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The HSE have released a new video on the correct use of masks by Health care professionals. The video is also useful for childcare professionals who are wearing the FFP2 or N95 Masks. Respirators are used to prevent inhalation of small airborne particles arising from AGPs. All respirators should: be well fitted, covering both nose and mouth not be allowed to dangle around the neck of the wearer after or between each use not be touched once put on be removed outside the patient room or cohort area or COVID-19 ward Respirators can be single use or single session use (disposable) and fluid-resistant. Note that valved respirators are not fully fluid-resistant unless they are also ‘shrouded’. Valved, non-shrouded FFP3 respirators are not considered to be fluid resistant and therefore should be worn with a full face shield if blood or body fluid splashing is anticipated. FFP3 respirators filter at least 99% of airborne particles. The HSE states that all staff who are required to wear an FFP3 respirator must be fit tested for the relevant model to ensure an adequate seal or fit (according to the manufacturers’ guidance). Fit checking (according to the manufacturers’ guidance) is necessary when a respirator is donned to ensure an adequate seal has been achieved. The new guide and video are on the main website COVID-19 page

This guidance will assist staff in addressing coronavirus (COVID-19) in educational settings. This includes childcare, schools, further and higher educational institutions. This is the latest advice for Education in the UK. Go to the COVID-19 page on our website to download this or follow the links here. COVID-19: guidance for education settings

EMS providers will be required to comply with the binding order, as hospital and ambulance resources are overstretched due to COVID-19 By Laura French Yesterday at 2:14 PM NEW YORK —  FDNY EMS personnel have been ordered to not transport cardiac arrest patients if they cannot be resuscitated in the field. The order was made in a letter Tuesday by the Regional Emergency Medical Services Council of New York, which oversees FDNY EMS, to preserve hospital and ambulance resources amidst the COVID-19 crisis, according to the New York Post. Officials said the order is binding and effective immediately. EMS providers will be instructed to begin compressions and artificial ventilation immediately when the patient is determined not to have a pulse, according to the letter obtained by the Post. However, if the patient cannot be revived on the scene, providers are ordered to stop CPR and declare the patient dead, at which point their body will be turned over to the NYPD. The order applies to all adult non-traumatic or blunt traumatic cardiac arrests, according to the letter, but patients can be transported is there is a return of spontaneous circulation, a direct order from a medical control physician or imminent physical danger to the provider on the scene. Deputy Fire Commissioner of Public Information and External Affairs Frank Dwyer said the department is currently planning how to implement the new rule, according to WABC. Dr. Vinayak Kumar with the Mayo Clinic told WABC, “When you’re doing the CPR, you’re pushing really hard on the patient’s chest and they’re expelling some air in the process as well, so if they are COVID patients, they’ll be spreading that all around. This is a risk-benefit math you have to take into account.” Dr. Darien Sutton told WABC that the stream of patients never seems to end, and there is nowhere left to put them. The emergency room doctor said the FDNY’s new order is “really terrifying.” “As a doctor in New York and as a New Yorker, I have family that live here, and when I hear things like that I obviously get afraid, fearful for the livelihood of my family,” Sutton told the station. New York City has more than 45,000 COVID-19 cases as of Wednesday night, according to the city's health department. An estimated 9,775 of those patients are hospitalised, and more than 1,300 have died from the disease. More than 200 FDNY members have also contracted COVID-19. In response: Posted by deanfuller2 Apr 3, 2020 at 4:37 AM More modern EMS systems have been operating this way for years. Why is New York so far behind the times? More specifically, modern EMS systems have paramedics that are trained and equipped to provide the same level of care a cardiac arrest patient would receive if they were laying on a bed in a hospital emergency department. If the modern paramedic can't establish spontaneous circulation (heart beat) in the field, there's no reason to transport the patient, because there's nothing more to be done. The paramedic and the E.D. are trained and equipped equally.

