Posts Tagged ‘tips’

How to Apply First Aid for Accidental Pepper spray Targets

Pepper spray products are great for self-defense because they’re easy and effective to use. In fact, they’re so easy to use that many a person ends up accidentally spraying someone…or themselves.

If a person has been accidentally hurt with pepper spray, here are several things you can do to apply first aid.

No One Panics
Pepper spray may not be harmful but it certainly won’t feel like it to the victim. Pepper spray has an intensely painful effect and it’s likely to cause the victim to panic and then make you panic as well!

Don’t let that happen. You, most especially, must stay calm for the victim’s sake because you’ll be able to move more efficiently when your brain isn’t clouded with hysterics.

Have Someone Call 911
It’s better to be safe than sorry. There have been unconfirmed reports that pepper spray has been the cause of death due to severe allergic reactions. Why risk that when you don’t have to? Have someone call 911 even as you work on giving the victim first aid.

No Rubbing!
Tie the victim’s hands and bind her to a chair so that the contaminated area remains undisturbed. Rubbing the affected area clean of pepper spray won’t put a stop to the pain. It’s only going to make it worse.

Remember: pepper spray is an inflammatory agent. When you try to rub the skin clean of it, you’re only serving to spread the inflammation, which means that more capillaries in the victim’s skin will be subject to the effects of pepper spray.

Apply Antidote
If you happen to have an OC decontamination treatment product with you then apply that directly to the exposed area. If not that then what about milk? Dip a clean towel in milk then gently place it on the affected area.

No milk available? Then use lots and lots of water. Any of that could help with the initial sting but because pepper spray is oil-based, you’ll need to do a lot more. Mix cold water with soap that’s NOT oil-based. Some suggest the use of detergents (again not oil based) so you could try that, too.

Next, dip yourself into the water several times. Afterwards, dip a towel into the same mixture and use it to very gently rub your face clean of the oil. Expect this to hurt so don’t panic if the victim starts reacting again.

From here, you’ll just have to wait. The victim could start feeling better in fifteen to forty-five minutes. If the eyes have been contaminated and the victim is wearing contacts, be sure to have those disposed as early as possible. They’re not worth using after this.

Flashing Safety Light: Keep Your Kid Safe This Halloween with a Reliable Safety Device

Halloween is probably one of the most memorable times of the year for every child in the U.S. and in many parts of the world.  It simply offers the best combination that fuels a child’s fantasy: spooky creatures that are fun to watch and wear, permission to scare other children and grown-ups, all the candy you can eat and of course, the best excuse to stay up late.  Unfortunately, Halloween has its own set of dangers for children.  For one, most activities occur at night, which means that kids expose themselves to the danger of not being visible to motorists.  Keep your children safe this Halloween with a practical safety device, the flashing safety light.

How it works
The flashing safety light is a strap-on device that kids can wear on their arm, wrist, belt, leg, ankle, backpack or any part of their clothing.  The light comes from a high-intensity LED lamp that emits strong flashes of light that can be seen from some distance away.  This safety device is also commonly worn by joggers, bikers and motorists to help keep them visible in low light or in a fog.  This helps minimize the possibility that they could be hit by any oncoming car and increase the chances that they could be seen by other pedestrians.

The flashing safety light is also an excellent alternative to an emergency beacon.  Most models are equipped with multiple light patterns that the user can change at a push of the button.  The flashes can vary depending on the child’s preference and is advantageous for allowing grownups to recognize them from a distance, especially in the dark.

The flashing safety light is also an excellent safety device to use during a Halloween romp because it comes with a reflective strap to increase the child’s visibility.  It is also flexible enough to be attached onto a bicycle, so in case the child decides to ride one during Halloween, he is still easy to spot.  When used this way, the flashing safety light is attached to a bracket that can be rotated for maximum visibility from different directions.

An advantage to the safety flashing light is that it is not cumbersome to wear – it’s lightweight and small enough to be unobtrusive to the child’s activities during Halloween.  Children also will not be embarrassed to wear it because they could change the color of the light to their liking by simply changing the protective lamp cover.  They can also play with the patterns that they are most comfortable with.

Halloween doesn’t really need to be a worrisome event for parents.  As long as children are well-informed, know their way around the neighborhood and travel in groups, there is no reason why they shouldn’t enjoy this annual party.  And yes, having a flashing safety light can help keep them safe, too.

5 Tips on How to NOT Use a Pepper Spray

Can you make a mistake when using a pepper spray?  After all, it seems quite straightforward and instructions do come with every purchase.  But for the same reason that warnings of ‘Do not swallow’ are printed on labels of products such as shampoos, rubber slippers and toy trains, manufacturers of pepper sprays want you — the consumer — to know that there are indeed some strange ways your trusted can of pepper spray could turn against you.  Here are 5 ways on how to NOT use a pepper spray (and don’t say you weren’t warned):

Do NOT point the nozzle in your direction
This is akin to taking a gun and shooting your foot with it.  Pepper spray can sting — a LOT.  So much so that it even stops those tough police officers during training.  Have a good tactile memory of your weapon so you know exactly where the nozzle is facing when you whip it out to protect yourself.  Otherwise, you’ll risk becoming the butt of jokes at the office water cooler and during family reunions… for years to come.

Do NOT use on an attacker that’s more than 20 feet away
Most pepper sprays do not work at certain distances.  If the situation calls for you to spray, wait till an attacker is at a much closer range.  Otherwise, the air will simply disperse the spray and render it ineffective.  Spraying someone from a good distance away is like spraying someone who’s behind a glass partition — it simply won’t work and will only make you look silly.

Do NOT spray when the wind is blowing in your direction
The wind can be your friend but it can sometimes play tricks on you.  When using the pepper spray, try to be at the more advantageous spot and that’s with the wind on your back.

Do NOT use on yourself just to prove that it works
It does.  It really does.  Pepper sprays are formulated to register their stopping power in SHUs.  That’s short for Scoville Heat Units, which is the unit of measurement used to rate the level of pungency of the substance contained in certain types of pepper sprays.

Furthermore, what you’ll be up against is a substance that, although manipulated and manufacture by man, is made by Nature.  And you know what happens when man battles against Nature… Nature eventually wins.

Don’t be influenced by those grainy night-vision videos of episodes of ‘Cops’ that you saw on TV where some guy got sprayed but merely blinked off the irritant like it were raindrops on his cheeks.  For your own sake, do not believe everything you see on TV.  Pepper sprays are very irritating, so take our word for it and spray it on someone else, like that guy who’s about to rob you or give you a black eye.

Running out of pepper spray?  Don’t pry open your can
Whatever you do, do not attempt to open your pepper spray can.  It could explode or the substance could leak and cause irritation on your skin.  Don’t think you could save more by using your pepper spray to the last drop because you won’t.