First Aid

What is first aid?

Accidents happen. Someone starts to choke, gets stung by a bee, sprains an ankle, or gets a minor burn or cut while cooking. First aid is the care you give right away for an injury or sudden illness before medical help arrives. Knowing basic first aid, and when to call 911, can help you stay calm and act quickly.

Call 911 right away for life-threatening emergencies, such as when someone collapses, can't breathe, or is unresponsive. While you wait for help, you may be able to save a life:

• Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) can help someone whose heart or breathing has stopped. An automated external defibrillator (AED) can also help. It's used along with CPR to help someone in cardiac arrest. You'll often find one in public places like gyms, airports, and offices.
• Back blows and abdominal thrusts (Heimlich maneuver) can help someone who is choking.

Consider taking a CPR or first aid class to build hands-on skills you can use in an emergency. You may also learn to handle many common injuries, these may include:

• Cuts and scrapes
  • Rinse the area with clean water.
  • Apply firm, steady pressure with gauze to stop the bleeding.
  • If blood soaks through, add more gauze on top rather than removing the first layer, and keep applying pressure.
  • Seek medical care if the bleeding doesn't stop after 10 minutes of firm pressure, or if the wound is deep, gaping, or caused by a dirty or rusty object.
• Poisoning

  If someone swallows something dangerous, call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222. They can often help you figure out what to do, including whether you need to call 911 or go to the emergency room.

• Heat-related illness

  Learn how to recognize and respond to heat-related illnesses and other common emergencies before they become serious.

It's a good idea to keep a first aid kit at home and in your car. First aid kits come in many types and sizes. Some are built for specific needs like travel, workplaces, or sports, and include more supplies than a basic kit. You can create your own first aid kit that includes personal items such as emergency phone numbers or medicines.

A basic first aid kit should include:

• Adhesive bandages
• Sterile gauze pads
• Adhesive tape
• Antiseptic wipes
• Disposable gloves
• Scissors
• A first-aid guide, so you know how to use each item

Check the kit regularly to replace expired items.

Flu

What is the flu?

The flu, also called influenza, is a respiratory infection caused by viruses. Each year, millions of Americans get sick with the flu. Sometimes it causes mild illness. But it can also be serious or even deadly, especially for people over 65, newborn babies, and people with certain chronic illnesses.

The flu is caused by flu viruses that spread from person to person. When someone with the flu coughs, sneezes, or talks, they spray tiny droplets. These droplets can land in the mouths or noses of people who are nearby. Less often, a person may get flu by touching a surface or object that has flu virus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose, or possibly their eyes.

Symptoms of the flu come on suddenly and may include:

• Fever or feeling feverish/chills
• Cough
• Sore throat
• Runny or stuffy nose
• Muscle or body aches
• Headaches
• Fatigue (tiredness)

Some people may also have vomiting and diarrhea. This is more common in children.

Sometimes people have trouble figuring out whether they have a cold or the flu. There are differences between them:

Sometimes people say that they have a "flu" when they really have something else. For example, "stomach flu" isn't the flu; it's gastroenteritis.

Some people who get the flu will develop complications. Some of these complications can be serious or even life-threatening. They include:

• Bronchitis
• Ear infection
• Sinus infection
• Pneumonia
• Inflammation of the heart (myocarditis), brain (encephalitis), or muscle tissues (myositis, rhabdomyolysis)

The flu also can make chronic health problems worse. For example, people with asthma may have asthma attacks while they have flu.

Certain people are more likely to have complications from the flu, including:

• Adults 65 and older
• Pregnant women
• Children younger than 5
• People with certain chronic health conditions, such as asthma, diabetes, and heart disease

To diagnose the flu, health care providers will first do a medical history and ask about your symptoms. There are several tests for the flu. For the tests, your provider will swipe the inside of your nose or the back of your throat with a swab. Then the swab will be tested for the flu virus.

Some tests are quick and give results in 15-20 minutes. But these tests are not as accurate as other flu tests. These other tests can give you the results in one hour or several hours.

Most people with the flu recover on their own without medical care. People with mild cases of the flu should stay home and avoid contact with others, except to get medical care.

But if you have symptoms of flu and are in a high risk group or are very sick or worried about your illness, contact your health care provider. You might need antiviral medicines to treat your flu. Antiviral medicines can make the illness milder and shorten the time you are sick. They also can prevent serious flu complications. They usually work best when you start taking them within 2 days of getting sick.

