Kitchen Safety for Families: Do You Know What to Do If…?

Typical, isn’t it? You’re flying between cooktop and cutting board, prepping dinner while the kids finish homework. In a moment of distraction, you grab a scorching saucepan handle or slice the tip of your finger with a paring knife … or the budding young chef in your family does. Whatever the kitchen slipup, chances are the remedy is within arm’s reach, says Dr. Jennifer Avegno, an emergency medicine specialist at the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in New Orleans. Here is her advice for treating everyday kitchen injuries.

1. Cuts
Food prep simply can’t happen without a sharp knife or two, not to mention a cheese grater or potato peeler — hence the packet of plastic bandages in every cook’s cabinet. In the event of a cut or abrasion, run plenty of tap water over the wound to rinse out dirt and bacteria — the source of infection — that may have been on the instrument or your skin. (Don’t use hydrogen peroxide: The solution kills contamination but can also destroy the clotting and healing cells the blood carries to the wound). Bleeding will likely stop on its own. If not, apply gentle but steady pressure to the cut with a clean cloth or bandage and keep the wound elevated. After bleeding stops, apply antibacterial ointment, and bandage the cut securely. Seek medical attention if the cut is deep, you can’t get dirt out of the wound or blood spurts from the wound or continues to flow after applying steady pressure for more than five to 10 minutes.

Watch out for swelling or redness. The wound could be infected. See a doctor as soon as possible.

2. Small Burns

We’ve all touched the back of our hand to an oven’s heating element, accidentally placed fingers near hot steam or been splattered with sizzling oil. If the burn covers the palm or crosses over a joint, seek immediate medical attention. The same holds if the burn — even a small one — is on the face. A trip to the doctor may help prevent scarring. Otherwise, you can treat it at home.

First, run the affected area under cool tap water for a few minutes to stop the burning process and remove any bits of burnt skin. Smooth on a layer of antibiotic ointment to create a barrier against infection and wrap loosely with gauze or a small bandage. Be sure to rinse the wound with water and change the dressing twice daily for a few days, says Avegno, so that it remains covered and protected until the scab is gone.

Watch out for increased pain, redness, fever, swelling or oozing. The burn could be infected. See a doctor as soon as possible.

3. Scalds

Burns from scalding water tend to cover larger areas, such as arms, feet, legs and stomach, which may make them harder to treat at home. And if the scalding is to a child, whereby a large percentage of the body is affected, call an ambulance or go to an emergency room immediately. Otherwise, start by treating the affected area the way you would a small burn: run under cool water (or use a wet towel) to stop the burning process and to clean the area, layer with antibiotic ointment, and dress with gauze or a large bandage as best you can. Even a clean and loose-fitting white T-shirt over the burn area will add some protection if you don’t have large enough bandages. Blistering is to be expected, but avoid popping the blisters, as doing so adds entry points for infection. These burns are often more painful than smaller ones, so take acetaminophen or ibuprofen. If that doesn’t block the pain, seek medical care.

Watch out for continued or worsening pain, or signs of infection (see above). In these cases, seek immediate medical attention.

4. Injuries to the Eyes

Lovers of spicy food know the painful power of capsicum, or cayenne pepper: Contact with the eyes causes a strong burning sensation. Flush out any material in the eye with water and then splash milk in the area to stop the burn. Steam, pokes to the eye or spattered oil are more serious and can cause eye damage. Rinse the eye right away to cool the area and clean out debris.

Watch out for pain, oozing or a change in vision after a few minutes of blinking and rinsing, any of which might indicate damage to the cornea. Seek immediate medical attention.

Given the increased risk of infection with cuts and burns, Avegno advises a tetanus shot if you haven’t had one in five to 10 years. Even a shot administered within a day or two after the injury will be effective, she says. Of course, when extreme injuries happen — especially when small children are involved — emergency care is critical for preventing even greater harm.

Parenting Resources to Keep Kids Safe Online

In many cases, children are more adept at using technology than their parents. Today’s children are Digital Natives, meaning that they grew up with technology and social media is a way of life for them. They never knew a time without smartphones and social media. For anyone over 30, their teen years didn’t involve posing for selfies, using emojis or having to worry about sexting problems. However, as parents, we have more LIFE experience than they have and that’s what can make the difference in keeping kids safe online.

Many parents feel a sense of trepidation when it comes to what their children do online and that’s to be expected. The concerns involve not only what can happen to their kids, but how do they help them get through the problems. From cyberbullying to sexting and online predators, there are many real dangers to our children. Shawn Henry, of the FBI reported that at any given time, there are an estimated 750,000 child predators online.

