Workplace Eye Safety Month
A significant number of eye injuries causing visual loss, disability and blindness occur in the workplace each year. REMSA would like you to know that 90 percent of them can be prevented with appropriate protective eyewear. The following are tools that can help prevent eye related injuries in the workplace.
1. The workplace is one of the most common sites of eye injury.
* The workplace is a leading cause of ocular trauma, visual loss, disability and blindness.
* Work site injuries often involve automobile and construction repair-related workers.
* Each working day in the United States, more than 2,000 employees sustain job-related eye injuries.
* Of these, 10 percent to 20 percent will be disabled due to temporary or permanent vision loss.
2. The best way to protect workers is through an aggressive safety program.
* The number of job-related eye injuries can be reduced with the implementation of an effective eye care program that includes the use of safety eyewear.
* The critical components of an occupational eye care program include: 1) determining potential threats to vision on the job; 2) determining eye hazards present; 3) performing vision testing; and 4) requiring appropriate protective and corrective eyewear.
* Day-to-day enforcement of safety rules is imperative with appropriate disciplinary measures carried out as necessary.
3. Appropriate eyewear is essential to protect the eyes in the workplace. Talk to an Eye M.D. or eye care professional to learn about the eyewear appropriate for your occupation.
* Ninety percent of all job-related eye injuries can be prevented with proper protective eyewear.
* Many of those injured didn’t think they needed to wear eye protection or were wearing eyewear inappropriate for the job.
* To keep eyes protected from dangers, such as flying fragment and chemical splashes, safety eyewear must have “ANSI Z87.1″ (designating it as impact resistant for the workplace) marked on the frame or lens.
* All who enter a work site where eye hazards are present must wear adequate protection.Safety eyewear should be worn whenever there is a chance that machines or activities present a hazard of flying objects, chemical splashes, harmful radiation or a combination of these or other hazards.
Medication Misuse
The correct medication at the correct dosage has the ability to make a sick person healthy. However, the wrong medication, or the wrong dosage also has the ability to make a healthy person sick or the sick even sicker. REMSA would like to share the importance of carefully reading and reviewing medication instructions to avoid any misuses that can cause harm to an individual.
Medication Safety
Pharmacists in hospitals and health systems play an important role in preventing medication errors. To make sure you use medicines safely and effectively, REMSA recommends that you:
* Keep a list of all medications that you take (prescribed drugs, nonprescription medicines, herbal supplements, home remedies, and medical foods) and medicines that you cannot take due to allergic reactions, and share those with your doctor or pharmacist.
* Tell your health care provider how you actually take your medication, especially if this is different from the originally prescribed directions.
* Learn the names of the drug products that are prescribed and given to you, as well as their dosage strength and schedules.
* Ask if you should avoid certain foods, beverages, other medicines, or activities while you are taking the drug.
* Ask for any written information available on the drug product.
* Question anything you don’t understand or that doesn’t seem right. Be especially alert to unexpected changes, such as receiving a prescription refill that seems to have a different strength or appearance from your original prescription.
* Show that you understand how to use your medication by repeating information about your prescription back to your doctor or pharmacist.
* If you’re too ill to follow these suggestions, ask a friend or relative to help.
* Remember that when you’re in a hospital or health system, you can always ask to speak to the pharmacist if you have questions about your treatment or medications.
Emergency Preparedness and Medications
REMSA recommends that consumers be aware of their medication needs as they prepare for any emergency. Following the tips below can help you be ready:
* Keep a list of all your medications in your wallet (include lists for your immediate family members, and drug name, strength, dosage form, and regimen).
Wear your medical-alert bracelet or necklace.
Store 3-5 days of medications that are important to your health.
* Include any medications used to stabilize an existing medical condition or keep a condition from worsening or resulting in hospitalization, such as medications for asthma, seizures, cardiovascular disorders, diabetes, psychiatric conditions, HIV, and thyroid disorders. Carry these with you, if possible, in a purse or briefcase in labeled containers.
* Don’t store your medications in areas that are susceptible to extremes in heat, cold, and humidity (e.g., car or bathroom). This could decrease the effectiveness of the medication.
* Use child-resistant containers and keep your purse or briefcase secure.
* Rotate these medications whenever you get your prescriptions refilled to make sure they are used before their expiration date.
* Refill your prescriptions while you still have at least a 5-7 day supply of medications left. Keep in mind that some sources, such as mail-order pharmacies, have a longer lead time to refill.
* If your child takes medications, talk to your school system to find out their emergency preparedness plans.
* If you are being treated with a complex medication regimen, talk to your physician or pharmacist to create appropriate emergency preparation plans.
Medication for Children — Taking Medicine Correctly
Research shows that up to half of children who take medications do not take them properly. For your child’s prescription or OTC to work the way that it should, it is important to follow exact guidelines for its use.
Stick With the Schedule:
Prescription medications need to be given consistently, and at the right times, to help your child get better. Do not skip a dose of your child’s medication. When you first get the medication, ask your pediatrician or pharmacist what to do if a dose is not given on time.
