Heat exhaustion or is it heat stroke?

It’s that time of year where the thermometer is going up as the days get longer.  More and more people take this time to go outside and try to enjoy the warmer weather for as long as they can but this is actually a very dangerous time of the year.  It’s time for a silent killer that will sneak up on you.  Most people tend to ignore the first obvious symptoms, because they are busy doing something out in the heat and don’t want to stop to address the symptoms.  So let’s go over these symptoms and see how you can help those around you.

Ok let’s go over the first step of this silent killer - heat exhaustion.  Heat exhaustion may not sound very serious, or even a killer, but it can lead to heat stroke, which is the killer.  There are typically two types of heat exhaustion - water depletion and salt depletion.  If someone is water depleted, they will have excessive thirst, headache and loss of consciousness.  If someone is salt depleted, they will have nausea, vomiting, cramps, and dizziness.  Both types of heat exhaustion can also cause confusion, pale skin, profuse sweating, and rapid heartbeat. 

The risk of heat exhaustion is strongly related to the heat index, because the higher the humidity the more you body’s ability to sweat is hampered.  This index is even higher when you are in full sunshine versus some shade.  People who live in more urban areas are much more prone to heat exhaustion due to what is called “heat island effect”.  This is the heat stored by the asphalt and concrete that is typically only released at night, therefore increasing the night time temperatures.  If you couple that with stagnant atmospheric conditions (very little wind) and poor air quality, it makes heat exhaustion much more likely. 

The second step of this silent killer is heat stroke, which is also known as sunstroke.  Not all people go from heat exhaustion to heat stroke. Some go right to the heat stroke.  Some of the symptoms of heat stroke are very similar to heat exhaustion, but there won’t be any sweating at all, and the skin will be red, hot, and dry.  The person may also have rapid, shallow breathing and could have seizures. 

Heat stroke can strike anyone of any age, but elderly people who live in apartments or homes without air conditioning or good airflow are the most susceptible.  Other high risk groups are those who don’t drink enough while working/playing outside (construction workers, runners), those with chronic diseases that leave someone unable to regulate their body temperatures (cancer), and alcoholics. Heat stroke is also related to the heat index like heat exhaustion, and is also more commonly found happening to people in urban areas due to that “heat island effect”.   

So what do you do to help someone suffering from either heat exhaustion or heat stroke?  First thing you want to do is move the person to a cooler environment, if at all possible. If all you have is the shade of a tree, that can still help.  If the person is showing signs of heat stroke, call 911 before thinking of moving them.  Listed beside this text is some ideas of what you can do for each type of heat related issue.  If you still aren’t sure what to do to help or if what you are trying doesn’t work, call 911 and get some trained medical personnel to the scene for assistance. 

Of course, prevention is always the best course of action in the long run.  If you know you will be outside on those hot, humid days make sure that you wear lightweight, light-colored, loose-fitting clothing (darker colors absorb the heat faster than light-colors do).  Try to wear a hat, if at all possible. Drink lots of extra fluids (include sports drinks as well to prevent salt depleted heat exhaustion), or just reschedule your activities after sunset, if at all possible.  When drinking those extra fluids, try to avoid anything that contains caffeine or alcohol because they cause you to actually lose more fluids, and can make the heat related illness even worse.  If you’re a senior who can’t afford to buy or run an air conditioner, check with your local agencies to see if you are eligible for assistance (LIHEAP-Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program is the most common).  With the knowledge you just read here, you can help prevent or treat someone who has these issues. Let’s have a safe and healthy summer

Hemp versus marijuana

I’m sure we have all heard the pros and cons of marijuana and how it works on the body.  There are a lot of marijuana users out there and some proponents of its use that will say that it’s perfectly safe for use and that it has been used for hundreds of years with no ill effects.  Well let’s go over some of those statements and try to help separate fact from myth and see how well you know marijuana.

 

True or False: Marijuana and hemp are the same thing. Answer: Both true and false.

“How can the answer be both?  It’s really simple that it’s true.” 

Ok let me explain this a little bit.  Hemp is the name for the fiber found inside the cannabis plant and marijuana is the name of the flower found on the cannabis plant. The marijuana plant doesn’t have the same high fiber content as the hemp plant.  And as the breeding of the marijuana plant has continued, the cannabis flowers of today are much more potent and of higher quality buds than what have been used throughout history as medicine.  This could be one of the reasons marijuana has been considered illegal because the potency has increased so much more than in the past and growers continually work to increase the potency.

True or False:   Hemp and marijuana have the same levels of THC.  Answer: False

“How is that possible as you just stated that they are from the same plant?  If they are from the same plant it stands that they both have the same THC levels.”