Latest updates and guide for staff on managing cases of infectious diseases in schools and other childcare settings. Last updated 29 May 2018. link is https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/health-protection-in-schools-and-other-childcare-facilities Main files are in our folder for student resources. #Firstaid #childcare #communicablediseases

Have you been feeling unhealthy lately? A vacation could be the best medicine. Researchers say what many have long believed to be true: Some time away may actually reduce stress. The gold standard of long term health studies, the Framingham Heart Study, which tracked workers over 20 years, found vacations can be important for your physical health. According to the study, men who didn’t take vacations were 30 percent more likely to have a heart attack, and for women who don’t take a break, the chance of a heart attack went up to 50 percent. (Heart attacks sometimes lead to cardiac arrest.) Researchers also find that vacations improve mental health and overall well-being. The best way to rest and recharge is to plan ahead. Experts recommend that you talk openly with your colleagues about your time off, clarify your priorities and make sure to delegate tasks. By having a well-organized vacation plan, you can schedule time off without feeling guilty about leaving work unfinished. So go ahead and take that vacation. You deserve it! #Firstaid #Holidays #cardiacarrest #Heartattack

New research presented at this year's Euroanaesthesia congress in Copenhagen, Denmark shows that the quality of chest compressions during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) can be improved by using either a smartphone app or by using the song "La Macarena" as a mental memory aid. The study is by Professor Enrique Carrero Cardenal and colleagues at the University of Barcelona, Hospital Clinic Barcelona, and Universitat Autònoma Barcelona, Spain. Improving the quality of compressions performed during CPR can significantly increase the chance of survival and lead to better health outcomes. The goal of the study was to compare the effectiveness of a smartphone metronome application, and a musical mental metronome in the form of the song "La Macarena" at improving the quality of chest compressions. Both the app and the song provide a regular rhythm to help time compressions. The team selected a group of 164 medical students from the University of Barcelona to perform continuous chest compressions on a manikin for 2 minutes. Subjects either received no guidance (control), were provided with the smartphone app (App group), or were asked to perform compressions to the mental beat of the song "La Macarena" (Macarena group). The smartphone app made a noise for each compression at 103 beats per minute (bpm), but in the Macarena group the students needed to prove first that they knew the song La Macarena in order to do the compressions correctly. The authors also collected demographic data and information about the quality of chest compressions, as well as conducting a satisfaction survey. The study found that the average percentage of compressions occurring in the target range of 100-120 bpm was significantly higher in the App and Macarena groups (91% and 74% respectively) compared to the control group (24%). No group achieved the required compression depth of 5 cm, but those using the App had the best overall quality compression scores despite having the longest onset delay before performing the first compression. The students who participated in the experiment also rated the app as being the most useful help method. The authors conclude that: "Both the app and using mental memory aid 'La Macarena' improved the quality of chest compressions by increasing the proportion of adequate rate but not the depth of compressions. The metronome app was more effective but with a significant onset delay."

1. What is Sudden Cardiac Arrest? Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) is a life-threatening emergency that occurs when the heart unexpectedly stops beating. It strikes seemingly healthy people of all ages, even children and teens. When SCA happens, the person collapses, becomes unresponsive, and is not breathing normally. The person may appear to be gasping, choking or having a seizure. SCA leads to death within minutes if the person does not receive immediate help. Survival depends on the quick actions of people nearby to call 911, start CPR (cardio-pulmonary resuscitation), and use an AED (automated external defibrillator) as soon as possible. 2. What causes Sudden Cardiac Arrest? Sudden Cardiac Arrest can result from cardiac causes (abnormalities of the heart muscle or the heart’s electrical system), external causes (drowning, trauma, asphyxia, electrocution, drug overdose, blows to the chest), and other medical causes such as inflammation of the heart muscle due to infection. 