Seizures and Epilepsy.

Last weekend started out as normal, we all had a leisurely morning on Saturday and then went and met some friends for a leisurely lunch at a local pub.

After a meal we went home and took the dog for a walk and played with the kids in the park.

After the kids went to bed we enjoyed a glass of wine and watched a film on the TV…

I was woken on Sunday morning to feel some unusual movement behind me, I rolled over to find my wife twitching uncontrollably in the bed; her eyes were bloodshot and rolled back in her head and she was frothing at the mouth. My wife was having some kind of seizure, something that had never happened before.

For a split second I panicked as primal fear set in. Then my pre-frontal cortex started downloading information from my memory looking for a solution to the unfolding crisis. I pictured in my head my Emergency First Aid presentation and cycled through the slides in my minds eye until I reached the part on Seizures and Epilepsy.

Protect the patient from harm but only if safe to do so:

I was able to roll my wife into the recovery position so she wouldn’t choke, arms and legs weren’t convulsing so I wasn’t in any danger of being hurt.

If it is patient’s first seizure then phone 999:

Nothing like this had happened before so I immediately picked up the phone and called for an ambulance.

Time how long the seizure lasts:

I had timed it roughly in my head since waking it up so I knew it had roughly lasted about 5 minutes.

By now the seizure had stopped and my wife had lapsed into semi-consciousness. I continued to monitor her lifeline and talk to her to reassure her.

The ambulance soon arrived and she was rushed to hospital where she was assessed and treated (as a precaution) for meningitis and taken for a CT scan. Fortunately these all came back negative so it may have just been a one off seizure (something that occurs to about a fifth of us during our lifetime).

My wife was discharged later that evening and has made a full recovery.

My first aid training allowed me to remain calm and deal with the situation in the most appropriate way.

For more information on taking a #firstaid course visit www.meducatetraining.co.uk or contact us on 08445 674019.

Meducate Training is pleased to add Brightlingsea Infants School as its latest customer, thank you for choosing Meducate Training for your Emergency First Aid Training

Meducate Training is pleased to welcome Billington as its latest customer, thanks for choosing Meducate Training for your Emergency First Aid Training

Meducate Training adds Partnerships in Care as its latest client..

Meducate Training is pleased to announce that it has just completed a program of training nearly 40 nurses and care staff in #firstaid for www.partnershipsincare.co.uk, the largest independent provider of secure mental health facilities in the UK.

Here is what they had to say about the service we provided..

‘Meducate were extremely cost effective, flexible and accommodating around our requirements. We received excellent feedback from our staff members too – Mark Wigley has been a pleasure to work with. Would recommend his company without hesitation’ Rob, HR manager PIC

We were able to provide flexible training options an excellent price and even included training in the use of Automated External Defribillators.

Thank you #partnershipsincare for choosing Meducate Training.

For more information on our training courses please contact us on 07791 865269 or email us at meducatefirstaidtraining@gmail.com

What is heat exhaustion?

The recent hot weather over the Easter holiday weekend highlights the need to make sure that when you are out and about in the sunshine (especially if you are exercising) you make sure that you keep your body supplied with enough fluid to keep it cool. This will help prevent the medical condition known as heat exhaustion which if not treated can develop into the more serious condition called heat stroke.

Heat Exhaustion happens when the body gets too hot and loses too much salt and water usually through excessive sweating.

The hypothalamus which is the part of the brain that controls your core body temperature becomes unable to keep up with the demands of keeping the body cool by sweating due to a combination of excessive exercise in hot temperatures and a lack of sufficient fluid intake. When this happens the body’s temperature rises above 37°C and causes heat exhaustion. If the body is not sufficiently cooled and the body temperature rises above 40°C this can develop into heat stroke, which is a life threatening illness which requires immediate medical attention.

How to recognise heat exhaustion:

Signs and symptoms of heat exhaustion include:

Heavy sweating
Fatigue
Headache
Pale, clammy skin
Thirst
Rapid Heartbeat
Dizziness or fainting
Nausea, vomiting
Muscle and abdominal cramps
Mild increases in temperature

These signs and symptoms don’t necessarily have to be all present to indicate the onset of heat exhaustion which can occur gradually over a period of time.

How do we treat heat exhaustion?

The key aims in the treatment of heat exhaustion are to supply the body with fluids (water is usually enough or a sports drink containing electrolytes) and to cool it down and to monitor the patient in case their temperature continues to increase to a more dangerous level (over 40°) which can lead to heat stroke. If this occurs an ambulance needs to be called.

Treatment of heat stroke includes:

Helping the casualty to a cool place.
Lying them down and raising their legs 15-30cm to allow blood to flow back to the vital organs.
Giving them plenty of water.
Consider giving a weak salt solution – 1 teaspoon of salt per litre of water, assisting the casualty to drink it.
Monitoring the casualty’s lifeline and if it deteriorates contacting 999 or 112 for an ambulance
Being prepared to deliver CPR (rescue breaths and chest compressions) in case of cardiac arrest

How to prevent heat exhaustion?

If you are working or exercising outside in hot temperatures you need to think ahead to prevent the onset of heat exhaustion. This can be achieved by drinking lots of fluids before during and after physical exertion, avoiding alcohol, drinking water or sports drinks instead.

A regular fitness regime may also allow the body to better tolerate exercise on hot days.

Are some people more vulnerable to heat exhaustion?

