tniuqs

I always pick C in multiple guess exams

Did you ever use a tourniquet ?

every time i start an IV, lol

A point here "almost" mute a tongue in cheek comment but there are folks out reading this that are less experienced, when using a "T" for an IV start best advice is pressure between systolic and diastolic, just saying those Penrose drains aint going to cut it in a catastrophic bleed.

cheers

Don't look any further ... just talk to us bro, we have known you for many years, we do know your heart.

Nice from a pharmo tech .. interesting intel.

The biggest question is if and when anectine really was ineffective .. point being that it comes in 400 mg jugs and if your using correct dosage one has double the '100% " dosage with a certain degradation rate when would 400 be ineffective stored @ temps of 40 C.

Over seas, in lands far away have used Pen G (dried) in bottle and after 8 years stale date .. bottom line patient survived nicely, I never throw bug juice out unless its a suspension .

cheers

Ya and some have funny names, and are just plain mean, the guy above is both. Just so you know I am the nice one lol

Just what kind of statement is that for a future leader, not very PC <snicker>

Oh Oh I have one ... gayle04 .. can I talk to your Mom ?

I win.

This was forwarded to myself .. with a colleague in a very remote spot, when he noted some 'expiry dates" ... on OTCs

FAMILY OF DOCTORS IN ENGLAND HAVE BEEN HAMMERING THIS POINT THAT MEDICINES DON’T EXPIRE.

AN 80 YEARS OLD WELL KNOWN DOCTOR, IN MUMBAI, WITH VAST EXPERIENCE INSIST ON SAME POINT. DO MEDICATIONS REALLY EXPIRE ??????

By Richard Altschuler

Does the expiration date on a bottle of a medication mean anything? If a bottle of Tylenol, for example, says something like "Do not use after June 1998," and it is August 2002, should you take the Tylenol? Should you discard it? Can you get hurt if you take it? Will it simply have lost its potency and do you no good?

In other words, are drug manufacturers being honest with us when they put an expiration date on their medications, or is the practice of dating just another drug industry scam, to get us to buy new medications when the old ones that purportedly have "expired" are still perfectly good?

These are the pressing questions I investigated after my mother-in-law recently said to me, "It doesn't mean anything," when I pointed out that the Tylenol she was about to take had "expired" 4 years and a few months ago. I was a bit mocking in my pronouncement -- feeling superior that I had noticed the chemical corpse in her cabinet -- but she was equally adamant in her reply, and is generally very sage about medical issues.

So I gave her a glass of water with the purportedly "dead" drug, of which she took 2 capsules for a pain in the upper back. About a half hour later she reported the pain seemed to have eased up a bit. I said, "You could be having a placebo effect," not wanting to simply concede she was right about the drug, and also not actually knowing what I was talking about.

I was just happy to hear that her pain had eased, even before we had our evening cocktails and hot tub dip (we were in "Leisure World," near Laguna Beach, California, where the hot tub is bigger than most Manhattan apartments, and "Heaven," as generally portrayed, would be raucous by comparison).

Upon my return to NYC and high-speed connection, I immediately scoured the medical databases and general literature for the answer to my question about drug expiration labelling. And voila, no sooner than I could say "Screwed again by the pharmaceutical industry," I had my answer.

Here are the simple facts:

First, the expiration date, required by law in the United States, beginning in 1979, specifies only the date the manufacturer guarantees the full potency and safety of the drug - it does not

mean how long the drug is actually "good" or safe to use.

Second, medical authorities uniformly say it is safe to tak drugs past their expiration date -- no matter how "expired" the drugs purportedly are. Except for possibly the rarest of exceptions, you won't get hurt and you certainly won't get killed. Studies show that expired drugs may lose some of their potency over time, from as little as 5% or less to 50% or more (though usually much less than the latter). Even 10 years after the "expiration date," most drugs have a good deal of their original potency.

