Would someone shed some light...

Originally Posted by rictus01

Ok. on a serious note, you were/are suffering from a phemothorax an air bleed from the lungs into the plural cavity(inside the rib cage) , but of a very minor nature at present, given enough time this will turn into a tension phemothorax, this is when the pressure inside the cavity prevents the lung expanding and you can't breathe

don't worry to much though, as you've only got a pin hole sized leak.

I've seen it many time at accidents but it's on set is much faster and shows the classic tracial deveation (windpipe off to one side), and have treated it once with a cannular in the chest to "drain " the pressure away".

Just as a matter of interest you can also get the same with fluid (normally blood) filling the cavity a Heamothorax.

Hope that help

Cheers Mark.

Oh yeah, and I've had both the pheamothorax and a heamothorax, when I had my crash, I had a chest drain in for about a week where I was bleeding into my chest...

[rictus01]

Originally Posted by tricky

Sorry if this is a dumb question,

Whats the difference between an EMT and a paramedic ?

I'm sure Nick being current could answer this better, but under the very old system we were all qualified ambulamce people, and some of us had extended skills (intubation & infusion/ cardiac), this all changed to the American system and we all had to re-qualify.

So the EMT is the standard ambulance aid level of treatment, then heor she can go on to do extended cardiac care(excluding drugs) and also some drug therapy.

the PARAMEDIC, has the same standard ambulance aid level but will also have all the cardiac care skills (including drugs) also intubation (tubes down the throat) and infusion (cannulas in the arm(or anywhere you can get one in sometimes )). also a number of technecs authorised by a local panel of doctors.

now that's howe it stood in 89 in Surrey, however each county although having to stick to the basic requirements to qualify for paramedic status, did have it's own drugs and protocals, so perhaps that would be different.

Of course that could all have changed since.

Cheers Mark.

[Richie]

Originally Posted by tricky

Sorry if this is a dumb question,

Whats the difference between an EMT and a paramedic ?

paramedic has more letters in it.

[tinpants]

Mark's got it about right. Although paramedics in a lot of counties can now deliver life saving thrombolysis to heart attack patients and also use morphine as the analgesia of choice.

Technicians are also gaining more and more skills such as intra-muscular injections for anaphylactic shock and, in some counties, rectal diazepam for epileptics.

Originally Posted by sharriso74

Ended up with a collapsed lung when I got stabbed the knife caught the outer wall causing the cavity to fill with blood. Worse bit was before i was stiched everytime I coughed the blood would come out of the wound.

You got knifed!!? What happened?

Back when I was at school a lad in my class stole my cigarettes (see they are bad for you) so decided to settle this with the after school punch up.

Only difference being this lad pulled out a butterfly knife and stabbed me twice in the chest.

Holy crap! I hope he got severly arrested and punished!

Never found out when it went to court they changed it to a leaser offence one without intent so he agreed to please guilty. As we were only 15 I doubt much happened. The police where more intrested if his Dad had been to visit me as he was a 'name' to them.

Year after that I got mugged and ended up with a plastic plate in my face. Think I got all my bad luck out of the way in those 2 years.

[Red ones]

Have I just logged into "Holby City Forum?"