I broke down it tears! I'm feeling very emotional this week. My cough has got worse. I'm tired and my ribs feel battered. She said that my x-ray may show something up. Can't remember what she called it. Basically....... when i was a child i used to get croup quite bad, this may of scarred my bronchial tract causing bacteria to grow hence my infection, which is causing mucous which makes me cough. Once i have dislodged the lump of phlegm i can breath again. I've been given some more (stronger) antibiotics, steroids & i now have a spacer. I've also been signed off work for another week!!
I'm really depressed! My doctors have been brill!
I've decided i'm going to walk around with a gold fish bowl on my head until the spring!!
I hope you feel better soon Julie - hopefully these anti-biotics will work. I know what you mean about wearing a gold-fish bowl on your head in the winter - it gets so tiring when you get infection after infection. If someone sneezes in the next city to me I get a chest infection. Anyway, my advice is to try and get the mucus / phlegm out of your chest as much as you can. Glad your doctors have been good. Hopefully you can take it easy for the next week, and rest up, and finally get the infection out of your system.
Love,
Maz
xx
Thanks Maz!
Fed up with resting. The phlegm is tasting really nasty tonight Urrgh!! It will be so nice to get back to normality (what ever that is LOL).
My fridge is filled with veg & fruit. I've been living on curried lentil soup all week. Full of antioxidants!! I'm trying to build my immune system up, ready to face the world again!!!
Thanks again
Julie
Hi Julie,
Sorry to hear you are going through a rough patch just now. Was the diagnosis bronchiectasis? It sounds like it might have been, and you seem to be looking for the word. If not, sorry.
Sarah
Thanks Sarah!
Thats the word. Never heard of it before. Will look it up on the web.
Its a nuisance!
I'm sure i'll be ok by next week. The phlegm is driving me mad tonight. I keep getting pain in my ribs & my back hurts, thats the worst thing about coughing! Also not a good thing when you've had a baby (well my sons 14 now) I have to cross my legs
Hello Julie,
Really sorry to hear about your setback. Love your goldfish bowl analogy. (Might adopt it when faced with lurgy infected students.)
Your antibi's should help you pretty soon though.
Hope you're starting to feel a little bit better tonight.
Mia
xxx
Thanks Mia.
My asthma nurse said i may need to go to physio to help move the phlegm. Suppose it depends on the x-ray results. Will get the results in 2 weeks!!! Doesn't sound very lady like. Not to keen on coughing bits up in front of people. My brother had whooping cough when he was little, his lung collapsed with it (left a shadow on his lung) My mum had to lean him over a pillow and smack his back .I've just read up on it. Would explain my tiredness. I'm sure the anti's will kick in over the weekend.
I can taste blood with it tonight. I'm sure thats my membranes popping. YUCK!!
I've got my first aid course on the 14th February. I just hope i have enough puff to resus Ken!!!
Thanks Julie X
Resus Ken? Think Barbie!
LOL I think i'd rather think of Ken he he!! Could be a Ken or a Annie!!! Will have to wait & see!!! I think its changed 30 to 2 so hopefully not too much blowing. I have to do it because of teaching at the stables. Theres always somebody falling off. Horses eh!!!
Yes Julie it's all 30 to 2 now.
Wish the bloomin resus council would make their minds up.....
I thought it was. They do change don't they. Do first aid courses still last 2 years?
I did the equine specific last time. I'm doing the appointed persons this time round. I think everybody should do it. Especially when you have kids and family around you. I like the piece of mind that i know what to do. Dealt with a few nasty accidents in my time!!!
what's 30 to 2?
30 compresses to 2 breaths
didnt it used to be something like 15 to 2???? or something like that anyway?
I think it was 5 to 1 for 2 people doing cpr, and 15 to 2 for 1 person. Wasn't it???
Hi Julie,
If you struggle with the CPR (and speaking from experience the chest compressions can be just as exhausting/wheeze-inducing as the breaths) do explain to the tutor that you're having difficulties. They'll probably just let you do one cycle to demonstrate that you have the right technique, rather than doing the full 2 minutes or whatever. And don't forget to take a couple of puffs of salbutamol about 20 minutes beforehand.
I haven't been able to do CPR for a few years without getting breathless - on the refresher courses we have to do I tended to do one or two compressions and one breath to show that my technique is good, then leave it at that. On a bad day I didn't used to be able to get the dummy's chest to rise with my pathetic little breath! Thankfully the tutors usually accepted my argument that in hospital there is always someone else around who is more fit to do the compressions.
I was in a situation a while back where I thought I might have to do rescue breaths on someone when there was no-one else around, and that did worry me - thankfully it didn't come to that because I'm not sure I could have done it until an ambulance arrived.
Don't try to do it if you're not feeling up to it, Julie - your first aid tutor won't thank you for giving them a real patient who needs first aid!
Take care
Em
Becky - it used to be 5:1 and 15:2, but recently (within about the last 6-8 months) it's changed to 30:2 for all.
I have to do a CPR update every 12 months, rather than 2 years Julie - I guess it differs in different places.
julie def worth letting them know that you are struggling. I did my update which is every yr in october and only managed 10 chest compresions b4 starting to cough which resulted n me being told to sit down and take it easy. luckly we were using bag and mask so didn't have to attempt the breathing. 30 is def to many unless u very fit. take it easy
I will explain to them. It would be embarrassing if i had had an attack on a first aid course.
Its only 2 weeks away as well, I'm positive my cough would of gone by then!(fingers crossed)
If i can remember form last time CPR is really tiring. Its like blowing up a thousand balloons.
I'm really looking forward to it.
Sorry if i've gone off topic from original post.
Hope you all have a good weekend
Julie X
I did an update course only last week and was told 30:2 for adults but still 15:2 for children. New research had showed that better oxygenation levels were reached in adults at this rate, but in children 15:2 still produced the best results. Like Cath said though maybe it's different depending on area.
I'm afraid I didn't even attempt to practice it. I didn't have enough Oxygen for myself let alone poor Annie.
curreny CPR guidelines as aproved by Resus peeps and St John Am etc is
Adults - 30 compressions initially - don't need to do 2 breaths first as it has been shown that there is O2 in the blood and you need to get that O2 round the body then you can top them up with 2 breaths. so 30:2:30:2 etc (You can just give continous compressions if you don't want to do the breaths eh squeemish, injury to face, bodily fluids, etc as the act of compressions will act a bit on the lungs)
Children - 5 breaths then 30 compressions (one hand) - then 30 comps 2 breaths etc
Baby ditto but with 2 fingers for the compressions.
This makes it a wee bit easier to remember - 30 to 2 for all plus remember that an adult who has stopped breathing has more likely to have because of cardiac problems (hence compresions first) whereas a child or baby it is more likely to be a breathing problem (hence 5 breaths first then 30 :2)
First Aid atWork certs are valid for 3 years but if there are refreshers you can do them. In st John Amb we have life support tests each year.
I have got through my last 3 FAW quals with just doing one cycle then explaining what I will do to the examimer.
If you ever have to do it in real life adrenaline will kick in plus you can also instruct someone else how to do it - so you can change every 2 minutes.
Anyway , Good luck - it is a very usefull skill to have.
Hope this helps a few peeps
Google St John Ambulance, St Andrews Ambulance or British Red Cross to find out more about first aid courses. They also do child & baby courses aimed at carers & parents too!
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