A Quick Guide on Digital Thermometer

Modern technology has helped medical equipment manufacturers to produce variety of products that has been helping physicians to diagnose the medical problems with patients and helping them to avail immediate relief. There are numerous tools and devices available in the market from which one can choose

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Purchasing the thermometer

When a thermometer is to be purchased, the one that comes immediately to the mind is the age old mercury thermometer. What people have to realize is that they can avail modern technology to measure body temperature, in the form of digital thermometer. As a matter of fact, the demand for the best digital thermometer in India has been increasing at a fast pace among customers, physicians and nurses. 

Why digital thermometer?

The digital thermometer is regarded to be an exceptional tool that offers accurate body temperature measurements. It is a wonderful purchase to be used at homes. Using this type of thermometer is so easy that even children can operate them without any hassle. The temperature derived from the reading is not only accurate, but also quick. Using it would mean, there is no need for reading at the eye level, the thermometer or requiring to wait for a moment for stabilizing the reading as the numbers are digital. 

Various types of digital thermometers available

Basically, there are two types of thermometers available in the market which is the infrared (IR) and probe type. Using the latter, one can have internal temperature of anything to be investigated. It is used mostly for checking food temperature. IR or Infrared thermometers are those which allow investigation to be taken from a distance. It can prove to be beneficial at places, which the person might not be eager to or simply cannot get much close like inaccessible events. The general medical digital thermometer can be purchased from the local medical shops or from reputed online sites and have it delivered at the home or the office. 

It is always recommended to purchase a branded thermometer to ensure that precise readings are taken. These days, one can avail digital thermometers at discounted prices, thereby saving a good amount of money on the purchase.

Types of Medical Thermometers

A medical or clinical thermometer is one, which is used to measure body temperature of human beings. They are of different types based on design and mode of use (location).

Location:

Based on location of use, medical thermometers measure temperatures of three types: sub lingual or oral temperature (placed under the tongue), axillary temperature (placed below arm pit) and rectal temperature (placed in the rectum via the anus).

Oral temperature is used for a patient, who can hold thermometer securely under the tongue. This rules out small children and those who are unconscious or overcome by vomiting or cough. Typical temperature range for such thermometers is from 35 degree C to 42 degree C.

Axillarry temperature is measured by holding thermometer tightly under the armpit. It must be held for several minutes for accurate measurement.

Rectal temperature is measured by using thermometer along with personal water-based lubricant. Though it is accurate, such methods are usually embarrassing or unpleasant. It is mostly used to take temperature of infants.

Design:

Digital thermometers:

Such regular thermometers use electronic heat sensors to measure body temperature. They can be used in mouth, armpit or rectum. They are ideal for both infants and adults.

Digital ear thermometers:

They are also called tympanic thermometers, which use an infra-red ray to record temperature inside ear canal. They are ideal for adults and older children.

Digital Pacifier thermometers:

If your baby uses pacifier, it is good to use this type of thermometer. Peak temperature reading is recorded while baby sucks at pacifier.

Temporal artery thermometers:

These are forehead thermometers, which use an infra red scanner to record the temperature in the temporal artery in the forehead.

They are easy to use and accurate. They are ideal for both newborns and adults.

Mercury thermometers:

They were the staple in most home medicine cabinets. They use mercury encased in glass to record body temperature. They are no longer recommended as breakage can release mercury, which is toxic.

Based on your requirements and deciding what suits you, one can do thermometer online shopping.  Thermometers are a must for your home medical cabinet as fever is a common condition from infants to adults.

Benefits of Hot and Cold Therapies

Cold therapy and heat therapy are useful in treating inflammation and pain in the human body. Thermal therapies are used by practitioners  to improve motion of your injured body and joint segments.

This enables you to take part fully and faster in rehabilitative activities. Practitioners include physiotherapists, chiropractors, etc., who use heat therapy, cold therapy and hot-cold therapy for alleviating various conditions and ailments.

Benefits of Heat Therapy:

It is very useful for treating musculo-skeletal injury, caused mostly by sports related activities. Heat therapy is divided into two types: Deep and superficial.
Types of superficial heat therapy include hot packs, infra red heat, hydro therapy and baths in paraffin wax. Types of deep heat therapies include ultrasound and microwave and short wave diathermy.

