Best Solar Motion Sensor Lights for Outdoor Security 

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goldyears.co  shared with Healthy Lombard that Solar motion sensor lights are popular when it comes to security and are also energy efficient. You can connect them to a burglary alarm and a security camera, which activate after the sensors detect motion in the vicinity. It’s a great way to save energy as the lights only go off when they sense motion and shut down soon after the trigger goes away. 

There are three types of motion sensors and are all useful both in private homes and businesses. They can detect passersby with infrared rays and perform one or another action depending on how you program them. 

Types of Motion Sensors

The most common types of solar security light sensors are passive infrared (PIR), microwave, and dual tech or hybrid. Let’s look at each one of them in more detail.

Passive Infrared Sensors 

This solar-powered motion sensor, commonly known as PIR is the one you might’ve seen outside a restroom or an office space. They’re usually white and also small, low power, cheap, and easy to use. It senses movement through the changes in the temperature between a given background and a living body. This kind of sensor is known as pyroelectric and can detect levels of infrared radiation coming from anything that has some level of it. Most animals, including humans, emit a good amount of heat. 

The two slots of the passive infrared sensors are made of a special material that’s sensitive to infrared energy. Thus, the sensor senses a differential change between the two slots and causes a pulse, and thus, detects “movement.”

The white plastic on this kind of solar power sensor light is known as a Fresnel lens, which gives the PIR sensor a larger detection area so it’s more efficient.  Read more 

How to keep your kids safe in the water 

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Jennifer McNulty, M.D. Specialty: Pediatric Emergency Medicine, a pediatric emergency medicine physician at Edward Hospital shared in EEHealth’s Healthy Driven Blog that in summer a lot of kids will spend time at the pool. While your kids enjoy these carefree summer days, water safety needs to be top of mind.Nearly 1,000 kids die each year by drowning. It is the number two cause of accidental death in children ages 15 and under. What’s worse, in 10 percent of drownings, adults are nearby and will actually watch it happen without realizing it.

This is because drowning does not look like drowning. The waving, splashing, and yelling you see on TV are rarely seen in real life. In fact, drowning is almost always deceptively quiet. It can happen quickly, even in the presence of lifeguards.

Frank Pia, Ph.D. coined the term the “instinctive drowning response,” to describe how an individual automatically behaves when drowning or close to drowning.

The drowning person may look like they are casually treading water and looking up at you. In reality, their mouth is alternately sinking above and below the water’s surface, but not long enough to breathe or call out for help. This struggle will only last from 20 to 60 seconds before the person goes under the water.

Since drowning does not look like you expect it to, how do you know if it’s happening?

One way to tell if someone is drowning is to ask them “are you okay?” If they can’t answer or if they return a blank stare, you may have less than 30 seconds to get to them.

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5 deadly diseases rats and mice carry 

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Jane Wilson,, а freelance writer who is passionate to help people with easy tips shared with Healthy Lombard that we all loved watching Tom & Jerry as kids, and to be honest, most of us were always on Jerry’s side. Rooting for the underdog was always in human nature, and when it comes to a kids’ cartoon, it’s only logical to take the side of the poor, small and defenceless mouse. However, growing up, you understand that a mouse in the house is never the hero. Actually, that’s a great way to know if you’re already an adult. If you cheer for the mouse, you obviously never have found one lurking in your food supply, eating your belongings and running your property’s value to the ground. 

While the harmless mischief Jerry did, were, without a doubt, hilarious, and we all spent hours laughing at Tom’s misery, in reality, mice, rats and other rodents are extremely dangerous. Even though they pale in size compared to other mammals, they are by far one of the deadliest, not because of their ferocity but because of the diseases they carry. Here are the 5 most dangerous among them.

Hantavirus

This life-threatening virus can be transmitted to humans via inhalation of rodent excrements, urine or saliva. There are plenty of those whenever there is a rat or mouse infestation. The pests don’t shy away from doing their business everywhere.

“Rats and mice can climb almost all surfaces. They constantly pee and poo, which may contaminate food, fluids or anything that gets in touch with them”, points out Neel Patel, one of Fantastic Services’ top pest controllers in Australia. 

Thankfully there is no human-to-human transmission, but in Europe, the risk of infection is not minimal. It typically happens in small towns, where the bank voles and the yellow-necked mouse mostly live. The peak of the virus is during the autumn months when rodents are most likely to attack urban areas. 

The symptoms are anything but pleasant. They include high fever, general fatigue, and severe muscle aches, which predominantly target the lower back, hips, and thighs. Diarrhoea, vomiting, nausea and abdominal pain are also among the frequently suffered symptoms. 