Fortunately, there are some great resources available to help parents with their concerns. If you’re reading this now, then you’ve found one – Pediatric Safety! Dr. Michele Borba, Dr. Lynne Kenney and others are here for you. Dr. Kenney’s article on teaching kids empathy, while not specific to online issues, is spot-on about having life experiences that can help kids with problems of both offline and online matters. Kids with empathy are less likely to cause trouble online.

Below are several other resources available to you, including some free online sources and recommended reading to help parents understand more of what they can do and in some cases, use as teaching aids with their children. They may not always listen to their parents, but when they see real stories about what has happened to their peers, it may open their eyes and make them more receptive to what their parents have to say about online safety.

Cyberbullying Research Center

This is by far, my number one, go-to source on the Internet for help when it comes to online (and even offline) bullying issues. After all, cyberbullying is simply one more form of bullying. It has specific attributes, such as staying anonymous, that physical bullying doesn’t have, but that doesn’t make it any less impactful or less damaging to the target.

Heavily focused on doing the research to make their case, Dr. Justin Patchin and Dr. Sameer Hinduja are outstanding in the field. Too often, people may want to dismiss cyberbullying and its effects as being overblown or simply anecdotal. These guys have done the research to prove the effects and they have plenty of free resources for anyone to use.

Common Sense Media

For parents looking for help on everything from what apps might cause problems to what movies are appropriate for certain ages, Common Sense Media is your best option. The site is broken down by age, by topic and provides “ultimate guides” for many popular apps and websites. There is a wide selection of material available in Spanish as well, which can be extremely helpful! Like the Cyberbullying Research Center, they are heavily involved in research and can provide you with a lot of data to support their positions

Needless to say, I love this organization and everything that they do.

International Bullying Prevention Association

People who bully offline are more likely to bully online. So, while their focus is not exclusive to cyberbullying, IBPA does provide resources to parents trying to understand what their kids are experiencing online. Their dedication to bullying in any form, online or offline, is very hard to beat. They have resources available for youth, family members, educators and more.

I especially like the resources dedicated to our youth. Many victims of bullying never tell anyone, suffering in silence. Just letting kids know that there are resources out there for them, specially designed for them gives them the opportunity to at least find some help if they don’t want to speak to anyone about their problems.

Darkness to Light

Child sexual abuse includes the sharing of intimate pictures of minors online. Perhaps the most valuable resource they provide is working as an advocate for victims of sexual abuse within the community and at all levels of government in the U.S. Education is great, but we need more people who will get involved in protecting our kids and Darkness to Light will do just that!

Unless you’ve experienced this for yourself, you can’t relate to how this feels. Having known a family personally that has been through this experience, I know the kind of trauma it can bring with it. If you ever have the opportunity to attend their training, I highly recommend it.

Shame Nation: The Global Epidemic of Online Hate

I don’t know what I can say about this book except that you should read it. A target of online harassment herself, Sue Scheff, who I am proud to call a friend and a mentor, does an amazing job with this book. Her storytelling teaches us how to avoid the problems that so many of us find ourselves getting into all too often.

These stories illustrate the real life repercussions that often accompany online actions. We tend to think of cybersafety issues such as bullying and shaming as being mainly problems for kids, but Sue shows how it affects people from all walks of life and all ages. Her examples of what I call the #OnlineMeetsOffline lesson is one that we all need to learn the easy way, not the hard way – by learning how to avoid it, rather than experiencing it for ourselves.

Cyberbullying and the Wild Wild Web

Jayne Hitchcock’s latest book is another great book that provides real-life examples of just how much is at stake when we go online. The target by an online stalker, she knows full well how dangerous it can be – something that our Digital Natives may not fully appreciate. While most people would agree that the Internet is largely a wide open, unmonitored and unregulated breeding ground for poor behavior, Jayne shows you quick and easy lessons to avoid problems from happening in the first place.

She uses examples of what can happen to create learning opportunities for people. For families, the fact that the book is relatively short means that children may be less likely to be intimidated by it and actually read it. Once they get started, they won’t want to put it down. I was really involved in reading this book and couldn’t put it down.

Raising Humans in a Digital World: Helping Kids Build a Healthy Relationship with Technology

I love this book! Diana Graber is a middle school teacher and a cybersafety advocate whom I’ve had the pleasure of meeting in person. She uses great examples of how things can go wrong and shows us how to do them the right way. Her C.R.A.P. acronym (Currency, Reliability, Author & Purpose) is a great way to teach the value of doing good online research for school – I now use it in my own classes at Thomas Jefferson University. Diana is very adept at relating to teenagers and parents learn how to talk to their kids about the value of good Digital Citizenship even if they aren’t up on the latest technology.

