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Celebrating American Heart Health Month with Heart-Healthy Foods – Part 2

Posted on: February 13th, 2014 by BrevardBlogger No Comments

February is American Heart Health Month at Brevard Medical Equipment. Having a strong, healthy heart is the key to a long and healthy life. One of the main ways to a healthy heart can be waiting in the refrigerator or pantry right now. Here are some of the best foods you can eat for heart health.

Oatmeal

Oatmeal has been associated with healthy hearts for a long time and for good reason. Oatmeal is full of fiber, omega-3 fatty acids, potassium and folate. Having a big bowl of oatmeal can lo
wer levels of LDL (bad) cholesterol and help keep arteries clean. Plus the fiber fills us up and keeps the body running smoothly.

There are many types of oatmeal to choose from like the higher-in-fiber coarse or steel-cut oats which are healthier than the instant varieties. Add fruit to your oatmeal for even more benefits.

Walnuts

Walnuts, along with almonds and macadamia nuts, are full of omega-3 fatty acids and mono- and polyunsaturated fat. These types of nuts are great sources of fiber too. Try to avoid the sugar, salt and chocolate covered variety of these nuts.

Berries

There are many berries that are “berry” good for you. The darker the color, the better they are for you. Choose blueberries, blackberries, raspberries or strawberries as a snack and enjoy the benefits that include anti-inflammatory properties and you can reduce your risk of heart disease and cancer. All berries are great for vascular health.

Beans and legumes

Rich in omega-3 fatty acids, calcium, and soluble fiber, beans are great for your heart and the rest of you, too. Try adding more lentils, chickpeas, black beans and kidney beans to the foods you already enjoy like salads and soups.

Spinach

Popeye was right! Spinach is great for the body and heart. Spinach can help keep your heart healthy because it’s loaded with lutein, folate, potassium, and fiber. If you aren’t a fan of cooked spinach, try adding it to sandwiches and salads with your lettuce.

Brevard Medical Equipment is your source for walkers and wheelchairs for everyday use and cruise rentals.

Tags: Foods, health, heart
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Celebrating American Heart Health Month with Heart-Healthy Foods

Posted on: February 11th, 2014 by BrevardBlogger No Comments

Salmon

Salmon is rich in omega-3 fatty acids; the kind that is good for the heart. Salmon has been found to reduce blood pressure and prevent the blood from clotting. Salmon is also rich in carotenoid astaxanthin, a very powerful antioxidant. Try to eat two servings of this super fish per week, and you may cut your heart attack risk by up to one-third. Other heart healthy fish include mackerel, tuna, herring, and sardines.

Avocado

It’s not just for guacamole anymore! The avocado is packed with monounsaturated fat. These new and trendy super foods can help lower your LDL (bad cholesterol) levels while raising the amount of HDL (the good) cholesterol in your body. They also allow for the absorption of beta-carotene and lycopene.

Chopped or sliced, you can add avocado to almost anything!

Olive Oil

Cook with olive oil, especially virgin and extra virgin olive oils. People in the Mediterranean part of the world have known about this secret for years, but it was slow to get to this country. Relatively few people from that area died of heart disease. Olive oil is full of monounsaturated fats and it lowers bad LDL cholesterol and reduces your risk of developing heart disease. If you watch any TV cooking shows, you will see the cooks always use olive oil.

Healthy hearts mean healthier lives and healthier lives mean happier and longer lives. Brevard Medical Equipment wants all of our customers to live life to the fullest. See us for CPAP supplies, wheelchairs and other supplies to use when you are home or traveling. We have more to learn about heart-healthy foods in our next blog.

Tags: American Heart Month, Foods, health, heart
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January is Bathroom Safety Month Part 2

Posted on: January 21st, 2014 by BrevardBlogger No Comments

January is Bathroom Safety Month and Brevard Medical Equipment is trying to keep you and the people in your life safer. Remember that almost 640 people visit to the ER every day because of bathroom relates injuries! We don’t want any of you to be part of that statistic.

Last time we talked about grab bars and toilet safety rails as simple solutions to prevent many problems, injuries and even death. Brevard Medical Equipment offers many other solutions too.

Commodes are not a new invention. As a matter of fact, they have been around way before most indoor bathrooms! Commodes are primarily designed to be used in the room of patient and by people with limited mobility and those who may have trouble getting to the bathroom in a hurry, at night or when they are sick. Many times it’s the hurrying to the bathroom that can be the cause of the fall or injury. These commodes can be used in almost any room and are easy to store when they are not needed. They can also be used in tubs and showers. They are available in many sizes, styles and designs. Talk to the experts at Brevard Medical Equipment today.

Shower chairs are another relatively simple but very effective product that can add a lot of safety to the bathing process. For people who have trouble sitting all the way down into a tub and getting back out of the tub and to relieve the lift or caretakers, a shower chair is a great solution. Easy to use and with no installation in most cases, these sturdy chairs are a great, low cost solution for safety. These chairs are available with and without backs and come in standard and bariatric sizes. They are portable enough to take with visiting hotels or other people’s homes.

