Tips For Staying Healthy In A Hurry
In today’s world, it can be hard to find time for anything else outside of work and familial obligations. So many things that we’d like to do often take a backseat to the bare necessities. Things like leisure time, vacation, home projects and sadly, health.
Personal health can take some time to do correctly. Things like planning and maintaining a good diet, getting enough time to exercise, etc. all require some attention and free moments. But with things as hectic as they can be, we often skip the gym, and go for fast food takeout instead. And never mind routine doctor visits!
But all of these things can still be done with the small amounts of time that we have, if you do them smartly.
Let’s take exercise as the first point. You don’t need to go to the gym to get at least minimal exercise. You can get up just 10 minutes earlier and take a short, brisk walk around your block in the morning. You can also install a pull-up bar in a frequented doorway in your home and do one or two every time you pass through. You can give 5 minutes to some push-ups and sit-ups before bed. It may not be much, but it is definitely better than nothing.
For eating healthy, you can try preparing meals for the whole week at once. Take an hour out of your Sunday to prepare food for your lunches while you are at work and skip the greasy burgers and fries. Breakfast can be as simple as an egg and toast (which takes no time at all). You can even hard-boil the eggs at the start of the week so they are always ready to eat. Following a nutrition guide, like this one here, is also a good idea.
Doctor visits can also be worked out. If you have a few sick days per month at your job, use one to get a checkup every now and then. You can be upfront about it to your boss (provided you typically don’t take a lot of sick days already). In fact, if you pitch it towards keeping you from having to take more sick days, it may even be encouraged.
Moulage: Medical Makeup
Medical training is quite a broad field complete with many different ways to instructing up-and-coming doctors and nurses. To name a few, you have written books describing anatomy and procedures, illustrations (which would include diagrams and photos) to give familiarization, manikins that allow for actual hands-on practice without the need for an actual patient present, and of course apprenticing under professional doctors. All of these methods combine to help give a well-rounded education to future doctors.
But there is another method that is useful in the training of one of the most important skills any MD could have: diagnosis. Doctors need to be able to quickly identify symptoms and render a correct diagnosis, and a great way for them to practice that is through moulage.
Moulage is the applying of makeup and props (see what it looks like here: https://www.wwemsequip.com/moulage-kits-casualty-simulation-c5471) to an actor to simulate injuries and conditions. The actor can complain of varying symptoms and the moulage allows for other indicators to be present as well, such as yellowing of the skin, contusions and others. These actors will be presented to medical students who then attempt a diagnosis based on what they see and what the patient tells them. It is actually invaluable practice.
While moulage isn’t used today as much as it once was, it still is a very valuable training tool in medicine. It would be great to see a revival of this art (as getting the makeup right really does take a bit of artistic flair) in the medical training scene again. While there are further advancements being made all the time (such as virtual patients for doctors to practice on), the closer to can be to dealing with a live person in front of you, the better.
Staying Healthy In A Busy World
Do you have as much free time as you used to? The answer for most people is, “No.” With the economy the way it is, people find themselves working more and having less personal time. This means that various activities that we would like to do will have to get reduced or cut out all together. One of those which usually finds its way to the chopping block is personal health care. I’m not saying that you need to check yourself out with an otoscope, but some care should be places on personal health.
Things like exercise often get cut for lack of time. We sacrifice healthy eating for speed and sometimes price. Routine medical visits don’t occur in favor of using that time to give ourselves a break (or just work more). It would seem that in this current world, we can’t find the time to keep ourselves healthy and maintained.
Well, this is where one must get creative. It is actually possible to get in some of these things without using up any extra time at all. For example, even just 5 minutes of exercise in the morning can have a significant impact on your health. One can also walk to nearby locations rather than drive. Essentially, any opportunity to engage in something physical should be taken advantage of. Personally, I have a chin-up bar up in a doorway in my home, and I will try to do a few every time I walk through it.
On the subject of better eating, one can set aside one night to prepare some food (even just simple lunches) that can be packed for a few days out of the week. This can not only help out as opposed to eating fast food every day, but it can actually save some money too.
As long as one is willing to give some thought and dedication, one can apply some healthy living practices no matter how busy they are.
Tips For Giving Elderly Care At Home
When a parent comes to live with you, you can often find yourself a little overwhelmed. You are now in charge of giving care to the person that originally cared for you, and it is very much like having a child; emergencies can come up at any point, you need to be mindful for potentially dangerous parts of the home, certain equipment will be needed (like walkers, oxygen bags, support bars, etc.) and you will have to have a whole lot of patience.
