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Home Medical Equipment that Goes Digital

1:08 AM | Labels: , , ,

Getting the vital signs of the patient before is a little bit time consuming for nurses. Almost all instruments used monitoring the overall health condition of an individual are mechanically operated. But when advances in medical technology came, digital hospital and home medical equipments were invented.

Medical instruments play crucial roles in saving the lives of people. They are purposely designed to monitor health under difficult conditions. And with digital hospital and home medical equipments, these brought great convenience particularly for the part of nurses most especially on times when there are a lot of patients to attend to. These modern instruments are usually designed with high precision and fast response time. While for the part of the patient, modernize hospital and home medical equipments likewise offer them better comfort than traditional ones.

From a simple thermometer and blood pressure device, all these modern hospital and home medical equipments feature the basic systems of a digitally operated device. And that includes a power/battery management system, control and data processing unit, amplification, amplification and A/D conversion of the sensor input, display units and sensory element. No wonder why modern medical instruments are much better and safer to use.

By the way, I have hear some of the common hospital and home medical equipments that go digital:

Digital Thermometer

This replaces the glass thermometer that typically contains mercury. It is much safer to use and results are easier to read.

Digital Blood Pressure Device

Early diagnosis of hypertension becomes possible. One can easily check his or her blood pressure anywhere with a digital blood pressure device.

Digital Pulse Monitor

Monitoring ones heart rate and rhythm is made easier with this digital pulse monitor. It only needs to strap the opto-pulse transducer on the thumb/finger with Velcro straps; turn the power switch on and the pulse in beats per minute will be automatically displayed.

Portable Glucose Meter

Monitoring the blood sugar is very easy with portable glucose meter. With modern glucose meter, it uses a so called “drum” mechanism so there is no need to use test strips.

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Posted by misty mclarry

Medical Malpractice or Medical Negligence?

6:33 PM | Labels: , , , ,

While searching for nurses who have been sued for medical malpractice, I came across Legal Law Help site and certain post makes me stop and think for a while. The said post talks about medical malpractice and medical negligence.


Here's the part of the write-up that makes me wonder whether the words medical malpractice and medical negligence can be used interchangeably.

WHAT IS MEDICAL MALPRACTICE?
Medical Malpractice, also called medical negligence, is the failure of a medical professional to meet the standard of good medical practice in the field in which the medical professional practices.
Medical malpractice occurs when a healthcare provider - doctor, hospital, HMO, nurse, other individual or entity licensed to provide medical care or treatment - does something that competent doctors would not have done, or fails to do what a competent doctor would have done, resulting in personal injury or wrongful death.

But as far as I can recall my law101, malpractice and negligence are two different law terms with different meanings. The first term is used to refer when a professional did a wrong thing or procedure that results in injury or damage. The latter term is used when a professional knows what must be done but failed to do it. Hence, medical malpractice should never be used as synonym for medical negligence.

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Posted by misty mclarry

New Study Reveals Healthy Lifestyle Help Lower Diabetes Risk

10:51 PM | Labels: , , , , ,

A group of researchers claimed recently that if people will only have a long term commitment to healthier food intake and/or exercise on the succeeding years, this will help bring down the risk of developing diabetes. Based on their study, taking an additional step at a time toward healthy lifestyle significantly lowered their risk of developing the said disease despite their family history of diabetes or of being overweight.

This new study, which was led by Jared Reis Ph. D., highlighted 5 healthy habits that were deemed to bring a significant effect on lowering the person’s risk fall to diabetes. These healthy habits include maintaining a normal weight, avoiding smoking, being physically active, drinking alcohol moderately or no to drinking, and opting for hale and hearty diet.  The research result revealed that individuals who follow at least one of those five stated healthy behaviors reduce their chances to suffer from this metabolic condition at about 30% percent.

Diabetes is the 7th leading cause of death in the United States and this health condition allows the government to spend $174 billion every year, not to mention the $116 billion paid for direct medical expenses. Meanwhile in WHO data, diabetes ranks 9th as the leading cause of death worldwide. Since 2000, the American Diabetes Association estimated that there are a total of 171 million people who are suffering from diabetes who have been diagnosed to have diabetes and this figure is projected to increase up to 366 million in 2030.  This is exactly the reason why healthcare professionals who often comes wearing a white lab coat and uses stethoscope as among their primary medical instruments, keep on advising everyone to avoid unhealthy lifestyle behaviors to curb the risk of developing chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes.

