When it comes to issues such as domestic violence, child abuse and spousal abuse, far too many individuals purposely choose to turn the other cheek. This actually assists the abusers and feeds the problem, hence making the situation worse. If there’s one thing everyone should know in regards to domestic violence, it’s that most abusers will redundantly tell the women and/or children being abused that they deserve it. The victims are taught not to tell. This is why so many kids and women alike suffer with domestic violence issues, but never have the courage to seek out help. But, as a friend or acquaintance it is your job also to sense such things and see what’s right in front of your face. The reality is that most abuse it tough to hide, and if you know someone who is being abused, then you should get them help whether they request you to or not. This goes double for children, who have very little power to protect themselves in the first place. It’s your duty as a human being to speak out and get them the help they deserve.

Naturally domestic violence and any sort of home abuse is tough to swallow. There are some things people can do to get a better grasp on domestic violence and how to deal with certain violent situations. A great place to begin is with Gavin De Becker’s book entitled “Protecting the Gift.” This will fill you in on how violent people function and think, and what the best ways to deal with domestic violence are. Get involved with violence prevention today.

While performing CPR, members of the Advanced Life Support team consider eight forms of potentially reversible causes of cardiac arrest, also known as “4H4T”. The “H’s” are hypoxia (low blood oxygen), hypovolemia (low blood volume), hyper/hypokalemia (high/low blood potassium), hypothermia (body temperature well below normal), followed by the “T’s” which include tension pneumothorax (tear in the  lung leading to collapsed lung and distortion of major arteries), tamponade (fluid or blood in the pericardium compressing the heart), toxic and/or therapeutic chemicals or medications, or thromboembolism (blood clot in the heart or lungs). Early intervention, early access, early CPR, early defibrillation, and early advanced life support save lives. This team of medical professionals consists of physicians from all disciplines, anesthesiologists, emergency medical technicians, and others trained in ALS designated to respond in a cardiac emergency. 

Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) is very much like ALS only it is designed to aid the pediatric healthcare provider in recognizing and managing critically ill infants and children at risk for cardiopulmonary arrest. There are medical emergencies specific to this age group, and the focus is placed on early recognition of distress as related to a specific medical diagnosis. ALS and PALS training is provided to healthcare professionals that work with adults and children, including physicians, physician assistants, nurses, nurse practitioners, paramedics, and respiratory therapists, across the country by the American Heart Association. Just visit www.americanheart.org or www.heart.org for further discussion on new recommendations and all aspects of assessment and treatment of victims of respiratory and/or cardiac emergencies and stroke, including basic and advanced life support interventions. 

The problem with traffic accidents is that they are not something you can control. It doesn’t matter if you are the perfect driver. If the person coming towards you is not paying attention or something happens to a car near you, you may be involved no matter what. Perhaps that is why they are called traffic accidents right? You can be the best driver, but it’s not all about your driving skills and reflexes. It’s up to everyone on the road to be better drivers.

The majority of traffic accidents are not fatal, though the ones you usually hear about are. There are a lot of minor accidents each day, and they can happen at any time to anyone. Traffic accidents have a way of sneaking up on you when you least expect it, and they can even happen when you are nowhere near your car. I remember quite clearly a night in Pittsburgh when I was visiting friends of mine, and we hear a horrific noise outside of their house. A car had come along and swiped both of their parked cars and almost totaled both of them.

The amount of traffic accidents you are involved in will determine the deductible and price of your insurance policy. Make sure if you are involved in something that must be reported to the police that you are present to explain why it was not your fault, if indeed it wasn’t. You don’t want the accident to go against you and raise your rates, though it may not matter what happened. Though you may not be able to avoid all traffic accidents that come your way, being alert and conscious of what is going on around you always helps.

There are many things that people don’t like to think about, but there comes a time to do so. Some forget to make a will when they have children, and if something were to happen to them, their children might not end up where the parents would have liked them to be. Some don’t take care of it because they don’t want to think it can happen, but everyone has to assume that something might happen. It is important to protect those you love, and it is also important to protect yourself. You also have to think about what would happen if you were seriously hurt, but you did not die. What are your wishes about advanced life support?

There are many times when the issue of advanced life support is on the news. This is usually because someone did not put their wishes in writing and the family is fighting over what to do next. This also happens when someone has a long illness but they did not foresee that they might not be able to speak for themselves if something went terribly wrong. Having your wishes about advanced life support known and in writing is always good idea for anyone.

Some don’t want any type of advanced life support if they were to come close to dying. This often happens after someone has had a long illness and they just don’t want to have their life saved if they are in a certain condition. This is understandable, though many in the family won’t understand and will try to fight that person’s advanced life support wishes. If it is in writing, there is not much the family can do to interfere. They may try to fight it but it probably won’t do them much good.

Those who have wishes about advanced life support and other things that might be related should talk with a lawyer about having those wishes made legal. This can be done with organ donation and other related things that no one wants to talk about but should consider. Not only should this information be recorded by a lawyer, it should also be told to family so they are aware of what the final wishes are. That can speed some things up in the end, if that is the way a person wants it to be. Death and sickness are hard enough without family members fighting about things that should have already been decided.