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Tuesday, June 18, 2013

The Real Dangers of Lightning - Medical Myths

  • Don't take a bath or shower during a storm. Yes, you can get shocked if you are near pipes or faucets during an electrical storm, so experts recommend that you avoid taking baths or showers when lightning is striking nearby. You also should avoid being near bodies of water if you are outside during a thunderstorm.

  • Avoid using the phone during a storm. Using a phone with a cord during a thunderstorm is not a good idea because an electrical shock may be transmitted along the phone cord to you. In fact, the use of any electrical appliance should be avoided.

    Talking on a cordless phone indoors is not considered a high-risk activity, even during an electrical storm. However, using a cell phone outside should be avoided because the metal in the phone may act as a lightning rod.

  • Know how to calculate a storm's distance. If, after you see lightning, you count the seconds until you hear thunder, that amount of time is not equivalent to the number of miles away the storm is. Rather, you should divide the number of seconds by five. For example, if you see a lightning bolt and count 10 seconds before you hear thunder, the source of that bolt is about two miles away.

  • Don't take refuge under a tree. In fact, it is best to avoid being near tall objects (which are more likely to attract lightning) during a storm.

  • Don't huddle with others. If you are caught out in a storm, it is best to stay at least 15 feet apart from others to reduce the chances that any one person will be struck by a bolt of lightning. If you stay close together, multiple people are more easily injured by a single bolt.

  • Don't sit on the ground. If you are caught out in the open during an electrical storm, avoid sitting or lying down on the ground. Most lightning that injures people strikes the earth and travels through the ground; for this reason, the less contact you have with the ground the better.

    Ideally, you should avoid trees and other tall structures and avoid open spaces altogether. Seek shelter in a fully enclosed structure (such as a home, school or car). As a last resort, if you are unable to find shelter, crouch down low on the balls of your feet (to minimize contact with the ground).

  • Don't try to "read" the sky. If the sky is clear above you or the storm is far away, you can still be struck by lightning. Actually, "bolts from the blue" account for a significant proportion of lightning-related injuries. Because lightning may travel more than 20 miles before touching down, a storm can be in the next town and still cause injury or death. For this reason, experts recommend that you go inside when the source of lightning is six miles away or closer (that is, if the interval between lightning and thunder is 30 seconds or less) and wait until 30 minutes have passed since the last lightning or thunder struck before you resume outside activities (this is known as the "30/30 rule").

  • It is safe to help a lightning victim.One of the most prominent lightning-related myths is that you should not touch a lightning victim or you'll also be shocked. In fact, it is safe to help a lightning victim. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation and other forms of medical help may save them.

Be Careful

When the circumstances of a lightning-related injury are analyzed, it is often the case that some action on the part of the victim might have averted the injury.

For example, if you find yourself in a temperate climate with frequent thunderstorms, the last thing you should do is walk around open, hilly terrain with a metal rod. Yet golfers in Florida (where the largest number of lightning-related injuries and deaths occur) do this every day. Perhaps it is because they are not paying attention, they underestimate their risk or they are just unlucky.

To reduce your chances of attracting a lightning strike, recognize that you can do a few simple things to reduce your risk -- such as hanging up your phone if it has a cord.

For More Information

Colorado Lightning Resource Center, National Weather Service

National Lightning Safety Institute



Robert H. Shmerling, M.D. is associate physician at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and associate professor at Harvard Medical School. He has been a practicing rheumatologist for over 20 years at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. He is an active teacher in the Internal Medicine Residency Program, serving as the Robinson Firm Chief. He is also a teacher in the Rheumatology Fellowship Program.

From: intelihealth(dot)com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/35320/35323/327889.html?d=dmtHMSContent with thanks


Friday, June 14, 2013

Park-time, tick-time.



More and more pressure is put on gov. and park officials for parks to be commercially viable and more accessible:

With more people venturing into more easily accessible wildlife habitat, the number of people contractong tickborne diseases will continue to rise.

Mountain of change in store as Canada’s national parks aim to attract mass-tourism : Amppe.org

"We’ve been here before but we seem to be seeing a resurgence of commercial pressures on the parks.”

http://amppe.org/2013/06/07/mountain-of-change-in-store-as-canadas-national-parks-aim-to-attract-mass-tourism/

Teen puts hope in U.S. disease treatment | Welland Tribune

I just cried when I read this. Please tell people her story.

"She was screaming, she was in so much pain,"....



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They are indeed here

Take care this summer.