Conclusion

The approach parents take is key to helping protect our children. A heavy-handed approach rarely works with children in general and in the case of technology/social media, it’s too easy for them to get around any restrictions parents may place on them. The use of multiple accounts on the same platform (known as Finstas) and easy access to zombie devices make it almost impossible to prevent them from using the apps, so it’s more important to make sure that they know how to do it wisely.

I know what other parents are feeling, because I’m a father to a teenage daughter. Our ability to teach our children life lessons based on our own experiences is more important than our ability to use technology as well as they do.

Checklist for a SAFE Back to School and Sports. Everyone Ready?

Is it August already? Yes it is! Or soon will be and that means that soon it will be back to school and organized sports and all the things that make the school year so hectic. As a parent returning one child to school and sending one to his first year of school this is a pretty busy time of year in our house. Mixed in with all the fun of summer reading lists and back to school shopping, I would like to give you another list of things to make sure are right before the kids return to school and sports.

First and foremost on my list is always making sure that the school is up to date on its CPR and First Aid training. If you are a parent leaving your child at a school, daycare, or organized sports league you need to inquire and make sure that the staff or at least the staff that will be on hand ALL the time knows what to do in case of an emergency situation, such as an injury or an allergic reaction involving your child. Does your child have any emergency medicine that they need such as an EpiPen or an asthma inhaler, or any other medication that might be needed in a moment’s notice? , and if so, are they expired, does the school need a new one or even know about them and how to use them should the need arise? I have seen people forget their own name when confronted with these situations and the right training and preparation can make all the difference in the world.

Organized sports are another area where things need to be checked off before the new season starts. These activities can be at any age and be anything from baseball and football to cheerleading and gymnastics. Injuries happen in these sports all the time and once again, the coaches, staff, volunteers, and anyone else involved need to be properly trained or refreshed on what to do in case of an emergency. Most of the centers or parks hosting these activities have automated external defibrillators (AED’s) on site for both participants and parents and need to be trained or refreshed on the use of these devices as well. When playing organized sports like baseball and football, there are pieces of safety equipment built into the helmets and pads and other parts of the uniforms. If your children have grown over the summer like mine have then you need to make sure that the equipment they are using fits properly and securely and delivers the maximum amount of safety it was designed for. Whether its helmets, groin protectors or even shoes, these should all be the proper size for best results.

As always, a little preparation makes all the difference and I wish you all the safest and best school/sports year.

This 4th of July, Keep Your Family Safe and Give EMS the Day Off

As summer has rapidly arrived upon us and the kids have let out of school for the summer, the planning has already begun for the July 4th celebration that happens all over our great United States. It is unfortunate that those of us involved in the emergency field will see this happy day turned into a bad one by accidents having to do with Fireworks and a lack of Firework safety. The numbers every year do not lie and neither do the stories we see and hear every year about fireworks. According to the American Pyrotechnics Association, National Council on Firework Safety the information from 2012 is as follows:

As you can see that the number of serious injuries and deaths from Fireworks in 2012 is pretty alarming and most could have probably been avoided with some simple safety preparations and precautions.

In 2017 alone:

• According to the National Safety Council: eight people died and over 12,000 were injured badly enough to require medical treatment after fireworks-related incidents. Of these, 50% of the injuries were to children and young adults under age 20.
• According to the National Fire Protection Association, sparklers alone account for more than 25% of emergency room visits for fireworks injuries. For children under 5 years of age, sparklers accounted for nearly half of the total estimated injuries.

Some very basic and simple safety tips and precautions are:

• Never allow young children to play with or ignite fireworks.
• Always have an adult supervise fireworks activities. Parents don’t realize that young children suffer injuries from sparklers. Sparklers burn at temperatures of about 2,000 degrees – hot enough to melt some metals.
• Never place any part of your body directly over a fireworks device when lighting the fuse. Back up to a safe distance immediately after lighting fireworks.
• Never try to re-light or pick up fireworks that have not ignited fully.
• Never point or throw fireworks at another person.
• Keep a bucket of water or a garden hose handy in case of fire or other mishap.
• Light fireworks one at a time, then move back quickly.
• Never carry fireworks in a pocket or shoot them off in metal or glass containers.
• After fireworks complete their burning, douse the spent device with plenty of water from a bucket or hose before discarding it to prevent a trash fire.
• Make sure fireworks are legal in your area before buying or using them.

