We no longer advise people to apply a small piece of crushed Aspirin to “cauterize” an exposed pulp and dull the nerve pain. This is incredibly painful and likely not to work, indeed, it may worsen the problem or chemically burn the oral tissue. We also removed Eugenol from the...
The Pre-Hospital Trauma Life Support and Tactical Combat Casualty Curriculum is now recommending taping chest wound seals on all 4 sides. The goal is to seal the hole completely and quickly. The concept of a one-way valve from a dressing taped on 3 sides doesn’t seem to work in the...
Squashing an artery to control severe bleeding (a.k.a. “pressure points”) is a difficult skill to perform and there is little evidence it helps; plus, what little evidence may be more lore than substance. Our bleeding control curriculum well-aimed direct pressure, elevation, and as a last resort, tourniquet. Pressure points are...
In the case of imbedded objects or penetrating eye injury, the common advice has always been to bandage both the injured AND the uninjured eye. The rationale was conjugate gaze; if one eye moves, so does the other (we can’t move each eye independently like chameleons). However, we now know...
The Wilderness Medical Society released a position paper on frostbite (Wilderness & Environmental Medicine, 22, 156–166. 2011). One of the points they made refers to the decision of “to thaw or not to thaw.” Partial or full thickness injuries are ideally thawed in a warm water bath at 99-102°F (37-39°C). However, in...
Compartment syndrome is a serious condition that involves increased pressure in a muscle compartment and can lead to muscle and nerve damage and problems with blood flow. It can be caused by fractures, crush injury, burns or other trauma or repetitive activities, such as running. Compartment syndrome is most common...
OVERVIEW OF ANAPHYLAXIS Anaphylaxis is an allergic reaction that has life-endangering effects on the circulatory and respiratory systems. Anaphylaxis is an almost immediate, rapidly progressive multi-system allergic reaction to a foreign protein injected into the body by stinging and biting insects, snakes, and sea creatures or ingestion or inhalation of...
The combination of a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAID) medication such as Ibuprofen (eg. Advil), when taken together with Acetaminophen (eg. Tylenol), has been demonstrated in a number of studies to provide superior pain control to either drug alone or in combination with an oral narcotic. We concur with the sequence that...
For decades, orthopedic injuries have been treated using the “RICE” mnemonic; rest, ice, compress, elevate. As there have been many studies done on best practices; many of which from both professional and collegiate athletic programs, new science shows that a drastic change may show significantly greater results. Rest is no...
Syncope (fainting) is a brief loss of postural tone followed by a spontaneous and complete recovery. It is often caused by a decreased blood flow to the brain, usually from low blood pressure. It may be due to severe pain, strong emotion, urination, defecation, vomiting, swallowing, or carotid sinus stimulation....