The arrival of spring brings children to the outdoors, and the return of warmer temperatures often means that these children will be outside barefoot and not covered from neck to ankles in clothing.  While fewer articles of clothing means less laundry, it also means more uncovered skin that can be injured.

If your child receives a cut or scrape, an adhesive bandage will help, but splinters need a little more attention.  Although the cries of your child may tempt you to delay removing the splinter, it is best to remove the splinter as soon as possible to minimize the possibility of an infection.  According to the National Institute of Health, there are four steps to removing a splinter:

1. Wash your hands with soap and water.
2. Use tweezers to grab the splinter. Carefully pull it out at the same angle it went in.
3. If the splinter is under the skin or hard to grab: Sterilize a pin or needle by soaking it in rubbing alcohol or placing the tip in a flame. Wash your hands with soap. Use the pin to gently remove skin over the splinter. Then use the tip of the pin to lift the end of the splinter out. You will probably still need to use tweezers as in step 2.
4. Wash the area with soap and water after the splinter is out. Pat it dry. (Don’t rub.) Apply antibiotic ointment. Bandage the cut only if it is likely to get dirty. It will heal faster if exposed to the air.

Of course, the use of those steps doesn’t guarantee that your child will stop crying or agree to the removal more easily.  To help make the removal easier, here are a list of parent-created tips:

• Hold ice on the affected area for 1-2 minutes, in order to numb the area
• Soak the affected area, which makes it easier to use a needle, if you need to follow step 3 of the directions
• Distract the child by working on splinter removal while the child watches a tv show or DVD
• Apply topical infant teething medicine (such as Baby Orajel) to the affected area before removal

In December, we published an article about the essential first aid supplies you should keep at your house.  This quite thorough list will have you prepared for almost any minor injury or illness.  However, after a recent injury occurred at our house, we discovered that one important item was lacking- non-adhesive dressings.

The list provided by the American Red Cross does include many important supplies for wounds.  An assortment of sizes of adhesive bandages is useful for cuts, especially as most bandages have a non-adhesive pad.  Sterile gauze pads and absorbent compress dressings are useful for cleaning and padding a larger wound.  However, if you have a large open wound or a wound in a location that is difficult to cover with a bandage, you want a non-adhesive dressing to cover the wound.  The gauze pad or compress dressing will stick to the wound, which means more pain (and possibly bleeding) when changing the dressing.

Check your first aid supplies.  Make sure you have all of the recommended supplies, and add a box of non-adhesive dressings to prepare yourself for any injuries.

In New Hampshire, we already have had a snowstorm that handed us an inch of snow per hour for at least a quarter of the day. When it’s falling that fast, it is best to stay at home. But what if it keeps falling, the power goes out, and you are stranded? Then, on top of that, what if someone gets badly burned, cut, or injured in another manner? Do you have a well-equipped first aid kit? Band-aids and Neosporin just won’t cut it.  Though it’s a good idea to have health insurance in place for treatment in the long term, it’s always best to be prepared to treat an injury at the scene as best you can to prevent infection along with other possible complications such as shortness of breath or extreme nausea.  Here’s what is recommended by the American Red Cross:

• 2 absorbent compress dressings (5 x 9 inches)
• 25 adhesive bandages (assorted sizes)
• 1 adhesive cloth tape (10 yards x 1 inch)
• 5 antibiotic ointment packets (approximately 1 gram)
• 5 antiseptic wipe packets
• 2 packets of aspirin (81 mg each)
• 1 blanket (space blanket)
• 1 breathing barrier (with one-way valve)
• 1 instant cold compress
• 2 pair of nonlatex gloves (size: large)
• 2 hydrocortisone ointment packets (approximately 1 gram each)
• Scissors
• 1 roller bandage (3 inches wide)
• 1 roller bandage (4 inches wide)
• 5 sterile gauze pads (3 x 3 inches)
• 5 sterile gauze pads (4 x 4 inches)
• Oral thermometer (non-mercury/nonglass)
• 2 triangular bandages
• Tweezers
• First aid instruction booklet

Getting another ice storm like the one that took New England by surprise last year seems unlikely. Realistically, however, we should be ready if such a disaster were to occur again. This winter doesn’t seem any nicer than last; are you prepared?

I recently started taking a Bikram Yoga class in Boston, Massachusetts, because I wanted to try something new. My friend works there, so she told me about the trial period classes, and I thought it would be a fun thing to try!

For those of you who do not know, Bikram Yoga, otherwise known as “hot” yoga, is a type of yoga that is done at about 105 degrees Fahrenheit and at about 60% humidity. It is a 90 minute class in which the instructor walks you through twenty-six different poses that are all done twice. The second set of each exercise is typically shorter than the first one.

I know that I feel amazing after walking out of one of those classes. I’ve never sweat so much before in my life, and I apparently burn over 900 calories per class! However, thinking about the poses that are carried out, I began to wonder if Bikram Yoga could be detrimental.

