Category: General Health

What are the odds that you are seated while reading this? Well, you might want to stand up for this- turns out standing is healthy for you and me!

According to a recent study conducted by an Australian research firm, sitting down for long hours is hazardous and standing up in between your working sessions can mean the difference between a healthy you and an ailing you-stand up already!

It is a norm entrenched in us to work while working. We grew up looking at our mothers sitting down while getting things done at home, we sat all through our classes and chances are, you spend more than 90% of your time at work seated. Harmless as this sitting thing may look, uninterrupted sitting may increase the chances of you suffering from a number of serious diseases.

According to the study, people who sit for extended periods of time have a higher chance of suffering from diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, hypertension and other related lifestyles diseases. Incredibly, standing up in between the work sessions, can tremendously reduce the chances of you coming face to face with these feared health hazards. But how exactly does standing up help?

How standing up helps you remain healthy

When we stand, we engage and work the numerous muscles in our legs, butt and in the abdomen. This movement of muscles consumes a lot of sugars and affects triglycerides in the body. Standing might not be the equivalent of working out but it sure does make a difference as it lowers cholesterol in the body keeping you safe.

So, how exactly should you increase the standing up habit? How do you break this unavoidable professional hazard of sitting down? Well, to help you remain active on the workday, we have put together tips on how to remain active during your workdays and reduces chances of suffering from lifestyle diseases. Here are the tips;

Tips for a More Active Workday

Consider buying a standing desk

If the nature of your work allows it- and most professions do, you should invest in a standing desk. Modern standing desks are designed to offer maximum comfort and ergonomics and you should consider buying one.

Using a standing desk means that you will spend very little time sitting down and you will remain active for the better part of the day. The desks come in varying heights and customizations and you should invest in one which perfectly suits your height and nature of work.

Set an alarm to remind you to walk around

If you are the forgetful type like I am, and you suspect that you cannot remember to stand up in between your working sessions, then consider setting an alarm on your phone to remind you to do so. Even if you are deeply engrossed in your work, once the alarm rings, you should take a walk around the office for a short break.

The interval of the alarm can be anything from half an hour to an hour. You can spend something like 3-5 minutes walking around the office and this will make a tremendous difference in your life.

Take the stairs

If your office has the option of an elevator and stairs, take the stairs at all times. Stairs are a handy way of remaining active in the office and you should take advantage of them at all times.

Engage your peers in the office face to face

A lot of office people prefer to make a call to their peers in the same building instead of taking a walk to their stations and talking to them face to face. Unless it is an urgent query that needs immediate addressing, you should always walk over and talk to them personally. You should however not overdo it as it can become counterproductive easily.

Push yourself to remain active

However many mobile applications you install on your mobile device to help you remain active and fit, if you are not committed to it, you’ll get very little success while at it. It is important to ensure that you push yourself at all times and remind yourself to be active at all times of the day.

Self-discipline is key to this. Instead of spending that extra 10 minutes scrolling through Twitter, stand up, take the stairs and go talk to a mate two floors above you. By nudging yourself and pushing yourself more, you’ll achieve incredible results.

Bellaire wants you fit and healthy

We, here at Bellaire Emergency Room, always advocate for healthy lifestyles and advise all our clients to remain as active as possible. Remaining active combined with a good diet, cannot only eliminate the need for going to workouts but will reduce the chances of suffering from sedentary lifestyle diseases.

If you need any help on how to remain fit, give us a call any day of the work or come down to our offices and we will gladly be of help to you.

If you are keen about your health and your weight in particular, then you must have come across the term BMI or body mass index. This is a term that is thrown around a lot in the context of weight and general wellbeing but very little information is provided on the same subject.

This lack of sufficient information on body mass index, explains why there are hundreds of myths and misconceptions about BMI. These myths and misconceptions about BMI affect people’s perception about the matter and this consequently affects the way they approach their lifestyles based on the info they have on BMI.

We understand the detrimental effects that these numerous myths about BMI have on the health of Americans and we thought it wise to provide 10 facts about BMI to help the populace truly understand this matter. Here is the truth about BMI:

The Truth about BMI- Ten Facts to Know

#1. What is BMI?

Body Mass Index is the ratio of one’s height to their weight and is used to determine the healthy weight for individuals. It was invented in the early 19^th century and is universal in all countries. One’s weight in kilograms is divided by the square of your height to arrive at the BMI. It is a very important health diagnostic which people need to be aware of.

#2. BMI is as accurate as it gets when it comes to determining the healthy weight

There has always been a raging debate raging pertaining the suitability of BMI in determining the healthy weight of individuals. Some scientists and skeptical people claim that BMI is not 100% accurate and that people don’t have uniform body orientations.

The fact however remains that BMI is an accurate means of knowing when someone is treading on a dangerous weight line and when they are within the healthy weight.

#3. There are variables that need to be used together with BMI to get conclusive results

Although BMI in itself is an accurate indicator of someone’s weight situation, there are other variables which need to be taken into consideration to make the results even more conclusive. These variables include things like age, gender and waist circumference. When all these factors are considered in addition to the BMI results, the one can get the true measure of their health.

#5. BMI results are better than your doctor’s eye

However experienced your doctor might be, his naked eyes can’t determine a patient’s healthy weight. The doctors who rubbish BMI results and opt to use their eyes to judge the true measure of one’s healthy weight, are the reason why the obesity numbers are on the rise. Always insist to get a BMI check from your doctor before he/she can give an estimate of what your right weight should be.

