'Swallowing your tongue' b******s

[Andy @ Allerton]

This piece starts with a fella on a mammoth taxi ride - then bewilderingly mentions someone seemingly trying to kill someone with a plastic ruler - and he gets a fecking award for it!!

 

 

http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,91059-1310975,00.html

 

A New York cabbie has been hailed for taking an elderly couple on the longest taxi ride in the city's history.

 

Last year, Douglas Guldeniz drove the pair from Queens, New York, to their retirement home in Arizona. A total of 2,500 miles.

 

The meter ticked up a whopping bill of £1,500. It isn't known if he got a tip!

 

"If my passengers, they want to dance, then I want to dance for them," Guldeniz said.

 

 

The mammoth road-trip has earned Guldeniz the New York Taxi and Limousine Commission's 'Going the Extra Mile' award. He was one of 60 New Yorkers being lauded for outstanding service.

 

Other award winners include driver Adil Aboussalham who thwarted the getaway of a rapist after hearing cries of help from the victim.

 

Charles Kabbani won the accolade of 2007 Driver of the Year for saving a woman's life after she apparently suffered a seizure. Kabbani used a plastic ruler to stop the woman swallowing her tongue.

 

And if you ever get a New York cab driven by someone named Muhammad, then consider yourself lucky. Of the 60 drivers honoured, nine shared the name.

 

 

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No idea why 'Charles Kabbani' got an award for ramming a ruler into some convulsive womans gob? He should have got arrested.

 

For the record;

 

a) It's is utterly impossible for you to swallow your tongue. No doubt there are some that think this is possible. To validate that it's not actually possible

 

- Make a 'circle' by touching the ends of your tumb with the end of your index finger. This size is an approximation of how wide your throat is

 

- Make a fist with your hand. This is the approximate size of your tongue.

 

- Do the 'hole' with one hand and the fist with the other - the fist is a tad bigger than the hole isn't it?

 

 

- The misconception of this complete load of b******s is that it IS possible to choke/asphxyiate by your tongue flopping back over the hole where your throat is. If you're unconcious - this WILL kill you.

 

However!! trying to grab the tongue and pull it out - or sticking things like rulers in there isn't a wise idea - parents especially (And everyone really) should do a basic first aid course because little things like knowledge can really save someones life.

 

for the record - the way to save an unconcious persons life is as follows;

 

1. In the case where there are no apparant injuries and you feel that the person can be moved without harm to their spine/other organs and you are SURE that they are OK to move and by SURE I mean REALLY REALLY SURE - then you put them into the 'Recovery position' - this opens the airway and ensures freedom of movement of the lungs - plus if they vomit or suchlike -then this can be done away from the body - you can also monitor their Airway, Breathing and Circulation (The ABC of life)

 

2. In the case where someone is on their back and cannot be moved (Spinal injury/trapped etc.) - then you can tilt their head back GENTLY - this is done by GENTLY putting pressure on their forehead and GENTLY lifting their chin - this opens the airway - moving the tongue back from the opening. Some people will argue that in the case of spinal injuries etc this can make it worse - possibly the best thing to do is to monitor the ABC and if they aren't breathing because the tongue has fallen over the airway then they ARE going to die..

 

3. In the case of a car crash when someone is unconcious - but trapped - again the gentle pressure to GENTLY open the airway can easily save someones life.

 

I wouldn't recommend that any of these manouvers be attempted just off reading off here/ the internet - but I would recommend that you all take a FIRST AID COURSE in the near future.

 

just something piss easy can really save someones life.

 

I think they should be mandatory personally - but there you go.

Edited April 15, 2008 by Andy @ Allerton

[ManxRed]

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[Raj]

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