"The disease works in such a way that it can go dormant in your body for long periods of time, only to 'awake' and cause a number of symptoms, including palsy, heart problems, vertigo, arthritis, and many more. In Canada, we use the western blot test that does not detect the spyrocete while dormant. In the U.S., they use a much more accurate test that can detect traces of the disease — dormant or awake."


http://www.niagarathisweek.com/opinion-story/3838658-deer-ticks-are-indeed-here/


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Thank you. © 2012. All rights reserved worldwide.

Friday, June 7, 2013

Self-administering IM Injections: A How-To Guide


HOW TO SELF-ADMINISTER IM INJECTIONS:

Below is a link to a Lyme forum with an excellent list of tips on how to self-administer e.g. Bicillin injections as part of a Lyme treatment regime.


"These tips are NOT from a doctor-----but from a collection of people who have been either giving themselves the bicillin LA injections, or have a friend or family member do it."

Always check everything with your doctor first! You use information from this blogpost at your own risk.


Hints on doing less painful IM Bicillin injections:
http://www.lymeneteurope.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=126



OTHER HELPFUL RESOURCES:

How to Z-track:
http://www.nursingcenter.com/upload/static/592775/Take5_Ztrack.pdf

Watch this video - excellent for a step-by-step guide on how to self-inject an IM injection into your thigh.

Proper IM injection technique:
http://youtu.be/kl1uMWOIgck

Bicillin - the facts:
BICILLIN L-A (PENICILLIN G BENZATHINE) INJECTION, SUSPENSION [PHYSICIANS TOTAL CARE, INC.]
http://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/lookup.cfm?setid=3a4a1c30-dd47-4eb2-9a6e-22063962c0c3


MY EXPERIENCE AND ADVICE (Use this at your own risk.):

My first injection was lumpy and very very painful. I though I must be doing something wrong, and after doing a lot of reserach found that I was: I injected a too-cold paste, too quickly into a tense muscle.

Here's how I got rid of injection-lumps since then; this worked for me, and resulted in painless injections, but might not work for everyone:

1) Take Bicillin IM out of fridge at least an hour before injecting to let it warm up to room temperature. (I do mine just before bedtime, as my body will be most relaxed thereafter, for at least 8 hours during the night.)

2) 5 minutes before injecting, hold injection (suspension part) closed in fist grip in palm of hand to let the thick liquid warm to body temperature (with cap and not needle still on), while keeping the injection in a vertical position, and shaking it up and down a few times and hitting my closed fist with my other hand to cause impact shock in order to shake the pasty substance into a less viscous state. Do this for at least 5 minutes.

3) Inject in upper thigh in stead of hip, rotating legs. (Don't forget to first swab injection area in circle movement from inner to outer ring with alcohol swab.) Use a different spot to inject into each time.

4) Let legg hang loose, foot only slightly touching ground, while relaxing all muscles as much as possible.

5) Just prior to injecting, use fingers to shake thigh muscle from side to side a bit to further relax the muscle.

6) Push the  2" needle (not shorter - especially for bigger folks) in all the way, to get deep down into the muscle and avoid injecting into fatty or dermis layers, using the z-track method (google this, it helps with leakage, by sealing off the "hole.") (Remember to first pull back on the injection plunger for 10-20 seconds - aspirating - after inserting it, prior to pushing out the liquid, to check that you are not injecting into a vein or artery or blood vessel. If you had, blood will show in tube. Release needle, remove, and start over.)

7) Inject very very slowly with an even motion (20 sec at least). Take your time.

8) After all liquid has been injected, hold the needle in, still, for 10-20 seconds, then pull out slowly, while keeping other hand ready with sterile alcohol swab.

9) Immediately upon removing the needle, press firmly down on the puncture mark with alcohol swab, and hold it there for at least a minute.

10) Then replace the swab with a plaster / band-aid, but continue to lightly press down on the injection site for another minute or so.

11) Walk around in a normal fashion for a while (as long as you want to or can stand to, then go lie down to sleep.

Using these tecniques, I , consequently, have painfree and lumpfree injections.

I hope this helps somebody. I will re-post this with an earlier post about Bicillin on Facebook, as well as here on my blog so everyone can access the info.

Additional info:


http://www.drugs.com/cg/how-to-give-an-intramuscular-injection.html

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RAISING AWARENESS:
Summertime is ticktime. Protect yourself and your family.

MANAGING LYME DISEASE

DIAGNOSTIC HINTS AND TREATMENT GUIDELINES FOR LYME AND OTHER TICK BORNE ILLNESSES

Sixteenth Edition Copyright October, 2008

JOSEPH J. BURRASCANO JR., M.D.