#6. BMI provides vital information on fat distribution in the body

There is a myth that using BMI doesn’t reveal the fat distribution in one’s body and this is a wrong assumption. BMI will tell a person’s distribution of body fat irrespective of their age, sex or even ethnicity. The information obtained on body fat distribution is vital in helping people know of the best workout techniques and diet to employ to cut on their weight.

#7. Having a BMI index of 25 or higher, doesn’t mean that you are obese

Contrary to popular opinion, people who have a BMI higher than 25 are not necessarily overweight. The notion that people with a BMI higher than 25 are obese, stems from the fact that most people don’t factor in the variables mention in fact number 3. For you to conclude that one is overweight or not, you need to take all variations into account.

#8. BMI of 25 or higher is a worrying sign

It is however important to note that if, from the onset your BMI is higher than 25, then you most probably are treading on the dangerous side of the weight spectrum and need to get something done. Talk to your doctor about the same and start working towards a normal BMI.

#9. Low BMI indices are just are worrying as high indices

There is a general belief that people who have BMI indices lower than 18, are fine and not at any risk. This is however not true because such individuals are just in as much danger as those who are overweight. Being underweight can be a sign of anorexia and needs to be addressed.

#10. Talk to an expert about your worrying BMI index

If you are having trouble wrapping your head around the worrying BM index, do not hesitate to talk to a medical practitioner and get advice on what to do.

If you are in Bellaire and are not sure about your BMI, then come down to our emergency room here at Bellaire Emergency Room for a comprehensive check which involves both the usage of BMI and other modern scales. Give us a call today and we will gladly be of service to you.

A lot of people alive today, owe their lives to a friend or a medical practitioner who had some knowledge on cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Knowledge on CPR or lack thereof, can mean the difference between one living and losing their life. It therefore goes without saying that everyone should have some basic knowledge on CPR because the knowledge might be of need some day.

So, what exactly is cardiopulmonary resuscitation? What are the basics of CPR that everyone needs to know? Where can one learn CPR? In which situations does one need to put CPR to use? To answer all these questions, here is a look at the basics of CPR and why it is such a crucial first aid technique.

Basics of CPR

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation is a first aid technique which is use to keep victims of certain emergencies alive until emergency personnel arrive to take over. It is employed to keep oxygen flowing in and out of the lungs and to ensure that the blood flows to the other vital organs.

CPR can administered both by untrained persons and medical personnel. Depending on the person performing the CPR, there are varying levels and types of CPR. Here is a look at various levels of CPR and an explanation of what each entails;

Hands only resuscitation- this is the most basic form of resuscitation and can be performed even by untrained individuals. This basically involves the use of both hands to exert rhythmic compressions to the chest at a rate of about 100 compressions a minute to keep the heart beating and blood circulating.

Before starting to compress the chest, the performer of this procedure should ensure that there is no obstruction in the victim’s airways. The victim should then lay on his back and using the palms of their hands, the performer should use the weight of his upper body to compress the victim’s chest 1 to 2 inches. If the victim is a baby, only two fingers are used to exert the pressure and the compressing should be less aggressive. The compressions should be about 1.5 inches deep in this case.

This technique works by creating positive pressure inside the chest which helps circulate blood in the body. This blood circulates to the other parts of the body keeping the vital organs working. This technique should be employed in situations such as heart attacks, drowning and when victims are unconscious.

Trained resuscitations- these are resuscitations that are offered by trained medical personnel who are confident in their abilities. The difference between this resuscitation and the hands only resuscitation, is that the medical personnel here use both their hands and their mouths to resuscitate a victim.

Here, a medical personnel should administer medium rate compressions-about 30-40 a minute with alternating two rescue breaths. The performer of the CPR should ensure that there is no blockage in the airways before giving the rescue breaths. Before offering the mouth to mouth, the performer should pinch the nostrils of the victim and gentle offer the rescue breath.

Trained with external AED- this is CPR that is performed by medical personnel who are armed with an Automated External Defibrillator. The external defibrillator delivers a shock which is meant to jumpstart the heart.

Medical practitioners here administer one shock and resume with the CPR procedure described above. The CPR continues for two or more minutes and if there is no sign of improvement or progress, a second shock is delivered to try and resuscitate the heart. This is continued until there are signs of progress.

When is CPR called upon?

CPR is ideal for both adults and young ones except for infants who are only weeks old. CPR should be used if there is an emergency involving collapsing. Emergencies such as heart attacks, drowning, strokes, asphyxiation and any other cardiopulmonary complication.

Where to learn CPR

If you are looking to get some knowledge on CPR or want to acquaint yourself with giving CPRs, then there are various means through which you can achieve this. Emergency service providers in America hold clinics annually where people are trained on offering basic first aid procedures and you should attend these clinics.

You can also attend a first aid class. These classes don’t last for more than a couple of days and are more often than not, offered for free. You can also learn CPR basics by watching the numerous online tutorials.

Emergency Room in Bellaire

If you are in Bellaire and are looking for an emergency room for more information on CPR and other first aid procedures, look no further than Bellaire Emergency Room. We are an emergency room Bellaire offering high quality emergency room services to the locals of Bellaire and are looking forward to equipping you with knowledge on CPR and also helping you and your loved ones when emergency strikes.