NetWellness Injury Prevention and Safety

Cleaning bottles with bleach

Sharron Coplin MS, RD, LD — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 23:01:00 EST

Question: To clean glass wine bottles I poured Javex into the first bottle, then after 3-4 minutes into the next, rinsing each bottle after it was empty of the bleach. I plan to soak the bottles and run then through the dishwasher before bottling the wine. I did not dilute the bleach at all. Are these bottles . . .

Answer: The bottles are okay to use after your chlorine treatment. Glass is inert and doesn't absorb any bleach, and the follow up dishwasher washing will get rid of any chlorine residue that may have remained on the glass surface.

Ask an Expert: Sharron Coplin MS, RD, LD, Injury Prevention and Safety

Eggs

Sharron Coplin MS, RD, LD — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 15:10:00 EST

Question: how long can you keep eggs before they are bad

Answer:

University of California publication 8154, "Egg Basics for the Consumer:Packaging, Storage and Nutritional Information" has this to say about storing eggs:

"Eggs have excellent keeping quality; the type of egg (brown, 'organic', etc.) does not affect shelf life. When kept in the egg carto . . .

Ask an Expert: Sharron Coplin MS, RD, LD, Injury Prevention and Safety

I drank water from an electric water boiler.

J Crawford PhD, RN — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 19:03:00 EST

Question:

Doctor, I drank water for a few years from an electric water boiler/warmer (a machine that keeps water hot 24/7, and placed on my kichen counter). I didn`t realize that the time I`ve been drinking the water, the inside of the machine had very much buildup that looked very dirty (looked like rust . . .

Answer:

I would want to know how often you drank from the water dispenser and what the deposits looked like. This kind of mineral buildup is common for any appliance that heats water - think of the coffee maker that needs to be cleaned out periodically.

You mention a rust-like appearance. This i . . .

Ask an Expert: J Crawford PhD, RN, Injury Prevention and Safety

Bruise

Mary Gottesman PhD, RN, CPNP, FAAN — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 08:03:00 EST

Question: which color bruise is considered to be the worst?

Answer:

Health professionals used to rely on bruise color to estimate how recently an injury occurred. However, it is well known now that bruise color is not at all a reliable measure of how bad a bruise is or when the injury occurred.

Large bruises over the abdomen and pelvis that may signal th . . .

Ask an Expert: Mary Gottesman PhD, RN, CPNP, FAAN, Injury Prevention and Safety

Head injury

Mary Gottesman PhD, RN, CPNP, FAAN — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 16:03:00 EST

Question: Head Injury? was thrown out of car, back of head had 6 staples across the top back in July 06, sometimes now whenever it is cold out my head hurts( kinda like a brain freeze )so even when I am inside the house or sleeping I put on a hat because for some reason that warms it up and it feels a little . . .

Answer:

I really don't know why you have the cold sensation for sure. If you don't have any color changes of your skin in that area to blue or purple, which would suggest damage to the nerves and blood vessels, then it may well be a part of the healing process as nerves reconnect and blood vessels f . . .

Ask an Expert: Mary Gottesman PhD, RN, CPNP, FAAN, Injury Prevention and Safety

Baby got a soft spot on his head.

Mary Gottesman PhD, RN, CPNP, FAAN — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 13:12:00 EST

Question:

hi my baby is 8 months old and he fell out of a shopping cart while at walmart, he fell and hit the back of his head but he seemed okay. but three days later i noticed a soft spot on the right side of his head. i thought it was a bump but are bumps supposed to be that soft? i dont know how he got . . .

Answer:

That is always a scary thing to have happen! He was fortunate not to have a more serious injury. If at this point, he seems perfectly normal and active, has not had vomiting, bleeding or pale yellow fluid coming from his ears or nose, then all is well and you need do nothing. If there is no depre . . .

Ask an Expert: Mary Gottesman PhD, RN, CPNP, FAAN, Injury Prevention and Safety

Broken blood vessels

Mary Gottesman PhD, RN, CPNP, FAAN — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 23:10:00 EST

Question: If a person is poisoned with rat poison, can this result in a broken blood vessel?

Answer:

Unfortunately, we are unable to provide an answer at this time as your question does not fall within the scope of my topic area or that of any other current NetWellness expert.

Thank you for visiting NetWellness.

Ask an Expert: Mary Gottesman PhD, RN, CPNP, FAAN, Injury Prevention and Safety

Got my head banged

Mary Gottesman PhD, RN, CPNP, FAAN — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 10:09:00 EST

Question: 3 days back I got my head banged when the guy sitting in the next cab closed the back door and it fell on my head (right side towards the top). It did not hurt that much at that time but afterwards i felt pain in my forhead and eyes. Now 3 days afterwards..when i work on my computer i feel the pain . . .

Answer:

I am sorry to be unable to answer your question. It is outside my area of expertise and there is not an appropriate expert to whom I can refer your question.

Given your vision problems and head pain, it makes sense to see your primary care doctor first for an assessment of your vision, t . . .

Ask an Expert: Mary Gottesman PhD, RN, CPNP, FAAN, Injury Prevention and Safety

Tic bite

Mary Gottesman PhD, RN, CPNP, FAAN — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 18:09:00 EST

Question: My daughter has been biten by a tic and is getting pains starting from her wrist to here elbow should I be worried?

Answer:

Infection due to a tic bite is relatively infrequent. It depends to a large extent on how long the tic was attached to her before it was removed. Current experience suggests that it must be attached for 8 hours or more for there to be significant risk for infection.

The pain that occurs d . . .

Ask an Expert: Mary Gottesman PhD, RN, CPNP, FAAN, Injury Prevention and Safety

When a toddler hits their head

Mary Gottesman PhD, RN, CPNP, FAAN — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 00:08:00 EST

Question: Is it still the rule of thumb that if a child hits their head that you should not let them sleep for an hour?

Answer:

Toddlers bump their heads a lot as they practice running, climbing, and exploring their world at top speed. Most of the time, they will simply have a lump on their head somewhere and be perfectly fine. Ice is always a good idea, 20 minutes on, 40 minutes off, for several hours will help limit the . . .

Ask an Expert: Mary Gottesman PhD, RN, CPNP, FAAN, Injury Prevention and Safety