One of the largest studies ever conducted that supports the above points about "expired drug" labelling was done by the US military 15 years ago, according to a feature story in the Wall Street Journal (March 29, 2000), reported by Laurie P. Cohen.

The military was sitting on a $1 billion stockpile of drugs and facing the daunting process of destroying and replacing its supply every 2 to 3 years, so it began a testing program to see if it could extend the life of its inventory.

The testing, conducted by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), ultimately covered more than 100 drugs, prescription and over-the-counter.

The results showed, about 90% of them were safe and effective as far as 15 years past their expiration date.In light of these results, a former director of the testing program, Francis Flaherty, said he concluded that expiration dates put on by manufacturers typically have no bearing on whether a drug is usable for longer.

Mr. Flaherty noted that a drug maker is required to prove only that a drug is still good on whatever expiration date the company chooses to set. The expiration date doesn't mean, or even suggest, that the drug will stop being effective after that, nor that it will become harmful.

"Manufacturers put expiration dates on for marketing, rather than scientific, reasons, " said Mr. Flaherty, a pharmacist at the FDA until his retirement in 1999. "It's not profitable for them to have products on a shelf for 10 years. They want turnover." The FDA cautioned there isn't enough evidence from the program, which is weighted toward drugs used during combat, to conclude most drugs in consumers' medicine cabinets are potent beyond the expiration date.

Joel Davis, however, a former FDA expiration-date compliance chief, said that with a handful of exceptions -- notably nitroglycerin, insulin, and some liquid antibiotics -- most drugs are probably as durable as those the agency has tested for the military.

"Most drugs degrade very slowly," he said. "In all likelihood, you can take a product you have at home and keep it for many years." Consider aspirin. Bayer AG puts 2-year or 3-year dates on aspirin and says that it should be discarded after that.

However, Chris Allen, a vice president at the Bayer unit that makes aspirin, said the dating is "pretty conservative"; when Bayer has tested 4-year-old aspirin, it remained 100% effective,he said. So why doesn't Bayer set a 4-year expiration date? Because the company often changes packaging, and it undertakes "continuous improvement programs,"

Mr. Allen said. Each change triggers a need for more expiration-date testing, and testing each time for a 4-year life would be impractical. Bayer has never tested aspirin beyond 4 years, Mr. Allen said. But Jens Carstensen has.

Dr. Carstensen, professor emeritus at the University of Wisconsin's pharmacy school, who wrote what is considered the main text on drug stability, said, "I did a study of different aspirins, and after 5 years, Bayer was still excellent”. Aspirin, if made correctly, is very stable. Okay, I concede. My mother-in-law was right, once again. And I was wrong, once again, and with a wiseacre attitude to boot. Sorry mom. Now I think I'll take a swig of the 10-year dead package of Alka Seltzer in my medicine chest to ease the nausea I'm feeling from calculating how many billions of dollars the pharmaceutical industry bilks out of unknowing consumers every year who discard perfectly good drugs and buy new ones because they trust the industry's "expiration date labelling ."

gayle04 please note picture above of eagle looking for its next meal ... Bhwaaa Ha HA !

hola .. but watch out some bite LOL

Yes its looking like a machinist is going to make a few bucks .. hey maybe I should built new ones entirely, it could be my million buck idea ?

cheers and thanks

OMG the Brits are returning in droves .. hide the women, cutlery and single malt Scotch !

Ha Ha Ha ... you guys are real funny, <cough> and all unemployed comics looking for a better writers ...

ps Hells Bells I found that lantern its in my garage am holding for you, now HB If I had used it as a political device of conversation, I would know where I left the damn thing. <duh>

I did goggled it myself, the blunt tip is more a broad head slot screwdriver type deal, and the "tumb slot" (omg I am working with way too many neuwfies) is a slot for an Oxygen Key shape, like the tanto blade in rockshoes link. I bought the "original" for $125 bucks back in the day it was very high quality not a 20 dollar knife although I could pick up a half dozen of those as X mas gifts, nice.

