Adolescent Skin - Part 2

Acne. Many teen-agers are never troubled by acne. Their skin does not produce enough oil to cause the pimples. Unfortunately, the people who do have the problem have no sure cure for it. There are several general practices that can reduce the problem, however.

Care of Acne

1. Wash the face gently with soap and water. Do this as many as five times a day.
2. Avoid creams and cosmetics that contain oil.
3. Because some foods may affect the condition, avoid greasy foods, chocolate, pastries, and roasted nuts.
4. If you want to use any medication, consult your doctor for his advice and recommendations.
5. Avoid periods of emotional tension or poor health. These conditions can cause a flare-up.
6. In the event of severe acne, see a skin specialist, or dermatologist, as acne can leave disfiguring scars.
7. Do not pick or squeeze blackheads and pimples, as this can cause infections and is likely to cause more painful and larger pimples.

Reactions to cosmetics. Girls your age begin thinking of using cosmetics.
of one sort or another Sometimes girls find that cosmetics when applied tastefully, help to cover blemishes. Sometimes it becomes "the thing to do" to wear cosmetics.

You should know that some people’s skin is irritated by cosmetics. These people develop dermatitis, or skin inflammation, from the cosmetics. Their skin almost always becomes red, swollen, or blistered where cosmetics  are applied. They can avoid this reaction by avoiding cosmetics. If the condition persists, they can consult a doctor.

Promoting attractive skin. Because appearance is so important to most teen-agers, the skin problems mentioned above may sometimes seem like great tragedies. You can save yourself much worry by treating these conditions properly.

Skin conditions, such as acne, pimples, blackheads, and oily skin are normal for some teen-agers and not for others. If you have one of these conditions, you can improve both the condition and your state of mind by not worrying about the particular blemish. Worrying only makes the skin condition worse, and it certainly does not help to make you appear pleasant and attractive. By taking care of your skin, taking special problems to a doctor, and not worrying about skin blemishes you can make the most of this temporary condition.

Think for Yourself
Why is the overuse of cosmetics bad for the skin of anyone who tends to have pimples or oily skin? Do you see a relationship between the use of cosmetics and the cause of acne?

Solving Growth Problems

Eating habits. Do you often skip breakfast because there is not time or because you are not hungry? Unfortunately, many teen-agers do. Also, many teen-agers eat one or two snacks a day during their years of rapid growth. These eating habits are common and may contribute to growth or weight problems in adolescents.

Underweight. When boys and girls suddenly grow tall, they sometimes think they have become underweight. Actually, their bodies have not had time to fill out because of their sudden spurt upward. Many teen-agers’ fear of being underweight is due to this unevenness in growth.

In rare cases, teen-agers are underweight. Nutrition is one cause; glandular disturbances, worry, lack of rest, or infection are other causes. When being underweight is caused by one of these problems, a doctor should be consulted. It is not a good idea to try to adjust your diet to gain weight without a doctor’s advice. This kind of self-treatment can cause nutritional problems and should be avoided.

Overweight. Problems of being overweight are much more common than problems of being underweight. One cause may be the many snacks teen-agers eat. Another cause of being overweight may be that a person may eat too much of a certain type of food. In any event there are several things you can do if excess weight is one of your growth problems.

The first step you should take in coping with a weight problem is to consult your doctor. He may find that your weight gain is a normal part of your own growth pattern. Many people become chubby during certain periods of adolescence, only to lose the unwanted weight at a later time. If the doctor finds that you do have a weight problem, he can recommend a sensible diet to overcome it.

Dieting is a common practice. Unfortunately, many teenagers, particularly girls, follow diets that are poor   in   essential  body  nutrients. When the body does not have these vital foods, or has too much of the wrong kinds of food, it is hindered in its development. Such an unwise diet can cause poor bone formation, tooth decay, and increased susceptibility to illness.

Dieting is not the only solution to problems of being overweight. You can use exercise to hold your weight within reasonable limits. Exercise alone is not a good way to take off weight. You would, for instance, have to walk thirty-five miles to take off one pound. However, a good program of exercise will take off some weight, and will use up energy that would otherwise be converted to fat.

Weight charts. You may see weight charts that state that a person your age and height should weigh a certain number of pounds. These charts may appear to be accurate, but they are actually misleading. Because everyone grows at his own rate and has many purely individual characteristics, there is a good chance that he will not be similar to the "average" in height or weight. From this information, you can see that you cannot conclude you are overweight or underweight simply because you differ from a figure given on a chart. If such a
chart makes you seem seriously overweight or underweight, see your doctor. He will be able to judge your weight in relation to your growth rate, bone structure, general health, and height.

Sleep needs. You have learned that your body is growing "in all directions at once" during your teen years. You are also aware of the great demands of your increasing schedule of activities: sports, homework, hobbies, and projects. Sometimes you may be tempted to make time for all these activities by cutting down on sleeping time.