The best way to prevent the flu is to get a flu vaccine every year. But it's also important to have good health habits like covering your cough and washing your hands often. This can help stop the spread of germs and prevent the flu.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Gaucher Disease

Gaucher disease is a rare, inherited disorder. It is a type of lipid metabolism disorder. If you have it, you do not have enough of an enzyme called glucocerebrosidase. This causes too much of a fatty substance to build up in your spleen, liver, lungs, bones and, sometimes, your brain. This prevents these organs from working properly.

There are three types:

• Type 1, the most common form, causes liver and spleen enlargement, bone pain and fractures (broken bones), and, sometimes, lung and kidney problems. It does not affect the brain. It can occur at any age.
• Type 2, which causes severe brain damage, appears in infants. Most children who have it die by age 2.
• In type 3, there may be liver and spleen enlargement. The brain is gradually affected. It usually starts in childhood or adolescence.

Gaucher disease has no cure. Treatment options for types 1 and 3 include medicine and enzyme replacement therapy, which is usually very effective. There is no good treatment for the brain damage of types 2 and 3.

NIH: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

Genetic Disorders

What are genetic disorders?

Genetic disorders are health conditions caused by changes (also called mutations or variants) in your genes. Genes are parts of DNA found in your cells that carry instructions for how your body grows, develops, and functions. Many genes tell your body how to make proteins, which are needed for your body to work properly.

A genetic disorder happens when a gene variant changes how a protein is made. The variant may cause the protein to work poorly or not be made at all. If genes don't make the right proteins, or don't make them correctly, it can lead to a genetic disorder.

Not all gene changes cause disease. Often, these changes have no effect. But sometimes, even a small change in DNA can affect how proteins are made.

Gene variants can be grouped into two main types:

• Inherited variants (also called germline variants) are passed down from your parents. They come from egg or sperm cells.
• Non-inherited (also called somatic variants) are not passed down from your parents. They happen during your lifetime. They may be caused by things like harmful chemicals or ultraviolet (UV) rays from the sun.

Genetic disorders may be caused by:

• Single gene disorders are caused by changes in one gene. Examples can include sickle cell anemia, where a change in a single gene can cause the condition, and Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, where a variant in one of many different genes can cause the condition.
• Chromosomal disorders are caused by missing, extra, or altered chromosomes. Chromosomes are structures that carry genes. These disorders involve changes in the number of chromosomes people have or changes in the structure of one or more chromosomes. An example is Down syndrome, which is caused by an extra copy of chromosome 21.
• Complex (multifactorial) disorders are caused by changes in many genes. Each change alone may not cause the disease, but together they increase the risk. Lifestyle and environmental factors, such as exercise, diet, or exposure to pollutants, also play a role. Colon cancer is an example.

Some genetic conditions are passed down through families (inherited) in one of several patterns, depending on the specific gene involved.

Patterns of inheritance can include:

• Dominant means you only need one changed gene to cause the condition.
• Recessive means you need two changed copies of the gene (one from each parent) for the condition to occur.
• X-linked conditions involve genes located on the X chromosome. These conditions often affect males more frequently.
• Mitochondrial conditions are passed down by the mother.

Your health care provider may check for a genetic condition based on:

• A physical examination.
• Your personal medical history.
• Your family health history.
• Laboratory tests, including genetic testing.

NIH: National Library of Medicine

Giant Cell Arteritis

Giant cell arteritis is a disorder that causes inflammation of your arteries, usually in the scalp, neck, and arms. It narrows the arteries, which keeps blood from flowing well. Giant cell arteritis often occurs with another disorder called polymyalgia rheumatica. Both are more common in women than in men. They almost always affect people over the age of 50.

Early symptoms of giant cell arteritis resemble the flu: fatigue, loss of appetite, and fever. Other symptoms include:

• Headaches
• Pain and tenderness over the temples
• Double vision or visual loss, dizziness
• Problems with coordination and balance
• Pain in your jaw and tongue

Your doctor will make the diagnosis based on your medical history, symptoms, and a physical exam. There is no specific test for giant cell arteritis, but you may have tests that measure inflammation.

Treatment is usually with corticosteroids. Early treatment is important; otherwise there is a risk of permanent vision loss or stroke. However, when properly treated, giant cell arteritis rarely comes back.

NIH: National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases