The US Consumer Product Safety Commission, together with the White House and other governmental agencies, such as the EPA, have designate October to be Children’s Health Month.

Parents are urged during the month of October to do a “safety check” where by an inventory is taken of environmental hazards in their home. Taking a few simple steps can help reduce or eliminate home-based non-intentional injuries and deaths.

Some of the most common home emergencies include burns, head injuries, accidental poisoning, strangulation, drowning, and suffocation.

A few ways to prevent such injuries:

• Keep medicines and hazardous household chemicals locked up and out of sight. Use child-resistant packaging for medicines and hazardous household chemicals, and call 1-800-222-1222 if a poisoning occurs.
• Cut the loops on window-blind cords.
• Turn pot handles on the stove towards the back where toddlers can not reach.
• Stay within arm’s reach of your baby while your child is bathing or near any container of water.
• Babies on adult beds risk suffocation from hidden hazards such as entrapment between the bed and wall; entrapment involving the bed frame, headboard and footboard; or soft bedding such as pillows or thick quilts and comforters. Co-sleeping side beds are becoming more popular as these risks become more well-publicized.

Always call 9-1-1 first in case of medical emergency.

For other potentially life-saving tips, go to www.healthierus.gov or www.childrenshealth.gov. Finally, know what to do if an emergency does happen. Take a class, remain vigilant of environmental hazards as your child continues to grow, and make sure any caregivers are trained in first aid/CPR.

National Safety Council has recently announced an alliance with Southwest Airlines. Plans to train SW Airlines ground crew in First Aid/CPR/AED use has expanded to include training their airline’s Flight Attendants as well. Apparently Flight Attendant training is not required, which I have to ask as a more and more frequent passenger on airplanes, who is required or capable of taking care of someone who has a medical emergency while in flight? Is this a well-known fact? Is the best option: “Is there a doctor or nurse on board?”

A scenario occurred a few months ago while Allison and I were traveling to Vegas for yet another trade show. We happened to speak to our flight’s pilot prior to getting on board and he asked us about our business. We explained about our Emergency Instruction Refresher and made the comment that perhaps his airline would benefit from such a tool. He agreed and took our cards.

A few minutes later when we were ready to taxi-back, we heard that eerily familiar “Is there a doctor or nurse on board?” After asking three times, no one responded. The pilot came out of the cockpit, looked to us and asked if we had the SafetyMate. Allison shook her head “no,” pointed at MY head and said “No, but she wrote it so she knows it!”

I went to the middle of the plane where a woman was in the middle of having an epileptic seizure. No one knew what to do. One of the flight attendants was standing over her with a cup of orange juice. We got a folded blanket and put it under her head to protect it from hitting the armrest. We covered her body with a blanket in case she lost control of her bladder or bowels. Everyone was frightened and thankful we hadn’t taken off yet. Despite the fact that we were still sitting at the gate, the sheriffs did not get on board for ten or eleven minutes. Once they assessed the situation, they left and another 10 minutes passed before the medics arrived.

I was able to offer the medics information about the woman- that she did not have any medical jewelry on, that she had no medications in her bag, that the first seizure had lasted about five minutes and that she had started a second seizure.

She was taken off the plane and I hope is healthy today. This event was quite disturbing to both me and Allison as we pondered what would have happened had it been just a few minutes later - once we were in the air.

I certainly thought that Flight Attendants were trained in some way, shape or form. While I applaud SW Airlines on their step forward, I have to question why all airlines are not taking the same step.

Anthony and I attended Super CPR Saturday this weekend. In a very non-scientific poll of the people who attended, the majority of attendees were there getting trained in CPR due to a work requirement. I think in the past the only times I’ve gotten trained were for work, as well. What is it about us that makes us not want to be prepared?

We hear about the need to “be prepared” all the time in ads, on tv, in the news…yet how many people out there in California actually have an earthquake preparedness kit? How many people planned for the never-occurring Y2K scare? How many people after Hurricane Katrina now have supplies to take them through another natural disaster?

I would be interested to hear from people why you do or do not take the steps to plan for emergency. Is there anyone out there who is totally prepared, well-stocked, and ready for an emergency to happen? How about the everyone else? Any comments / thoughts / philosophies on why or why you are not prepared?

I certainly don’t think memory failure is just a “senior” problem. Studies over the years have validated time and time again that CPR retention rates are poor. Even for families who have incentive to remember CPR and First Aid skills, memory lapses and panic get in the way of not only parents, but teachers, co-workers and even medical professionals. Unless you encounter problems or situations regularly, the skills to solve those problems disappear.

I used to be a whiz at algebra. Haven’t used it since High School. If my nephew asked me to help him with his homework, I am certain I would look blankly at his paper.

We have been teaching CPR methods for 40 years yet survival rates have remained in the 5% range. Is memory / skill retention the problem? Perhaps. Any experiences dealing with memory lapses and / or panic? What did you do? Did it affect the outcome?

Good Samaritan Laws have been enacted in all 50 states so that people will help in times of crisis without fear of being found at fault if things do not turn out as hoped. Despite the fact that there have been no successful judgments against a good samaritan who attempted to help at the scene of an accident or emergency, many people and companies/corporate executives remain leary of helping, fearing that they somehow “take on responsibility” by attempting to help.

Despite the lack of successful judgments against people who try to help, the Good Samaritan law is perceived as fluffy. How come?

Does anyone else think it’s strange that OSHA requires first aid kits, yet does not require any instructional materials to go along with those kits? I’m wondering in a moment of crisis, how many people have stood in front of the opened first aid kit and not known what to grab or what to do.