Now here is why THAT one its so important to me, on Sept 15 2011 as part of a really hot TEAM, WE resuscitated a 22 y/o that was in V fib when WE (ok the trunk monkeys) rescued his ass out of a "confined space" that knife was a serious tool in his survival, my partner got his harness and nomex off and pads on in a millisecond just like one of them X men, rock U dah man "B" and great CPR, hard and fast.

Because of ongoing investigation I can't say too much but "buddy" is out of hospital as they say a true save, the northern lights were spectacular that night, even as I am a true skeptic, one just has to wonder out loud. Lots of high 5's that night and no neurological deficits except for mild amnesia, could have been the versed ? We had trismus big time and no paralytics so.... bookoo dah benzo's.

Happi so don't go there or I may be forced to torture the entire membership with my adventure's to Marine World and stop laughing.</duh></cough>

edit for minor contextual changes.

After many years of trusted service I LOST MY GDamn KNIFE, a "Rescue One" by Meyerco, Blackie Collins designed blade.

Description:

About a 4 inch blade BLUNTED (screwdriver tip) great for prying, black handle and fairly thin with pocket clip. Half regular blade, half serrated, fold out one thumb, the Notch for O2 key in the blade, the hole for thumb and a Tungsten carbide window punch .. oh yeah I looked EVERYWHERE x 12 .....

Now for some of you, this blade was older than you its not made any-more, why NOT is beyond me !

I have looked on line and about the best replacement is the Gerber Rescue, but it does not have a blunt tip.

any ideas out there ... for a replacement .. ?

cheers

Dear money out of pocket Ruff.

Oh I hear you those damn foreigners !

CC:

Perhaps for insight into this "culture" and a interesting perspective with true representation, I would like to suggest use the search engine for Dustdevil and after reading about 5000 posts, maybe the reviews on .... oh yeah what was that TRAUMA thing again ?

I hope you are looking for good looking personnel, that’s all you will find here!

You might try the Aussies. They are all funny and talk weird as well.

OMG I missed this, the Good Looking (Bhwahaa) Aussie's would knock Chelsea Cohen up ..... and her sister to .

Mike I just spit on the screen, tears in my eyes too.

dammit Mike, and I thought that I was going to get a butt load of money. But it seems that Ih ave to have some stupid account and give you all my personal information upfront.

Ruff we should have a talk.

Yeah that was a great idea. I think only 3, perhaps 4 actually passed and 2 of them didn't pass the first time. I'll talk more about that privately. Pisses me off, longer term employees, EMT's, can't get paid final practicums but (I will ramble on about this forever if I keep going at this point).

Privately .. perfect .. I do have rhum set aside for that debate ! you call me but you never show

​Oh letters were written in that regard rest assured, the entire concept of a provincial body accepting that federal grant when there was never any mandate by the membership or even knowledge of the application, this especially when health care system is a provincial responsibility in delivery and interpretation of Canada Health guidelines, got some issues myself about that, deal.

If I do the math with those random numbers of just rumour that would be 1.4 million ??? plus the 80000.00 in grants to a special facility for immigration developed, that's rather an expensive proposition per individual, this when my kids don't get any breaks on their tuitions ?

http://www.timuppal.ca/news.aspx?pID=921 is the MLA responsible, he has still to answer letter's and questions most curious the nationality in this topic .. omg not PC of me, again <shucks>

dearest Siffilass: the last time I will shred for buzz kill alone and demonstrate any support a flamingemt .. as the second after I posted, he in his wisdom chose to disrespect 11/11/11 2011 .. very poor judgment, yet I can forgive him he's just on the very sharp portion of the leaning curve.

Perhaps someone paved over him while he was entering the curve ?

You think ? LMFAO !

We had an extra medic for each batallion every day, and those extras floated all over the county to cover holes, if there were none, they took the mobile supervisors place so that they could do office work.