Ask a professional from Brevard Medical Equipment about getting any of the items today and bathe more safely tomorrow.

Tags: Bathroom, National Bathroom Safety Month, Safety
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January is Bathroom Safety Month Part 1

Posted on: January 14th, 2014 by BrevardBlogger No Comments

January is Bathroom Safety Month and Brevard Medical Equipment knows just how important safety in the bathroom is to our customers. Studies show that about 640 people 15 years old and older have visits to the ER every day because of bathroom relates injuries! That’s 640 every day!

Bathrooms are filled with moisture and water, they often have slick flooring, there are many hard surfaces (toilets, tubs, counter tops) and they are used many times a day and night, so the odds of getting hurt in that room are pretty high. While there is no way to avoid all falls and injuries in the bathroom, there are many products available at Brevard Medical Equipment that can make your bathroom safer and reduce the risk of injury.

Grab bars are a simple and affordable option and provide added safety in the bathroom. These bars are secured to the wall and come in various sizes and even colors and looks. More importantly, these bars are designed for safety. These bars are NOT towel bars and should not be used for that purpose in the same way that towel bars should never be used as grabs bars. Grab bars can be installed near the toilet area to make standing and sitting easier and safer. They can be installed near the shower and tub area to make entering and exiting a tub safer and prevent falls. They can also be installed near the sink and vanity for people who may use a wheelchair, but may stand to use the sink or mirror. The grab bars are easy to install, but we still recommend they be installed by people familiar with installation or construction to ensure they are done correctly.

Toilet safety rails are another easy to install option. These rails are basically arms that are added around the toilet to give a person more support as they are sitting or standing up. Rubber feet and hand grips mean that these rails are non-slip. Another simple solution to a big problem!

Ask a professional from Brevard Medical Equipment about either of these items today and stay tuned for more bath safety ideas in our next blog.

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Bladder Health and Urinary Incontinence- Part 2

Posted on: December 19th, 2013 by BrevardBlogger No Comments

Brevard Medical Equipment is talking about bladder and incontinence this month. Why? Because as we age, our bladders tend to become much more of an issue than they were when we were younger. We would like to offer some more tips and techniques so you can enjoy better bladder health.

Our bodies age a bit every day. And just like the rest of our muscles and body parts, the bladder is not what it used to be. Urinary incontinence happens when muscles are too weak like in the case of stress incontinence. Stress incontinence occurs when the muscles in your bladder are too weak to properly close and stay closed. This type of incontinence happens when we sneeze, have a hardy laugh or lift a heavy object.

On the other end of the urinary incontinence coin is overactive bladder. Overactive bladder is when your bladder sends an “I’m really full!” message to your brain even when it’s not. You may experience a strong urge to urinate even when there is little urine in the bladder. There are many reasons for overactive bladder including prostate problems in men and nerve or spinal cord damage in either gender.

What are some basic bladder rules to remember?

Don’t smoke and if you do, quit now. Smoking affects more than your lungs. Cigarette smokers have a much higher rate of bladder cancer than non-smokers, up to three times higher! More than 50,000 people are diagnosed with bladder cancer every year, many of those cases are in smokers.

Get your eight glasses of water a day. Sixty-four ounces or eight 8ounce glasses a day will help to keep your balder flushed and clean. If you aren’t a water drinker, start slow and work your way up. Warning: you will be making many more trips to the bathroom. That’s the point. If you have limited mobility, won’t be near a bathroom or if it’s close to bed time or a commute, you may want to cut that back, but try to always stay fluid.

If you have bladder leakage or incontinence issues, see Brevard Medical Equipment for a variety of liners and adult briefs.

Tags: Bladder, Incontinence, Urinary
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Bladder Health and Urinary Incontinence- Part 1

Posted on: December 17th, 2013 by BrevardBlogger No Comments

Brevard Medical Equipment thinks that bladders don’t get the credit they deserve. Bladders may be small, but they work very hard, are often abused and we really don’t think about them until they are full or painful.

The human bladder is the last stop for urine before it leaves the body. It’s a hollow holding tank for urine that comes from the kidneys. The bladder itself is made up of muscles that both keep urine in and push it out. These muscles are what children learn to control when they are potty trained.

For many people, the bladder is not much of a concern after we are potty trained until we suffer bladder infections or problems with urination.

As we age, so do our bladders. Those aging bladders can cause us problems with incontinence. If you have bladder issues like incontinence, you are certainly not alone. Studies show that 1 out of every 6 adults have some type of issues with incontinence. About 30 percent of women experience some kind of incontinence, with woman suffering more than men.