But aside from the big things, there are some little ones that would be good to know before getting into this type of situation. Over at caregiver.com, we found this great little list of some useful tips for giving care to elderly people in your home:
If you are caring for an elderly loved one at home, you should make them as comfortable and safe as possible. This can reduce stress for you, as well as, your loved-one. The more secure your loved-one feels, the less the likelihood of them becoming confused, aggressive, or agitated. There are simple, little changes you can make to ensure a heightened level of contentment for your loved-one.
Buy a small, lightweight pitcher. Keep it filled with water at all times in a convenient place for your loved-one to get at. Remind them periodically about drinking plenty of water and where the pitcher of water is located. Staying adequately hydrated can ward off a number of different ailments like headaches, sleeplessness, and appetite suppression. It’s great for overall health and well being.
Avoid placing a lot of mirrors around your home. Mirrors can seem confusing for elderly people because they may not recognize their own reflection. Also, walking up to a mirror can startle or confuse them. If you like to have mirrors in your home, buy smaller mirrors and hang them relatively high on the walls. This is to prevent your loved one from seeing their reflection.
Use large dials and number pads. If your loved one enjoys watching television, buy a remote with large numbers. If your loved one can still use the phone, make sure the keypad has oversized numbers. Also, place digital clocks around your home because they are easier for your loved one to read. This will keep them from getting frustrated with trying to read the traditional three-hand clocks.
Buy your loved-one’s clothing in basic colors like black, tan, white, cream and green. This will make it easier for them to pick out their own outfit. In addition, place all their shirts on one side of the closet and shorts, pants and skirts on the other side. Take any clothes they haven’t chosen to wear in a while out of their closet and keep them in another closet or box.
It is better for your loved one to make as many decisions as possible. This helps them to feel in control and a sense of importance. The main thing is to limit choices, too many can be confusing and overwhelming
Dealing With Patients With Special Needs
When caring for a patient or relative at home with special needs, you need to ensure that you are prepared to deal with the various situations that can come up in dealing with that particular person. This can vary from special care (such as massages on the extremities) to having special equipment on hand.
For example, having an elderly and feeble person at home can require lots of special equipment such as oxygen bags, walkers, shower stools, potty chairs, and other specialized items. These things can start to add up (in terms of cost) but not having them can end up being more costly. Take having a shower stool. Should the person slip in the shower for lack of having one, then that can easily wind up in a trip to the hospital. So you would actually be much better off having the equipment.
In the case of someone who has physical disabilities, then the things needed will be specific to their disability. Wheelchairs, stair chairs and walkers are pretty standard fare. Stair walker installations and support bars may also be necessary.
In terms of what care must be given, you need to consult with a doctor to see if there are any procedures that can be done at home that you should train on. There may not actually be anything that you can do, or there may be a lot.
These things may seem obvious, but it is crucial that a doctor is consulted with so that each individual case can be well cared for. These factors can make all the difference between having a difficult time, and being able to competently deal with whatever situation may present itself in the course of care.
Dealing With Trauma When It Happens
Accidents and injuries can happen at any time, and very often, unexpectedly so. When they do, it is important that people are ready to deal with whatever comes up, and that includes trauma.
Trauma is basically any physical injury, but the term is usually reserved for serious injuries that pose a threat to life. They can be disturbing to see but still need to be confronted in order to help the victim.
The first thing that needs to be done is that the victim must be gotten out of harm’s way. This means in the case of a car accident, gotten out of the way of more traffic. In the case of a workplace injury, the machine or equipment that caused the injury must be removed.
The next thing is to stop any bleeding. This is essential as the life is literally running out of the patient. This is where tourniquets and compresses come into play. One should know how to properly use these.
Of course, if the patient is not breathing, CPR would be administered now. If one has a trauma bag available, they may also opt for using an AED to help jump-start the heart.
The obvious next thing is to get the person to a hospital where they can receive further care. While this is the end goal for anyone dealing with a victim of trauma, realize that the first actions can determine if the person will make it to the hospital in the first place (depending on the severity of the injuries).
Being ready and prepared to handle emergency situations is what can literally make the difference between life and death.