3. How common is Sudden Cardiac Arrest? Sudden Cardiac Arrest is a leading cause of death in the U.S. It affects more than 356,000 people outside hospitals each year. 4. Does Sudden Cardiac Arrest mostly affect the elderly? No. While the average Sudden Cardiac Arrest victim is 60-years-old, SCA affects people of all ages— even children and teens. More than 7,000 youth under the age of 18 experience SCA each year in the U.S. 5. Does Sudden Cardiac Arrest mostly affect people with a history of heart problems? No. Sudden Cardiac Arrest is often the first indication of a heart problem. 6. Where does Sudden Cardiac Arrest occur? Sudden Cardiac Arrest outside hospitals occurs most often in a home or residence (68.5%), followed by public settings (21%) and nursing homes (10.5%). 7. How often is Sudden Cardiac Arrest witnessed? Sudden Cardiac Arrest outside hospitals is witnessed by a layperson in 37% of cases and by an EMS provider in 12% of cases. For 51% of cases, the collapse is not witnessed. 8. Who survives Sudden Cardiac Arrest? About one in 10 EMS-treated victims of Sudden Cardiac Arrest survives (10.8%-11.4%). However, February 2018 there are large regional variations in survival to hospital discharge (.8%-22%), which are largely due to bystander intervention with CPR and AEDs. 9. Is Sudden Cardiac Arrest the same as a heart attack? No. A heart attack may be compared to a plumbing problem in the heart, while Sudden Cardiac Arrest may be compared to an electrical problem in the heart. When people have heart attacks, they are awake, their hearts are beating, and they are able to communicate. When people have SCA, they are not awake, their hearts are not beating, and they are unable to communicate. Heart attacks can lead to SCA, but there also are many other causes. 10. Is there anything a bystander can do to help save a life threatened by Sudden Cardiac Arrest? Yes. The chances of survival from Sudden Cardiac Arrest increase dramatically if the victim receives immediate CPR and treatment with a defibrillator. AEDs—increasingly available in public places and homes—are designed for use by laypersons and provide visual and voice prompts. They will not shock the heart unless shocks are needed to restore a healthy heartbeat. 11. Do survivors of cardiac arrest experience any complications? Some survivors of cardiac arrest experience multiple medical problems including impaired consciousness and cognitive deficits. As many as 18% of OHCA survivors have moderate to severe functional impairment at hospital discharge. Functional recovery continues over the first six to 12 months after OHCA in adults. 12. What is the impact of Sudden Cardiac Arrest on society? The estimated societal burden of Sudden Cardiac Arrest in the U.S. is 2 million years of potential life lost for males and 1.3 million potential life lost for females, accounting for 40-50% of the years of potential life lost from all cardiac diseases. Among males, estimated deaths attributed to Sudden Cardiac Arrest exceeded all other individual causes of death, including lung cancer, accidents, chronic lower respiratory disease, cerebrovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, prostate cancer, and colorectal cancer. Take Home Message You can save a life. First, be prepared. Learn CPR and how to use an AED. Then, here's what to do if SCA strikes: • Call 9-1-1 and follow dispatcher instructions. • Start CPR. Press hard and fast on the center of the chest at a rate of 100-120 beats per minute. • Use the nearest AED as quickly as possible. For more information, visit http://www.sca-aware.org

Drones, the unmanned aircraft that got its start as part of the U.S. military’s arsenal and is today being used by everyone from photographers to farmers, are now heralded as a solution to a problem that’s bedeviled emergency medical personnel for years: How to deliver lifesaving defibrillators to people suffering cardiac arrest in areas not quickly reached by ambulances. Experiencing a cardiac arrest — when the heart stops due to an electrical malfunction in the heart — is almost always a death sentence when suffered outside a hospital. Of the more than 356,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests each year in the United States, nearly 90 percent of them are fatal, according to statistics from the American Heart Association. The survival rate could be dramatically improved, experts said, if bystanders would perform CPR and use portable devices called automated external defibrillators, or AEDs. Research shows brain cell death starts three minutes after the heart stops beating and every minute that elapses without defibrillation means a 10 percent decrease in the odds of survival. Drones are being tested to see if they can swiftly and safely bring defibrillators to those in distress. Some drones use a cord to lower the AED to the ground, while others land and a bystander removes the AED. A Canadian study published in Circulation last year found that when compared to ambulances, using drones in the Toronto area cut AED delivery times in urban areas by 6 minutes, 43 seconds and slashed it in rural neighborhoods by 10 minutes, 34 seconds in most cases. Likewise, a Swedish study published in JAMA last year showed that drones deployed in Stockholm took an average of 5 minutes, 21 seconds to reach their destination — more than 16 