If you see fireworks being used improperly or in an unsafe and dangerous manner around you or your home by unknown, underage people, or even neighbors, please do not hesitate to call 911 and alert the police or even the fire department.

These are just a handful of safety tips and precautions that should be taken BEFORE, DURING and AFTER using fireworks. Please feel free to consult your local fire station for more information if you feel the need. As always, a little preparation and safety can save a lot of pain and injury later and make this Holiday the celebration it should be for all of us.

Thank you and be safe!

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** Editor’s Note: Pounds of fireworks purchased each year in the APA chart above are in millions

Emergency preparedness and Special Needs Kids

Being prepared for an emergency is important for everyone, but it is crucial if you have a special needs child in your family. Here in Southern California we tend to focus on earthquakes, but whether you are concerned about doomsday, zombies or natural disasters being ready can make a big difference.

Emergency kits are important, and not only in your home. Schools should have a kit for each child, and if at all possible, your car should also be stocked with basic emergency supplies. Your kit should address your family’s specific daily needs for at least 72 hours. If your child’s disability is invisible you must be sure to explain to first responders that you or another caretaker (and service animal) must remain with your child.

General emergency supplies such as contact info, prescriptions, food and water, a first aid kit, batteries, candles, matches, flashlights, blankets, a radio and baby wipes are a good place to start. Specific special needs emergency supplies may also include:

• Extra glasses or contacts
• Epi-pens
• Breathing supplies or nebulizers
• Foods for special dietary needs
• Extra medications, supplements or medical supplies
• A cooler and ice packs for medications
• A generator if your child depends on equipment
• An extra lightweight wheelchair, walker or other medical device
• Batteries, CDs or a music player for comfort
• Supplies for any service animals

In an emergency, kids will take their cues from their parents and caregivers so it’s important to stay calm, reassure the child and explain how you plan to keep them safe.

Preparing for a natural disaster or emergency can be scary for kids, so the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has a special section for kids that includes games to make the process more fun. The site also has a section for parents and teachers. The American Red Cross has partnered with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to put up excellent information and resources on their website. There is even a Sesame Street Emergency Preparedness site.

Dog Acting Strange? Change Affects Every Member of the Family

As a professional dog trainer, I have worked with hundreds of dogs over the years…. I have studied all of the different breeds, studied different methods of training, worked with different families, and have come to realize one universal truth…dogs are as bad with change as we are. Why does that matter????

I want you to imagine that you live in a world that is black or white – and I am not referring to color, I am meaning it in the sense of all-or-nothing – cause and effect – action equals reaction. A world that is built around routine and structure. Think about a young child that does not yet know how to read a clock… they nap approximately the same time every day, and eat around the same time every day, so what happens when you are out, and those things get delayed? It could be fun-central, and still all of a sudden you have a very cranky child on your hands! Why? Because their bodies instinctively tell them what they need and are lacking at that time. It doesn’t adjust instantaneously to change. I will also add that at a very young age, they lack the cognitive ability to understand the concept of ‘it is coming, it is just delayed.’

It is the same with pups… with one exception. With a child, the heightened state of confusion leads to a very cranky child. The situation is very easy to read, usually pretty easy to resolve and for the most part, relatively harmless. It’s not always so simple with your dog. And because of this, it has the potential to escalate to a situation that’s not as harmless…and that leads me to why I’m writing this…

To enable you to best understand this, I need to give you a very brief overview of canine psychology and dynamics… why dogs do what they do. To start with, dogs rely very heavily on instinct. Since they do not communicate verbally, they also rely on reading body language. Since dogs run in packs, the order of hierarchy is a very important fundamental ‘rule’ they live by, and the pack leader earns their place by gaining the respect of the pack. In the wild, following a strong pack leader will keep them alive, a weak pack member can get them killed. Consistency is key.

Change leads to confusion which leads to insecurity…and that will get them killed.

Now that you hopefully have a better understanding of how your dog sees the world, maybe you can understand a bit better why any change to your dog’s routine, no matter how big or small, can throw everything out of whack for them! Oftentimes the changes that are happening in our lives are positive, but your dog cannot understand that. Some examples:

• A New job: Pay and hours are much better for you, but to your dog, all it means is mealtimes, ‘out’ times, bedtimes, and many other things in their daily routine have gotten disrupted.
• Moving: Think about how stressful this is for us…. Even when it is a positive, new and exciting thing, the packing, the moving, the re-organizing…. Its stressful! But at least when you see a toilet, you know where to go!! The yard or area where they have pottied is now gone and replaced with unfamiliar territory and scents. Furniture is all in different places, including their food and water dishes!
• A New Person in the house: Whether it is a new relationship, a new baby, a relative staying with you, child leaving for college or coming to live back home.

