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Hearing the diagnosis that you have a chronic illness is likely to cause a plethora of emotions and responses. Whether you’re faced with life-long heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, an auto-immune disease or any other chronic condition, you’ll be living with the health implications and treatment for the rest of your life. So, while you can’t work towards a ‘cure’ you can take the management of your condition into hand. Making the decision to take charge of your own health, and not simply respond to the daily ups and downs of your condition, will help you to feel like you have some level of control over your health and your life. So here are our 5 top tips on how to manage a chronic condition before it begins to manage you. Understand the diagnosis  When you’re ready to do so, book an appointment with your specialist and have a full, in-depth conversation about your condition, how it will affect daily life and what you should expect. Do thorough research and ask your specialist about trusted sources of information about your condition. Forewarned is forearmed in the case of dealing with long term health conditions. Make a plan to invest in yourself  You will almost certainly need to change some aspects of your lifestyle to improve your prospects and your day to day wellbeing. So whether that is quitting smoking, eating more nutritiously, exercising or cutting out stress you should sit down and make a practical plan to change those elements in your life. This is time to consider yourself and your health as a top priority in your life. Look for the signs Become more acutely aware of your body and how it works. Get into the habit of measuring and monitoring - if you’re a hypertension sufferer then you should monitor your blood pressure with a home blood pressure monitor, if you’re diabetic you’ll need to keep your insulin levels stable by using a blood glucose monitor or perhaps you simply need to keep an eye on your weight from week to week with an accurate set of home bathroom scales. Start taking note of how you feel on a daily basis, and you might begin to see a pattern of up days and down days. Over time, you’ll begin to spot some of the bad day triggers and be able to manage and avoid those. Manage your Medication  Most chronic conditions will come with a lifetime of medication, often several tablets per day. So, before the list of tablets and times start to take over invest in a practical system for your day to day schedule like a pill organiser or a digital pill reminder kit. Mark your calendar at the start of the year with dates you should be aware of for renewing medication prescriptions, as well as rough times for when to expect your next medical appointments and check ups. Seek help Managing a life-long condition will, at times, feel overwhelming. You will also have to expect periods of illness when you are less able to keep on top of everything. So, it’s essential that you reach out and ask for help early on in your diagnosis. Tell family and friends about your symptoms and treatment, and let them know what you might need help with. Seek out support groups, often these will be your most useful sources of information and support. Chatting to others in the same position can help you to understand your own symptoms better as well as help you to know that you’re not alone. Your GP should be able to put you in touch with local support groups, Facebook groups or charities dealing with your particular condition. Use them - you might even help someone else.  Need more help with your home health supplies? We're always here to help so get in touch today. For all your Medical and Homecare supplies give us a call at Mediworld. We have over 40 years experience in medical, surgical, mobility and home health supplies and we're always on hand to chat if you need support or advice. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook and don't forget to read our other great health blogs!

Cholesterol gets a very bad reputation but we actually need cholesterol in our blood to stay healthy. However, when our cholesterol levels get too high we start to put our health at some serious risk. So how do you know if you’re in danger of having high cholesterol and what can you do to avoid it or bring your numbers down to a more acceptable level for a healthier life? What is Cholesterol? We need cholesterol to survive. It’s a substance that’s formed naturally in our liver. It helps to form part of the walls of the cells in our bodies and we couldn’t survive without it. Cholesterol aids in the production of sex hormones, provides the building blocks for human tissue and helps with bile production in the liver. If it’s naturally occurring, why is cholesterol bad for us? Unfortunately the saying is true - too much of a good thing is bad for you. When we refer to cholesterol we use two terms - LDL and HDL. Both of these are lipoproteins (compounds made of fat and protein) and their main job is to carry cholesterol around the bloodstream so it can do its job. While HDL is known as ‘good’ cholesterol, LDL is the one we need to keep an eye on. Having too much LDL running around our bloodstream can lead to a hardening of the arteries. Hard, or plaque covered, arteries can subsequently lead to blood clots, strokes and heart failure. Keeping an eye on your numbers The only way to know if your cholesterol levels are ok is to have a blood test at your local GP or, if you’re monitoring your levels regularly, you might use an at-home personal cholesterol testing kit. For most of us, reading and understanding the blood test results can be very confusing. You’ll receive a number for both HDL and LDL as well as for your overall cholesterol. As a general guide your cholesterol levels should be: Total cholesterol count under 5 (for most of us) ‘Bad’ LDL under 3 ‘Good’ HDL over 1 (but the higher the better) How to Improve Cholesterol Numbers If your blood test shows that you have worryingly high cholesterol your GP may well offer you statins to help control the amount of bad LDL in your system. Statins are usually prescribed as a daily medicine and can dramatically decrease your risk of heart attack or stroke. If your cholesterol levels are high but not worrying enough to prescribe statins you should seriously consider some lifestyle changes to help bring your levels down.If your levels are on the high side you will be unlikely to see them fall if you don’t attempt to change some of the underlying contributing factors. What