FULL PDF AVAILABLE AT: http://www.ilads.org/lyme_disease/B_guidelines_12_17_08.pdf

More information:
CanLyme.com
ilads.org

© 2013. Lizette De Klerk.
All rights reserved worldwide.


Thursday, June 6, 2013

Trouble in Never-neverland



On TWN channel 19 SHAW, a reporter for The Weather Network in Calgary reported today that camping and parks generate in excess of $380 000 000.00 (yes! three-hundred-and-eighty million CAD) in revenue annually for the province of Alberta (Canada).

One has to wonder if this is a contributing factor to the 🐒official position🐒 that it is highly unlikely to contract Lyme in the province, that there are no borellia carrying ticks here!

Did you know: all ticks know that they are not welcome in AB!

Right before that tick-carrying 🐃deer, 🐶dog, and 🐦bird crosses the BC / AB border, the tinyticks fling their little bodies right off of their dinner-ride, and disappear into 🌠Never-Neverland.

THINK AGAIN! Read here: http://lymeontario.org/files/138/209-Scott_et_al_2012.pdf

© 2013. Lizette De Klerk. All rights reserved worldwide.

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

What is herxing? Find the answer here.

What is Herxheimer Reaction?

This is one of the best articles I've come across on the subject of "herxing."

https://chronicillnessrecovery.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=161


Excert:

"Herxheimer reactions are an unavoidable and necessary result of Inflammation Therapy (IT).

Patients who respond to IT report periodic exacerbation of their symptoms as an apparent direct response to Benicar and pulsed antibiotics. This phenomenon is known as the Jarisch-Herxheimer Reaction and is often referred to informally as herx or herxing.

Herxing is believed to occur when injured or dead bacteria release their endotoxins into the blood and tissues faster than the body can comfortably handle it. This provokes a sudden and exaggerated inflammatory response....When the intraphagocytic bacteria are killed by the immune system, the cells they lived in also die (apoptosis). As the immune system tries to clear up this cellular debris, it releases a host of inflammatory molecules which, along with the toxins released by the bacteria as they die, cause a rise in symptoms in the area in which the bacteria are being killed."

Read the full article here:

https://chronicillnessrecovery.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=161


© 2013. Lizette De Klerk.
All rights reserved worldwide.

Who knew these famous folks fought fights like these?

"LYME DISEASE:

Ally Hilfiger – socialite / daughter of fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger – In Aug 2011, at the age of 26, Ally spoke out that she had been battling Lyme Disease for 19yrs & was misdiagnosed for 11 of those yrs.  She underwent antibiotics for 7yrs and said she had been feeling completely better fora  full year now.

Jami Lynn Sigler - Actress – The “Sopranos” actress contracted Lyme in 2008 in New Jersey and was hospitalized when her legs became paralyzed.  “It was such a life-altering experience,” she said. “I realized it could all be taken away in a moment.” Sigler was treated with antibiotics and recovered completely.

Alec Baldwin - Actor – Alec has discussed his experience with Lyme disease with the NY Times, saying his symptoms return annually.

Richard Gere – Actor – Richard had to delay filming Autumn in New York with Winona Ryder when he contracted Lyme. “This is one scary disease,” he said. “I felt as though every ounce of strength had gone from my body. Within hours I could barely lift my head from the pillow.” He was diagnosed and treated quickly.

Yolanda Foster – reality show actress / married to songwriter David Foster - Yolanda recently came forward about her serious battle against Lyme Disease.  While receiving an award from the Lyme Research Alliance in April, the fitness and healthy living fanatic said the disease had turned her from a “tough cookie” into “a shell of the woman I used to be.”  She is now doing much better after receiving treatment.

Let’s hope more people keep speaking up, so all our voices get louder!"

From:

http://blog.healclick.com/celebrities-battling-illness/

With thanks.

More info:

CanLyme.com
ilads.org

Lyme Awareness will be spread in Canmore today, Wednesday, June 5th!



Lyme Awareness will be spread in Canmore today, Wednesday, June 5th!

Elevation Place (the new Recreation Centre) will house an information table throughout the day & evening.  (Railway Avenue)  Here you will find brochures from the LDAA and other Lyme organizations as well as other informational materials.

The award winning documentary, "Under Our Skin," will be shown FREE that evening at Canmore Public Library.  (950 8 Ave)

For more information:

CanLyme.com\
ilads.org
albertalyme.org

Retrieved and updated from LDAA newsletter with thanks. More here:  www.albertalyme.org



Copyright © 2013
All rights reserved worldwide.



Hope you're having a sparkling week!


Animal lovers take heed

Classic microscopy reveals borrelia bacteria

More info:



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