Some groups of people can be more susceptible to heat exhaustion so care must be taken in hot weather if you or those that you are looking after fall into the following categories.

Young children under the age of 5 are susceptible to heat exhaustion due to their naturally under-developed hypothalamus as are the elderly who unable to regulate their body temperature as well as those younger than them.

Obese people may also be more prone to heat exhaustion as well as pregnant women and those suffering from cardiovascular and respiratory diseases.

Remember that if you are administering first aid to someone suffering from heat exhaustion and their condition continues to deteriorate after treatment then consider calling 999 or 112 as your patient may be developing heat stroke which can cause a heart attack and cardiac arrest and death.

For more information of first aid and first aid training courses please visit www.firstaid-training-london.co.uk or contact Meducate Training on 0208 1442753

A recent survey by Business Link East found that 23% of companies surveyed wanted to get their staff trained but were unsure on what training to give them or how to access it….

First Aid Training is one of the best courses you can ever send your staff on. Since the introduction of the 1 day Emergency First Aid Course in October 2009 first aid training has become even more accessible for employers and anecdotal evidence suggests that more staff are being trained in first aid because of this.

Getting your staff trained in first aid has many benefits for both the employer and employee, these are just a few of them.

First Aid Training is low cost measured against what you learn.
Skills learnt can be used in the workplace, on the street and at home.
Encourages staff to take care of each other and take responsibility in crisis situations.
Ensures you meet HSE compliance with your first aid provision.

If you have a training budget (whether large or small) talk to us about how we can offer you a range of first aid training solutions to meet your requirements.

We can offer you onsite training, classroom training and online training solutions, with flexible pricing and course times.

For an informal no obligation chat please call on 0208 1442753

Online Training

Organising training for your staff can sometimes be difficult, we know from experience how difficult to get everyone together at the same time on the same day for a training course.

If you are having trouble organising a classroom based course why not consider online training.

Meducate First Aid Training pleased announce collaboration with www.protrainings.eu to offer a full suite online training courses that can not just be taken in Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk, London but from anywhere UK and all you need is computer and internet connection.

Online courses can be accessed as individual buying 1 online training course or company wanting to train large numbers of employees ieither at once or over a longer period of time.

Meducate First Aid Training is currently offering the following courses online, First Aid, AED, Manual Handling, Paediatric, Infection Control with more online courses being added to the system all time.

Click on the boxes below to access your online training courses and dont forget to use discount UK-MT2010 to get our exclusive discount.

Annual Refresher in First Aid for HSE Recommendations

One Day Paediatric First Aid

AED Course

CPR/Basic Life Support Course

Manual Handling Course

Infection Control Training

First Aid Plus Course

Safer Moving and Handling of People Course

Meducate Training is pleased to announce new course ideal for those working in the health or social care sectors.

First Aid Awareness/Annual Refresher Training

Duration
1/2 Day

Course Description

This course is ideal for anyone working in the health or social care sector or someone looking to gain a basic understanding of First Aid legislation and basic primary care skills. This course can also be used as an Annual First Aid Refresher for those already holding a current certificate.

Course Content

Definition Of First Aid

First Aid Legislation

First Aid Kit

CPR

Adult Choking

Recovery Position

First Aid Refresher Pre-requisite

If you are taking this course as an annual refresher then you will be required to email or fax a copy of your current first aid certificate to our offices prior to course start.

Course Outcome

On completion of this course all successful delegates will receive a First Aid Awareness/Annual Refresher Certificate. This will be issued with 2-4 weeks of course date.

More Information
Telephone: 07791 865269 or email mark@meducatetraining.co.ukThis e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Meducate Training is pleased to announce a new course ideal for those working in the health/social care sector

Risk Assessment
Location
Colchester or your location (subject to minimum delegate numbers)

Duration
1/2 Day

Course Description

This course is ideal for anyone working in the health or social care sector whether you work as part of a team or alone. It gives you an understanding of how to do both an in depth Risk Assessment and a dynamic one in real time.

Course Content

Health and Safety Legislation

What is a Risk Assessment and why are they needed

Policies surrounding Risk Assessments

How to create a Risk Assessment

Identifying Risks, Hazards and Control Measures

Dynamic Risk Assessments and Impact Factors

Course Outcome

On completion of this course all successful delegates will receive a Certificate. This will be issued with 2-4 weeks of course date.

More Information
Telephone: 07791 865269 or email mark@meducatetraining.co.ukThis e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Meducate Training goes offshore for the Chinese!

Just before Christmas Meducate Training were asked to provide a service that was little outside our usual sphere of service but being the resourceful types we are we said yes and went to work making sure we could deliver for our client.

UK China Training Ltd who are a Chinese overseas training and educational body were hosting a delegation of 21 senior managers from State Administration of Work Safety and China National Offshore Oil Corporation, China here in the UK.

They were specifically looking for an expert speaker that could do a presentation on Health and Safety in the offshore oil and gas industry who was required at short notice to deliver in London.

Through our extensive contacts in the Health and Safety industry we selected Roger Grice from Roger Grice Associates to do the presentation which was extremely well received by the client.

Jocelyn Wei, UK China Training Ltd:

“We were extremely pleased with expert knowledge and professionalism provided by Roger. His presentation was most informative”

Roger Grice:

“Worked with Mark (Meducate Training) to provide a customised Health and Safety training service. I found Mark (Meducate Training) to be very helpful and approachable in all our communications.”