The Paramedic End of Tour Report

WARNING: I love telling these stories as long as they remain HIPPA Compliant. I have combed over them to make sure you cannot identify anyone through the story and my employer will remain nameless. All photos are taken from bing search engine... none of them are from the scene nor are any of the people my actual patients. So to the best of my knowledge i am adhering to the rules... but if you see something that i do not - please... inform me in the comments below and i will fix or remove the issue IMMEDIATELY.

Allergic Reaction

A child was eating a cookie and didn't know it contained walnuts. Previous allergy but only vomiting in previous exposures. This time the child has breathing problems. Lung sounds are clear below but he has stridor in the upper airway: wheezing when taking a breath in that is audible without a stethoscope.

This example is an infant but you get the idea

His father called due to distress and did not think he would make it safely to the hospital. No Hives or swelling around the neck. e REALLY did not want a shot. But we had to convince the father that benedryl was necessary. He was pursuaded by a stuffed animal and the agreement we would make it fast. Intramuscular injection 50mg of benedryl and within 10 minutes he felt much better.

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Not Dead

Showed up on a guy who overdosed with heroin out on the street during the day. Bystander who found him thought he was dead and started CPR. He was not dead but I could see where the confusion lies because he was pretty close. Respirations slow down with opiate use to the point of hypoxia leading to death. The more potent pain killers use opiates such as Percocet, Norco, Morphine, Fentanyl.

Assisted ventilations; an IV with some Narcan and this guy sprung to life out of nowhere. Addicts are always more concerned that you ruined their high - than the fact that they were nearly dead. Too much Narcan will result in instant withdraws. The trick is to find that sweet spot of just enough to wake them up and be cognitive enough to answer questions but not projectile vomiting everywhere. Narcan blocks the receptors for 20 minutes and then wears off... so the person will fall back into the same state once again.

• http://www.utahnalaxone.com *

The state used to hand out Narcan to the public because opiate overdoses were so common. Since then we have had a national backorder due to most drug manufacturers are in Puerto Rico and shut down.

As much as I would love to correct the problem in thinking that this person learned their lesson. Addiction is a powerful force... they all say they will stop immediately. But the truth is... most likely they will do it again immediately after being released from the hospital.

**All pictures that are not my originals where taken from bing search engine