Health Tips
 

Select from one of the following links:

Taking Care of Self | Healthy Eating | Physical Exercise | Smoking | Stress | Weight Control | Hypertension | Diabetes | Diabetic Emergencies | Heart Attacks/Cholestorol Levels | Strokes | The Respiratory System | The Cardiovascular System | Seizures or Convulsions | Hyperglycaemia | Shock | Nose Bleeds | Burns

 

1. Caring for our Body

  • Starts with Love
  • Love for GOD: Commandments 1-4
  • Love for Neighbor: Commandments 5-10
  • Love for self means taking care of self, prevention is better than cure

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2. Taking Care of self

  • Maintain a healthy life style
  • Prevention of illness where possible
  • Manage disease process

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3. Maintain a healthy life style

  • Eat Right
  • Adequate Exercise
  • Adequate Rest
  • Keep out of danger
  • Do not Smoke
  • Practice healthy social behavior.
  • Avoid Excessive stress
  • Control your weight

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4. Eat Right

  • Eat well balanced diet.
  • Carbohydrates.
  • Protein.
  • Fat.
  • Vitamins.
  • Minerals.
  • Water

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5. Healthy Diet – contd.

  • A calorie is the unit of measure of the energy that foods provide.
  • Carbohydrates = 4 calories/gram.
  • Protein = 4 cal./gram.
  • Fats = 9 cal./gram)
  • Vitamins are organic substances that the body needs to help regulate metabolic functions within cells.

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6. Healthy Diet – contd.

  • Helpful reminders:
  • Avoid Foods –
  • High in Sugar and low in nutrients.
  • High in Fat, Cholesterol and Sodium – because of the damage they do to your heart and blood vessels. (e.g. skin and fat of poultry, red meats.
  • Limit eggs to not more than 3 egg yolks per week- high in cholesterol.
  • Use low fat foods. e.g. Low fat milk, lean meats, fish ,lean poultry, peas and beans, whole grain, fruits and vegetables all form a part of a healthy diet.
  • Use low fat cooking methods, e.g. baking, roasting, broiling, boiling
  • Avoid fried foods

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7. Physical Exercise

  • Adequate exercise is important for a healthy life style.
  • Exercise increases heart rate, circulation and promotes a feeling of well-being.
  • Increases Diabetic control and blood lipids control.
  • Reduces the risk of Cardio-vascular disease
  • Lack of exercise:
    Increases the risk of heart disease.
    Increases the risk of obesity.

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8. Types of Exercise

  • Aerobic involves movement. Includes brisk walking ,running, swimming, cycling, rope skipping and similar activities .
  • Do not do any sudden strenuous physical exercise before consulting your doctor.
  • Physical activity should be increased gradually.
    Walking for 20-30 minutes each day for 5 days per week may be adequate.

9. Keep out of Danger

  • Accidents happen each day but avoid being the victim.- Keep out of harms way.
  • Drive carefully, look out for playing children.
  • Obey traffic rules when driving or walking.

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10. Smoking

  • Cigarette smoking has been shown to affect:
  • the lungs e.g. lung cancer
  • the heart e.g. heart disease
  • the brain e.g. strokes
  • Smoking is the leading preventable cause of heart disease in women.
  • The earlier one starts to smoke the greater the risk.
  • Good news. Stopping smoking cut your risk for heart disease to almost that of none smokers.
  • Stop today.

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11. Passive Smokers

  • Inhalation of tobacco smoke also cause an increase risk of the diseases cause by smoke.
  • Avoid smoke environments.

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12. Healthy Social behavior

  • Practice healthy social behavior.
  • Avoid recreational drug use.
  • Avoid excessive alcohol use.
  • Avoid smoking or smoke environments.

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13. Excessive Stress

  • Excessive stress may increase the risk of heart disease and stroke and more so if experienced over long periods of time.
  • Get adequate rest and relaxation.

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14. Weight Control

  • Obesity is a major risk factor for heart disease. This is controllable.
  • In most cases obesity is due to over eating and not enough exercise.
  • People over age 30s and 40s do not need as much food to maintain body weight and normal activity as people in 20s.
  • Excess calories are stored as body fat. You may be digging your grave with your teeth.
  • Increase cortisol levels in females after age 40.

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15. Manage Disease Process

  • Hypertension
  • Diabetes
  • High Cholesterol level

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16. Hypertension (A modifiable risk factor for stroke & heart disease)

  • Major risk factor for heart attack.
  • Increases work load of the heart causing it to enlarge but weaken over time, leading to heart failure.
  • Increases the risk of stroke.
  • Increases the risk of heart disease and heart attack .
  • Increases risk of kidney damage.
  • Keep your Blood Pressure level as advised
    by your doctor and reap the benefits.

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17. Diabetes

  • Risk factor for both heart attack and stroke
  • Risk factor for kidney disease and eye disease.
  • Keep your blood sugar under control.
  • Keep your weight down.
  • Keep your blood cholesterol down.
  • Get adequate Exercise.
  • Modify your diet as advised by your doctor or dietician.
  • Pay special attention to the care of your feet and nails. Avoid injury to these parts.

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18. Diabetic Emergencies (DM)

  • Diabetes is a metabolic disorder resulting from the body’s inability to produce insulin or to use it effectively. This results in an increase amount of sugar or glucose in the blood stream.
  • Classically diabetics present with: Excessive amount of urine (polyuria) Excessive desire to drink water because of excessive thirst, secondary to the loss of water by urination ( polydipsia) Excessive eating ( polyphagia)

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19. High Cholesterol level Major risk factor for heart attack (modifiable)

  • Cholesterol is manufactured by the body but also found in foods.
  • Egg yolk and organ meats contain large amounts.
  • Other source –all animal products especially red meats, butter, cheese cream and whole milk.
  • Avoid foods rich in Cholesterol and Saturated Fats.
  • Excess cholesterol is deposited in the inner walls of arteries thus narrowing the vessels, and this among other adverse effects increases blood pressure and the risk of heart disease and stroke.
  • For most meats eat fish and lean poultry.
  • Avoid internal organs of animals e.g. liver, kidney, tripe.

