Sports First Aid Kit: Are You Prepared?Written by Louise Roach
Do you have an active family? Are your kids involved in soccer or little league? What sports are high on your priority list – running, golf, tennis? American Sports Data, Inc. estimates: - 50.6 million people over age of 6 exercise frequently, participating in single activities (running, cycling, treadmill) - 39.9 million participate in recreational sports (basketball, tennis, softball) - 15.3 million people are active outdoors (hiking, mountain biking, skiing) - 3.2 million players are registered with U.S. Youth Soccer Association If you pound pavement, swing club, or bat ball, there is always chance for injury. Is your family prepared with a sports first aid kit that meets your needs? Many commercially packaged first aid kits contain basic supplies. Sure, they might offer limited help for simple emergencies. But is your first aid kit prepared to handle your child’s rugby injuries or treat a sprained ankle on soccer field? How about your knee pain after a marathon? The answer is to create your own customized kit that fits your family’s sports first aid needs. Chances are you already have many of necessary supplies on hand. Here’s how you get started. 1. Evaluate your needs by type of sports your family participates in. Is there likelihood of bumps, cuts, and bruising that might occur in contact team sports? Or are overuse injuries more prevalent such as runner’s knee, golfer’s tendonitis, or tennis elbow? 2. Decide what supplies best fit type of injuries you have described, such as bandages and ointment for cuts; ice pack for pain and swelling; sunscreen for sun burn. 3. Find a roomy, insulated tote to carry your supplies. Why an insulated carrier rather than one of those little, plastic boxes that most first aid kits come in? Because you need to carry at least one, preferably two frozen, reusable ice packs in your sports first aid kit. Most kits only contain an instant, one-time-use, chemical ice pack. This is usually not sufficient to numb pain or reduce swelling. The best and most effective treatment for many injuries is to immediately apply a frozen ice pack for several 15 to 20 minute sessions. This will help lessen pain, reduce swelling and treat bruising. And an insulated tote will keep your ice packs cold for several hours.
| | Are You Chasing Dollars or Your Kids?Written by Brian Maloney
Striking a perfect balance between work and home today can be difficult task for most of us. However, do you ever wonder if your spending too much time chasing money and not enough with your children?Everything in moderation right? Haven’t we been told this countless times and yet still we tend to find ourselves constantly plunging into excess. It seems that we always do too much of one thing for sacrifice of many others and therefore, seemingly neglect many times more important aspects of life. Nothing can be more important than your children! This held true yesterday and will still hold true tomorrow. It is a mindset that if not taken seriously enough, can percolate throughout family and have a compounding effect of less time spent, that leads to inevitably detrimental consequences. So how much work and money acquiring is too much? That is question of balance and in practically every aspect of one's life, it needs too be addressed. If degree of work is such that it is compromising your time with your children because you are too tired to play with them or your job requires more than a 40 hour work week, it is time to re-evaluate your position. Another excellent sign is if children vent their frustration by telling parent that they never see them or conveying this information to other parent. It can be a constant struggle to provide outside home and then become a good provider by spending time inside sacred confines of home. Although saying you would like to spend more time with your children and doing it, as old adage says, this is easier said than done.
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