Two years ago, COVID caught everyone by surprise when it hit the world.
You needed to be self-sufficient because you had no choice but to stay home for fear of getting infected with this microscopic enemy.
Everybody had to learn how to monitor and treat various symptoms at home, especially at times when hospitals are getting filled up.
In a snap of a finger, everybody had to manage sick family members on their own. Home care suddenly became a skill that we all had to learn, one way or another.
As a result of this, the demand for medical supplies shot up. People suddenly began purchasing oximeters, thermometers, and even oxygen concentrators in order to help manage COVID symptoms before they get worse.
Pre-COVID, these medical devices were only used by people who had COPD or other respiratory problems. Others had their own medical gadgets depending on their specific needs, but people have never considered having their own health monitoring equipment until this life-threatening virus came.
Given that, it is important that you have the necessary tools in order to properly manage yourself and your families from home. In case you suddenly feel something different, you will be able to do the necessary monitoring and potentially apply the correct first aid before you even rush to the hospital.
In no particular order, these are some of the essential health tools that you should have at home.
Blood Pressure Cuff
Your blood pressure tells you how hard your heart has to pump to deliver blood throughout your body and without it, your body wouldn’t get the oxygen it needs. Having high blood pressure can mean that you have hypertension. That means your heart has to pump harder than usual. This means more stress for your circulatory system which can lead to stroke, kidney failure, or even heart attack!
Untreated high blood pressure can cause many serious medical problems. This is the reason why having your own blood pressure monitoring device is a must to know when our blood pressure is not within the normal range.
If you are already diagnosed with hypertension, a blood pressure monitor helps gauge the effect of prescription medicines when it comes to balancing your blood pressure.
Thermometer
Fever is your body’s first reaction to an infection. When your immune system detects that there’s a virus in your body, it signals the brain (specifically the hypothalamus) to turn up the heat, creating a hostile environment for the virus. This tells your immune system to start working. The higher body temperature indicates that your body is indeed fighting the nasty infection.
It is important to monitor your fever as this is a sign that you’re about to get sick, whether it’s COVID-19 or other diseases. That way, if you are unable to manage it at home, you know that you need to seek medical attention immediately as it might lead to other complications like a seizure.
Nebulizer
If you regularly suffer from respiratory, health-related issues, having a nebulizer at home is one of the best ways to address this. A nebulizer helps break down the prescribed medicine together with oxygen so that you can easily inhale it.
This device comes in handy if you have COPD or asthma. Just remember to keep this device clean before and after use and most importantly, to have a separate mouthpiece for each individual in the household who will use it.
This is also particularly useful if you have infants or toddlers who get coughs and colds. It helps deliver the medicine to the airways which is a lot easier than having these little ones drink it from the medicine dropper.
Pulse Oximeter
This little gadget is commonly used in hospitals to monitor the heart and oxygen saturation levels in the blood of patients who need extra care and monitoring. Nowadays, almost every single household has it!
This device can give you the details of the oxygen flow to different parts of your body so you will know instantaneously whether or not your blood is receiving an ample supply of oxygen. If you are suffering from congestive heart failure, COPD, asthma, or other pulmonary diseases like COVID-19, this is something that you must have with you at all times to help you monitor one of your vital signs.
Glucometer
This device is used to keep track of the sugar levels in your blood. This is of utmost importance to know if your sugar levels are a bit high and if you have type 1 or type 2 Diabetes. If you have this device, you can immediately prick yourself, put a tiny amount of blood in the glucometer test strip, wait for the results and administer insulin injections if needed. Diabetes that is not monitored can adversely affect the heart, eyes, and kidneys.
Weighing Scale
This is one of the most commonly owned yet at the same time, the most avoided monitoring tool a person could have. Being overweight or obese is leading a cause of a lot of health issues, death included. That’s the reason why it’s important to keep track of your weight.
At the same time, being extremely underweight, or if you’re losing weight too quickly without doing anything extraordinary can also be an indicator that something is going on inside your body. Remember – this device is not just for people who are on a weight loss program. Weight plays a crucial role in our life.
Diligent Urgent Care – for your serious medical needs
These are just some of the most important health devices that we should all have at home. It’s good to have them handy whether we get sick often or not because knowing our vital signs through the use of these tools can greatly help us in ensuring that our body is always in good condition.
If there was one good thing that this pandemic has taught us, it is to give utmost importance to our health and that of our whole family. Knowing how to monitor your vital signs and their underlying meaning is key to good health and addressing early signs of diseases before they become full-blown.
And if upon using these tools, you find you or your loved one in need of a reliable health care provider, there’s no need to Google for “urgent care Union City NJ”, “urgent care Bergenline,” or “urgent care West Orange.” Diligent Urgent Care is where you should go.
We are open 365 days a year, from 8 AM to 10 PM on Mondays to Fridays, and from 9 AM to 7 PM during weekends. But we are also more than willing to work extended hours in order to meet your health needs. We are a one-stop affordable solution – from diagnosis to physical examinations, vaccinations, and lab tests, we have them all here!
We ensure that we attend to you quickly without rushing your care so much so that we have the capacity to provide emergency room treatment, minus the big ER bills and long lines.
Contact us today for any pressing health concerns you may have. Walk-ins are also very much welcomed.
Visit us today and experience top-quality care.