Choosing The Right Doctor
It is important to have a good primary doctor, but it can be hard to find one. There are a lot of limiting factors involved in this, especially if you have limited insurance plans restricting who you can choose from. You also want someone well-trained (through the use of manikins, simulators, moulage kits, and the works)Nevertheless, there are some things you can do in order to make the best decision when it comes to selecting your primary care physician.
First, while this may sound a bit inapplicable, look them up online and see how their reviews are. While this is a known tactic for restaurants and shops, this can also be applied to doctors. See what people say about them and try to find someone who seems to really care about their patients (this is the main point).
Next, look for someone who has been in operation stably for some time. This fact of longevity would seem to indicate some level of success on the doctor’s part, and thus grants some degree of credibility. If the guy has been there for a while, chances are it’s for a good reason.
Lastly, when you visit them for the first time, bring any medical questions you may have with you. See if your doctor will take the time to go over them with you. If he tries to brush you off and just “get you in and get you out”, then maybe this isn’t the right one for you. After all, you need someone who will be your stable terminal as far as your medical questions and state are concerned.
Even with all that in mind, you still need to find someone you are comfortable with. While it can be a pain to switch doctors, try to find someone who you can get along with. You will be more likely to follow their advice and take their recommendations seriously.
Stocking Up On Medical Supplies
When it comes to the field of medicine, you need to have the right equipment for the right job. This will, of course, vary depending on the level of involvement you will have. For a regular household, some basic medical equipment should suffice. Basically the things you would find in a first-aid kit. And occasionally, a bit more if dealing with a person with specific medical needs.
For this type of stuff, your local pharmacy will have everything that you need. Places like https://www.walgreens.com/ or http://www.cvs.com/ will have the essentials like antibiotic creams, alcohol and iodine, painkillers, bandages, gauze, anti-allergens, and other basic medical items. If you are looking at assembling a basic home or car first aid kit, look no further than the local pharmacy.
Then there are situations which call for more specific and specialized medical equipment. If you are into hiking, camping or mountain climbing, then you know what I’m talking about. The possibility of sprains and broken bones and even gashes are higher in these situations and you will need to have the necessary items to deal with them. While the local pharmacy will have some of what you need, you’ll probably have to hit a outdoors supply store to find the necessary things. Things like tourniquets and splints will be found in places like theses.
And then there is the realm of professional medical supplies, Places like doctor’s offices and hospitals need to go to bigger suppliers or even manufacturers directly to get what’s needed. Places like https://www.wwemsequip.com/ carry professional medical supplies and devices like stretchers, manikins, and bulk items of medical disposables. While they do carry items ideal for the home (and even complete first-aid kits), this is where the professionals shop for their medical supply needs.
How Medical Students Get Practice
When training for a career in a particular field, it is important that students get as much practice as possible before they go out into the profession. After all, you wouldn’t want to drive over a bridge designed by an architect that never before tried their hand at doing so, or that was constructed by an inexperienced construction team. And with many subjects, the ability to practice comes easily. Anyone could design and build a bridge (at least a model) to get some practice. But what about a field like medicine?
Medical students have long practiced basic procedures on each other in class, or on patients under the supervision of a fully trained doctor. And while this is good, you can’t cover everything this way. Take surgery as an example. Or childbirth. If you are going under the knife or are about to deliver a baby, you don’t want to be a training exercise, rather you want the experienced hands taking care of you. So how would someone train for surgery? Everyone has to have a first go of it, right?
Well, there are 2 ways that this is accomplished. One is through the use of a cadaver. The medical students will perform the operation or parts thereof on the dead body so there is no risk to human life. The other method is through the use of medical manikins, which is a full scale model of the human body (or part thereof) that can be worked on for various procedures.
These manikins are made to provide training experience in a wide variety of situations, from birthing manikins to chest manikins to dental manikins. This allows for safe and yet realistic training so that medical students are well prepared before they ever touch a live patient. These manikins vary greatly as they can be made to suit whatever type of procedure needs to be practiced, from birthing simulators, to trauma victims.
The Usefulness Of Training Manikins
In medical training, there is no such thing as too much practice. When any medical professional is going to perform any procedure on a patient, no matter how simple or complex, you want them to have as much experience under their belt as possible. This is why doctors will intern for some time before striking it out on their own. But even while interning, they are already practicing on live patients. What sort of practice do they get before this stage?
Well, this is where medical manikins come into play. A medical manikin is a training aide that looks like a real human (or at least the applicable part of one). It is essentially a dummy with parts that look and sometimes react like the real body. They are used to practice procedures, operations, the handling of patients, and also to help med students accustom themselves to handling a body.
