"Capt" Rob ...
.... the most significant item we carry is the
Philips HeartStart External Defibrillator.

Do you know which symptoms to use it for? Do you know which
conditions it will not help?

Oddly enough, my wife & I were sitting around with some
sailing friends and this exact subject came up. Fortunately
there was a knowledgeable professional present who laid out
the basic facts very plainly.


Bob Crantz wrote:
Do you have a big red cross painted on the side of the ship?

What are you sailing, a hospital boat?


I don't think it's unreasonalbe to carry an AED, especially
for somebody to whom the cost (so important to Bubbles, he
had to mention it first) is trivial.

Why don't your ailing friends get implantable defibrillators? If they are
that prone to heart problems, that's an indication for an implant.


Yeah but then they wouldn't be depending on the generosity &
courage of Bobsprit.

Do you have an on board pulse-ox? Why not?


No, he carries a REAL ox... no wait, that may be a buffalo...


Do you have liability insurance for that defib? Remember, Suzy is a nurse,
she's no longer a good samaritan.

And that's a big big issue, especially in combination with
the requirement for coming to aid of other mariners.
Bobsprit could be sued by any boater nearby who had a
cardiac incident. No wonder he's so unwilling to go far from
his slip!

DSK

DSK wrote:
"Capt" Rob ...

.... the most significant item we carry is the
Philips HeartStart External Defibrillator.


Do you know which symptoms to use it for? Do you know which conditions
it will not help?

Oddly enough, my wife & I were sitting around with some sailing friends
and this exact subject came up. Fortunately there was a knowledgeable
professional present who laid out the basic facts very plainly.


Bob Crantz wrote:

Do you have a big red cross painted on the side of the ship?

What are you sailing, a hospital boat?


I don't think it's unreasonalbe to carry an AED, especially for somebody
to whom the cost (so important to Bubbles, he had to mention it first)
is trivial.

Why don't your ailing friends get implantable defibrillators? If they
are that prone to heart problems, that's an indication for an implant.


Yeah but then they wouldn't be depending on the generosity & courage of
Bobsprit.

Do you have an on board pulse-ox? Why not?


No, he carries a REAL ox... no wait, that may be a buffalo...


Do you have liability insurance for that defib? Remember, Suzy is a
nurse, she's no longer a good samaritan.


And that's a big big issue, especially in combination with the
requirement for coming to aid of other mariners. Bobsprit could be sued
by any boater nearby who had a cardiac incident. No wonder he's so
unwilling to go far from his slip!

DSK

My fear is that with the spread of these machines to local
establishments and businesses, more harm than hurt is going to
occur. And the thought of some little kid playing "doctor" on his
friends or siblings leaves me cold....

katysails wrote:
My fear is that with the spread of these machines to local
establishments and businesses, more harm than hurt is going to occur.
And the thought of some little kid playing "doctor" on his friends or
siblings leaves me cold....

Well, my understanding is that the machines sold to the
public as Automatic External Defibrillators cannot be made
to shock a person who isn't already dead (ie no pulse). The
problem I see with the AEDs are that people will assume that
they're magical devices that eliminate the need for common
sense. After all, why worry about a heart attack when every
MacDonalds and every Jiffy Gas-N-Go has an AED handy?

Another issue is that there are a large number of people
whom these machines cannot help, and if the people on the
scene waste valuable time fooling around with an AED instead
of getting real medical aid, those people will suffer great
harm or death.

Regards
Doug King

In article ,
DSK wrote:
katysails wrote:
My fear is that with the spread of these machines to local
establishments and businesses, more harm than hurt is going to occur.
And the thought of some little kid playing "doctor" on his friends or
siblings leaves me cold....

Well, my understanding is that the machines sold to the
public as Automatic External Defibrillators cannot be made
to shock a person who isn't already dead (ie no pulse). The
problem I see with the AEDs are that people will assume that
they're magical devices that eliminate the need for common
sense. After all, why worry about a heart attack when every
MacDonalds and every Jiffy Gas-N-Go has an AED handy?

Another issue is that there are a large number of people
whom these machines cannot help, and if the people on the
scene waste valuable time fooling around with an AED instead
of getting real medical aid, those people will suffer great
harm or death.

