Tag: nurse

Preparing for Hair Transplant Surgery

Hair transplant can make you look younger and more attractive. Your doctor will need to prepare you for the surgery so that you will know exactly what to do to make the procedure go better. If you follow instructions, you will have a much better outcome.

When the doctor sees you a couple of weeks before surgery day, she will go over again exactly what procedure you are getting. The surgery will be explained to you in detail so that it will be fresh in your mind before you make that final commitment. She will go over any problems she sees that might come up during the hair transplant procedure.

Then, you will be given instructions to make your hair transplant surgery go better. Some of the items on the list might seem like the doctor is interfering with your life, but they are truly necessary if you are to get the best outcome.

You will be told to quit smoking, at least until after you have healed from the surgery, if you are a smoker before the hair transplant procedure. This is important because smoking makes you heal slower by inhibiting blood from flowing to your skin.

It may be hard to do, but if you quit smoking just for the surgery, it might not be so hard. Then, once you have done that, you may find that you want to stay off the cigarettes or cigars even after the hair transplant have healed. If not, then at least you will have allowed your skin to heal.

You may be given specific guidelines for eating in the weeks leading up to the hair transplant surgery. Excessive drinking may be a problem due to anesthesia and medications you have to take in the course of having your hair transplant done, so you may be asked to refrain from drinking until your head has healed. You may even be told whether or not to take certain vitamins and medications.

The doctor will discuss where your hair transplant procedure will take place. She may even have a nurse or helper give you a tour of the facility. It will most likely be a doctor’s clinic or an outpatient surgery center. You will be made to feel as comfortable as possible. Unless you are one of a very tiny group, you will not have to stay in the hospital overnight.

You will have time to discuss anesthesia with the doctor. She will probably tell you that you will be sedated and given a local anesthesia. This will be enough to help you relax and keep pain from being a part of the hair transplant procedure. You will only feel pressure on your scalp.

Finally, you will be told to make arrangement to be taken home on the day of the hair transplant surgery. You will not be fit to drive because of the sedation; at least, it would not be wise to do so. Since you probably need to take it easy the first day or two, you might want to ask someone to stay with you, although that is purely optional.

If you follow all your doctor’s recommendations, you will be thoroughly prepared for you hair transplant surgery when the day comes. It is a big deal to you, so you might as well treat it with the seriousness it deserves.

High Blood Pressure in Adolescents

High blood pressure is a condition where the blood pressure is more than normal. It is also known as hypertension. Heart pumps out blood, so that oxygen can reach to different parts of the body via blood. The pressure with which heart pumps blood is known as blood pressure. The blood pressure comprises of two measures, the systolic pressure and diastolic pressure. Systolic pressure is the larger figure and represents the pressure within the artery of the heart, when contractions take place which pump blood to different parts of the body. Diastolic pressure is the pressure within the artery of the heart, when the blood is filling in the heart and it is at rest. Both the pressures are measured in millimeters of mercury or mmHg. High blood pressure is abnormal increase in systolic pressure or diastole pressure.

Blood pressure is measured by putting a blood pressure cuff on the arm and placing a stethoscope on the chest. There can be very little variation in blood pressure depending upon the time, emotional moods, age, gender, weight, height, physical activity, stress and other illness such as heart disease and kidney disease. Children and adolescents become anxious when they visit the doctor. This is also an important factor which affects the blood pressure and the readings taken get tampered because of it. That is the reason why many blood pressure readings are taken in order to determine whether the adolescent has high blood pressure or not. The nurse may even ask the adolescent to calm down while taken the readings. Time gap is given between each reading, so as to give time to the adolescent to calm down. Emotions can also affect the blood pressure reading.

An infant will have a normal blood pressure reading of 80/45, where as an adolescent will have a normal blood pressure reading of 110/70. Therefore, age, gender, and height are important factor when determining the normal blood pressure level. Adults will have a higher blood pressure than the infants and teenagers. Also, boys have a higher blood pressure when compared to girls and tall people have a higher blood pressure than short people. An adolescent is said to have high blood pressure when the blood pressure is more than the blood pressure of ninety percent people of his/her age, gender and height.

There are many risks associated with hypertension or high blood pressure. The risk of developing coronary heart disease increases proportionally. The arteries will develop greater resistance towards the blood flow, because of which the heart will pump blood harder. Stroke is also another risk. Adolescents who have had high blood pressure as a child, develop harmful effects on the blood vessels and heart till the time they turn twenty.

The causes of high blood pressure can be classified as primary and secondary. If the causes are definite, they are primary and if the cause is linked to some illness, it is secondary. Primary causes are high blood cholesterol levels, smoking, stagnant lifestyle and overweight. Secondary causes are obesity, immobility due to chronic illness, prescription drugs, intense pain due to burns or cancer and illegal drugs. High blood pressure can develop due to hereditary reasons.