This method only works for a short time, however. After a few days your lack of sleep will cut down on the energy you have for your activities. Your lack of sleep would also hurt your body’s efforts to grow during this period of great body change. From this information you should see that the recommended eight to ten hours sleep is, in fact, a necessity for growing adolescents.

Think for Yourself

Why is being overweight more common than being underweight in America today

First Aid for Shock and Burns

Shock. Most people suffer shock after an accident. Consequently, it is a good idea to treat all accident victims for shock.

Doctors know that one of the causes of shock is a partial collapse of the circulatory system. Therefore, the treatment for shock is to get the patient to a doctor or hospital where he may be given plasma or a blood transfusion. For this reason you should call an ambulance or a doctor immediately.

Quite often a person in shock has suffered a loss of blood, either through a wound or internal injuries. However, this is not always the case. A person in shock is usually pale and listless. His body processes are slow. Perspiration may appear on his face. He may vomit or feel nauseous.

If the shock is severe, the patient may be unconscious. In this case, give no fluids, but lay the patient down and elevate his feet slightly. Call a doctor at once.

Electric current injury. Do not confuse shock with electric shock (electrocution ). The two conditions are not similar and are treated differently. The treatment for electric shock is artificial respiration because a shock may stop breathing. Treatment for burns is also given, because electric current accidents often involve severe burns.

Burns. One of the most common and most painful injuries is a burn. Burns may be caused by heat, chemicals, sunlight, or electricity. They may be mild (first degree), severe (second degree), or very severe (third degree). In any of them, good first aid may relieve considerable pain and may save a life.

First aid for burns. The best first aid for any burn is simple and easy to remember. If possible, plunge the burned area in ice water immediately. If you cannot plunge the burned part into water, you can apply ice or very cold water to the burned area. Wet sterile cloths or ice packs are good for this. Keep the burn chilled until the victim can be taken to a doctor.

Placing ice water or cold water on the burn relieves pain very well. It also helps prevent further tissue damage within the burned area.

This treatment is very effective and may be used for all burns, whether slight first-degree burns or very severe third-degree burns.

If the skin of the burned area is not broken, you may cover the burn with a sterile pad and bandage it loosely.

Burns of the eye. In the case of a chemical burn to the eye, immediate first aid is necessary. Wash the eye with great quantities of water. It is extremely important to remove every trace of the chemical, especially if a strong alkali is the harmful substance. This first aid is so important that the first-aider should continue pouring water over the open eye even while the victim is being transported to a doctor or hospital.

First Aid for Poisoning - Part 2

Universal antidote. Another method of treating many poisonings is to give the universal antidote. This substance counteracts poisons by inducing vomiting and by slowing absorption of the poison by the system. The antidote can be made by combin­ing two parts burned toast, one part strong tea, and one part milk of magnesia. If prepared beforehand, it may be administered immediately with the water or milk. Most drugstores now carry it, and it is a valuable addition to any first-aid kit.

Strong acids and alkalis. The most common victims of poisoning are children too young to read. Sometimes they swallow cleaning preparations such as toilet bowl cleaner (a strong acid), or lye or ammonia (strong alkalis).

In the case of a strong acid, give plenty of milk or egg whites to dilute the acid and protect the lining of the stomach. Do not induce vomit­ing. Call a doctor or an ambulance immediately.

In the case of strong alkalis, give plenty of water and some vinegar, with egg whites or milk. Do not try to induce vomiting. As in all poisonings, call a doctor or an ambulance as soon as possible.

Try This
Dissolve a teaspoonful of ammonia in a half cup of water. Test the solution with both red and blue litmus paper. Which paper changes color? If the solution is an acid, the blue litmus paper will turn pink. If the solution is an alkali, the red litmus paper will turn blue. Make the same test on some household chemicals such as toilet cleaning powders, chlorine bleach, and aspirin dissolved in water.

Gasoline and petroleum products. These substances are dangerous because they can cause pneumonia or death if their fumes are inhaled. If you suspect a person has been poisoned from swallowing kerosene, gasoline, oil, or some other petroleum product, lay him down and keep him warm. Do not try to induce vomiting since damage to the lungs may result from the victim’s inhaling the fumes of the poison. Call a doctor or an ambu­lance right away. Make it clear that the poison is a petroleum product.

Poisoning by gas. Asphyxiation may occur if a person has been exposed to high concentrations of certain gases such as carbon monoxide. Leaky heaters and stoves and gasoline engines are the major culprits in this kind of poisoning. Once a victim has been safely rescued from the contaminated area, give him artificial respiration and call a doctor and the fire department rescue unit. Give artificial respiration even if the person is breathing a little by himself. Keep the person lying down and quiet until he is under medical care.

First Aid for Bleeding

Preventing wounds. Flesh wounds are the most common injuries requir­ing first aid. They would be less com­mon if people would take some measures to eliminate dangerous situ­ations. Some things you can do to eliminate dangerous wounds are:

1. Wear a safety belt while riding in a car.

2.Keep firearms under lock and key.