minutes faster than ambulances. “Faster response time should lead to higher survival,” said Timothy Chan, director of the Centre for Healthcare Engineering at the University of Toronto and an author of the Toronto study. “Getting a defibrillator is time-sensitive and literally every second counts. If we can do it and keep people safe, this is a no-brainer.” It’s unclear if drones have ever successfully delivered AEDs in real-life situations. The Toronto study applied mathematical models to out-of-hospital cardiac arrests that occurred in the city from 2006 to 2014. The Swedish study dispatched drones and ambulances to the same location as an experiment though no patients were involved. However, the opportunity for real-life experience is growing. The city of Reno, Nevada, was selected last month to participate in the Federal Aviation Administration’s drone pilot program that will help determine how to regulate and safely integrate drones into the U.S. airspace. The city will partner with drone delivery startup Flirtey to deliver AEDs. The Canadian County of Renfrew began using drones last year and has deployed one roughly every two weeks to provide services such as conducting reconnaissance and delivering medicine, said Michael Nolan, chief paramedic and director of emergency services for the county of 100,000 people located just outside of Ottawa. They recently deployed a drone with an AED, but the ambulance arrived first. However, the county is awaiting approval from Canadian regulators to fly drones a distance of 4 nautical miles (4.6 miles), an increase from the currently approved 2 nautical miles (2.3 miles), increasing the chances the aircraft could be used to deliver a defibrillator. Nolan said he worked with Canadian regulators for two and a half years to pave the way for the first approval — a time span he called “a blink of an eye in the public policy world,” especially given that drones are still a relatively new technology. “The biggest concern that we and the regulators shared was making sure we were integrated with the aviation community to make sure that people in the air and on the ground were safe,” said Nolan. Together they set limits on how high and far the drones could fly. Test runs proved to regulators the drones could fly safely even though the operators couldn’t see the aircraft. The drones also needed some modifications such as being formatted to fly at night. Meanwhile, 911 operators had to learn how to instruct bystanders to approach the drone and use the defibrillator. “It is a lifesaving device that provides a benefit,” said Nolan. “When you do the safety-risk assessment, it is clear that the risk associated with doing something outweighed the risk of doing nothing.”

The use of onsite automated external defibrillators (AED), increasingly found in places like airports and sports stadiums, is raising the chances of surviving a cardiac arrest, suggests a recent study from Europe. Between 2008 and 2013 in regions of Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden, the proportion of patients experiencing cardiac arrest outside of a hospital who had a dose of electric current delivered to the heart by emergency medical services dropped by half, researchers found. At the same time, the proportion that received this treatment, known as defibrillation, from bystanders or first responders such as firefighters or police more than doubled. On average, patients got shocks to restore their heart rhythm sooner than was typical in the past and there was an overall increase in survival over the study period, from 13 percent to 15 percent. “An automated external defibrillator (AED) is a portable electronic device that automatically diagnoses life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias and is able to treat them through defibrillation,” senior author Dr. Jacob Hollenberg, a cardiologist at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, told Reuters Health in an email. “The application of electricity stops the arrhythmia, allowing the heart to reestablish an effective rhythm,” Hollenberg said. “An AED is simple to use, and you cannot do harm. With simple audio and visual commands, they are designed to be simple to use for laypersons.” Continued AED training programs for first responders and the general public are essential, the study team writes in the journal, Heart. Altogether the researchers identified 22,453 patients whose survival status was known. Of these, 2,957 were alive 30 days after their cardiac arrest and 2,289 of them had received defibrillation before reaching a hospital. Over time, the proportion of survivors defibrillated by first-responder AEDs rose from 13 percent in 2008 to 26 percent in 2013. Similarly, the proportion of survivors who received their first defibrillation from an onsite AED rose from 14 percent in 2008 to 30 percent in 2013. Survivors of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest are increasingly defibrillated by non-EMS AEDs and these treatments are associated with increased survival, Hollenberg said. “This means that public defibrillation performed by lay people