These manikins come in all types. For example, there are dental manikins used for practicing dental x-rays as well as extractions. There are chest manikins useful for checking breathing and performing respiratory procedures. Birthing manikins are self-explanatory as they assist in the training in delivery. Head manikins can be used to help doctors-in-training practice the use of tools like their otoscope and opthalmoscope kit. For whatever the procedure, there is usually a manikin for its practice.
This type of more realistic and hands-on training allows for much more “experience” to be earned while still in medical school. While there is still value in photos, diagrams, and seeing videoed or live operations, they are still no substitute for getting one’s hands dirty, and giving the technique a try. And as there isn’t always a real patient available to practice on, these manikins really do the trick.
As the future rolls in, we can expect to see even more advanced medical training aids come into development and use.
Keeping Up With The Latest Medical Techniques
There are many professions that require continuing education. Professions like lawyers and real estate agents work in fields where rules and things change, and they need to stay up-to-date to keep up. In other professions, technology of the field itself updates and so one needs to continue learning or be placed into obsolescence. One such field is that of doctors in the medical sector.
Medicine is a constantly evolving and ever-advancing subject. New techniques are coming out and being pioneered all the time (almost as fast as diseases themselves are cropping up and becoming immune to the remedies of yesteryear). There are also new tools being developed all the time (like the things found at https://wwemsequip.com) So naturally, doctors and others who work in this field need to maintain their skills and knowledge base in order to provide the best care possible for their patients.
Just to give you an idea of some of the things that they need to keep abreast of and learn, a few medical advancements of recent years include:
- New medicines
- Robotic surgery
- Remote surgery
- New diseases or strains of known diseases
- Better and newer equipment
- Updated techniques
So as you can tell from the above, there is a lot that doctors need to keep up with. This is also why the initial education of the doctor is so important. As the fundamentals get expanded upon, knowledge of those same fundamentals will be put to the test. Understanding new things depends upon one’s comprehension of things studied earlier. Without this as a base, new information has nowhere upon which to rest.
So I guess the whole point of this is that for us to have constantly competent doctors, medical training (at no matter what stage) needs to be absolutely perfect. I know I want my doctor to have had a good medical training.
Keeping Healthy On The Run
With the way life currently is for most people, there is typically only enough time (barely) for work and a bit of rest. This can make it hard to keep up with the many other facets of our lives. Things like time for family, vacation, household chores and even health can take the back burner and become something only done on occasion. Unfortunately, with things like health, this can take a toll on us as the years go on. This is why it is important that we make healthy living a part of our daily lives, no matter how hectic they may be.
So to help you out with this, here are a few tips that you can use for keeping healthy during your busy day-to-day life.
First, lets look at eating. It is easy to just eat out a lot. It can save time, but it tends to not be all that healthy, and can add up in terms of cost. Especially if you try to eat out and eat healthy. Making yourself something for the next day only takes a few minutes and you can actually take an hour or so and prepare all of your lunches for the whole week at once. It will save you money and also allow you to eat healthy.
In terms of exercise, you need to get it wherever you can. If you have destinations that you could walk to rather than drive, then take the walk. Even if it’s only ten minutes per day, that is still a lot better than nothing.
As for hobbies, if you do have time, try to make them something that will benefit yourself, physically. Maybe take up cooking so that you can enjoy yourself while preparing your weekly meals. If you are more of a couch potato and like playing video games or watching TV, why not do it while on a treadmill or exercise bicycle? Squeeze some exercise time in that way.
Finally, you need to learn how to recognize common symptoms in yourself as an early warning sign of illness. Now, this doesn’t substitute regular doctor visits, but if you can notice when your skin turns pale, or when your eyes are dull in color, you can possibly detect early signs of some other condition. Now, a doctor will be much better at doing this as they have had training involving moulage kits, texts and examination, but something is better than nothing.
A Talk About Training Of Any Type
Now, the focus of this website is typically about medical technology and training. But I briefly wanted to go over something that I feel is applicable to any and every field, and that is the subject of learning and practice. I think that anyone would agree that training, no matter what for, is important and one’s success in any field would depend on the quality of their said training.
In medicine, it is very obvious that one’s training was good or bad. After all, you will soon see doctors practicing in the field, and it will be plain to see if they are getting good results or not. In surgery, the patient either makes a good recovery, or he doesn’t. So the results of training show up rather easily.
