Tag: First Aid Canada

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February is Heart Month

What is Heart Month?  For over 60 years the Heart and Stroke Foundation has organized Heart Month. It is has become one of the largest fundraising campaigns in Canada. February is widely recognized as the month of love. Ahem, Valentine’s Day. It will come as no surprise that February is also a month dedicated to raising awareness for cardiovascular health. While it may be endearing to have your heart skip a beat for the love of your life or for your breath to be taken away, make sure the experience is one of love and not that of oxygen loss or abnormal heart rhythm. Heart disease is a general term that refers to the heart not working the way it should. Various forms of heart disease are present at birth, while other forms develop as we age. Practicing a healthy lifestyle and staying up to date with medical research, resources and care are critical components to reducing heart disease and living your best heart-healthy life. Get Involved

  • Start with the basics… wear red to raise awareness
  • Eat heart-healthy foods (2019 Canada’s Food Guide)
  • Reduce stress by practicing age-appropriate physical activity
  • Prepare for heart health emergencies with the purchase of an AED 
  • Get screened for risk factors. Understand your unique risks.
  • Become an organ donor and/or donate blood at your nearest clinic
  • Learn CPR. Get certified. Contact First Aid Canada.
  • Limit alcohol and tobacco consumption
  • Promote overall wellness with a healthy sleep schedule

Did you know? Cardiac arrest – a potential symptom of a heart attack and stroke – occurs when electrical activity in the heart malfunctions. This can happen suddenly and without warning. It is important that you and your family, friends and coworkers learn CPR because with a combination of dialing 911, early CPR and defibrillation you can increase the chance of survival by 75% or greater when performed on someone suffering from cardiac arrest. In the spirit of February being Heart Month, First Aid Canada is offering reduced pricing and free shipping on all AED orders! Shop now while supplies last.  Follow us on Instagram  for more heart healthy tips, tricks and interesting facts.

Life is Precious. Be Prepared.

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NEW 2015 CPR/AED Guidelines

Girl lying on ground

NEW 2015 CPR/AED Guidelines

The ILCOR 2015 CPR/AED Guidelines for Adult Basic Life Support and CPR Quality: Lay Rescuer CPR

Here’s what you need to know about changes:

  • The crucial links in the out-of-hospital adult Chain of Survival are unchanged from 2010, with continued emphasis on the simplified universal Adult Basic Life Support (BLS) Algorithm.
  • The Adult BLS Algorithm has been modified to reflect the fact that rescuers and activate emergency response (i.e. through the use of mobile telephone) without leaving the victim’s side.
  • It is recommended that communities with people at risk for cardiac arrest implement PAD programs.
  • Recommendations have been strengthened to encourage immediate recognition of unresponsiveness, activation of the emergency response system, and initiation of CPR if the lay rescuer finds an unresponsive victim is not breathing, or not breathing normally (e.g., gasping).
  • Emphasis has been increased about the rapid identification of potential cardiac arrest by dispatchers, with immediate provision of CPR instructions to the caller (i.e., dispatch-guided CPR).
  • The recommended sequence for a single rescuer has been confirmed: the single rescuer is to initiate chest compressions before giving rescue breaths (C-A-B rather than A-B-C) to reduce delay to first compression. The single rescuer should begin CPR with 30 chest compressions followed by 2 breaths.
  • There is continued emphasis on the characteristics of high-quality CPR: compressing the chest at an adequate rate and depth; allowing complete chest recoil after each compression; minimizing interruptions in compressions; and, avoiding excessive ventilation.
  • The recommended chest compression rate is 100 to 120/min (updated from at least 100/min).
  • The clarified recommendation for chest compression depth for adults is at least 2 inches (5 cm) but not greater than 2.4 inches (6 cm).
  • Bystander-administered Naloxone may be considered for suspected life-threatening opioid-associated emergencies**.

**In Canada, Naloxone is a Prescription Only Medicine (POM) listed on Health Canada’s Prescription Drug List. Naloxone can only be dispensed with a prescription. Legally, a prescribed drug may only be administered to the person named on the prescription, not a third party.

For more information: Heart & Stroke Foundation – Highlights of the 2015 American Heart Association Guidelines Update for CPR and ECC

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Happy Earth Day! We Supported Solar Roadways

Are you in the service industry? Well then this blog is sure to come in handy. Here are some of our greatest tips on how to keep your work environment a safe one:

Blue Detectable Bandages 

Have you ever been served a dish with something unpleasant and unexpected in it, for example, a hair? It completely ruins your meal and sometimes even your entire appetite. Could you imagine finding a bandage in your dish? Horrible thought, isn’t it? First Aid Canada proudly supplies restaurants with blue detectable bandages. These bandages are bright blue in colour and come in a variety of sizes and shapes to best suit your kitchen and prevent accidents. 

Allergies & Epipens

Allergies are becoming more and more prominent and thus, the food service industry must learn to cope with different dietary requests. People with severe allergies are advised to carry an Epipen with them at all times; however in some cases some individuals fail to be prepared. Restaurants should always have an Epipen onsite to prevent liability for anaphylactic shock. First Aid Canada recommends purchasing your Epipen directly from the source: http://www.epipen.ca/

Standard First Aid & CPR Training

Hundreds of people can pass through a single restaurant on any given day and this creates a risk factor for likelihood of facing ant emergency your workplace. It is important to be safe rather than sorry when it comes to medical emergencies and that’s why public places should not only be equipped with the supplies needed to save lives, but the skills. It is recommended that restaurant workers be trained in Standard First Aid and CPR to prevent emergencies.

AEDS

In addition to what is mentioned above it is now becoming more and more prevalent that restaurants contain an Automated External Defibrillator. These devices are not only easy to operate, but they also save lives. In the time it takes for someone to call an ambulance and for the response personal to arrive at the scene, an AED could have already saved that life.

Government Regulation First Aid Kits 

It is mandatory for all workplaces in Canada to have a regulation First Aid Kit which varies in size and contents depending on the industry and number of employees. Here are some of our Standard kits available for the restaurant industry:

First Aid Canada is pleased to offer Deluxe kits which are government regulation kits, identical to those above, but with more products and in some cases more relevant products:


All of the kits listed are available online by the click of a button. First Aid Canada is also pleased to offer nationwide shipping. For questions or inquiries please feel free to contact the team at:

Toll-Free: 1-855-322-4243 or by email: savelives@firstaidcanada.com

Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn & Google+.

Life is Precious. Be Prepared.