Need I highlight more ?

In closing perhaps we should do what is right not political correct and count the beans before we plant them. ... IMHO.

cheers

Your application to squints army is being processed as we speak. I am looking a few good writers as apparently my last writer for my stand up comedy special has to re: negotiate his contract and from the crowds response its not looking good LOL !

cheers

I'm a little irritated with flaming right now. Agreed "tenor" is everything, some days I too need some improvement in that area, it just may well stem from my sexual dissatisfaction as this is my personal issue ..Te He (an inside joke) But, I think the attitude that you help the patient put in front of you, no matter how stupid or healthy or irritating they may be, is the correct one. If we want to become a profession, we must first act as if we already are one. I think that means leaving the political issues to management and the politicians, and taking a lot of no- to low-needs patients to the ER, until a better solution is presented. While some situations are blatant abuse, getting angry about them doesn't seem to offer any tangible solution, and just adds to the stress of an already difficult job. Perhaps the more survivable attitude is just to accept that the problem exists, treat the people you encounter as best you can, and let someone else agonise over it.

Another excellent post, observation's and far better composition than myself. You had me in whole hearted agreement until you said the RED above. I believe that as professionals in Alberta as we supposedly soon will be under the legislated Health Professions Act, a legal recognition of terms of agreement. That said why the acceptance has been delayed for many, many years one would have to ask our "non self regulating" entity the real reasons and in our failure to thrive.

My point being and disagreement with your statement, is that as valued members of society we the front line health care workers and voters ourselves, as after all the Polititions are supposed to be working for us ? In a democracy we should become part of the solution, unfortunately we do not have an true Association to represent us as Paramedical Professionals, just a now government directed regulatory body.

An issue as of late here has raised its head that of the "PERMIT" applied for by industrial EMS operators to transport injured workers in the back of an MTC, a 4x4 with a camper on the back, directly to a Hospitalps no AAA crash testing. This was under AB transportation and some how AHS ? was invited to the Knights of the Round Table Discussion with OH+S.

So once again the litigation / liability issue starts, curiously the front line workers and those travelling in the back giving the actual care were never consulted as a stakeholder group re: Safety and the entity responsible for "Safety of the Public" wasn't invited to the camp-fire, well as much as we the membership were apprised. Once again the PC in this province doing what's best for the huge multinational oil interests. I do not disagree totally with this concept of reducing burdens on local resources when required but the precedent now set, unfortunately once again the health care front line providers were ever consulted .

Sorry off topic a tad but this does open up the door way wide for routine transport in an EMS that of unregulated granny transport service's to the public at large .. hell with intentional under funding by the PC in Alberta the modus operandi / theme song is take over then cut but once again, lack of an input and organization representing we the "Professional" best Interests.

On a more positive note:

Whiskey Tango is most correct we in Industry by some forward looking EMS providers lead by an outstanding MD, hence why I jumped on board myself, We are delivering "enhanced' services a the form of treat and release, if we can prove the statistical analysis to prove to Industry our "worth in enhanced primary care" then we can prove it to government, in passing suture of minor wounds, providing bug juice, treating insomnia, low back pain and delivering vaccines, this has already happened in the UK on a much more grander scale. I am very hopeful that we in the colonies will follow this example.

I can proudly inform you that in 2007 while working with ASRD (forestry) I did such a statistical study on a Pine Beetle Project. It was accepted, this changing the policy for Forest Fires in some districts, if this level of Government In Alberta, fraught with the Medicine Chest Treaty Agreement's, was a win, win then there should be no reason that general service to the public can and will not follow the strides of Industry.