Another field like this is one of engineering. Either you can build a bridge that holds up, or you can’t. So training is something that has become rather advanced in this field as well.
So my observation has been that they key to good training is that you give the student not only the theory of what they are studying, but also some practice. Reading a book alone is not enough. Would you let a doctor operate on you who had never practiced, but only read about the procedure in books? Get the idea?
This element of practice in missing in certain professions. Let’s take mental health as an example. Students read about the theories of their predecessors, but there is no practice
involved. This is why results are so few in the field of mental healing. There is no practical part to the training. And the “results” are nebulous.
Same goes in the field of business. Sometimes, a person can go along in life, not really contributing to the successful running of a business, but as there is no concrete way (yet) of measuring one’s actions to expansion or reduction of the company, it goes unnoticed.
My point is that other fields of training should look to the sciences (like medicine where there are loads of training techniques and aides like: https://wwemsequip.com/chester-chest-c5457) and take a few cues about how good training ought to be. This will help to produce better professionals in all fields.
Using An AED
As medical technology continues to evolve, there will be a more “do it yourself” aspect to certain things. No longer do we run straight to the doctor with a fever. We now have medicines available to anyone to help treat it in the home. And now, more and more things are being able to be treated by untrained professionals. One of the most advanced systems for such a thing is the AED.
An AED is an automatic external defibrillator. It is a device which can be applied to a patient who is no longer breathing to apply an electric shock, capable of jump-starting their heart. It can really save someone’s life.
Previously, these devices had to be applied only by trained doctors or EMTs in the field. You had to know how much shock to give the person, and how often. You really could harm someone if you didn’t know what you were doing. The AED has sensors built in to control and determine all of these variables, so that it can be used by virtually anyone. The only thing that needs to be know is when to break it out for use.
That doesn’t mean that is is completely foolproof. Even doctors can make mistakes in the ER, and the same would occur out in the world. There are instructions that need to be followed when using the device, so it helps if people have some familiarity with using one before actually doing so. But lack of training should not completely stop you from at least trying to help someone in a life or death situation.
As time goes on, there will be even more devices like this that will make dealing with medical emergencies much easier for all.
Why Medical Manikins Will Never Be Replaced
As technology continues to improve, we are constantly seeing things become outdated and replaced with newer and more advanced versions. This can be seen in cars, phones, computers and many more devices. And in the world of medical training, this is also the case. Certain devices used long ago have been replaced with newer, better and more effective devices. The stethoscope of today is much more sensitive than the one of yesteryear.
But despite all of the advances that technology has brought, and still has yet to bring, one piece of medical equipment will not be going away. And that is the medical manikin.
A medical manikin is a lifelike representation of the human body, or just a portion of it (like a head or chest manikin). It can be simple, or complex in that is has realistic internals and systems. These manikins are used in the training of doctors. They were developed as an alternative to having to use a cadaver in medical school as fresh bodies were not always available. There is no amount of reading and photographs that can give a medical student as much reality on what the actual parts of the human body look like, and a manikin does a good job of providing that experience.
Now, these manikins have evolved and become much better. They are now made from more lifelike materials so they resemble the parts in texture as well. They also can simulate whole procedures, like in the case of a childbirth manikin.
These valuable tools will likely be with us, helping to train better doctors for many generations to come. And while they will likely continue to improve and be even more true to life, the use of manikins will always be a staple of medical training.
What Value Is There To Home Remedies?
For as many illnesses as there are extant, there are just as many (if not more) home remedies used to help combat them. While many of these can be chalked up as old wives tales, is that true for all of them? That odd remedy that your grandmother swears by may actually be beneficial in treating certain illnesses after all.
So this begs the question of whether or not there is any merit to home remedies.
The plain answer is yes. Many home remedies are borne out of experience in patients feeling better after eating certain plants or herbs, or that performing certain actions help to get rid of illnesses faster. Let’s take a common example of “sweating out a fever”. Many people will actually pile on extra layers and get in bed under their covers to intentionally make themselves hotter during a time of fever. Many report getting over their illness faster this way. There is certainly some logic to it. Your body raises its temperature in order to attempt to kill the virus, and by making it hotter, you are assisting that natural process. Of course, if you overdo it, you’ll be needing to be taken away on a stretcher. But again, some merit there.
