Your health and Fitness
Handy First Aid Tips
When someone is injured or suddenly becomes ill, there is usually a critical period before you can get medical treatment and it is this period that is of the utmost importance to the victim. What you do, or what you don't do, in that interval can mean the difference between life and death. You owe it to yourself, your family and your neighbors to know and to understand procedures that you can apply quickly and intelligently in an emergency.
Every household should have some type of first aid kit, and if you do not already have one, assemble your supplies now. Tailor the contents to fit your family's particular needs. Don't add first aid supplies to the jumble of toothpaste and cosmetics in the medicine cabinet. Instead, assemble them in a suitable, labeled box (such as a fishing tackle box or small took chest with hinged cover), so that everything will be handy when needed. Label everything in the kit clearly, and indicate what it is used for.
Be sure not to lock the box - otherwise you may be hunting for the key when that emergency occurs. Place the box on a shelf beyond the reach of small children, and check it periodically and always restock items as soon as they are used up.
Keep all medications, including non-prescription drugs such as aspirin, out of reach of children. When discarding drugs, be sure to dispose of them where they cannot be retrieved by children or pets
When an emergency occurs, make sure the injured victim's airway is not blocked by the tongue and that the mouth is free of any secretions and foreign objects. It is extremely important that the person is breathing freely. And if not, you need to administer artificial respiration promptly.
See that the victim has a pulse and good blood circulation as you check for signs of bleeding. Act fast if the victim is bleeding severely or if he has swallowed poison or if his heart or breathing has stopped. Remember every second counts.
Although most injured persons can be safely moved, it is vitally important not to move a person with serious neck or back injuries unless you have to save him from further danger. Keep the patient lying down and quiet. If he has vomited and there is no danger that his neck is broken, turn him on his side to prevent choking and keep him warn by covering him with blankets or coats.
Have someone call for medical assistance while you apply first aid. The person who summons help should explain the nature of the emergency and ask what should be done pending the arrival of the ambulance. Reassure the victim, and try to remain calm yourself. Your calmness can allay the feat and panic of the patient.
Don't give fluids to an unconscious or semiconscious person; fluids may enter his windpipe and cause suffocation. Don't try to arouse an unconscious person by slapping or shaking.
Look for an emergency medical identification card or an emblematic device that the victim may be wearing to alert you to any health problems, allergies or diseases that may require special care.
How To Beat Depression!
Here's the story of a small, almost successful mail order entrepreneur, and how he overcomes the blues that comes with his way of conducting business:
What an adrenalin rush! Last week when I visited the post office my post office box was overflowing with orders. One day, I had to get a plastic container just to carry the mail home. At the end of the week, I had made about $1,200 in orders!
Unfortunately, I spent money to stock up on inventory. I anticipated receiving the same type of business the next week to make up for any overspending I had done this week.That did not happen.
The next week brought in a total of $150 in orders _ and the week after that brought in only $10! After that, depression set in. I kept saying "What will I do now? I spent the $1,200 and only have $80 to my name. Rent will be due in a couple weeks and I'm flat broke - simply because I let money go to my head because I was temporarily "rich."
This is one example of how a business works sometimes and it's important to not take everything for granted. As employees of other companies, we were use to the fact of receiving a paycheck every week. Whether we worked hard or not, our paycheck was always the same and always on time. All we had to do was put in our 8-hours, 5-days a week.
Also, we were not used to spending any money to fill orders. If we needed to mail something, we sent it to the mail room or ran it through the postage meter. As employees, we didn't pay for the postage out of our own pockets. Our employer took care of it. That also goes for supplies. If we ran out of paper for our typewriter, we went to the supply cabinet and got a pack out. We never worried about spending our own money to pay for office supplies.
But when you own and operate your own business money is hard to come by especially the first few years. You generate your own income! So instead of thinking about riches and glory _ think about improving upon what you already have. If you have a $1,200 week pat yourself on the back _ but don't be stupid like I did and spend it thinking you'll have the same amount next week. This may not happen for another 6 months!
Instead, find out "why" you generated this much money one week and hardly anything the next week. Did you stop marketing because you didn't think you had to anymore? Did you spend time filling all those $1,200 worth of orders and generating back-end sales? (A back-end sale is placing some form of advertising in with the orders you fill that will generate additional sales. These items should be for products and services that either compliment or are the same as the product the customer purchased.)
Were all the orders that made up the $1,200 week for the same product or different ones? Where did you advertise in order to generate this response? Was it a specific publication or a combination of several of them? Were the orders for something that people run out of frequently (i.e., printing, typesetting and advertising?) If so _ you can have a special offer for these same customers in a few weeks with a money-saving coupon for them to use. This will generate repeat business and the likelihood of another $1,200 week in the near future.
However, if you do spend the money like I did and depression sets in, just sit down for a moment and reflect on what you do have: a roof over your head, food to eat, a legitimate business that will grow and possibly steady out in the future, peace of mind and the ability to work on your own without employers and people breathing down your neck!
In addition _ if you spend the money and cannot buy the supplies to fill the orders, DON'T just avoid your customers and hope they'll understand. Instead, send them a postcard that simply explains that you had such a large response that you sold out of the item. Tell them approximately "when" their order will be filled and "when" to expect it. If you can't possibly fill the order within 30 days, give your customer the option of getting their money back or better yet _ issue them a Credit Voucher to use on future purchases.
If you have no income at all and cannot possibly refund people's money offer them something in return that you can provide. You need to find some way to compensate your customers. Remember that they trusted you enough to see your ad, write out a check and spend their hard-earned money on you. They may not have a lot of money either. Avoiding them will turn you into a "rip-off" artist with no future in the industry!