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20. Control Cholesterol level

Cooking and Eating:

  • For most meats eat fish or lean poultry.
  • Remove the skin and fat from poultry.
  • If red meat is used, use lean cuts.
  • Use skimmed milk instead of whole milk.
  • Do not eat more than 3 egg yolks per week.
  • Cook with small amounts of liquid vegetable oils.
  • Get you cholesterol levels checked regularly .
  • Follow your doctor’s recommendations.

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21. The cardiac chain of survival

The cardiac chain of survival states that in cardiac emergencies there must be:

  • Early access to the emergency medical system.
  • Early CPR.
  • Early defibrillation.
  • Early advance cardiac life support by paramedics, doctors, or hospital personnel.
  • Note. It is important to know your local emergency number.

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22. Strokes

  • A stroke occurs when the blood supply to a part of the brain is disrupted. e.g. blocked artery or bleeding into the brain tissue from a ruptured blood vessel.
  • Lack of blood supply to an area will cause loss of function to that part. E.g. the Brain Stem controls respiration and circulation, therefore loss of function to that part will cause Respiratory and Cardio-vascular collapse.

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23. Interdependence of the Lungs, Heart, and Brain

The functions of the lungs, the heart, and the brain are interdependent, they need each other to function.

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24. The respiratory system

The function of the respiratory system is to bring oxygen from the outside air into the lungs and to eliminate carbon dioxide from the body.

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25. The Cardiovascular system

The function of the Cardiovascular system is to carry blood rich in carbon dioxide to the lungs to get an exchange of carbon dioxide for oxygen, and then to deliver that oxygen to every cell of the body, including those of the lungs , the heart, and the brain.

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26. The Brain

  • One of the functions of the brain is to regulate the body functions which includes respiratory system and cardiovascular system.
  • The brain stem is the seat of the respiratory centre and the cardiovascular centre.

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27. Failure of R/S,CVS/CNS

Airway failure

  • The most common cause of airway failure is Air way obstruction.
  • The most common cause of airway obstruction is by organs in that area, e.g., the tongue and epiglottis in the unresponsive patient. Another cause is by a foreign body, usually during eating.

Cardiovascular Failure
Sudden loss of blood to an area of the heart will cause damage to the heart muscles (heart attack) and even death.

Brain function failure
Prolonged blockage of blood supply to an area in the brain will cause a stroke.

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28. Seizures or Convulsions

  • A seizure may present with generalized severe twitching of the body and may lead to unconsciousness. (grand mal)
  • or by a brief lapse of attention, where the patient just stares but does not respond to any one. (petit mall seizure.)
  • Status Epilepticus. Seizures that recur every few minutes.
  • Febrile Seizures: Seizures due to high fever. Children with high fever are especially susceptible to seizures.
  • Transport the patient promptly to the Hospital.

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29. Some causes of seizure

  • Epilepsy – Congenital in origin
  • Brain Structural disorder e.g. tumours, brain abscess or scar from brain injury.
  • Metabolic disorders. e.g.. Hypoglycaemia, poisoning , drug overdose, sudden withdrawal from alcohol.
  • Sudden high fever especially in children.
  • Transport he patient promptly to the Hospital

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30. Hyperglycaemia

  • Hyperglycaemia is too much sugar in the blood.
  • Some signs to look for.
    There is excessive urination, excessive thirst and excessive water intake.
    There may be warm dry skin, dry mucosa weak pulse.
  • It can result in coma.
  • Diabetics need to monitor and controlled, blood glucose level.
    These patients must be taken to the hospital quickly.

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31. Hypoglycaemia

Hypoglycaemia- too little sugar in the blood.

  • May be due to: Inadequate amount of glucose in the blood steam from the fasting state, medication, excessive alcohol intake, certain food items if eaten unripe. e.g. ackee
  • Some signs to look for:
    Altered mental status.
    Presenting with confusion, drowsiness, dizziness, fainting, coma or seizures.
    The skin may be cold and clammy. - This condition is rapidly reversible with administration of glucose (sugar).
  • These patients must be taken to the hospital promptly.
  • If the patient is known to be a diabetic and is getting weak and confused, try giving sugar.

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32. Shock

Shock is the collapse of the Cardio- Vascular System, where blood circulation slows and eventually stops.

It may occur from:

  • A failing heart.
  • Excessive loss of blood from a bleeding vessel.
  • Certain infections.
  • Certain respiratory problems.
  • Allergic Reactions

Transport patient to the hospital promptly.

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33. Shock

  • Treat the cause.
  • Open the air way.
  • Provide oxygen.
  • Control the bleeding if present.
  • Elevate the legs.
  • Transported patient promptly to the hospital.

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34. Nose bleeds

  • Apply direct pressure by pinching the nose for at least 15 minutes.
  • Do not put anything in the nose.
  • Transport the patient promptly to the hospital if bleeding is not controlled.

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35. Burns

  • Burns could be minor, moderate or critical.
  • If the patient is exposed for an extended period, then the burns would be more severe than if the source of the burning is only for a short period of time.
  • Burns can occur in the home from hot water, hot porridge, fire or flames or from chemical substances.
  • Remove the patient from the burning area.
  • Immerse the area in cold water.
  • If running water is present, put the patient under the shower.
  • Cover burnt area with sterile gauze or clean white sheet.
  • Transport promptly to hospital.

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