Thankfully, there is a cure for the disease, but unfortunately, the virus is severely underdiagnosed, and sadly the fatality rate is around 38%.

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How to keep kids safe online? 

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Sarah Johnson asks the Healthy Lombard’s audience if they have had a discussion with their child about online safety and obligation.? Today kids are getting online at a previous age, which implies conversing with them at a prior age. At schools today, it is obligatory that children become familiar with the PC rudiments while they are still in grade school.

It is inescapable that they will be online before you even know it. Significantly, they are advancing or, more than likely, in this day and age, they will be abandoned. However, you want to have that discussion. Conversations with them place the right things for them.

As in going out in the public world, there are rules you show your child what is a suitable and improper way of behaving, similar to somebody contacting them is off-base. Well, similar turn out as expected in the digital world. Ensure you educate your child about the online world and how great it is that there is an additional risk out there to know about.

Here are a few threats to know about:

Improper Content

Regardless of how much parental control, like channels or observing programming you utilize, some unseemly substance will traverse. Have your child figure out about that happiness and have them report it to you immediately. Between the ages of 8 to 12, you ought to screen them intently. However, something might fall through, and they should be admonished before it works out and understands what to do if it does. Read more 

Have A Safe 4th of July 

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Jonathan Gibson, M.D., whose specialty is Family Medicine, shared in EEHealth’s Healthy Driven Bog that it’s hard (and would be a little depressing) to have summer without fireworks.

Everyone fixes their eyes on the sky at dusk on July 4, slushies or ice cream cone in hand, to watch the explosions of color lighting up the night.

But fireworks are just that – explosions – and should be handled with care.

Even seemingly harmless drug store fireworks, such as poppers, sparklers, and the like, can cause serious injuries if they’re not used safely.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission found there were an estimated 12,900 fireworks-related injuries treated in emergency departments in 2017. Between June 16 and July 16, 2017, sparklers were the number one cause of injuries. Read more 

10 QUESTIONS TO ASK YOUTH SPORTS COACHES 

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Gerard Gioia, PhD, is the Division Chief of Neuropsychology and the director of the Safe Concussion Outcome, Recovery & Education (SCORE) Program at Children’s National. He treats people with brain injuries with dual areas of interest in disorders involving the executive functions and pediatric concussion/ mild traumatic brain injury (TBI). He shared in the Rise and Shine blog hat with all the current media attention given to concussions, it is hard not to be worried and question your child’s involvement in sports, especially contact sports. As a society, we want our children to be active, stay healthy and enjoy the positive benefits of team sports. While there is a risk in playing any sport, the benefits will likely far outweigh the risks if coached and played with concussion prevention in mind.

Once a child chooses the sport they want to play, parents must do their homework and ask the leagues and coaches questions about how they handle head safety.

Below are 10 questions I encourage parents to ask youth sports organizations to make sure they’re minimizing the risk of concussion in their players. Youth sports organizations should also prepare themselves to answer these questions.

  1. Does the league have a policy on how they handle concussions?
  2. Who is responsible for the sideline concussion recognition and response to suspected concussions during practice and games? Is there an assigned person?
  3. Does the league have access to healthcare professionals with knowledge and training in sport-related concussions?
  4. Are the coaches required to take a concussion education and training course?
  5. Are the coach’s tools (concussion signs and symptoms cards, clipboards, fact sheets, smartphone apps, etc.) readily available during practice and games to guide proper recognition and response of a suspected concussion? Children’s National has a free mobile application called “Concussion Recognition & Response” to assist coaches and parents in asking the right questions and doing the right thing if they suspect a concussion.
  6. Does the league provide and/or encourage concussion education for parents, and what is the policy for informing parents of suspected concussions?
  7. What is the policy regarding allowing a player to return to play? (Correct answer should be ONLY when a medical professional provides written clearance that the athlete is fully recovered.)
  8. Does the league teach coaches and players proper techniques, such as blocking and tackling in football, in ways that are “head safe,” by not putting the head in position to be struck?
  9. If it is a contact sport, are there limitations to the amount of contact? How often will your child practice live contact? Is that any different than past years?
  10. How amenable is the league, team, and/or coach to accepting feedback from parents about their child’s safety as it relates to head safety?

Asking these questions will provide the peace of mind of knowing your child is playing the sports they enjoy in the safest way possible to minimize risk of concussion.