can I do to lower cholesterol numbers? There are several things that affect your cholesterol numbers - many of which we do have control over. Diet - Eat foods that are low in cholesterol and saturated fats. Include more plant based foods in your diet and make sure you eat 5 portions a day of fruit and veg. Pulses, nuts and wholegrain foods are excellent cholesterol busters. Dairy, eggs and red meat should be eaten in moderation as they are high in dietary cholesterol. But the main thing to limit in your diet is saturated fats like butter, cheese and most fast food products. Weight - Unfortunately, being slim is no guarantee against having high cholesterol. Cholesterol will happily hide in over- or under-weight bodies. However, it is largely true that if you are overweight and you change your diet to drop excess pounds you will probably be doing your cholesterol levels some good by eating a much healthier diet and improving your lifestyle. Exercise - Keeping active has more benefits than simply improving your cholesterol but it is a very effective way of lowering your numbers and helping to prevent heart attacks and strokes. Studies have shown that moderate exercise (30 minutes of brisk walking per day for example) can slightly decrease your LDL levels. While 3 x 45 minute bursts of intense exercise per week can have a much more dramatic effect on lowering your LDL as well as raising your ‘good’ HDL levels. Stop smoking and Lower Alcohol intake - Quitting smoking can increase your ‘good’ HDL levels by up to 10%. Lowering your alcohol intake (e.g. no more than 3-5 units per week for women) will also help to reduce LDL levels and your risk of cardiovascular disease, as well some cancers such as breast cancer. Unfortunately there are very few outward signs of high cholesterol and often the first sign there is a problem is when a medical emergency like a heart attack or stroke occurs. That’s why it’s so important to maintain a healthy diet and lifestyle as a life-long preventative measure, and to have your cholesterol levels checked regularly with your GP or your at home cholesterol testing kit.  Need more help to improve the disabled access to your business? We're always here to help so get in touch today. For all your Medical and Homecare supplies give us a call at Mediworld. We have over 40 years experience in medical, surgical, mobility and home health supplies and we're always on hand to chat if you need support or advice. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook and don't forget to read our other great health blogs!

Social distancing, mask-wearing and regular washing of our hands. Making sure we’re vaccinated when invited to be so. Both of these things are playing a crucial and effective part in the battle against Covid-19. However, the virus is still spreading, and new outbreaks & variants are regularly occurring, so it’s become hugely important to add one other element into the fight against the spread of coronavirus. Regular, simple rapid testing. Why Is Rapid Testing Important? The roll out of the vaccine programme in the UK has, thus far, proved to be an overwhelming success. To date, over 40 million adults have received at least one dose of vaccination in what has become the biggest inoculation programme the country has ever run. Hospital admission numbers are falling as are deaths, yet the Covid-19 virus continues to spread in the population and symptoms are changing as it does so. So it’s vitally important that we all play our part and keep testing. In fact, using a lateral flow test kit twice a week at home or work is one of the most important ways we can all play our part in helping our communities and the country at large right now. What is Rapid Testing? The introduction of rapid flow Antigen test kits (or lateral flow test) has been a game changer for the overall Covid-19 testing programme both here and around the globe. Rapid testing can be done at home or in the workplace e.g. without the need for a laboratory, and results appear within just 15 - 30 minutes. Antigen Lateral Flow Test Kits include a handheld swab for taking the sample from the nose and throat, a testing solution which is mixed with the sample and a test strip which produces the final result. What Does a Lateral Flow Test Kit Detect? Around 1 in 3 people with coronavirus will experience no symptoms and may be spreading the virus unwittingly. Rapid testing kits detect the disease quickly, meaning positive cases can isolate immediately and limit the spread of the virus. Regular, twice weekly, rapid testing is one of the simplest and easiest ways we can keep ourselves and our loved ones safe, and help to speed up the route to easing restrictions and returning to a normal life. Who Should Take a Lateral Flow Test? Unlike PCR testing which takes place in designated test centres, you can regularly take a lateral flow test even if you have no symptoms. In fact, it’s wholeheartedly encouraged. Everyone over the age of 18 who has no symptoms should be testing twice weekly just now as part of their regular routine. Many schools and workplaces are already practicing this to great effect. In fact since lateral flow testing kits were made available at the end of last year, over 60 million have been used resulting in thousands of asymptomatic cases being identified. That’s a huge result that has undoubtedly halted and shut down endless routes for the virus to spread. Let’s Fight the Virus Together Regardless of whether you’ve been vaccinated or not it’s still so important that we all continue to follow the guidelines AND engage in taking two rapid Covid-19 tests each and every week. It’s become routine for us to wear masks, keep our distance and wash our hands so let’s start to make home or work testing part of our regular routine as well. Testing twice weekly works. It’s helping to stop the spread. So make it part of your routine and do your bit to halt the virus and speed up the process to living a normal life once again. Need a stock of Antigen Lateral Flow kits for your home, office or workplace? We can supply you regularly with kits and all your other medical and health resources too. We're always here to help so get in touch today. For all your Medical and Homecare supplies give us a call at Mediworld. We have over 40 years experience in medical, surgical, mobility and home health supplies and we're always on hand to chat if you need support or advice. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook and don't forget to read our other great health blogs!

