Author: Health and Welfare

Oral Cancer Month

Published: 13 April 2024
Written by Health and Welfare
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Categories: Blog, Health and Welfare
  • Oral cancer, (mouth cancer), is the broad term for cancer that affects the inside of your mouth.
  • Oral cancer can look like a common problem with your lips or in your mouth, like white patches or sores that bleed.
  • The difference between common problem and potential cancer is these changes don’t go away.
  • Left untreated, oral cancer can spread throughout your mouth and throat to other areas of your head and neck.
  • Untreated gum disease can contribute to HEART DISEASE….
  • Weight loss is a common symptom of most cancers and is especially prevalent in cases of mouth cancer, due to the mouth’s direct relationship to nutrient consumption.
  • About 58,450 new cases of oral cavity or oropharyngeal cancer.
  • About 12,230 deaths from oral cavity or oropharyngeal cancer.
  • Approximately 63% of people with oral cavity cancer are alive five years after diagnosis.

Tips for Fire Safety Month in October

Published: 4 October 2023
Written by Health and Welfare
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Categories: Blog, Health and Welfare

FIRE SAFETY TIPS

• Install Smoke Detectors on Every Level
• Install Carbon Monoxide Detectors on Every Level
• Plan Your Escape Route from Fire
• Keep an Eye on Smokers
• Cook Carefully
• Give SPACE Heaters SPACE
• Portable Air Conditioner Safety
• Matches and Lighters are Tools Not Toys
• Stop, Drop, and Roll
• Use Electrical Safety
• Crawl Low Under Smoke
• Working Fire Extinguisher and It’s Use

Home Escape Plan

• Do you have an escape plan?
• Is it practiced regularly?
• The escape plan includes a safe place to meet up?
• Are there two exits out of every room?
• 9-1-1 emergency number is posted on all phones.
• A meeting place outside and in front of the home where everyone will meet immediately upon exiting.
• Batteries changed twice a year (Time Change-Spring/Fall)

CARBON MONOXIDE SOURCES

• Heaters
• Fireplaces
• Appliances
• Furnaces
• Cooking Sources (Wood, Oil, Natural Gas, Propane, Kerosene)

EpiPen: How and When to Use

Published: 7 August 2023
Written by Health and Welfare
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Categories: Health and Welfare

When to use an EpiPen:

  • Sign of a severe allergic reaction (Anaphylaxis)
    • Food Medication
    • Insect bites
  • Swelling, which can lead to difficulty breathing or swallowing
  • Shortness of breath or wheezing
  • Pain in your belly
  • Chest tightness
  • Dizziness
  • Vomiting
  • Confusion
  • Severe hives or rash

Overreaction response can lead to inflammation (which can cut off breathing) and a widening of blood vessels (which can drop blood pressure to dangerous levels).

The medication works to constrict (narrow) dilated (widened) blood vessels to help your blood pressure rebound and bring down swelling. It also relaxes muscles in your lungs to open up airways and make breathing a bit easier.

  • The needle on an auto-injector is designed to go through jeans or pants.
  • The dosage is different between children and adults, but the delivery technique is exactly the same. Just jab the thigh and let the epinephrine release. Each auto-injector is filled with a prescribed amount of medication.
  • It’s always a good idea to hold someone’s leg in place while inserting the injector and for three seconds afterward.
  • A second dose can be administered if the first injection doesn’t reduce symptoms within five to 15 minutes and the reaction continues to worsen. (This is why auto-injectors typically come in packs of two.)
  • Call 911 immediately if a reaction is bad enough to require an EpiPen.
  • Prescriptions for epinephrine auto-injectors typically last a year and should be refilled before they expire.

How to use an EpiPen:

  • Remove the EpiPen from its carrier tube.
  • Hold the EpiPen with the orange tip ­(where the needle is) pointing downward and the blue safety cap pointing up. Remember this phrase: Blue to the sky, orange to the thigh.
  • Remove the blue safety cap. Pull straight up on it. Do not bend or twist it.
  • Place the orange tip against the middle of the outer thigh. Using a slight swing, jab the auto-injector into the thigh until you hear the device click.
  • Hold the EpiPen firmly in place for three seconds. Count slowly.