Give the Right Amount:
Measure carefully. Do not be tempted to increase the amount of medication you give your child in an attempt to speed up recovery. Giving your child more medication than is directed may harm him. With both prescription medications and OTCs, follow the directions exactly.
Know Your Child’s Weight:
With OTCs, it is best to determine how much medicine to give by checking the label to see how much is recommended for your child’s weight. Age is not always an accurate measure of how much medicine your child should receive.
Do Not Stop too Soon:
Your child should continue to take his prescription medication for its full course, even if he begins to feel better. The same goes for instances where he does not like the taste of the medication or protests.
Take Medications Safely:
You can help prevent overdose or poisoning by following these tips:
* Always use good light. Giving medicine in the dark increases the risk that you will give the wrong medication or the wrong dose.
* Read the label before you open the bottle, after you remove a dose, and again before you give it. This routine can ensure your child’s safety.
* Always use child-resistant caps and lock all medications away from your child.
* Give the correct dose. Children are not just small adults. Never guess how much to give your child based on her size.
* Do not increase the dose just because your child seems sicker than last time.
* Always follow the weight and age recommendations on the label. If you have questions, ask your pediatrician.
* Do not confuse the abbreviations for tablespoon (TBSP or T) and teaspoon (tsp or t).
* Avoid making conversions. If the label calls for 2 teaspoons and you have a dosing cup labeled only with ounces, do not use it. Use an appropriate measuring device.
* Be sure your pediatrician knows if your child is taking more than one medication at a time.
* Supervise your children when they take any medications. Never let young children take medication by themselves.
* Before using any medication, always check for signs of tampering. Do not use any medication from a package that shows cuts, tears or other imperfections.
* Let your pediatrician know if your child is taking any herbal products, supplements or home remedies. These substances can interact with many prescription medications and OTCs.
* Store your medications in a locked, childproof cabinet that is not located in the bathroom. Medications stored in a bathroom medicine cabinet can be affected by humidity.
It is not always easy to give medication to a child. You may find your infant or toddler hates the taste and spits out the medication or refuses to swallow it. Try adding a little sugar or juice (not honey) to the dosing device to make it taste better. However, do not combine medications with milk or try to mix them into a bowl of cereal. These may effect the medication’s active ingredient and limit its absorption. Your child also may only eat part, or it may settle to the bottom and never get into her mouth.
Older children may be more willing to take chewable tablets than liquid medicines. Although most children’s medications are flavored to make them taste better, avoid calling them candy. It might make your toddler decide to take them on his own.
Talk with your pediatrician if you have any questions or concerns about giving your child medications. Keep your pediatrician informed about any changes in how your child is feeling or if your child has any reactions to the medication.
Child Passenger Safety Week
February 7, 2006
The importance of child safety while transporting children will be reinforced during Child Passenger Safety week on Feb. 12-18. REMSA would like to remind people that motor vehicle crashes are the number one killer of children ages 1 to 14. But children ages 4 to 8 who use booster seats and safety belts are 59 percent less likely to be injured in a car crash than children who are restrained only by a safety belt.
Children need to be in the appropriate restraint for their size and age. One study showed that children ages 2 to 5 who are moved to safety belts too early are four times more likely to sustain a serious head injury than those restrained in booster seats. In an accident, the shoulder strap of a safety belt will hit a child shorter than 4’ 9”across the neck or face rather than the chest, and there is also a greater risk of internal injury because an adult belt hits across the child’s stomach rather than his/her lap. Booster seats protect children in the event of a crash because it raises them up and positions them so that adult safety belts fit over their chests and hips properly.
As children grow, how they sit in your car, truck, van or SUV should also change. For maximum child passenger safety, parents and caregivers simply need to remember and follow the 4 Steps for Kids:
1. Use rear-facing infant seats in the back seat from birth to at least one year of age and at least 20 pounds.
2. Use forward-facing toddler seats in the back seat from age one and 20 pounds to about age four and 40 pounds.
3. Use booster seats in the back seat from about age four to at least age eight – unless the child is 4 ft. 9 inches or taller.
4. Use safety belts in the back seat at age eight or older or taller than 4 ft. 9 inches. All children age 12 or younger should ride in the back seat and should never ride in front of an air bag, if it can be avoided. Nevada and California law requires that children must be in a booster seat until they are age six and at least 60 pounds.
Many parents are under the false impression that children who have outgrown child safety seats can move right into safety belts, but nothing could be further from the truth. Safety belts, which are designed to fit adults, won’t fully restrain a child in a crash.
So, this year, during National Child Passenger Safety Week, REMSA is working hard to remind all parents, grandparents, child care providers and other adults in charge of children, to always remember that if their kids are less than 4’9’ tall, they need a booster seat.
Some parents or caregivers may regard booster seats as a hassle to use or a pain to convince their children to use. But we want to remind them this year at Valentine’s that truly protecting the ones they love means getting past the temporary complaints and perceived hassles because their children’s lives are really at risk.