Hypertension is diagnosed by blood test and urinalysis. The kidney function will also be checked, along with blood cholesterol levels. Family history check is another important factor. Adolescents eating habits, exercise levels, activities in school and home will also be studied thoroughly. High blood pressure is dealt with by weight reduction, healthy diet, and increase in physical activity. If hypertension is due to illness, the illness is treated first. These treatment measures will decrease the systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure. It will also strengthen the heart and decrease the level of cholesterol in blood. This also helps to keep heart diseases at bay. The good thing is that only one percent of the adolescents, who have high blood pressure, need medication to bring back the blood pressure to normal.

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A Typical Laser Hair Removal Treatment

When the day arrives for you to have your first laser hair removal treatment, it is normal to feel nervous and possibly a bit anxious. This is because it is something you have never done before and you are not sure what to expect. Try to relax and think of this visit as any other doctor visit.

If there is a wait once you arrive at the office, try to keep your mind busy so you will not worry about the upcoming procedure. Perhaps a friend could accompany you to your appointment, or, if you are alone, read a book or magazine. Having your payment ready will also help you to relax as it will be one less thing you need to worry about.

When it is your turn to enter the treatment room, you will be instructed to remove all necessary clothing and a gown will be provided. If photographs of the area to be treated with laser hair removal were not taken during the consultation, the nurse or assistant will take them now.

The area to be treated will be washed to cleanse it of any lotions, cosmetics, perfumes or deodorants. It will then be prepped with alcohol. Depending on the procedure, the area may, or may not, be shaved. Your skin may be cooled before treatment to help reduce any side effects from occurring. You, and everyone else in the room, will be given safety goggles to wear during the procedure.

The doctor, or technician, who is doing the laser hair removal procedure will preform a patch test. This will give him a chance to gauge your tolerance of the treatment and also select the correct fluence levels. It will also give you the opportunity to experience how the laser feels and hopefully relieve some of your anxiety. A single pulse will be sent to the test area, which will be near the area to be treated. It will be examined for any sings of damage to the skin such as blistering or separation.

When the doctor is ready to start the procedure, he will aim the laser at the hair follicles of the area to be treated. Because the hair follicles have a dark pigmentation, they will absorb the energy from the laser’s light. The time that is needed for the procedure will depend on the amount of hair to be removed, the spot size of the beam, and the scanning pattern of the hand piece that the doctor is using. Laser hair removal treatments can take anywhere from 10 to 60 minutes, depending upon the area treated.

Many people say that the laser feels like a rubber band being snapped on your skin. Others describe it as more intense than that. If you are feeling discomfort or pain, you will be given a topical anesthesia or cooling remedies.

Once the laser hair removal treatment is completed, you will be ready to get dressed and discuss post treatment care. You may experience some temporary side effects such as redness and swelling, which usually disappear within a day or two.

Once you have experienced your first laser hair removal treatment you will be much more relaxed if you require additional treatments.

What is an Air Ambulance?

An air ambulance is an aircraft specifically used for the treatment of a patient who has been seriously injured or is critically ill. An air ambulance is primarily used in emergency situations where transport of the patient by standard land ambulance would not be timely or safe. Another instance where an air ambulance may be used is when a patient must be transported from one location to another and standard, conventional air travel is not feasible.

An air ambulance is looked at as an operating room in the air, or a flying critical care unit. Each air ambulance is specially staffed with an experienced flight crew that is highly trained to fly medical missions. On board the air ambulance aircraft you will find trained pilots and flight crew, as well as, medical staff that can safely care for critically ill or injured patients. The medical staff may be a nurse trained and experienced in CCU care, a qualified doctor capable of treating severe trauma injuries, or a specialized team of doctors and nurses that meet the specific needs of the patient.

Each air ambulance carries with it specialized medical tools and equipment that can handle nearly any emergency that may arise. Some examples of standard equipment found on an air ambulance includes ventilators, ECG equipment, CPR equipment, stretcher, medication, and other important tools that enable the crew to care for the patient.

The medical equipment is properly cleaned and tested before each and every flight. The standards patients expect from their doctor, ER or ICU are carried out inside and onboard the air ambulance.

The plane may vary dramatically depending on its designated mission. Some air ambulances are helicopters. Such aircraft are typically used to transport patients from the scene of an accident to a local hospital in the nearest big city that is equipped to handle the injuries. Choppers are air ambulances that can be used to retrieve patients from remote areas where conventional ambulances are unable to reach.

In other instances, small prop planes or jets are the preferred aircraft for longer trips. Jets are the best aircraft for trips over distances of 500 miles, because such planes allow for less fuel stops and speedier travel times. Like an ambulance on the ground, the goal of an air ambulance is to get the patient to the destination as safely and speedily as possible. Jets are capable of flying at higher altitudes which allow for the greatest comfort and speed.

Patients who may need the use of an air ambulance require constant medical monitoring. Some patients may include cardiac patients, respiratory patients, NICU situations, patients with multiple IV drips, or critical trauma patients.

Any patient with any illness or injury that the doctor deems unsafe to fly by conventional means will be able to get a doctor’s permission to fly in an air ambulance to the desired destination unless very specific medical reasons exist to avoid such methods of transportation. Frequently, travel by air ambulance is deemed safe and can truly save lives.