Applying heat to your body increases blood flow and results in more flexibility to your connective tissue. It reduces muscle spasms , pain and joint stiffness. It lowers congestions and inflammation in tissues. It is used to treat complaints ranging from arthritis, injuries to cancer.

Benefits of Cold Therapy:

Cold therapy (cryotherapy) is used by medical professionals to treat serious injuries of the musculo-skeletal systems. It is aiming at reducing  inflammation, pain , muscle spasms, inflammation and metabolic rate.

Cold therapy cools the surface of skin as well as underlying tissue, which causes narrowing of blood vessels (vaso- constriction). Vaso constriction reduces flow of blood to injury site thus lowering swelling.

Benefits Of Contrast Therapy (Hot and Cold):

Contrast therapy: Use of heat and cold has been used to treat health conditions since ages. It is believed to exert a physiological impact on the gateway of pain to your body. It works by interrupting pain signals to the brain.

Pain relief is welcome to those who suffer long term pain like that of muscles and nervous system. As part of this therapy, you can use hot and cold packs or alternating cold showers and hot pools. This is known as hydro therapy where water of contrasting temperatures is used to heal  large or small areas of the body. One can buy hot and cold therapy products from health stores or online stores.

These are some of the various therapies used to treat pain, inflammation and swelling of the body.

What Are Uses Of Cervical Traction?

Cervical traction has many medical applications. It helps lower compression in the neck, which removes pressure of discs that reside among the spinal bones (vertebrae) of the neck. It can also throw open the area where nerves exit from spinal canal to help relieve pressure from a compressed nerve. Cervical traction can also stretch joint and muscle structures around the neck.

Cervical traction can benefit the following conditions and more:

·         Neck arthritis

·         Bulging or herniated discs in neck

·         Cervical muscle spasms

·         Neck strains

There are different types of cervical traction based on mode of use. The best cervical traction device depends on your need:

·      Manual cervical traction: This type of traction is used manually by the physiotherapist, who holds the head and neck in his hand and applies a pulling force or traction to the neck. He applies rhythmic sessions of pulling and resting, holding each position for ten seconds.

·       Mechanical cervical traction: This traction involves the head and neck being attached to a harness, while patient is in lying down position. The harness is connected to a machine providing traction force. The machine has a control panel with which the Physiotherapist can monitor quantum of force applied.

·    Over the Door Traction: This traction device can be best used at home. It involves strapping a harness to your neck and head, while being seated on a chair. The harness is connected to a rope that is attached to a pulley system on a door. Weights are used to apply traction force like a water bag or sand bag, loaded at the opposite end of the rope.

Generally experts recommend applying a force of around 20 pounds while starting the traction. This traction force must be maintained for 10 to 20 seconds after which it must be released gently. One can increase traction to 30-50 pounds but rhythmic use must break for 10 to 20 seconds.

One can apply traction several times in a day. It is best to consult a qualified professional like a physiotherapist to discuss modalities of the cervical traction plan for you. If you experience aggravation of symptoms like pain, you must inform your doctor, immediately.

How Are Eye Exams Done And The Use Of An Ophthalmoscope?

We all understand the importance of an eye exam. It is something that everyone should get every few years, and especially those who use prescription glasses or contacts.

Now, when you go to the eye doctor, you always see that they first put some eye drops in your eyes and then use a device to look into your eye. That device is called an ophthalmoscope, and it is used to check how the retina, optic disc, and other parts of the eye are doing. 

This is a very important device that is used by every eye doctor, and if you want to buy ophthalmoscope online India then you will not be surprised to find that they are quite easily available at medical equipment stores. If you are new to this field and do not know what the purpose of an ophthalmoscope is, then here is a little information about it.

·      Ophthalmoscopy is an exam that lets a doctor see what is on the inside of the area that is behind the eye and erstwhile structures using a magnifying instrument which is the ophthalmoscope, and a light source.

·         This test is done as an element of an eye exam and may be done as part of a routine physical exam.

·         The back of the eye has a lining of nerve cells called the retina, that notice the images that are seen by the clear, outer covering of the eye called the cornea. The back of the eye also contains blood vessels and the optic nerve.

·        There are two kinds of ophthalmoscopy; direct and indirect. In the former, the doctor makes use of an instrument about the size of a small torch with quite a few lenses that can magnify almost up to 15 times. In the latter, the doctor uses a little handheld lens and either a cut lamp microscope or a headband with a light attached to it. Indirect ophthalmoscopy gives a clearer sight of the back of the eye, even if the cornea is covered with cataracts.

