Dr Penny Fraser MB BS BSc(HONS) MRCS(ENG)
Dr Penny is a British-trained Emergency Medicine doctor, who lives in Geneva. She is also the mother of two girls aged 9 and 10. Along with Dr Michelle Wright and her other colleagues at HealthFirst, she has a passion for delivering health education and First Aid training to the English-speaking community in Switzerland.
HealthFirst provides a range of practical, interactive First Aid courses including a unique Mountain First Aid Course and a First Aid course, obligatory for the Swiss Driver’s Licence, and suitable for anyone from the age of 14.
We have all heard of the importance of learning CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation) - we see it in the movies, we read of amazing success stories in the news, a lot of us have even been on a course years ago. But somehow it can be just a bit too scary to think about - anxiety, fear of facing such an emotional subject or just that life gets too busy with other things.
Sometimes reading the objective scientific evidence and gaining an overall view of exactly what happens when a person's life is saved, can dissolve the anxiety and result in determination to understand more. Read on....
Miserable kiddies with a fever and a rash are part of being a parent – I’ve certainly been there with my two daughters.
But when is it something that can be treated at home with some painkillers, water and a cuddle? When is it something that needs to be checked by the doctor?
One of the important diseases that must be seen by a doctor is measles (rougeole in French, Masern in German). This is a serious disease caused by a virus that is very contagious - in fact 90% of non-immune people living with someone who has measles will catch it. The disease is spread by coughs and sneezes, as well as contact with objects such as door handles, toys etc. that have the wet spray from the coughs and sneezes on them.
At school? When you were in Scouts? Perhaps when you were training to be a life-guard? Perhaps it wasn’t even called CPR then – ‘Cardiac Massage’, ‘The Kiss of Life?’
One of the most frequent comments that we receive from our First Aid course participants who are updating their skills, is just how much the protocol has changed since they last learnt CPR. For example, did you know that the new chest compression to rescue breath ratio is now 30:2?
Maybe it’s time for YOU to update what you learnt all those years ago on our upcoming CPR or First Aid for the Swiss Driver’s licence courses... Fortunately, we are not using these skills every day and so slowly we forget what to do in the case of an emergency. Doctors and nurses have to be regularly updated too. I recently attended my update course, over three days. In fact, I got a red mark on my hand from performing so many chest compressions! (don’t worry – you won’t get this from a 3 ½ hour course).
It was very upsetting to hear about Michael Schumacher’s recent accident on the slopes of Méribel, France and our thoughts are with him and his family.
Since the accident happened, there has been a lot of discussion in the media about helmets for winter sports. Should helmets be compulsory for everyone? Do they really protect against head injuries? After all, Schumacher was wearing one yet he still sustained a serious head injury. In fact, the doctors looking after Schumacher have said that if he hadn’t been wearing a helmet, he would likely have died on the slope where he was injured.
Wearing a helmet is certainly becoming more popular. In Europe, people in the lift queues NOT wearing a helmet are the ones starting to stand out. Taking Switzerland as an example, according to the Swiss Council for Accident Prevention, 87% of skiers and snowboarders wore a helmet on the Swiss pistes during the season 2012/13. This is compared to just 16% 10 years ago.
The absolute risk of sustaining an injury whilst skiing or snowboarding remains very low. There are somewhere between 2-4 injuries for every 1000 days spent on the slopes. This means that happily, most of us will enjoy skiing all of our lives and not sustain any significant injury.
Head injuries make up between 10-15% of skiing related injuries. But serious head injuries, like those sustained by Schumacher are rare. Children have a higher risk of head injury than adults because of their smaller size with a comparatively heavier head, as well as having a more delicate brain.
There is growing evidence about the protective effects of helmets. In 2010, a meta-analysis of the research was published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal and it concluded that skiers and snowboarders wearing a helmet were 35% less likely than those without a helmet to sustain a head injury (i.e. to have bleeding or bruising to the brain if they fall and knock their head).1 However, remember that helmets can’t make a person invincible! Nothing can offer complete protection against high speed impacts – not even the most expensive helmet in the world can reduce the risk of death in such cases.
Previous arguments have been put forward that wearing a helmet increases the risk of significant neck injury, particularly in children who have a higher head to body weight ratio, but recent evidence has shown that this is not the case.1,2 There have also been worries that helmets can affect your hearing and your field of vision. There hasn’t been much research into this but one study showed that warning shouts can still be heard when a helmet is worn3 and another showed no differences in reaction time between people wearing a ski helmet and people wearing a hat.4
So, even though your overall risk of head injury is small when you ski, wearing a helmet on the slopes definitely seems to be a very good habit for all ages and for all ski abilities….and they keep your head warm on a cold day!
Always make sure the helmet fits well, the chin straps are always fastened snugly and that it meets an accepted standard for that particular snow sport. Look for the European Norm type EN 1077 for skiing and snowboarding helmets. Remember that any helmet that has suffered a significant impact needs to be replaced.
If you would like to know more about head injuries and how YOU can help. Why not come on one of our interactive First Aid Course. Take a look on http://www.healthfirst.ch/home/ to find out more and to book online.
Enjoy this winter season and stay safe on the slopes.
This blog was written in conjunction with Dr Michelle Wright - Dr Penny's colleague and co-founder of HealthFirst.
References:
1. Russel K, Christie J, Hagel BE. The effects of helmets on the risk of head and neck injuries among skiers and snowboarders: a meta-analysis. CMAJ2010;182:333-40.
2. Hagel BE, Russel K, Goulet C, Nettel-Aguirre A, Pless IB. Helmet use and risk of neck injury in skiers and snowboarders. Am J Epidemiol2010;171:1334-43.
3. Tudor A, Ruzic L, Bencic I, Sestan B, Bonifacic M. Ski helmets could attenuate the sounds of danger. Clin J Sport Med2010;20:173-8.
4. Ruedl G, Herzog S, Schöpf S, Anewanter P, Geiger A, Burtscher M, et al. Do ski helmets affect reaction time to peripheral stimuli? Wilderness Environ Med
Author's bio
Dr Penny Fraser MB BS BSc(HONS) MRCS(ENG)
Dr Penny is a British-trained Emergency Medicine doctor, who lives in Geneva. She is also the mother of two busy little skiers aged 7 and 8. Along with Dr Michelle Wright and her other colleagues at HealthFirst, she has a passion for delivering health education and First Aid training to the English-speaking community in Switzerland.
HealthFirst provides a range of practical, interactive First Aid courses including a unique Mountain First Aid Course and a First Aid course, obligatory for the Swiss Driver’s Licence, and suitable for anyone from the age of 14.
I wake up each morning to an amazing view of the Jura from my bedroom window then drive to work with the impressive panorama of the Alps before me. Each day they are different – colour, light, haziness, contrast, snow - but what remains the same is their status as a playground for people of all ages and all seasons.
However, as the experienced and hardy would say ‘the mountain is not your friend!’ This might sound rather dramatic but it is true. However knowledgeable you are, weather, accidents, medical conditions, equipment failure can mean that you need to know:
- When to call out a rescue helicopter
- What telephone number to call for help (if you have a signal, a warm phone and enough battery)
- What to say to the operator
- How to prepare for an arriving helicopter
- How to give a distress signal if you have no phone
When to call out a rescue helicopter
If the land emergency services (ambulance, fire service etc) would take too long, the access is too difficult or impossible. This can also apply to the non-mountainous extremes of your canton/area.
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