As a trainer, when I get a phone call for a dog who was previously housebroken, but is suddenly having accidents, or a dog that was always friendly and outgoing suddenly cowering or hiding or growling, a dog that has suddenly become destructive of personal property when the owners leave, there are always two questions I ask first:

1. Are there or could there be any medical issues? Have you seen your vet for a full exam? This is a very important first question because we must always remember that our animals cannot verbalize when something is wrong, so sometimes we must rule out any potential medical issues (such as if your dog is suddenly having accidents, could there be a Urinary Tract Infection? Or if they are growling or suddenly snapping, they may have an ear infection or an injured limb that is hurting them.) If the answer is there are no medical issues, I always ask:
2. What has changed in the household? Sometimes the slightest things have turned out to be the cause…. their food dishes were moved, their crate was put in a different spot… and sometimes it is more major… relationship difficulties (more fighting in the house, doors being slammed) Someone in the house is depressed or anxious, or their primary care-taker is sick or injured… all these things can have a major impact on your dog.

Remember “change leads to confusion which leads to insecurity…and that will get them killed”. In your household, your dog needs a way to deal with that insecurity, and your children, clearly not the strong pack leader that will keep then alive, can become the unexpected target. A dog who is scared, nervous, frightened or insecure will instinctively go into a ‘fight or flight’ mode; they may not be physically trapped, but mentally, they may still feel that way…. and more often than not, will strike out at whoever is closest, even well-meaning family members who are only trying to help them.

So because changes in life are inevitable, how do we help the dog work through it, thereby keeping our family and kids safe? Here are some suggestions I can give you to help them through this:

• Know your dog so you know when something is wrong. The best way to accomplish this is by doing short daily training sessions with them. This will tell you so much about your dog’s personality…. Is he relaxed and easy-going? Take direction well? Eager to please? Is he stubborn? A bit hard-headed? Is he treat-motivated? Toy motivated? Affection-motivated? Easily excitable? Do you have to really work to gain his interest and/or trust? Having this kind of base-line on his personality will help to alert you quickly if something is “off” or changing in him.
• Keep mealtimes short and consistent. Regardless how many times a day your pup or dog eats, you should refrain from allowing them to ‘graze’ all day. Put the food out for 15 minutes…. If they do not eat, pick it up and try again at the next meal time. Remember, a dog is an instinctual animal…. They will not allow themselves to starve to death! When they are hungry enough, they will eat… but in the process they will learn to eat when the food goes down or it will be gone. This is important because when a dog is not feeling well, or something is wrong, oftentimes they will not want to eat. Dumping food in their dish whenever you notice it empty may prolong your awareness of something being wrong.
• When able to, try to make changes slowly. Need to move their food dish? Do it in increments until it is in the new spot. Moving to a new house, bring the dog by a few times prior to the move to let them acclimate. Going back to work? Slowly get them into the new routine before the event takes place.
• Make sure your dog has plenty of ‘down-time’ Pick a place (whether it be a crate, a mat, a blanket, a towel, etc) and allow them to just rest. A dog with no ‘off’ switch is in a constant state of alert and excitability… which can make for a very reactive dog! Give that space a name (I use “PLACE”) and make sure everyone in the family knows he is to be left alone when in his quiet time place.
• Work with each other, not against each other…. Be a unified team with your dog. Remember I spoke earlier about the hierarchy and respect of the pack leader? When I am working for the first time with an aggressive dog, I tell the family I need them to hand me the leash and step back and let me do what I need to do. The reason I do this is because if the family steps in to ‘rescue’ either one of us, I have lost the opportunity to gain the dog’s respect… and the dog will therefore not respect or accept my authority. Similarly, if you ‘override’ each other’s directions and commands while one person is working with the dog, the dog will pick up on that and also not respect that person.
• Always supervise your kids around the dog! I consider myself a pretty happy and easy-going person, but even I have my bad days when I want to bite everyone’s head off!! Your kids are not going to be as proficient at reading your dog’s subtle body language changes as you are!

In closing, I will also add that your dog may not be the only one having difficulty with some of these household changes…., A toddler may have trouble adjusting to day care, A child going from elementary school to middle school or high school may have difficulty making the transition, and a child of any age may have trouble accepting a stay-at-home parent going back to work. But awareness is the key. Just like you will notice a subtle ‘shift’ in your child’s typical personality, you can be just as aware of your dog.

Keep everyone safe by making adjusting to change a team effort.

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