saves lives!” New studies are needed, especially aiming to increase survival for the two-thirds of the cardiac arrests that occur at home, Hollenberg noted. “Here, I am convinced that further studies of dispatch of lay responders are the most promising solution for the future.” The results substantially confirm what has also been seen in the U.S., said Dr. Myron Westfeldt, a researcher at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore who wasn’t involved in the study. “There is no doubt anymore that bystanders can use the defibrillators that are now being manufactured,” Westfeldt said in a phone interview. “They’re easy to use, they’re self-instructional, and they really do save lives, tremendously save lives.” Many previous studies have estimated that every minute waiting for defibrillation results in a loss of about 10 percent of potential survivors, Westfeldt noted. “If a bystander does CPR and chest compression, it’s a little bit better than if nobody does anything, but the really important thing is how long it takes to defibrillate. And clearly, the benefit of the bystander defibrillating is going to be greater the longer it takes EMS to get there,” he said. Citizen volunteers, drones and even car services such as Uber could help increase access to AEDs, he added. “If every Uber had a defibrillator, and we had a way to pay for those defibrillators, when somebody used one of these AEDs, if the insurance companies in the United States decided we will pay some reasonable amount of money to Uber for providing a lifesaving instrument to a patient, wouldn’t that be exciting?” Westfeldt asked. He also cited American Heart Association efforts in every U.S. state over a two or three-year period to include defibrillation under Good Samaritan statutes. “So, people who were consciously using the defibrillator in the best way they knew how could not be sued for . . . as long as they were a real bystander using it in an appropriate way,” he said.

NASHVILLE, TN--iPhone users in the United States who call 911 will be able to automatically and securely share their location data with first responders beginning later this year with iOS 12, providing faster and more accurate information to help reduce emergency response times. Approximately 80 percent of 911 calls today come from mobile devices, but outdated, landline-era infrastructure often makes it difficult for 911 centers to quickly and accurately obtain a mobile caller’s location. To address this challenge, Apple launched HELO (Hybridized Emergency Location) in 2015, which estimates a mobile 911 caller’s location using cell towers and on-device data sources like GPS and WiFi Access Points. Apple today announced it will also use emergency technology company RapidSOS’s Internet Protocol-based data pipeline to quickly and securely share HELO location data with 911 centers, improving response time when lives and property are at risk. RapidSOS’s system will deliver the emergency location data of iOS users by integrating with many 911 centers’ existing software, which rely on industry-standard protocols. “Communities rely on 911 centers in an emergency, and we believe they should have the best available technology at their disposal,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “When every moment counts, these tools will help first responders reach our customers when they most need assistance.” In keeping with Apple’s focus on privacy, user data cannot be used for any non-emergency purpose and only the responding 911 center will have access to the user’s location during an emergency call. “911 telecommunicators do extraordinary work managing millions of emergencies with little more than a voice connection,” said RapidSOS CEO, Michael Martin. “We are excited to work with Apple to provide first responders a new path for accurate, device-based caller location using transformative Next Generation 911 technology.” The FCC requires carriers to locate callers to within 50 meters at least 80 percent of the time by 2021. iOS location services are capable of exceeding this requirement today, even in challenging, dense, urban environments. This new feature allows Apple to make these benefits available to local 911 centers now rather than years from now. “We’re thrilled that Apple is giving 911 centers access to device-based location data via a thoroughly-tested, standards-based approach,” said Rob McMullen, President of the National Emergency Number Association, the 911 Association. “This will accelerate the deployment of Next Generation 911 for everyone, saving lives and protecting property.” “This new functionality is an example of how companies and first responders can use technology to dramatically improve public safety,” said Tom Wheeler, FCC Chairman from 2013 to 2017. “Lives will be saved thanks to this effort by Apple and RapidSOS.” “Helping 911 services quickly and accurately assess caller location has been a major issue since my time at the FCC,” said Dennis Patrick, FCC Chairman from 1987 to 1989. “This advancement from Apple and RapidSOS will be transformative for emergency response in the United States.”