So, now you know what eye exams are and where exactly is an ophthalmoscope used.

What Are Main Types of Weighing Scales?

There are various kinds of weighing scales in the market. The oldest are the analog scales. Today weighing scales have evolved into digital scales, high tech scales, high capacity scales and design minded scales.

 The first type is the weighing scale analog. It is the perfect answer for a wide range of manual applications. They are popular because of their accuracy and low price.

The earliest analog scales were called as balances. These were made of four parts: lever, fulcrum and two pans. The central beam consisted of the fulcrum to which is attached middle of the lever, allowing it to pivot. At each end of the lever are placed, the two pans. When you want to measure weight of an object, it would be kept on one pan and known weights would be placed on the other pan. When lever reached horizontal position, it meant that items in both pans were of equal weight.

Analog scales developed into triple beam balances, double beam balances and hand scales. Another popular development is the analog spring scale. Variants of this type are bathroom floor scales, hanging scales and top loaders. These scales work on the principle that when you impose force on a constant, known spring, it will stretch to a notable, known distance.

To measure using the analog spring machine, one can attach a weight to the spring. When this weight is applied, an indicator will move up and down, along a pre-marked weight measurement. On using the spring concept in the weighing scales, anything from one to four springs can be used. Springs are placed in the corners and on application of force, the springs are stretched and they cause a pre-marked measurement wheel to spin.

Digital scales are an improvement over the analog scales and are simple and accurate. They are operated by batteries and are easily available in stores and online. Some have the capacity to store previous ten readings.

High tech scales are able to delve deeper into the composition of the body than analog or digital scales. 

Several models calculate percentage of body fat by using a tiny electric pulse to distinguish between muscle tissue and fat. Some scales sync readings with one’s smart phones or tablets, updating readings of BMI index and digital weight. Then there are talking weighing scales which suit the visually impaired.

High capacity scales are suited to those with excessive weights of more than standard amounts. Designer scales match the aesthetics of your room like bathrooms. These include teak wood, mirrored and bamboo digital scales.

A Quick Guide on Nebulizers

Nebulizers are breathing machines used to treat respiratory illnesses like asthma and cystic fibrosis. They are used to administer medications in the guise of a mist, inhaled into the lungs. They are more efficient than ordinary inhalers. They are also used to contain side effects of medicines like steroids by reaching the medication straight to the respiratory system.

Types of nebulizers: There are two basic kinds of nebulizers: ultrasonic and atomizer jet. Atomizer is also known as compressor nebulizer and is the most common type of nebulizer. It functions by using an aerosol compressor to create vaporized droplets of medication.

Ultrasonic nebulizers make use of high frequency sound waves to create a breathable version of medication droplets. Though both types of nebulizers are effective, ultrasonic is quicker and works more silently. In case of both types of nebulizers, patients have to inhale via a facemask or a mouth-piece.

 A compressor nebulizer converts liquid medicine into a mist for treating asthma. It comes in two versions: electric or battery operated. They may come in two sizes: one large enough to place on a table and connect to a plug in the wall and another, which is small enough and easy to carry around. 

Both consist of an air compressor, a small container filled with liquid form of medicine and a tube that links medicine container to the air compressor. There is also a mask or a mouth piece meant for inhaling the mist form of medicine.

How does the nebulizer work? Air in pressurized form passes via the tube, converting the liquid medicine to the form of a mist. In the event of an infection or an asthma attack, the mist is more convenient to inhale in comparison to spray of a pocket based inhaler. In case of your airways becoming narrow (as in case of asthma attack), it is difficult to take heavy breaths. Hence, a nebulizer is a better form of inhaling machine than an inhaler for which deep breaths are required.

How to maintain the nebulizer? A nebulizer like Optima compressor nebulizer needs proper care. It should be cleaned after every use and disinfected after any treatment. Because you are breathing in from the instrument, it must be kept especially clean. This is to discourage growth of bacteria. Follow the instructions of the healthcare provider for best results.

There are special nebulizers meant for kids. These are lightweight and have safety features meant for kids. Masks or mouthpieces are so designed to fit the small facial features of kids. The machines are also designed with child friendly shapes like animals, flowers, cartoons, etc.