Archive for September, 2011

How to Avoid Heatstroke

No Comments
Posted 27 Sep 2011 — by admin
Category Diseases and Conditions, Home Remedies

Heatstroke takes the life of millions of people worldwide. The extreme heat can make people sick. If you live in a tropical area or during summer in moderate countries, you must be aware of the possibility of a heatstroke. The condition affects all genders and all ages. Here are some facts about it.

Mechanism

Heatstroke occurs when the body is unable to regulate the normal temperature. During hot seasons, the body’s temperature increases and if the sweating mechanisms fail, it will be too difficult for your system to cool down. As a result, the different body organs start to malfunction. The heart beats abnormally fast and may lead to the fatal heatstroke.

Risk Factors

Some people are highly susceptible to it because of their underlying medical condition. Health problems like existing heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity make at risk for heatstroke. Once you feel sudden dizziness, heavy sweating, muscle cramps, rapid heart rate or cold and clammy skin, you must be extra careful as these are signs that you are in trouble.

First-Aid

Once you experience the symptoms, get out of the heat. Get some water, loosen your clothing and seek medical help as soon as possible. Remember, heatstroke is an emergency situation. Do not take the symptoms for granted.

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Glucose Determination -Ortho-toluidine Manual Method

No Comments
Posted 17 Sep 2011 — by admin
Category Clinical Chemistry, Laboratory Procedures

Precautions  for Glucose Determination (Ortho-Toluidine Method)

As presented by  kit procedure

1. Patient should have fasted for 8-12 hours.
2. Unhemoylzed, non icteric and non turbid serum should be used to avoid interferences
with the procedure.
3. The reagent contains sodium azide, which is corrosive, so PPE should be worn.
4. The solution should be brought to a boil to ensure proper reaction.

MANUAL PROCEDURE PROPER: ORTHOTOLUIDINE  METHOD

1. Prepare Three tubes labeled, SA (Sample)/ C (Control), ST (Standard) and RB (Reagent Blank).

2. To the SA/C tube add 0.1 ml of the test specimen/ Control specimen.

3. To the ST tube add 0.1 ml of the standard stock solution.

4. To the RB tube add 0.1 ml of distilled water.

5. Add 4 ml of glucose reagent to all tubes. Cap and mix by gentle inversion.

6. Boil all tubes at 100 degrees centigrade for 8 minutes.

7. Cool tubes in running tap water for about 2 minutes.

8. Read absorbance of solutions in the spectrophotometer with appropriate cuvets at 636 nanometers against the RB (Reagent Blank).

9. Compute for the Cu (Concentration of the Unknown making use of the formula:

Cu= Absorbance of Unknown(Au) multiplied by the Concentration of the
Standard(Cs) divided by the Absorbance of the Standard (As)

Adapt the unit of the Cs

Normal Values = 60 – 100 mg/dL
to convert values to mmol/L multiply values in mg/dL with 0.0555

Normal high can reach   as far  as  120 mg/dL

Tags: , ,

Reducing Stress in the Workplace

1 Comment
Posted 08 Sep 2011 — by admin
Category Keeping Healthy, Workplace health practices

You can reduce stress in the workplace through the following  steps.

1. Work  in  an ergonomically  safe  place

Your table and chair should be appropriate or your height,  weight and leg length. You should be seated comfortably with your feet touching the floor and not hanging from your chair.  The back rest of your chair should fit snugly into your back. This  would reduce  your stress because discomfort can lead to lots of stress.  When you”re comfortable you can also stay safe.

2. Remove all sources of destruction

If you’re not comfortable with music around you, then get rid of it. Each person has his own preferences. Some persons could work more with soft music piped in, but many people want silence when working.

3. List your activities for the day

You may want to write down a checklist for the day, listing your priorities first. Having a list would also make sure you performed the most important tasks first. As you finish one task, you can cross it out until you’re done with your list. This practice would reduce stress because you know exactly what to do next.

4. Be organized

In any office work that you do, be organized. Being organized will avoid catching up with last minute deadlines, which could cause great stress. Aside from organizing your work, you should also organize your working area. Be sure you know where each item is kept. Labeling folders would help a lot in organizing your files.

Reducing stress in the workplace will depend much on you. You know what stresses you out at work, so devise a means to avoid or prevent their occurrence.

Tags: , ,