So just like with conventional medicines, these remedies need to be tested before one can speak of their efficacy. And people also need to be more responsible about passing these remedies around. Just because something worked for you that one time, doesn’t mean that it is a definitive cure that will work for all.
So don’t necessarily dismiss the remedies given to you by your granny, but don’t swallow them whole either. Do your own research and be the judge when applying a home remedy to yourself or anyone else.
Dental Manikins Make For More Experienced Dentists And Technicians
In the world of medical training, we know that the more tools you have with which to teach students, the better chance they have to become truly competent doctors. That’s why there are all sorts of training aids available. Photos, illustrations, video, multimedia, interactive programs, and medical manikins are all part of the arsenal of training medical professionals. But of all of those, manikins are probably the most important because they fully can represent the human body, in the real world.
That is why these manikins also exist for dentists as well. Usually, these dental manikins will only consist of a head complete with a full set of teeth which can be removed for practice. This helps dental students learn to identify all of the different teeth, and also practice positioning themselves and the patient for tooth extractions. The benefits of using this type of medical tool are numerous.
By giving students 3d representations of patient bodies (or parts thereof), you can create doctors who already have had some form of hands on experience before they ever set finger on an actual living person. That means they will already have some experience and things will go better for the patient.
As medical technology continues to evolve manikins will get more and more advanced. They will include more elements to make the more lifelike, they will be able to react to the things that the student doctor or dentist does. And they will allow for a wider variety of practice procedures meaning more training will be available.
These tools really do represent the future of medical education. As we gather more and more knowledge and theory of medicine, we will need to supply more practical assignments and practice, and that is exactly what medical manikins provide.
What Is Alternative Medicine?
Typically, when one thinks of alternative medicine, one thinks of treatments and remedies that you won’t find at your local doctor’s office. Things like herbal remedies, acupuncture, yoga and others. However, the term itself, “alternative medicine”, may be a bit of a misnomer.
Case in point, it means different things and includes different forms of medicinal practices depending on who you ask. Ask a Chinese medicine man, and you will find that some western practices would be considered alternative by him. Generally speaking, when we think of western medicine, we think of scientific and laboratory based practices (and the things you’d find here). Things like drugs, surgery and the like. While this is true, there is a point to be made, and that is that most all practices have undergone some testing by this point. But while validity may be given (or taken away) from practices from either camp, little change can be seen within either community.
This video from Healthcare Triage breaks this down very well:
Taking Care Of Yourself
You will frequently have people telling you to ensure that you take care of yourself. Either seriously or as parting words. But while some of do heed them, there are those that don’t really pay much attention to their own care and well being. Or, some will try to take care of themselves, but don’t have the proper know-how and neglect certain aspects.
Taking good care of yourself isn’t all that hard. In fact, there are only a few things that you need to do and keep in mind:
- Get exercise. A lot of us tend to neglect this one, but your body does a lot better with a little bit of exercise each day. Even just a 15 minute walk can be enough. No need to spring for a gym membership right away.
- Take vitamins. Our diets sometimes only consist of what is available at the time. So it is easy to become deficient in certain vitamins. A daily multivitamin will help to keep your body full of the proper nutrients. This is no substitute for…
- Eating healthy. Good foods nourish the body and are essential to good health. Although sometimes it is hard, if you take care, you can prepare quick and easy healthy meals for yourself.
- Finally, keep clean. Regular bathing and washing of your hands keeps germs away and promotes good health. You are prone to more infections and bacteria when you are dirty so keeping clean is a must.
As you can see, none of these are all that difficult to put into practice. Obviously getting regular check-ups from your doctor would be advised as well. So realistically, there is almost no reason that everyone can’t take proper care of themselves, no matter how busy they may be. It is better to keep in good physical shape now than end up being feeble later in life, needing a stair chair to get up and down your own home!
Making Medicine More Sanitary
One of the problems that plagued medicine from yesteryear was that many patients would spread their germs to other patients. And it often wasn’t the patient’s fault, but the doctor’s! In actual fact, early surgeons used to use the same tools and rags from one operation on other patients, without proper sterilization. This would result in a tremendous amount of infection. So many times, while the surgery itself was successful, the resulting infection would kill the patient. Thankfully, today we are not in the same position.
Starting in the 1800’s, sterilization began gaining ground. People like Louis Pasteur and Robert Koch pioneered various sterilization processes which led to methods that are still in used today. And while sterilizing medical instruments is still done and is necessary, there are still other alternatives for helping to prevent the spread of infection.