We just have to prove it on paper to become a more valuable service, if I could ever those understand PDF files a bit of humour for WTF over and LOL.

cheers

It definitely won’t collapse anytime soon in places like Calgary. Holy resources batman (at least compared to what I’m used to dealing with). I realise there are some very busy units in Calgary but ALS on every single unit with enough units to almost guarantee back-up whenever you need it is rather luxurious compared to what some of us are used to. Calgarians haven’t a clue how fortunate they are to have that. Sections of the Greater Vancouver Regional District however run on the verge of collapse on an almost daily basis. There are times when a single unit is left covering the entire tri-cities area. Alpha and Omega calls going for hours prior to a response (and we all know how accurate AMPDS is). Even outside of the GVRD. Kamloops, a city of over 80,000 people, has one 24 hour ALS unit. The only other ALS resource in the city is a dedicated ground/rotary CCT unit that runs dayshift only. I know what a system on the brink looks like because I’ve worked it. Zero rural ALS resources, city resources spread far too thin, and a nurses union so hostile with other healthcare workers they’ve actually been booted from the BC Federation of Labour. The problems don’t even stem from the fact BC has a provincial based service. It’s largely due to an inadequate resource allocation plan. Throw in a few too many calls for “stubbed toes” and collapse causing death actually becomes a possibility.

Query: So are the Police and Fire departments stretched this thin in BC as well ?

One would logically think after complaints that BC would hire more Paramedics, via reciprocity agreements.

rockshoes: A huge part of re-educating the public as to the purpose EMS serves is going to be refusing transport to those who abuse the system before those abuses cause the system to collapse. We can’t afford to have the initial gate-keepers to the system come in the ER after the first tier has already been abused. Allowing things to spiral out of control like that drastically increasing the cost of EMS is an absolute disservice to the public.

Agreed rockshoes .. in part, but pretty doom and gloom buddy, the system will not collapse and this from a semi anarchist position

The problem is the legislation, this has to be changed first to actually permit WE the shareholders of our society the latitude accomplish this goal.

Unfortunately the ambulance chasing lawyers have made precedent and extremely difficult, but not impossible to change, that with the right political leaders being apprised from the front line staff and with a plan to implemented and that will not become news headlines if just one medic screws it up, my biggest fear.

So all that wish to tell their war stories about BS calls, this in an open to the public EMS forum for fun bitch session please think again is my point, despite ERdocs giddy up. I find it curious that "burn out" is so highly regarded in our "Culture of EMS" I know of many that after just a couple of years on the streets believe that this is some form of a right of passage ?

Yes I am all too aware of the down and outer's stacked like cord-wood in the Spady Type centre(s) our present political leaders in funding the right things, for example a 1.4 million dollar federal give away to you know who to accept FTMDs to be fast tracked to become Paramedics .. good grief batman.

dearest Siffilass: the last time I will shred for buzz kill alone and demonstrate any support a flamingemt .. as the second after I posted, he in his wisdom chose to disrespect 11/11/11 2011 .. very poor judgment, yet I can forgive him he's just on the very sharp portion of the leaning curve.

I wish him luck in his goal of promotion of gay rights in EMS .. quite clearly he has failed to gain any support from myself with the plagerising / paraphrasing ... a pitty that.

cheers

New Kanukistan.australia. kiwi empire, right on !

Yup the "colonials" were cannon fodder for the brits.

But go PPCLI .. kick some asses you always do !

Only those with Munchhausen-syndrom use them, though....

Ok that funny right there LOL !

Thank God we got back on the right track, bless you Bushy, I didn't know of the contributions of the Oz in VN

craig ... great contribution, thank you

Lone Star you graduated to Rock Star, ok more like C+ W Star.

I am very much enjoying the musical and lyrical additions on this years EMT City tribute to our friends family and those we never will have the privilege and humbling experience to shake hands with.

Any other musical contributions out there ?

AND Ak .. You keep your stick on the ice man (a kanukistanianism) for be safe "over there" my friend.

cheers

snip

Holy plagerism Batman, just when you go and try to help out a troubled emt from going down in flames try to argue the other side of the coin ... I sure wish I could change my rep votes now.