3. Store knives, razor blades, scissors, and other sharp objects out of the reach of children.

4. Caution youngsters who run with pointed objects in their hands that this is a dangerous practice. Make them walk. Show them how to carry the object with its point down.

5. Be very careful while using knives or dangerous tools such as saws, rotary mowers, or power tools.

Tetanus. Any wound, whether it is a tiny nick from a thorn or a gaping wound from a fall, may cause tetanus, or lockjaw. The danger of contracting this disease is especially great if the wound is deep and ragged, or is contaminated by soil or other foreign matter.

You should clean the wound with boiled water (at body temperature). Then you should help the patient to a doctor. The doctor may or may not
give the victim an anti-tetanus shot, depending on the circumstances.

Severe injury. Sometimes a wound involves serious bleeding that must be stopped at once, as you will remember from Rule Two. Since the body can lose a quart of blood or more in a minute, it is necessary to stop the flow of blood as soon as possible. In a case of this sort you must act quickly and without hesitation. The best first aid is the compress.

Compress pressure. When used to stop heavy bleeding, the compress is a large pad of folded cloth or cotton. The more sterile, or germ free, the cloth, the better.

When stopping bleeding, quickly fold a cloth into a compress. Press it firmly over the wound and hold it firmly in place with a bandage or strip of cloth you have cut from material at hand. If blood seeps around the edge of the compress, place additional pads of cloth on top of the original piece. Re­moving the first compress would be likely to start bleeding once again. If this method of stopping bleeding does not work, use the pressure points to help stem the flow of blood.

Pressure points. There are several points on the body where finger pressure can be applied to arteries to help stem the flow of blood. By press­ing the artery against a bone, the first-aider can reduce the flow of blood from the heart to the affected part. You should use the pressure point located between the wound and the heart.

The pressure points are located on the inner parts of the upper arms, the inner parts of the upper thighs, and on the neck, temples, and shoulders. Study the illustration to find the exact locations of these pressure points.

Using a tourniquet. If severe bleeding cannot be stopped by the use of any other method, a tourniquet, should be used. It is a piece of cloth or other material that is wrapped around an arm or leg and twisted to stop the flow of blood.

To apply it, place a two-inch band­age near the wound on the side toward the heart. Wrap it around the limb twice. Tie the ends in a square knot. Leave a loop in the knot so you can insert a strong stick. Insert and twist the stick until the blood stops flowing from the wound.

A strip of folded cloth, a belt, or a necktie may be used in place of a two-inch bandage. Do not use rope, string, a thin strip of cloth, or wire. These materials will cut into the flesh and cause the victim severe pain. Once the tourniquet is in place, get the victim to a doctor as quickly as possible. Any loosening of the tourniquet before a doctor sees the patient may cause a renewal of bleeding and danger to the patient.

Think for Yourself
If you were giving first aid to a person who had a deep cut on the back of his head, where would you apply pressure? Would you use a tourniquet?

General Principles of First Aid

Rules of first aid. Whenever you are called upon to perform first aid, you should keep in mind all of the follow­ing principles.

1. First aid is emergency treatment which is given before medical treat­ment can be obtained. It is not medical treatment; therefore the first-aider should always call a doctor as soon as possible. It is the time between the accident and the doctor’s arrival that most concerns the first-aider.

2. Critical emergencies demand im­mediate attention. In these cases immediate first aid is the difference between life and death. Always check for severe bleeding, stoppage of breathing, and poisoning. Treat each of these conditions immediately. Do not call a doctor first. If there is an­other person present, send him for the doctor.

3. Keep the victim lying down, warm, and comfortable. Move him only to avoid danger, and do that gently. Remember that broken bones and in­ternal injuries may have occurred.

4. Check for all injuries. Do not give first aid for a cut toe and neglect a broken leg.

5. Never give liquids to an unconscious person or to one you suspect has internal injuries.

6. Encourage the victim. Do not talk to him about his injuries or allow him to examine them. Try to keep his spirits high.

These are the most important rules of first aid. There are other rules, but you will discover them as you are studying each of the first-aid tech­niques described in this chapter.

The importance of first aid. You may wonder why you are studying first aid when many adults are certainly well prepared to give it. The answer is simple. You may be the only person available to give first aid.

You are now spending more and more of your free time away from home. You may take long hikes in the woods. You may go swimming or ice-skating with groups of your friends. You may spend part of your time baby-sitting. Certainly, there are many times when you might be re­quired to give first aid to yourself or a friend.

In any accident that occurs far from adequate adult medical help, you would have to provide all the first-aid treatment. Then you would need all the knowledge of first aid you could obtain.

Your knowledge of first aid will not, of course, make you a doctor. You can use your knowledge only to help an accident victim who has no other medical help. If adults are nearby at the time of an accident, they may be able to offer good first aid. In a situation where there are adults who know first aid, you may not be needed. You may still be able to offer advice on the newest and most effective first-aid techniques, however.

Your knowledge of new and effective first-aid methods can be of great value to you when you are far from medical help. It can also make you a more valuable and responsible babysitter and family member.