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Posted by misty mclarry

The Effects of Boxing to Youngster’s Health

12:17 AM | Labels: , , , , , , , , , ,

With Pacman’s unconquerable career in boxing, many amateur boxers of today are trying to follow his footstep. Sadly, boxing is not an appropriate sport for young children or those who are under 19 years of age. This is what the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Canadian Paediatric Society is telling to the public, particularly to concerned parents. These two organizations of pediatricians do believe that boxing could compromise the health of the youngsters.

image obtained from Blitzsport

Based on their recent studies, the number of amateur boxers who developed serious facial and brain injuries are found to be higher these days compared to the cases of boxing injuries recorded by US and Canadian healthcare officials in the past decades.  Aside from facial and brain injuries, one thing more that this concerned medical doctors worry about children and youth who are into boxing is that this sport could lead to chronic traumatic encephalopathy – a brain disorder brought by recurring blows to the head. A person with chronic traumatic encephalopathy may experience dementia-like symptoms in the later life.

We all know that a boxer is being rewarded for dedicated and deliberate blows to the opponent’s head. And even if amateur boxers are equipped with the same protect safety gear being used by professional boxers, the group of medical doctors (who often come with a pediatric littman steth hanging on their neck) highly stressed that these safety gears particularly the head guard provides no evidence that it can actually reduce the incidence of concussions and lacerations. 

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Posted by misty mclarry

Obesity in America: Why it has Grown Worse?

8:30 PM | Labels: , , , , ,

image source:obesity.net
Obesity in America is now a growing problem. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revealed in their research that for the past 20 years, there has been a dramatic increase in obesity in the United States and prevalence estimates remain high. Based on the statistics of CDC for obesity in US, 33.8 percent of the adults’ populations are diagnosed to be obese and 17% of children and adolescents (ages 2-19) populations are suffering from obesity.

Despite the different weight loss formulas that most Americans follow, it is still so alarming to learn that the prevalence of obesity on the said country continues to increase. And why it is so alarming? Simply because carrying extra pounds is highly associated to increasing the risk of individuals to develop serious diseases such as stroke, diabetes, hypertension, heart and cardiovascular disorders, etc.

One of the common reasons why people become overweight and obese is over consumption particularly of foods and drinks that are high in calories. Let us admit it that our busy work schedule and lack of time to cook healthy meals forced us to be reliant on fast foods or prepared meals. Although these types of meals are usually cheaper and easy to access, what the consumers do not know much is these fast foods and beverages from drive-thru restaurants contain large amount of fats, salt, and sugar hence; they are considered as high calorie foods that provide little nutrition.

It is not too late to conquer obesity in US. If each of us will only be aware of our calorie intake and avoid sedentary lifestyle, for sure the number of obese individuals will be reduced in the coming years.

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Posted by misty mclarry

Tips to Naturally Lower Your Blood Pressure

12:50 AM | Labels: , , , ,

One of the common reasons why people become obese and at risk for high blood pressure is because of their unhealthy lifestyle. Unhealthy lifestyle simply means the person is smoking, drinking, has poor diet, and lack of physical activity. According to survey, these people with unhealthy lifestyle are three times more likely to die from diseases especially heart-related disorders and cancer. Hypertension is also another prevalent disorder that a person with poor lifestyle may experience.

Today, hypertension or high blood problem is becoming the number one health problem not just of Americans but of all individuals around the world. With more and more children below 18 years old who are becoming obese these days, hypertension is also getting more and more common as obesity is among the risk factors for high blood pressure.

So if you are one of those people with poor lifestyle choices, better think now. If you want to shorten your life span or put an end to it right away, then continue with your poor lifestyle. However, if you still want to live longer and witness your future generation, then start practicing a healthy behavior.

Here in our nursing home facility, many of our clients are hypertensive. We don’t always give them beta-blockers unless the BP level is very high. And on this post, I will share to you our secrets to naturally lower one’s blood pressure or keep it stable at normal level (120.80 mmHg). If you are one those hypertensive people who still want to extend their life span, these tips are for surely beneficial for you.

Have a healthy eating plan
Anything that is too much is bad to your health. Therefore, consume only healthy portions of basic food groups each day. For hypertensive person or has already reached the pre-hypertension stage, having a healthy eating guide is very beneficial. You may consult to a reliable dietitian regarding the recommended number of serving food you need every day. Take note that the recommended daily allowance vary according to the person’s age, gender, as well as if he/she has a disorder. Hypertensive people usually follow a no-cholesterol, low-salt diet.