Can a Pulse Oximeter help monitor Covid Symptoms at home? While many people who have been diagnosed with Covid-19 will be able to manage their symptoms when isolating at home, it’s becoming apparent that patients who develop more severe symptoms (resulting in hospital admissions) have much lower than normal oxygen levels in their bodies.  Having the ability to monitor oxygen levels at home and to present at hospital before those levels become perilously dangerous really could be lifesaving in many cases. A simple piece of equipment like a  Pulse Oximeter could be a very useful addition to your home first aid kit in cases like these. What is a Pulse Oximeter? A  pulse oximeter is a small, battery operated device designed to give you a reading of your blood oxygen levels and heart rate in just a few seconds. You simply place your finger inside the device (or in some cases on your ear lobe) and, like a digital thermometer, it will display your numbers in real time. The number displayed is actually a percentage of the oxygen saturation in your blood, and since oxygen is the most critical element for the normal functioning of our organ cells, maintaining & monitoring the right levels is incredibly important. When our oxygen saturation levels drop, the heart, kidney, and brain are the most affected organs and can result in symptoms like coughing, wheezing, confusion, rapid heartbeat and chest pain.A low reading is a good indication that the patient should be treated immediately by a doctor. What is a normal Oxygen reading? A normal, healthy oxygen reading will be around 95 to 98 % , although it is possible that someone with an existing medical condition could read slightly lower than this (your GP can keep you informed on your ‘safe’ levels). If your reading falls below 92 this is a sign that something is not right and you should seek attention from your doctor/hospital immediately. Is it safe to monitor oxygen levels at home? Absolutely. As with all home devices, however, it’s a good idea to take several readings to make sure that there is a consistency in results. Make sure the hands are warm, not cold, and maybe try recording oxygen levels with the patient being in a couple of different positions - sitting, standing and lying down. You might also like to check the oximeter on a healthy person at home to compare results.Make sure you keep notes on all of these readings to share with your doctor. That said, it would be unwise to fully rely on a ‘good’ reading as a sign that the patient is completely well. A low oxygen level is not always a sign of impending pneumonia and a ‘good’ reading is also not always an indication that all is well. If the oxygen level is fine but the patient has other symptoms like shortness of breath, a high temperature, confusion etc, then medical advice should still be sought. What are the benefits of monitoring at home? Simply put, it is considerably easier and more successful to treat patients with slightly low oxygen levels than it is those with severely low levels. So, if you are monitoring oxygen levels in the comfort of your own home and you do record a consistently low level of oxygen figures, you could avoid a potentially dangerous or life-threatening scenario, such as advanced Covid pneumonia, by attending hospital in good time to receive additional, but straight-forward oxygen treatment. The benefit of monitoring levels at home is essentially that it can flag a respiratory issue well before the patient is severely unwell, and in need of a space on an already-stretched big dependency ward or intubation unit. On the flip side, while the patient is in recovery from Covid-19, continuing to monitor oxygen levels can give some real relief if they return as ‘good’. To order your oximeter unit from us please visit our website. Need more support? We're always here to help. For all your Medical and Homecare supplies give us a call at Mediworld. We have over 40 years experience in medical, surgical and home health supplies and we're always on hand to chat if you need support or advice. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.