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Choking is the fourth leading cause of unintentional injury deaths in the U.S. Over 5,500 people died from choking in 2022, but the rate of death is much higher for elderly adults aged 65 and up.
New antichoking devices are marketed online, mostly aimed at children and elderly adults. They’re generally under $100 and claim to save lives - but we don’t include them in our list of must-haves in your business. Here’s why:
That’s not to say that all antichoking devices are useless. Some may work well, but there isn’t enough evidence to support replacing the tried and tested methods of back blows and the Heimlech. If those don’t work, a device could be a good third step to try while waiting for first responders.
Still, training your team on proven, effective choking response techniques is likely a better investment than relying on a tool that might or might not work when it really counts.
The measles outbreak that exploded earlier this year in west Texas has slowed significantly. Of the 750+ cases in Texas so far this year, fewer than 10 were reported in the past week—and most of those were in a northeastern county bordering Oklahoma. But cases continue to pop up across the country, some tied to major outbreaks in Texas and Ontario, Canada, and others brought home by international travelers. The result? The U.S. just passed a grim milestone: the worst year for measles since 1992—and it’s only July.
So, is the measles surge behind us? Are we in the clear, or are people overreacting?
The truth is, we don’t know. Right now, cases are more sporadic, though small outbreaks are still happening. It could explode again if one of those outbreaks hits a vulnerable community with low vaccination rates—like the Mennonite community at the center of the Texas outbreak, or the Orthodox Jewish community at the heart of New York’s 2019 outbreak. Or, it could just simmer along with occasional cases from international travel and a few isolated outbreaks.
But here’s the real concern: according to YLE authors Katelyn Jetelina and Kristen Panthagani, measles is “a canary in the coal mine.” The U.S. had effectively eliminated measles. When it returns in a wealthy country like ours, it signals that something’s gone seriously wrong. If we’re losing ground on measles, we’re likely to see it with other vaccine-preventable diseases, too. Whooping cough is already rising, and diseases like polio and diphtheria could be next.
So no, measles probably isn’t a threat to you personally right now, unless you or a family member is unvaccinated and in an outbreak area or traveling abroad. But it is a warning: public health has a long way to go to rebuild trust and protect the ground we’ve gained against childhood diseases over the past 50 years.
Sources: TX DSHS, Guardian, YLE
In this long form article, the author Jennifer Senior argues that insomnia is a public health emergency in the United States. While we’re not sure we’d go that far, it does have a major impact on workers' physical and mental health.