Disposables are another great way to stop germs from spreading from patient to patient. Stored in a sterile container, these items are used once, and then thrown away, with all the germs they may now be in contact with. These disposables are widely available at places like https://wwemsequip.com/.
Finally, there comes understanding how infections spread, and the taking of common sense precautions against them. Knowing that surfaces frequently touched need to be frequently cleaned, not allowing tools to be reused without proper cleaning (hands too for that matter), and keeping patients isolated if they have something that is highly contagious all help to prevent infections from spreading and harming others.
Thanks to modern medicinal procedures, we now don’t have to worry as much about infections (at least not those encountered in hospitals and clinics).
Spirituality in Medicine
One look at our current medical system (mainstream that is) and you’ll see a world dominated by science. Medical technology is used with a certain mathematical precision that is only found in engineering. From exact measurements, procedures and diagnoses, this is a very exacting field filled with pure calculation and lifelike accuracy (just look at these: https://wwemsequip.com/head-neck-anatomical-models-c2858)
So it would be hard to believe that it all evolved from a very spiritual school of thought. But that is actually the truth. If you look at early medicine, you’ll see that medicine and spirituality were at one time, inseparable.
Take a look at a primitive tribe. The “doctor” is actually a shaman, someone who is believed to be able to channel the spirits or at least their powers into healing the sick. For a long time, this was the extent of medical skill. Eventually, it would encompass using certain plants and herbs (which did have some value and was the basis for modern drugs) and slowly but surely, real workable technology evolved out of that.
But even today, there is still a spiritual side to medicine in the minds of many people. People still say prayers for their sick and injured loved ones. Whether this has any actual benefit physically speaking is not the subject of discussion, but it is interesting to see that a large amount of the population still mix the two (religion and healing).
Some will even go so far as to have religious beliefs affect their decisions in terms of health care. Many people don’t believe in vaccinations or other treatments from a purely religious standpoint. So while we may have come quite far in terms of the medical ability we now posses as a society, it’s funny to note how this can sometimes be mired down by spirituality.
The Disappearance of the Home Doctor Visit
Things are different nowadays. With population increases and infrastructure changes, we have to handle things differently as a society as we did in yesteryear. One of the things that has changed are the services you would get at home. Fresh milk is no longer delivered, the daily newspaper delivery is all but extinct, and perhaps one of the most significant, the home doctor visit has vanished.
There are plenty of good reasons for this. After all, when you cut out the doctor’s driving time, he is able to see more patients in a single day. By being established in an office or clinic, he has access to all of his supplies (cutting down on the need for return visits) and also a full staff. His assistants can do some of the simpler tasks allowing him to service even more people. All of these things sound good, but there are a few things that we lost when we lost the home visit.
For patients who are unable to easily move, the need for special transportation was created. Children will always feel more comfortable at home than in a sterile office. There is less risk of getting sick from other patients. And there is something comforting about seeing the doctor walk in with his medical bag in hand, in your home.
There actually are still services that provide in-home doctor visits in various cities, however, they can be prohibitively expensive, and you’re not necessarily going to get the same doctor every time. That means that you will always have a slightly different opinion and getting proper, dedicated care will be difficult. While it can be useful for certain situations and circumstances, it’s no replacement for the good old fashioned home visit.
With the progress and expansion of the future, we will surely miss out on some of the things that are only possible during a simpler time.
Portable Medical Equipment
Most doctors typically work in an office nowadays, and the home visit has become a thing of the past. However, there are some small towns that still have the traveling doctor who still goes door to door seeing patients. Actually, there is a bit of a resurgence in the area of home visits, with certain services popping up that offer doctors at your door. So if you should consider taking on some of this type of business and becoming an in-home doctor, then you’re going to need to carry your medical tools with you.
In addition to needing a medical bag to hold all your gear, you’ll need the equipment itself. You won’t do much good without your tools, now will you? So what kinds of tools can you bring with you? Well, let’s take a look.
Stethoscope: A staple and symbol of the medical profession. This can easily be taken with you pretty much anywhere.
Sphygmomanometer: Another vital tool. This will easily fit inside your medical bag. There are many kinds available and you may even opt for an automatic one if you trust the accuracy.
Otoscope and Opthalmoscope: For complete checkups, you’ll need these guys with you. Very often, they come in their own carrying case. There are even addons and apps that can turn your smartphone into one of these!