What I have found is that if you are a healthy person, Bikram should be fine. I found that people with low and high blood pressure should be careful during these classes. Also, you are often asked to stretch much further than your flexibility. Because you are in a hot room, it’s doable, but you must be careful.

The most common injuries are those to your lower back and knees. There are postures that require extreme bending of the knees — squats and sitting backward on folded legs, for example — and they tend to cause tears in knee cartilage. A lot of pressure is put on your knees during these classes, and you are often asked to lock your knees. Whenever I practice with a sports team, I am always warned against locking my knees– the exact opposite of what goes on in Bikram. The instructors know that some poses cause pain. When we perform the back bend they tell us, “this is going to hurt, it should hurt, keep bending, come down, look back, stretch back…” and yes, it kills!

Yoga can be really helpful to your health. It promotes getting oxygen to organs, increases flexibility, and more. If you perform everything correctly, all should go well.

Perhaps, like most people you have suffered from the pains of a sore muscle or cramps.  To alleviate this pain, you crave nothing more than to place something warm against the pained area. What are your options?

1.  You could purchase an electric heating pad. Of course, that means you need to sit somewhere near an outlet.

2. You could purchase a package of adhesive heating pads.  However, most of these have a strong odor.  Also, they are single use items, making them rather expensive.

3.  You could purchase a microwavable heating pad.  Reusable and no need for an outlet, makes this a good choice. . .

But for the best choice:

4. You could make your own microwavable heating pad.  All you need is 2 cups of rice and a clean knee-high sock.

Direction:

Carefully pour rice into sock.

Tie a knot to prevent rice from escaping.

Place heating pad in microwave for 1 minute*, and it’s ready for use!

*Heating times may vary.  Start with 30 seconds, and check the temperature of the heating pad, adding more time if needed.

Neck pain is an almost inevitable part of a person’s life. Everyone will experience neck pain at one point or another with varying severity. Neck pain can be acute or chronic; most of the time though, it is not serious. Poor posture is the primary cause of this condition. However, there are cases when neck pain is a symptom of a more serious problem. If you experience severe neck pain despite several days of self-care, it is important to seek medical attention.

Symptoms of Neck Pain

Neck pain can manifest itself in different ways. Signs and symptoms of this condition may include:

•    Sharp or dull pain in the neck
•    Stiffness
•    Shoulder pain together with neck pain
•    Back pain together with neck pain
•    Difficulty in doing everyday tasks because of an uncomfortable sensation in the neck

Causes of Neck Pain

Muscle strains, worn joints, disk disorders, and injuries are the common causes of neck pain. Straining your muscles because of poor posture at work, hunching over the steering wheel, and sleeping uncomfortably can trigger muscle strain. Neck muscles become fatigued when this happens, and chronic pain can develop. And similar to other joints in the body, the neck joints will suffer from wear and tear as time goes by. This can cause osteoarthritis to occur in the neck.

Injuries are also a major cause of neck pain. When rear-end collisions occur, the head is jolted forward and back. The movement strains the tissues of the neck when it is pushed beyond its limits. Meanwhile, disk disorders occur when the disk between the vertebrae becomes stiff. It narrows the space in the spinal cord, and the disk in the neck becomes likely to herniate.

Treatment of Neck Pain

In most cases, the neck will respond positively to self-care. Some treatments you can try at home include taking over-the-counter (OTC) pain relievers. Alternating hot and cold on the neck for 20 minutes a day also can relieve some of the pain. Other effective treatments include giving your neck time to rest, gentle stretching, and applying pain cream.

Last week I was playing volleyball and sprained my ankle. For me, this is a nightmare. Volleyball season is my favorite time of year, and I wanted to be up and playing as soon as possible. How did I get better? I used the R.I.C.E. method that my school follows for all minor sprains and strains:

Rest: Whether you’ve injured your ankle, wrist, or back, it’s important to rest that area for at least 48 hours after the initial injury. You may need a sling or crutches depending on your situation. You should listen to what your body tells you. If you test out standing on your foot and it feels like it won’t support you, don’t try to walk on it, that could cause further injury.

Ice: In order to reduce pain and swelling, you should ice the area within 48 hours of the injury. Do not use heat, this, in fact, can increase swelling. You can use a bag of crushed ice, an ice pack, or even frozen peas. During the first 48 hours, as often as you can, ice for periods of 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, take the ice off. Before icing again, let the area restore to normal temperature and color.

Compression: You also can reduce the swelling by wrapping the area in ace bandages or other support bandages. Make sure your wrap isn’t too tight. Your fingers or toes should not tingle and should remain the same temperature.

Elevation: Try to keep your injured area above your heart while resting. It will help reduce swelling as well.

You should see a big improvement in the status of your injury after two days of following the R.I.C.E. method. (I was back in the game three days later.) If you see no change despite following the steps, it is important that you see a doctor. You should return to using an injured joint or muscle only if you are sure it can support the work, and even so, start with just 50% of what you might normally do. Let yourself ease back into the work, and soon enough you’ll be back to full throttle.