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Monday, February 11, 2013

THE DANGER OF GREASE FIRES


Yesterday I saw a friend I haven’t seen in a while and was shocked to see her in a wheelchair. She told me she had gotten burned by fire and hot oil, and had just gotten back from Singapore after two weeks in the hospital and two surgeries that involved taking skin grafts from her back. For the next year, she cannot be exposed to direct light, neither from the sun, nor from lamps... and she’s only in her 20’s.

My dear friend had suffered from the terrible effects of not knowing what to do when faced with a grease fire.  Since we at Centrepoint Healthcare believe that in education as a means of prevention, here’s one way to keep yourself out of the hospital. Consider this your apple for the day.

GREASE FIRES
Grease fires are extremely dangerous because the way to handle it is not the way we think normal fires should be handled.

What is a grease fire?
A grease fire occurs when your cooking oil becomes too hot. When heating, oil first starts to boil, then start smoking, and finally catch on fire. In the case of my friend she was making fried chicken when the oil caught on fire.

If you are cooking something and your oil starts to smoke, turn off the flame immediately or move the pan away from the heat source.

DO NOT THROW WATER ON A GREASE FIRE! The water will violently vaporize, spraying burning grease everywhere including your skin. This is the number one mistake many people make with a grease fire (my friend included).

What to do if a grease fire happens?  
  • Turn off the heat
  • Do NOT move the pot. Throwing the pot outside might seem logical in the frenzy of the moment, but moving the pot might splash burning oil on you, your home, and anything outside. 
  • Cover the pan/pot completely with a metal lid. Do not use a  glass lid, the heat will shatter the glass. If you cannot find a metal lid use a baking tray. Make sure when you do this you’re wearing gloves to protect yourself.
What other options do you have to kill a grease fire? 
  • Baking soda. If the fire is small, you can use baking soda, but you will need a LOT so this may not be the best alternative. ** Do not use other powdery or baking substances such as flour or even baking powder. These are not substitutes and can have a very adverse reaction to the fire.
  • A fire extinguisher. This is your last resort, as fire extinguishers will contaminate your kitchen. Still, it's better than the alternative if the fire is getting out of control.
Watch what happens on Mythbusters when the tiniest (a teaspoon) bit of water is thrown on a grease fire:

and for the scientifically curious – what exactly happens as water is thrown on hot oil?

The Lesson?
Do not leave your cooking unattended. If a grease fire cannot be contained it could spread from your pan and end up burning your kitchen, or worse, your home. 

Please, do yourself a favour and teach your maids, children, and spouse/partners/flatmates how to handle a grease fire properly. It could save you a lot of trouble.

Don’t let your fire go from this...

To this...

 


Written :By Elsie Mullers


Monday, February 4, 2013



Too much TV could damage sperm production.....

 By Dr. Madan M Vasandani


Semen quality is a much-discussed subject among scientists these days.
Data suggests sperm concentration has been declining in Western countries over the past couple of decades - and reasons for the decline are debatable.
 
The lead author of a new study on the subject, Audrey Gaskins, has been studying the effects of diet and exercise on semen for several years as a doctoral candidate at the Harvard School of Public Health. Her latest research shows a lack of physical activity – and too much time in front of the television - may impact sperm count and concentration.

Sunday, February 3, 2013



  







Diary of a Dengue Fever Victim..... by Elsie Mullers

" It was December 23 and I woke up feeling like I’d been run over by a steam roller. At the time I thought it might have just been the lack of sleep I’d been having, between family functions, work functions, and getting everything together before the New Year. Symptoms were flu-like: pounding headache, dizziness, fatigue, chills, and extreme muscle aches... but not the runny nose and sinus infection (thank God.)  No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t get enough sleep and energy to get up and wrap the last minute Christmas gifts, and I definitely wasn’t feeling the Christmas cheer. 

My sister, who has fallen victim to typhoid several times proclaimed that she thought I must have typhoid. Being as far away from a hypochondriac as I am, I tried to convince her I only had the flu, but she forced me to call Dr. Madan.


I explained my symptoms and even pointed out that I was lucky I didn’t have the sniffles.  He immediately asked me to have a blood test done.
 On Christmas Eve morning, I called Prodia to the house and by noon it was confirmed that I was the latest victim of a diseased flying vampire (aka The evil mosquito.)
The news flooded my mind with images of an emergency flight to Singapore; a Christmas day spent in the hospital, alone, and how I was too young to die.......
 I wasn’t sure what to expect as a dengue victim but what I pictured was bad. I immediately called Dr. Madan to confirm my illness and find out next steps.

“What hospital do I check myself into? Do I have to fly to Singapore? What medicines can I take? Ohmigosh ohmigosh I can’t believe this would happen to me I have an amazing immune system!”

“Calm down, What is your thrombocyte level?”  Dr. Madan said to me and he explained that as long as my thrombocyte levels were above a certain level, the best place for me would be in bed, sleeping; that there were many housewife remedies for keeping thrombocyte levels high but that they weren’t proven; that I needed to get my blood tested daily; and most importantly, that doctors in Indonesia are more skilled at treating tropical diseases than the ones in Singapore. He also warned me about symptoms to come – itching, more aching, etc.


Over the next days, I dreaded the mornings when the nurse would come to draw blood from my arm. I tried every single housewife remedy hoping for a miracle but my levels kept dropping. While the appetite loss worked wonders for my figure, the rest was nothing short of miserable. As soon as thrombocyte levels dropped below 100, I started to develop red dots on my skin due to the blood vessels popping which was not treatable with anti-histamines and which itched like crazy. My eyes were very painful to move, the slightest poke sent me into crying hysterics, and I freaked out about EVERY mosquito I saw because I didn’t want it to bite me and then bite someone else in the family. God forbid there be two of us miserable grouches in the house.


Luckily I managed to recover before thrombocyte levels reached the emergency level. The number of people who had contracted dengue over the following weeks was astounding and those of us who had “been there done that” shared stories. I was astounded by how many people said that they had been emergency-lifted to Singapore… enduring all that hassle, when really they would have been better off staying at home. It really confirmed to me the lack of trust in Indonesia’s healthcare system.  


I’m still paranoid about mosquitoes but I make sure I have my garden fogged on a frequent basis and I LOVE anything that kills mosquitos – lizards, spiders, the whole range of Ace Hardware contraptions – I have them all.  But more than that, I was happy I had a competent doctor taking care of me, looking out for my interests (and not my wallet), right here in Indonesia.



If you contract dengue this season, don't worry!!! 

Contact Centrepoint Healthcare.Your health is our Centrepoint.