Prescription pad: Need I say more? Once you know what your patient needs, you’ll need to be able to write their prescription.
Blood collection kit: Sometimes a simple diagnosis isn’t possible without more information. A blood sample can shed light on underlying conditions and so you’ll need a way to collect and store it till you get it to a lab.
First aid supplies: You never know what you may find during a home visit, and you can’t bet on the patient having any necessary supplies to hand, so a full first aid kit should be part of your regular toolkit.
Another Word About CPR
In any field, it’s important to understand that the common ideas that many people hold about something may be quite far from the actual truth. Let’s take shooting as an example. All too many times we’ve seen action movies wherein the hero runs through a battlefield, picking off enemies left and right while running and dodging fire. In reality, no one’s aim is that good, and running through an open area is a fast way to get filled up with lead. So there is an obvious disconnect from what people have seen and expect, and what is reality. The same can be said about CPR.
In most movies and programs, when the victim has CPR given them, it only takes a moment or two before they regain consciousness and awareness. I wish that were the case, but real life doesn’t work like that. Mind you, there is a chance that a person could regain consciousness, in most circumstances, CPR is used to keep a person alive until real help and treatment can be given to a person. Sometimes the person will begin breathing on their own, but rarely do you get a full return of consciousness.
This false idea may prompt some people attempting to help to stop CPR too soon. After all, it’s been 5 minutes but the person didn’t wake up yet, and in the movies it happens in a minute or two. On the contrary, all the times CPR didn’t work in the movies, it was stopped too soon
This is why proper CPR training is needed. Get yourself in a class with a certified instructor, practice on a CPR manikin, and get the truth about this life-saving procedure. Sure, it’s not as miraculous as in the movies, but it still can keep a person alive.
The Usefulness Of A CPR Manikin
In the event of a medical emergency, there is no such thing as too much preparedness. And I think that every medical professional will agree, no matter what their training background, that CPR is a life-saving procedure that could never be practiced enough.
CPR is the action of breathing for another, as well as artificially stimulating circulation with chest compressions. When a person’s heart stops, this procedure can buy them time until they can be brought to a hospital and put on life support. So the importance of this technique cannot be understated.
This is why it pays off to get properly trained in CPR. While one could simply watch a video and mentally practice the routine (which IS better than nothing else), there is no substitute for professional training. You’ll have an expert there to explain the basics, the pitfalls, and what things you need to know and watch out for. There is also another benefit to more professional CPR training, and that is that you will get to practice on a CPR manikin.
CPR manikins are essentially dummy representations of the human body, that were designed for use in CPR training. They can be breathed into, show lungs filling with air, and can be compressed with a comparable pressure to what you would want to use on a real person. Not knowing how much breath to use, or how strongly to compress can actually injure the victim further, so this hands-on practice is essential. This is even more true for practicing CPR on children as it is even easier to accidentally harm a child through the improper use of this procedure.
So the moral is to get yourself trained in CPR by a licensed professional. There are usually places in every major city that offer this training for a very low cost (if not free altogether).
Various Ideas About Patient Location
I’m gonna start this one with a little bit of a disclaimer: this subject is a little strange, but some research shows that there is some merit to it. This is the subject of patient location. That is, where a patient is physically located and the relation to their convalescence.
Let’s start with an example: If an elderly person is at home and is injured (a fall perhaps), then the area of the home where the accident took place could often remind them of the accident/injury and therefore hinder their convalescence. This definitely goes into the subject of psychosomatic ailments. While it may seem contrary to conventional belief, consider that many people do believe the laughter is the best medicine, and that patients who are happy tend to recover faster than those who aren’t. So we can see that the emotional state of a person can affect them physically.
So back to patient location. If you have a person (especially the elderly) who is constantly in pain and injured in their home, it may be a good idea to remove them from that environment, if even for a short time so that they can recover. This also applies to serious accidents. If someone is hurt in a car accident, then getting them away from the scene as soon as possible may prove to be beneficial. Obviously, you first look at the state of the person to see if they can be successfully moved without causing further injury. Given where they are, you may need the proper equipment to get them moved, like a stair chair or a stretcher. But if it’s possible, try to remove them from the scene.
It’s also important that the environment that the patient is brought to is one where they can feel comfortable and happy. Many people feel very ill at ease in a hospital, so this makes things a little tricky. But more hospitals are adopting a more “hotel-esque” look which makes people feel more at home during their stay.