Technology...

When we think about technology and EMS, we often think of what goes on in the back of the ambulance.

But, as this article points out, there are some very interesting developments related to actually finding patients.  

 A new company, RapidSOS, is also engaged in developing a robust set of protocols that, when you signal for 911 service from your cell phone, will try to get the location to 911 dispatch using gps, text, cell networks, 4g, whatever type of connection they can make.

Very exciting tech that isn't about what happens after the ambulance finds you...its all about the "finding you" part.

Sometimes you win!

Kudos to SCCAD, St Charles County Ambulance District, in Missouri.

In one shift, implementing CCR protocols, they revived TWO patients.

TWO!

read about it here or here.

Even one revival under CPR/CCR is a huge win...but two?  Back to back?  In a single shift?

Wow.

When it hits you, you feel no pain

 Ah, my friends, how many times have we talked about music?

Its good for you.

Its even better when you're playing it...and yes, singing in the shower counts!

Here's a study where they took blood tests before and after musical performances.  They found actual changes in genes that support neural growth and flexibility.

So get out that old trumpet from high school.  Dust off that sheet music.  Pump up your brain while having a real good time.

Strong to the finish, baby!

(from my daughter, the nurse nonpareil)  Make sure you get enough magnesium in your diet.  

Apparently, a magnesium deficiency is a challenging thing to identify.  Almost all of the magnesium in your system is in your bones and organs and only trace amounts are in your blood.

And, while it's hard to identify a magnesium deficiency with a simple blood test, there are hundreds of bio-chemical processes that require magnesium to function.  Its estimated that only 25% of the adults actually get the minimum daily requirement for magnesium in their diets.

In the meantime, sodas, coffee, tea, alcohol and sugar all leech magnesium from your system.  I mean, come on!  You don't stand a chance!

Here's a fact sheet worth reading from the NIH.

As always, its best to stay away from supplements.  Your body is designed to properly deal with excess vitamins and minerals when you get them from a food source, but you mess up the machine when you start slamming pills.  

So eat your spinach.  Your white beans, your fish.  

Smart people doing smart things. For you.

Even with Enhanced 9-1-1 service, getting the location to send assistance can be a problem.

Some smart people have been working on the problem and are trying to make it as bulletproof as possible.

RapidSOS is a startup that's trying to make sure that, no matter where you call from, if you have the tiniest bit of signal, they can send the right people to assist.

Here's a short article from the Smithsonian about the effort.

 
While I'm at it, let me plug, once more, medic alert jewelry*.  The faster we can figure out what's wrong with you, the faster we can help.  

Serious underlying medical conditions?  Allergies to foods or medicines?  Those are important things for emergency personnel to know.  Do what you can to help us help you.  And stay safe out there.

 

Health Care

Is there anyone that doesn't believe that health care in our country could use some work?

We have the best medical schools in the world...we educate the entire planet's doctors...but we still pay more than any one else for our health care with poorer outcomes than any other first world nation.

AARP (of which I'm a proud and dues paying member!) had a great article in their recent newsletter about this.  They found some of the most respected people in medicine and asked them each to make one single suggestion they thought would make the most difference.

It's really worth the 15 minutes it'll take you to read it....you can find it here.

If you know what's good for you...

...and it IS good for you.

You don't have to sit funny...you don't have to chant...you don't have to join some strange religion.

Its easy and I promise you'll like it.

This study from  Harvard, called "Eight weeks to a better brain" shows, conclusively, that meditating rebuilds your gray matter in as little as 2 months.

Try it.  You can thank me later.

Here's some links to check out for the beginner:

5 tips for beginners

a beginner's guide

Its easy.  Its free.  It's good for you.  What's not to love?

Vitamin K

While anyone using blood thinners is all too aware of vitamin K and its influence on blood clotting, the general population is a little less informed.

Recent tragedies at Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt University in Nashville have brought vitamin K and its use for newborns, into the spotlight.

There's no question that newborns simply don't have the intestinal flora to make vitamin K within their own bodies.  At issue is whether the vitamin K shots given routinely after delivery are more dangerous than the bleeding newborns can experience without the ability to clot.

This is a particularly good article weighing the benefits and dangers of vitamin K shots.  Its long, but if you're a new parent or expecting, its well worth your time to read to understand the issues.