Well as much as that might seem to be the case it’s not.  The hemp plant and the marijuana are from the same plant but the hemp plant contains very little of the psychoactive chemical THC.  As I stated before the marijuana plant was bred specifically for the THC levels, anywhere from 5-30 percent.  It’s that difference that makes one legal and the other not so much.  Hemp is the plant that has the medical uses more so than the actual marijuana plant and it’s not as likely to cause some of the side effects that marijuana does.  In essence, hemp doesn’t give you the high that marijuana does.

True or False:  You can grow the marijuana plant and say it’s hemp and it be legal. Answer: False

“False?  That doesn’t sound right.  How is someone going to know if it’s the real thing or not?”

Hemp is typically grown up, not out, because the focus on hemp is the stalks which are used for various materials, even carpentry, just like bamboo.  Marijuana plants generally need warmer, humid environments in order to produce the desired quantity and quality of the THC buds.   And if you think you can grow hemp and hide marijuana in with it, it won’t work either as hemp is grown in rows one to two inches apart but marijuana is really short and needs 18 inches or more room to grow out.  You also risk cross pollination and making the marijuana plants sterile.

 It also goes back to a book published in 1971 called The Species Problem in Cannabis by Ernest Small a Canadian researcher.  He drew an arbitrary line, which is used by law enforcement types, that states that a 0.3 percent THC level in a sifted batch of cannabis flowers is what makes the difference between hemp and marijuana.  U.S. laws have defined hemp as any part of the Cannabis Sativa plant that contains no psychoactive properties, meaning if your stash is seized and you claim it’s hemp, it would be tested to verify that fact. 

These are the 3 biggest things that make a difference between marijuana and hemp and why one is considered legal and the other not so much.  So, yes the cannabis plant can be beneficial for medicinal purposes but if not used properly can be addictive and can cause all the problems that you hear about on a regular basis, like the lack of the ability to focus.  It’s just that one chemical ingredient that makes the difference.

Build a Safer Workplace with Mandt System

Employee On-Boarding Specialties would like to help employers build the safest workplace environment possible. With that in mind, the Mandt System is a simple, but proactive method to help build a staff that encourages and supports the understanding of personal safety beginning with the individuals in management, and carrying on to each of the employees working there. Mandt System Training was originally developed to address difficult behaviors found in dealing with the mentally ill, and physically handicapped in institutional settings, but is so much more important than that. We cannot honestly believe that institutions are the only place we find difficult behaviors. Our daily lives can be full of stressful situations, both at work and at school. We can find people with difficult behaviors all around us. Some might even be family! The Mandt System’s ultimate goal is a safer workplace in all settings.

The use of Mandt System training for key members of your management can help to empower your whole staff through positive behavior supports that help build and support the dignity, respect, honesty, and trust among co-workers.  One way this training allows your staff to develop healthy relationships within the workplace is by teaching them that when a mistake happens, it is just that, a mistake. Your staff is taught that it’s not who’s to blame, but rather what went wrong and how, as a team, you can come up with a solution, and support each other to prevent the mistake from recurring.

The ultimate goal of the Mandt System is to create a safer work place by teaching concepts and skills that enhance the quality of workplace relationships.  There are three modules in the full training: 1) relational skills, which focus on the foundation of recognizing qualities needed to build a healthy relationship, and the building blocks that help us to recognize and react to a situation before it escalates into a traumatic event; 2) conceptual skills, which build on the foundational skills learned in module 1, adding a deeper understanding of positive behavior intervention and support, the effect that previous traumatic events may have on behavior, and legal considerations against physical behavioral control systems; and 3) technical skills, which teaches techniques for support and redirection if necessary.

Think of the modules as a house you are trying to build. The first module is the foundation for the house. Your staff will learn to work on building relational skills, and how to recognize and respond to difficult situations, which could be someone who may be angry, and unable to deal with anger in a healthy manner.  These relational skills are a must have for anyone in a management or supervisory position in the workplace.  It requires a full day class that focuses on building the best foundation possible, and a must for anyone looking to build a great relationship with those they work with.

 The second module builds up from the foundation that was set by then giving you a greater understanding of many things that can be the root of the problem, and how to approach effecting a change in the behavior by recognizing the triggers causing it. It encompasses healthy communication within the office environment by teaching your staff how to read both verbal and non-verbal cues.  Module 2 has now become the walls of the home you are building. This is a half day class that is recommended for anyone who wants a deeper understanding of the root cause of behavioral issues.