Study Highlights: Study finds external wearable defibrillators are safe and effective in children with ventricular heart rhythm disorders that put them at risk for sudden cardiac death. The wearable devices may provide a reliable alternative to surgically implanted defibrillators in patients who cannot have surgically placed devices or who do not need them long term. DALLAS, TX--Wearable cardioverter defibrillators — vest-like devices that deliver electric shocks to interrupt a dangerous heart rhythm – may be a safe and effective alternative to surgically implanted devices in children with ventricular heart rhythm disorders that put them at risk for sudden cardiac death, according to new research published in Circulation: Arrhythmia and Electrophysiology, an American Heart Association journal. “Our results, which stem from the largest study to date among children in the United States using wearable cardioverter defibrillators, suggest that these external devices can help save the lives of children who are at the time, not good candidates for surgically implanted defibrillators because of their medical condition,” said the study’s principal investigator David Spar, M.D., assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Cincinnati and a pediatric electrophysiologist at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. Sudden cardiac arrests in children are usually caused by heart abnormalities that the child is born with. Cardiac arrests are often triggered by an electrical malfunction that results in a rapid heartbeat that causes the heart to pump ineffectively. With its pumping action disrupted, the heart cannot pump blood to the brain, lungs and other organs, and death can occur if the heart’s rhythm is not restored or corrected. Surgically implanted cardioverter defibrillators — the main therapy for children at high-risk for sudden cardiac death due to heart rhythm disorders, known as arrythmias, are effective in averting deaths from potentially lethal heart rhythms, but invasive surgery or prolonged hospitalization is required. However, many young patients are not good candidates for these surgically implanted devices because they need only a temporary “bridge” to help their heart. For example, if they are waiting for a heart transplant, are a newly diagnosed heart failure patient who is recovering cardiac function or if they have an infected implanted cardioverter defibrillator, they wouldn’t be good candidates, Spar explained. Even though wearable cardioverter defibrillators were approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use in pediatric patients in 2015, data about their safety and efficacy in children has remained limited. This gap in knowledge has been particularly troublesome in how effective the device would be in younger patients in treating dangerous arrhythmias. If effective, the wearable cardioverter defibrillator could avoid prolonged hospitalizations while still offering arrhythmia protection, researchers said. The newly published results -- based on a review of clinical outcomes among all U.S. pediatric patients who wore wearable cardioverter defibrillators between 2009 and 2016 -- is the first to describe appropriate therapy with a wearable cardioverter defibrillator in a pediatric population. Of the 455 patients (average age 15) included in the analysis, eight (1.8 percent) received at least one shock treatment to interrupt a dangerous heart rhythm. Six of the eight patients in whom the device discharged received appropriate therapy for the type of heart rhythm the device is designed to detect and stop. In the two cases of inappropriate therapy, the device misfired when it misread a signal from the patient’s heart. In all cases, the dangerous heart rhythm was successfully interrupted, normal heart rhythm restored and the patient survived. This study did not receive outside funding.

How are you feeling today? A little groggy? Nauseous? Have you promised yourself that you’ll never drink again? If that sounds familiar, then you’re probably here hunting for hangover cures. Two popular folk remedies that pretend to have some scientific backing are Pedialyte and Gatorade. Let’s see if they actually work. The Contenders While just about everyone who has ever had a sip of alcohol has their own hangover cure, from “hair of the dog” to greasy foods, few recommendations are as common as chugging Gatorade or Pedialyte. The idea is simple: if drinking dehydrates you, then drinking a beverage designed to counter dehydration should make you feel better. Let’s take a quick look at both options: Gatorade: Gatorade is a sports drink meant to combat dehydration better than water. It supposedly does this better than regular old water by packing in potassium and sodium, which are both electrolytes. Electrolytes help you hydrate quickly by telling your kidneys not to pee so much. Since it’s a sports drink, Gatorade also has carbohydrates, sugars, and added calories added in to help with endurance. Pedialyte: Pedialyte was created to help dehydrated children recover from illness. The method