Yes, many of you have been wondering about the fears and outcomes of the H1N1 vaccines and what to expect.  I can tell you first hand after seeing more than 2,200 H1N1 vaccines given here what to expect.

First, the vaccine comes in the live virus nasal mist version and the dead virus injection version. As of this writing over 2,200 vaccines of combination have been given without any side effects.

I ...

In our last e-newsletter, I included a link to download another patient handout on Sleep Testing in Your Own Bed (pdf)  in place of the link to this handout. It's one of ten great patient resources in our growing ...

West Virginia's lack of sleep, about double the national rate, might be a side-effect of health problems like obesity, experts reported. One in five West Virginians reported they did not get a single good night's sleep during the previous month. ...

Respiratory therapists are generally hard at work in the trenches when it comes time to assess the condition of asthmatics in the ER. But there may be more to the task of treating the patient than simply listening to chest sounds and heart rate, evaluating the patient's color, and administering MDIs or nebulizer treatments.

In the future, therapists might also want to evaluate the patient for neurotic ...

Although we are needed for so many things, we usually end up in a broom closet-sized office somewhere at the end of a hallway located at the furthest point from our patients. We are tasked to do things ...

If you're anything like me, you enjoy a good trauma case or a code. Helping patients with breathing treatments, O2 rounds, ambulation, etc. are all great things-- but there's nothing like the rush you get from an emergent situation.

There are so many factors that go into each individual code situation; sometimes it's hard to keep up. In this blog, I'm going to ...

White noise machines and other similar products are recommended by doctors for baby sleep problems, by mothers for their children, by professional people for their offices, and by restless sleepers. We are less ...

The kids were attentive, despite a small class size and several boxes of pizza that were waiting for them once I left. While they were licking their chops, I explained to them the types of ...

Respiratory Care Week is the time of year when we get honored for all we contribute to the world of health care. In our pediatric hospital, we tend to have a fun week. From a brownie sundae night, to a smoothie pitch-in, and a Hawaiian themed luau, we celebrated the week in style last year. On Monday, we had a chili cook-off that rivals those in Texas for the strength of the competition.

We also get a gift ...

Due to unexpected issues, I had beds booked ...

While polysomnographers center much of their attention to detecting sleep apnea, especially among more rotund patients, increased duties sometimes center on prevention of other diseases.

For example, an inadequate amount of nightly sleep on a recurring basis may help fuel the development of diabetes, according to the results of a study in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.

That ...

Recession has done some serious damage to the industry, causing patients to put off  treatments leading to layoffs of staff in some locations and creating credit crunches that have forced some facilities ...

We are all born ordinary. We're all genetically the same, more or less. However, not everyone's intentions and drive are the same.

When I was nearing the end of my stay as a respiratory student at Laurel Business ...

We all know that our profession can and is very stressful at times.  This Respiratory Care Week, you might want to give your staff the Respiratory Care Survival Kit:

RESPIRATORY CARE SURVIVAL KIT

1 Lifesaver - to thank you for the lives you save every day

1 Paper clip - to help you hold things together

1 Tootsie roll - to remind you of the important ...

A colleague of mine made these predictions:

In the year 2025:
 
Small volume nebs will no longer be given due to increased risk of infection from air-born diseases. DPI takes the lead with MDI following.
 
Ventilators will have biofeedback from the ...

The one thing we created that worked out great for our department was a "hurricane cart."  This was a large, tall crash cart that was stocked with hand-helds, cannulas, masks, regulators, ...

As the leaves turn and the weather gets chilly, in Peds we're usually gearing up for RSV season. This year, RSV is sitting on the back burner as we instead gear up for flu season, which promises to be much worse than RSV. There's also a new threat, H1N1, which has people in a tizzy.

Here in Indianapolis, our health department has placed strict boundaries on all hospitals in an attempt to limit the spread of ...

Why is this important? Because they are in the sleep business, polysomnographers are sometimes asked questions about insomnia, which impacts a sizeable population.

Here is some advice from Sleep Holistic ...

If ethnic factors are considered, white children have the best showing, with a third using inhaled corticosteroids in a three-month study. The data for black children ...

Good drivers know how to use their mirrors. They use them to back up.They check them frequently for other cars and pedestrians in their blind spots and the look at them often to see what's going on around them.

Respiratory ...

Mask interfaces are constantly changing. Some of the latest are beginning to take shapes that answer the demands of users.

But for many years, being a PAP user and a woman has not been a good combination. Questions are asked by PAP users and non-PAP users about the telltale marks that masks leave on the faces of nightly users.

Masks that use headgear that comes from the chin are not user-friendly ...

Respiratory Care Practitioners are like Ford - they have better ideas.

Respiratory Care Practitioners are like Coca-Cola - they're the real thing.

Respiratory ...

I started at 14, just one of those rebellious things. When some of my friends eventually gave up the habit by 15 or 16, I stuck with it. At one point, I was up to two or three packs a day during one long summer. We would just all hang out and ...

I was recently accepted into the RT program and very excited, however, I am very nervous about the math portion.  Do you have any suggestion about studying, time management, anything that would be helpful?

Congrats on being accepted! The nervousness ...