 

Football Photo by Amina Filkins: https://www.pexels.com/photo/smiling-ethnic-boy-in-helmet-and-uniform-of-football-player-5559992/

Baseball photo from Pexels.

LGBTQ Guide to Staying Safe Online 

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Online safety

vpnMentor conducted a survey in which they asked 695 LGBTQ+ people worldwide about their experiences online as they relate to their sexual orientation and gender identity. The results – referenced throughout this article – illuminated the unique challenges faced by the LGBTQ+ community.

Here are some of their key findings:+

  • 73% of all respondents in all categories of gender identity and sexual orientation have been personally attacked or harassed online.
  • 50% of all respondents in all categories of gender identity and sexual orientation have suffered sexual harassment online.
  • When it comes to sexual orientation, asexual people feel the least safe online, and gay men the safest.
  • When it comes to gender identity, transgender women feel the least safe online, and cisgender men the safest.
  • Transgender women are the most likely to be outed against their will online, while cisgender men are least likely.

+For complete results, see the appendix.

As experts in the field of cybersecurity, they see it as their mission to provide practical strategies for coping with adversity, bigotry, and abuse on the web, which is why they created this guide.

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PREVENTING WINDOW FALLS 

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Katie Donnelly, MD, MPH, an emergency medicine physician at Children’s National, shared in the Rise and Shine blog that with the weather getting warmer, you might be tempted to open your windows and let some fresh air into your home. But did you know that every year, around 3,300 children are injured by falling from windows? As an emergency medicine physician with a passion for injury prevention, I have some tips for keeping your kids safe and preventing window falls.

Four things you can do to prevent window falls

Children are naturally curious and are inclined to look out windows where there’s a lot of interesting stuff going on. Unfortunately, screens are flexible and are not designed to prevent children from falling out of windows. Even a fall from a two-story window can result in serious injury. Here are some ways to prevent window falls:

 

  1. Talk to your kids about the dangers of window falls. Just like learning not to touch the stove when it’s hot and not to play with cleaning products, kids should be warned that window screens won’t protect them and that they can get hurt if they fall out a window.
  2. Install window guards and stops. Properly installed window guards can prevent unintentional window falls. For windows above the first floor, include an emergency release device in case of fire. Window stops are also a great choice. They allow fresh air and a cross breeze and still ensure windows can’t open wide enough for kids to fall out. These can even be installed with suction cups and can be easily taken with you if you move.
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‘Tis the season for safe driving 

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Edward-Elmhurst Health asks in its Healthy Driven Blog, “Have you ever gotten behind the wheel after having a few drinks?” Each time you do, whether you admit it or not, you put your life and other people’s lives at risk. You may think the worst can’t happen, but it can. And one of these days, it could happen to you or someone you love.

December marks National Impaired Driving Prevention Month. This is fitting, since year after year around the holidays, hundreds of people lose their lives in impaired driving crashes.

Yet, it’s not just the holidays but all year long that we need to be responsible behind the wheel.

Every day, 28 people in this country die in alcohol-impaired driving crashes — that’s one person every 53 minutes, reports the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). About one-third of traffic deaths in the United States involve a drunk driver. These are all preventable tragedies.

We all know the age-old saying: don’t drink and drive. But today, impaired driving means more. It includes distracted driving, such as texting while driving, and something else that’s often overlooked — drugged driving.

Illegal drugs, prescription drugs, and even over-the-counter medications can be just as deadly on the road as alcohol. Recent research shows how prevalent drugged driving has become in the U.S. Both alcohol and drugs impair your ability to drive safely by affecting your judgment, concentration, perception, motor skills, and reaction time.

New and young drivers are the most at-risk for impaired driving-related crashes, as car crashes are the leading cause of death for teens, and about a quarter involve an underage drinking driver. Learn signs your teen may be abusing alcohol. Read more 

What Is Doxxing & How To Protect Yourself From An Attack 

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While “doxxing” has been around since the 1990s, in recent years, doxxing attacks have become increasingly common, with celebrities and laypeople alike falling victim.

This article, by Pixel Privacy, goes into detail about what doxxing is and its real-life consequences. In addition, it explains how you can protect yourself from doxxing attacks.

What Exactly Is Doxxing?

“Doxxing” is when someone finds personal information about someone else, usually an internet user, and publishes it online for the world to see. That’s why it’s called “doxxing” – referring to “documents,” shortened to “doc” and then changed to “dox.”

The information that’s published can include the real name, home address, email address, telephone number, photos, and other personal information of the victim, leading to attacks that can move from the online world to the physical one.

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