Be physically active

Avoiding sedentary lifestyle by doing some exercises regularly helps a lot bring your blood pressure down to a safer level. There are so plenty of exercises you can do that are effective to burn the calories you consumed. For hypertensive people, moderate-intensity exercises like brisk walking, biking, and other activities that moderately raise the heart rate are said to be effective in lowering one’s blood pressure.


Drink alcohol moderately and avoid tobacco

The body requires a certain percentage of alcohol for metabolism. However, excessive consumption of could bring a significant effect to the body and one of them is to raise your blood pressure. Meanwhile, hypertensive people should avoid smoking because it does not directly cause high blood pressure; the nicotine content in tobacco injures blood vessel walls and speeds up the process of arteriosclerosis (hardening of the arteries).


Regularly monitor your blood pressure

Nothing is better than monitoring your blood pressure regularly. You can now find in the market user-friendly medical instruments for BP testing, which are designed both for home and hospital use. So make sure you have one of these home medical equipment so you can always track your BP level at the same time immediately take preventative measures whenever required.

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Posted by misty mclarry

Easy Steps to Manage Nocturnal Leg Cramps

8:21 PM | Labels: , , , , , , ,

Night time is meant for sleeping, which is a very important to every individual’s overall health and well-being. Sleeping is the ideal time for the body to repair cells that are often damaged by metabolic wastes. It also helps recharge the fuel that the brain burned or consumed during the all-day activity. But let’s admit it that not all people today can experience a good night sleep. Some are perhaps too busy in their work while others may be suffering from severe health condition that’s why their sleeping habits are the ones being compromised.

Let me share to you one of my clients who often have an interrupted night sleep. Her name was Jaimee and she’s 65 years of age. Just last week, I was assigned as her nursing assistant. Jaimee is still energetic compared to other residents who are also at her age. In fact, she can still perform her activities of daily living by herself so my main responsibility is just to supervise her to prevent potential accidents and injuries. But if there’s one thing Jaimee would always complain, that is the leg pain that suddenly makes her sleepless. Jaime has never incurred injuries for the past days so I am pretty sure that the ache she’s currently feeling has nothing to do with fractures. I conclude that what she is suffering right now is leg spasm or the sudden, involuntary contraction of muscles in her legs. So the moment she told me about the condition of her legs, I offer a therapeutic massage with my hope that this will help relieve the ache. Fortunately, it helped.

The next day, I asked Jaimee how’s her legs and she quickly replied, “They’re better now.” So when she told me about that, I was hoping that she will no longer experience the same pain on the following days. But I was disappointed because 3 days after Jaimee told me that her legs are already ok, she’s here again telling me the leg discomfort. And by this time she said the pain get worse and moving her legs is now more difficult. Thinking that that it’s only muscle spasm, I did the same first aid but sad to say, it didn’t help relieve the pain and the muscles remained in a contracted position. The legs are really hard, almost like concrete, and I can see in her facial expression the intensity of the pain. After failing in my first aid, which includes applying hot compress and then massaging the cramped muscles, I immediately ask assistance from my co-workers so I can bring Jaimee to someone who knows better in medicine at the same time is equipped with the right medical instruments for diagnosing. After the doctor’s thorough examination on Jaimee’s condition, here comes the physician’s findings. There it was stated that Jaimee is suffering a nocturnal leg cramps.

Up to now, healthcare professionals (who often come stethoscopes hanging on their neck) don’t know the exact cause yet for such condition. But some studies claim that leg cramps are a result of increased electrical activity in the affected muscles. Others associate nocturnal leg cramps to dehydration as well as potassium deficiency. Whether or not these studies are true, the good news is nocturnal leg cramps are preventable.

Anyone can experience nocturnal leg cramps. So here are some tips on how to prevent it from happening:
  • Drink plenty of water. Being dehydrated is one probable reason why people suffer from leg cramps. Therefore, drinking enough glasses of water every day will keep your body hydrated. It will also help balance your electrolyte.
  • Eat foods rich in vitamins and minerals especially those that are high in potassium, calcium, and manganese.
  • Stretch regularly, especially the calf muscles. Sitting down often at work provides your calf an abnormal nerve activity, which then leads to leg cramps. So to prevent this from happening, stretch your calf muscles once in a while.
  • Massage your leg muscles at night to loosen them. Massaging is one way of telling the muscles to relax. And if you take a shower, make sure it’s a hot shower or warm bath.
  • Avoid too much alcohol, caffeine, and high-sodium diet because they can make your body lose more fluid, which then bring you to dehydration.
  • Do not overstress your muscles. Getting too much exercise can overstress your leg nerves and make them muscles cramp. 

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