Nutrition 2003