HSE People - Health and Safety Community

Respected Readers,

Dengue is the most widespread mosquito-borne infection which in recent years has become a major international public health concern. The magnitude of dengue problem has increased dramatically and has extended fears of an outbreak especially within Punjab and throughout the country.

First Aid to Save a Life Pakistan is a training and consultancy company and working within our scope to conduct dengue prevention awareness sessions to adopt better preventive measures to avoid becoming dengue virus carrier. We have decided to observe Dengue Awareness Week from Sep 19 to 24, 2011 and will answer the questions asked from us and share other information with them to feel confidence while fighting against this outbreak. We have created a new email address (dpp@firstaidtosavealife.com) where you can send your questions/queries to us.

Below is the link to an awareness campaign started by First Aid to Save a Life Pakistan for public interest and information to be shared with others as well.

Awareness Campaign

To Your Safety,

Faisal Javed Mir

As-Salam-o-Alaikum Respected Readers,

Today we will share with you one new topic which is Psychological First Aid (PFA). When terrible things happen in our communities, we want to reach out a helping hand to those who are affected. Although everyone is affected in some way by these events, there are a wide range of reactions and feelings each person can have. Psychological first aid has been recommended by many international and national expert groups. PFA should be offered to people in severe distress after being recently exposed to a traumatic event.

What is Psychological First Aid?

Psychological first aid (PFA) describes a humane, supportive response to a fellow human being who is suffering and who may need support. PFA involves the following themes:

• providing practical care and support, which does not intrude;
• assessing needs and concerns;
• helping people to address basic needs;
• listening to people, but not pressuring them to talk;
• comforting people and helping them to feel calm;
• helping people connect to information, services and social supports; &
• protecting people from further harm.

PFA also involves factors that seem to be most helpful to people’s long-term recovery. PFA is for distressed people who have been recently exposed to a serious crisis event. You should not force help on people who do not want it, but make yourself easily available to those who may want support.

It is very important to act in ways that respect the safety, dignity and rights of the people you have decided to help. There is a lot to say on PFA and we will continue this service in better interest of our readers.

To Your Success,

Faisal Javed Mir

http://firstaidtosavealife.com

As-Salam-o-Alaikum Respected Readers,

Today we will share with you why it is important to avoid direct contact with blood.

There is a potential for transmission of infection, if direct contact with blood has occurred. Although rare, injuries from an infected patient’s blood can transmit more than 20 diseases, including Hepatitis B, C and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Because of this transmission risk, a great care should be taken whenever you decide to administer first aid.

The main risk is exposure to infections, especially blood-borne viruses (BBV).

Transmission of infection depends on a number of factors, including the person’s natural immune system.  We know the number of injuries each year is high, and only a small number are known to have caused infections that become serious illnesses. The blood-borne viruses of most concern are:

• Hepatitis B;
• Hepatitis C; and
• HIV.

As we don’t know at time of administering first aid at emergency scene so avoiding direct contact with blood is the most important personal safety tip. In many of the real life scenarios, you may not carry first aid kit with you but you can improvise the items available with you or get them from your surroundings to maintain your safety as well. These incidents are avoidable, and reducing them is primarily dependent on high quality education & training. And our this post will help you to learn the basics of blood-borne viruses infections.

If you suffer an injury from a sharp object or have had direct contact with blood which may be contaminated:

• Encourage the wound to gently bleed, ideally holding it under running water;
• Wash the wound using running water and plenty of soap;
• Don’t scrub the wound whilst you are washing it;
• Don’t suck the wound;
• Dry the wound and cover it with a waterproof plaster or dressing;
• Seek urgent medical advice (for example from your Occupational Health Service), as effective prophylaxis  (medicines to help fight infection) are available; &
• Report the injury to your employer.

A significant proportion of blood-borne viruses infections occur when first aid providers fail to follow the standard personal protective procedures and dos and don’t told to them during their training sessions. These incidents are avoidable, and the above brief information can help you to take care of yourself from such worries.

Bloodborne Pathogens is an accredited training program which help students in managing disease exposure from materials that contain blood or other infectious body fluids. This course provides essential knowledge necessary to help reduce or eliminate the risk of bloodborne pathogens. This course is based on the latest guidelines released in October 2010.

To Your Safety & Success,

Faisal Javed Mir

http://firstaidtosavealife.com