Well, maybe, but typically if you don't know how to use it, you're not
even going to try, because you probably don't know what it is. :-)

If you've had a basic CPR class, then you would know the ABCs and it
wouldn't be an issue.


--
Capt. JG @@
www.sailnow.com

DSK wrote:
katysails wrote:

My fear is that with the spread of these machines to local
establishments and businesses, more harm than hurt is going to occur.
And the thought of some little kid playing "doctor" on his friends or
siblings leaves me cold....


Well, my understanding is that the machines sold to the public as
Automatic External Defibrillators cannot be made to shock a person who
isn't already dead (ie no pulse). The problem I see with the AEDs are
that people will assume that they're magical devices that eliminate the
need for common sense. After all, why worry about a heart attack when
every MacDonalds and every Jiffy Gas-N-Go has an AED handy?

Another issue is that there are a large number of people whom these
machines cannot help, and if the people on the scene waste valuable time
fooling around with an AED instead of getting real medical aid, those
people will suffer great harm or death.

Regards
Doug King

I remember an incident at one place I worked at where an employee
collapsed and a well meaning soul proceeded, without training, to
try to administer CPR. Unfortunately, the person was not suffering
from a heart attack or respiratory failure, but was having a grand
mal seizure and ended up breaking a few teeth and biting his tongue
severly. He also sustained bruises on his chest where the samaritan
had thumped him. It was fortunate that someone in the know arrived
in time before the savior became a killer.

In article ,
katy wrote:
My fear is that with the spread of these machines to local
establishments and businesses, more harm than hurt is going to
occur. And the thought of some little kid playing "doctor" on his
friends or siblings leaves me cold....

I don't see how it could be an issue, since the unit will not work
if the condition isn't a match.

Of course, anything is possible I suppose...

--
Capt. JG @@
www.sailnow.com

Do you have liability insurance for that defib? Remember, Suzy is a
nurse,
she's no longer a good samaritan.


Bad news for you ignorant folks....Suzanne is working for a heart
center, one of the best. She was trained to use the Phillips unit and
may even take a gig teaching others. She's now teaching me the basics.
We are NOT PERMITTED to use it on ANYONE ELSE. It's for two people and
even her father had to sign a special set of forms so that we can use
it on him legally.
Now the big question: Would we use it one someone when no other help
was feasable and death seemed certain otherwise?
Yes. Our finances are pretty much untouchable, so I'd try to save a
life rather than worrying about a lawsuit.


RB
35s5
NY

In article . com,
Capt. Rob wrote:
Do you have liability insurance for that defib? Remember, Suzy is a
nurse,
she's no longer a good samaritan.


Bad news for you ignorant folks....Suzanne is working for a heart
center, one of the best. She was trained to use the Phillips unit and
may even take a gig teaching others. She's now teaching me the basics.
We are NOT PERMITTED to use it on ANYONE ELSE. It's for two people and
even her father had to sign a special set of forms so that we can use
it on him legally.
Now the big question: Would we use it one someone when no other help
was feasable and death seemed certain otherwise?
Yes. Our finances are pretty much untouchable, so I'd try to save a
life rather than worrying about a lawsuit.

It sounds like you're implying that you wouldn't try and save
someone's life if the only mitigating consideration were your personal
fortune.

If I were on a boat or any place where there was no reasonable
expectation of help from the outside, I would try and save the
person's life by whatever means I had available. Even if I wasn't
trained in a particular technique of if my CPR card had expired.



--
Capt. JG @@
www.sailnow.com

It sounds like you're implying that you wouldn't try and save
someone's life if the only mitigating consideration were your personal
fortune.


Jonathan, are you nuts? Where did I write that. I said we would use the
unit and only added the part about finances because another shallow
person brought it up.

RB
35s5
NY

"Capt" Rob wrote:
I said we would use the
unit and only added the part about finances because another shallow
person brought it up.


So, the first person who brought up finances was shallow?

Better review, Bubbles. The first thing you mentioned about
your alleged AED was how much it cost.

And you really should get some facts before you post medical
stuff on the internet. Of course, everybody here knows
you're an unreliable whacko, but your words might be read by
some other person and taken seriously.

Is Bitty-Bill/ComoJo going to swoop in and join your team
any minute now? You need some support.

Nobody has said this in too long: Bubbles, you're nuts!

DSK