 The third module teaches technical skills that completely support module 1 and 2. By using the skills learned in this module, the staff would be able to support or redirect a difficult person without causing a physical confrontation, along with how to stop an altercation should it happen. It works by taking the knowledge gained in the first two modules, reading the verbal or non-verbal cues and teaching intervention methods that de-escalate rather than antagonize the problem. Module 3 composes the roof, and encloses the home to bring it all together. This module is recommended for all who work with populations that have a high likelihood of seeing physical confrontations.

Depending on your workplace environment, you may want your staff to take the foundational module only, which will teach them the skills to recognize and respond to difficult situations with greater effectiveness. Upon gaining that knowledge, an employer may decide that all three modules would be beneficial to give them a solid understanding of how to avoid or contain a problem in their work environment, should that happen. In learning to control our own behavior and not giving in to the temptation to overreact we can affect a change in the outcome. The focus is on showing dignity, respect, and honesty towards even the most difficult people. This creates an environment where your staff feels they can say “In this place and with these people, I feel safe.”  The Mandt System helps to teach the concept of “it’s not what you say, it’s how you say it” that either escalates or de-escalates a situation.  With this training your staff will be able to recognize and respond to difficult situations that may arise at work, helping to keep a more peaceful environment overall. 

Make Cheyenne a safer place to live and work. Join EOS in empowering your staff, give Kat a call at 307-640-1560 to schedule a class.

Employer's responsibilty under DOT Rule 49 CFR part 40 section 40.25

Today we will cover the employer’s responsibilities in regards to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMSCA) regulations DOT rule 49 CFR part 40 section 40.25.  This regulation covers DOT commercial drivers that you may hire to transport your goods either in state or over the road.  This regulation states that is an employer’s responsibility to check on the records of employees it intends to hire and perform safety-sensitive duties. 

 

“Ok so I have the responsibility of getting the records from the other company.  I can do that but can’t I just ask them and cover myself that way?”

Well during the hiring process you must ask the employee whether they have tested positive or refused to test on any drug or alcohol test either as a pre-employment requirement or a random test even if they didn’t obtain the job.  This is to cover the last 2 years for any safety-sensitive transportation work as required by the DOT regulation.  If they do admit to any of these, you cannot use them until they have completed a return-to-duty process.  But as we all know not all potential employees will tell you everything.

“I hear it all the time that they always clean.  So I guess then as a backup I should get records just to help cover me for the future. But what do need to request from his previous employers?”

Well you need to submit a written consent to the previous employer requesting the following information: any alcohol test at or above 0.04, any verified positive drug test, any refusals to be tested including adulterated or substituted drug test results, and other violations of the DOT drug and alcohol testing regulations.  You should also request documentation of the employee’s successful completion of DOT return-to-duty requirements.  It is also your duty to note each request of information from employers in writing, including all good faith efforts, maintaining confidentiality at each step as required by DOT.  This information you have either obtained, or lack thereof, must be retained for 3 years from the date of the employee’s first performance of safety-sensitive duties for your company.

“Right, now that I have that information what next?”

Well before your new employee performs any safety-sensitive functions, you must review their information provided by their previous employers.  If any of the information you’ve obtained has violated the DOT regulations, that employee can’t perform any job function until a return-to-duty requirement has been met.

“What is this return-to-duty requirement you keep mentioning?  I’m also not really sure I understand what you mean by safety-sensitive duties.”

Ok let’s look at those two things starting with the safety-sensitive duties.  Safety-sensitive duties include but not limited to, time spent driving commercial vehicles, loading or unloading, and waiting to load or unload.  The DOT defines safety-sensitive functions as the time a driver begins to work, or readiness to work, until the time they are relieved from all responsibility for performing work.  So in essence a safety-sensitive duty is anytime the employee is on the clock and working.

Now return-to-duty covers an employee who may have failed a drug or alcohol test and gives them the chance to “redeem” themselves in the eyes of the DOT.  The employee meets with a substance abuse professional (SAP) who makes recommendations for treatment and reports that to the employer.  The employee will go through the treatment or education process and is monitored by the SAP.  If the SAP determines the employee has complied or not, they notify the employer who has the final say if they want to continue the employment.  The employer is not obligated to take them back even if they stay within the program guidelines.

“Ok that makes sense now.  So safety-sensitive is the time on the job and if they fail a drug or alcohol test they can’t be on the job until they complete a program.  So if I decide not to take them back and they look for a job elsewhere, I just give the new potential employer all that information.”

Right!  As soon as you receive a request from someone, review it to make sure the employee has given their written consent for information to be released, and when you send it out make sure all confidentiality is kept.  Now of course this is not the full regulation by any means just an overview to give you a general idea of what to be on the lookout for hiring potential employees and we recommend that you review the full regulation yourself.