of rehydration is similar to Gatorade. Pedialyte has lots of sodium and potassium, but less calories and less sugar than Gatorade. Celebrity endorsements for Pedialyte from both Miley Cyrus and Pharrell (and an appearance on True Detective) helped push it into the public consciousness as a hangover cure. Let’s take a closer look at both options to see if either can help you get over that pounding headache. While we’re still not exactly certain what about alcohol causes hangovers specifically, we do know what happens in your body after the fact. After a night of drinking, the body releases acetaldehyde and cytokines, two causes for nausea or headaches. Your liver also gets overworked in an attempt to process all that alcohol. Dehydration is another effect of a hangover, which happens because alcohol is a diuretic and makes you pee more. Gatorade and Pedialyte are supposedly a good cure for the dehydration portion of your hangover because they’re packed with electrolytes. Electrolytes help you retain more water and pee less, which is good for fast rehydration. Before we get there, let’s look at the nutrition numbers on both Gatorade and Pedialyte: A 32oz bottle of Gatorade has 440mg of sodium and 140mg of Potassium, but also packs in around 200 calories and 56g of carbohydrates. The 33.8oz container of Pedialyte has 1,012mg of Sodium and 768mg of Potassium. It has 100 calories and 24g of carbohydrates. In theory, all these electrolytes should help with the headache part of your hangover, and since Pedialyte has more electrolytes, it sounds like better option. Dehydration is just one part of your hangover though, so curing that won’t “cure” your hangover as a whole. To that point, The Atlantic spoke with kidney doctor and medical school professor Stanley Goldfarb and Amy Hess-Fischl, nutrition specialist at the University of Chicago: The root of hangovers, Goldfarb explains, isn’t that the body lacks water or electrolytes such as sodium, potassium, or magnesium after a night out. Instead, it’s just that the chemicals produced when the body breaks down alcohol are toxic and pain-inducing. The surest hangover cure, then, is something that the market doesn’t generally prefer: patience. (While Goldfarb says dehydration doesn’t play much of a role in determining the intensity of a hangover, it can be important to drink fluids if there’s been water loss from diarrhea or vomiting.) Amy Hess-Fischl...says that before bedtime, drinking fluids does matter when it comes to hangovers, but still, Pedialyte is no better than water. “The Pedialyte itself is truly helping because it is rehydrating,” she says. “But any non-alcoholic decaffeinated beverage will do the same thing.” Regardless of how big of a role hydration plays in the power of a hangover, we know dehydration causes the brain to contract, and that could be one of the minor causes of your headache. The best counter to that is hydration, which is especially necessary if you’ve spent the night (or morning) throwing up. There’s at least a theoretical grain of truth in the idea that both Pedialyte and Gatorade provide a slight hydration improvement over regular old water, in which case Pedialyte would theoretically outdo Gatorade. Gatorade Has Far More Flavor Options and Is Substantially Cheaper While taste is subjective, there’s no denying that Gatorade wins out in the number of options available. Gatorade has 29 flavors of its “Thirst Quencher” drink. It also has eight low-calorie flavors, and four flavors of a powder mix you can add to water. You can find a 32oz Gatorade at a local convenience or grocery store for $1-$2, or get larger packs, like eight, 20oz bottles, for about $6. Pedialyte comes in five main flavors: mixed fruit, strawberry, grape, bubble gum, and unflavored, though they all taste like lightly flavored chalk dust. Those same flavors also come in freezer pops and powder packs. One, 33.8oz container of Pedialyte retails for about $5. Pedialyte is also a bit harder to find than Gatorade and you’ll need to venture into a grocery store or pharmacy for a bottle instead of the local convenience store. Gatorade is the cheaper, easier to find option of the two. Gatorade doesn’t have as many electrolytes per bottle as Pedialyte, but it’s so much cheaper. The number of flavor options means it’s more likely you’ll drink more Gatorade, which is all that matters. If money’s not an issue, just go with whichever you like the taste of more. The Verdict: Drink Whatever You Can Keep Down (That Isn’t More Booze) We don’t know if either Gatorade or Pedialyte is better than plain old water. We do know that hydration is one small factor of getting over a hangover, so drinking anything will help, but it won’t “cure” a hangover completely. Plus, water is much much cheaper. Drink whatever tastes good and whatever you can keep down in your sorry state. Better yet, create a time machine, go back to last night, and drink water in-between each alcoholic drink. Gatorade and Pedialyte are both available from Amazon.co.uk but you may find Pedialyte is more expensive than gatorade in the UK