Spring Cleaning

On Sunday, March 13, much of Canada will spring forward and adjust their clocks. In Saskatchewan we don’t as we do not observe day light savings time. But the annual ritual of adjusting clocks signals spring might not be too far away, we hope! But in our need to get to spring, there is still plenty of winter left and all this snow needs to melt away.

With frozen ground where will all the water run? Let’s hope not into your basement, but now is the time to start moving the snow at least 6 feet away from your house. It’s going to take a while to get rid of all this snow. As I jokingly say let’s hope it’s not July before it’s gone from the north side of our home.

March 8 was International Women’s Day. We salute the accomplishments of women everywhere. We acknowledge the dedicated women of our paramedic and communications teams who everyday bring their expertise to care for you. Congratulations ladies on the great work you do!

March is often the time when we start to do some spring cleaning. Sometimes that cleaning involves the disposal of unwanted medications. If you have unwanted prescriptions or outdated medications don’t just dump in the garbage or flush them down the toilet. The safest way is bag them up and deliver them to your pharmacist for safe, proper disposal. That is one safe way to prevent accidental poisoning in your home. Other ways can include:

            •           Keep medications safely out of the reach of small curious children.

            •           The same goes for common household cleaning chemicals.

            •           If you think your child may have accidently ingested some medications or household chemicals, ask your self these important questions:

            •           Is the child wake, breathing normally and responding to commands appropriately? If yes, then first call Poison Control at 1-866-454-1212. These experts will guide you through the next steps. If you do call 9-1-1 or your local emergency number, you will get help but maybe in certain circumstances you might avoid a trip to the hospital.

            •           Don’t treat medication as candy.

            •           Don’t pour household chemicals from a larger container to something like a soda pop container which might be easier to transport. Children see the coloured bottle and might associate the image with something tasty to drink.

We often get calls about where to obtain a first aid kit. Many local stores will have them available, but you can also make one yourself. Here’s a few easy steps:

            •           Find a suitable container – a used plastic take out container for example.

            •           You need something to stop the bleeding including various sizes of bandages.

            •           Some tweezer and scissors.

            •           An antibiotic ointment.

            •           Depending, where the kit goes, you might have splinting materials, a sling, a few small plastic bags.

            •           Your workplace will have different needs often required by regulations than what you might need at home.

It’s easy to make or buy one. Keep it handy and stocked and let other family members know where to find it. Stay calm when an emergency does occur. If you need paramedics give good accurate directions to where help is need and do your best to answer our medical communications teams’ questions. Stay safe!

-Advertisement-