Modern medicine and advertising have brought this problem into the light more than ever before, and that is a good thing. It’s time that we talk about it and seek better treatments and care of bladders. Reports say that around $15 billion is spent on incontinence in the U.S. alone. That’s BILION with a “B”.

Urinary incontinence is the big term for the loss of bladder control. Urinary incontinence can range from mild leaking to uncontrollable wetting. What causes it? There are many reasons from the basic aging, to damage suffered to the bladder, to injuries to the spinal cord, brain tumors and brain injuries. In the case of spinal or brain injuries, it’s not the bladder that is malfunctioning, it’s the message between the brain and bladder causing the issues, but the results are the same.

There are many treatments for incontinence, depending on age, gender and the type of bladder issues you experience. If you or a loved one are experiencing urinary incontinence, see Brevard Medical Equipment for a variety of protective overnight underwear and adult briefs.

Tags: Bladder, health, Incontinence
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November is Diabetes Month- How Does Diabetes Affect Vision? Part 2

Posted on: November 14th, 2013 by BrevardBlogger No Comments

Brevard Medical Equipment wants you to be as healthy and possible at every age and despite health problems. November is National Diabetes Month and we are talking about the diabetes-related eye and vision issues that can affect the over 21 million people in the United States have diabetes and the 6 million who don’t even know they have the disease.

Last time we talked about diabetic retinopathy. Diabetic retinopathy is the most common diabetes-related eye disease and can lead to a host of vision problems including blindness. Diabetic retinopathy is the most common, but not the only disease that is a concern of people with diabetes.

It’s not just people with diabetes that get most of these eye diseases, but having diabetes, and especially unmanaged diabetes, increases the likelihood of having many of these vision problems.

People with diabetes are also more likely to developing cataracts. Cataracts are the clouding of the eye’s lens and occur at younger ages for people with diabetes at an earlier age.

Another common eye disease that is also prevalent in people with diabetes is glaucoma. Glaucoma is an eye disorder that damages the optic nerve by causing an increase of internal eye pressure. People with diabetes are almost 50 percent more likely to develop glaucoma.

Macular edema and macular degeneration are due to the malfunctioning of blood vessels inside the middle region of the retina called the macula. The macula is responsible for central, sharp vision. Macular edema and macular degeneration are also more common in people with diabetes.

Being aware of these various eye diseases is important for everyone, be even more so for people with diabetes. Diabetes isn’t just about avoiding sugar; it’s a whole lifestyle shift and careful management of your body’s insulin levels. Proper management of your diabetes includes exercise, diet, not smoking and so much more.

Brevard Medical Equipment wants you to be happy and healthy and to live life to the fullest. Ask us about our exercise products and skin creams to promote good health.

Tags: Diabetes, Diabetes Awareness, Vision
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November is Diabetes Month- How Does Diabetes Affect Vision? Part 1

Posted on: November 12th, 2013 by BrevardBlogger No Comments

Diabetes is not a new disease, but doctors are seeing new cases of diabetes at a much higher rate than ever before. Studies show that over 21 million people in the United States have diabetes. It’s estimated that an additional 6 million people have a form of the disease but have not been diagnosed and are not receiving treatment. While people who are treating their diabetes and are controlling their blood sugars may still experience complications, for the undiagnosed and untreated the risks are much greater. Brevard Medical Equipment is in the business of health and wants all of you to be diabetes aware this month and all year long.

Diabetes affects the way our bodies process food for energy and growth. For people with diabetes, the body has trouble converting sugar from the foods they eat in the blood into energy, which can lead to more health problems. This applies to all three forms of diabetes – type 1, type 2 and gestational diabetes and can lead to vision problems.

While there are several eye disorders associated with diabetes, diabetic retinopathy is the most common. Diabetic retinopathy is an eye disease that affects the blood vessels in the all-important retina.

What is the retina? The light sensitive retina is at the back of the eye and is responsible for processing visual images. Diabetic retinopathy can affect your vision in mild, moderate or even severe ways. Some of those ways include seeing spots or floaters in your vision, having blurred vision, experiencing a dark spot in the center of your vision, and having difficulty seeing at night or in low light.

How common is this diabetes-related eye disease? Almost 45 percent (that’s nearly 1 out of 2 people) of Americans diagnosed with diabetes are in one of the stages of diabetic retinopathy. People diagnosed with type 1 or type 2 diabetes are encouraged to get a thorough eye exam every year and always manage this diabetes well.

We’ll have more on diabetic eye health next time. Brevard Medical Equipment wants you to be happy and healthy and to live life to the fullest. Ask us about our Sharps Disposal by Mail System and other daily use health care items.

Tags: Diabetes, Vision
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October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Posted on: October 10th, 2013 by BrevardBlogger No Comments

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month (BCAM) and Brevard Medical Equipment wants all women to be aware of breast cancer, its risks and how to get screened.

Breast Cancer Awareness Month is an annual international health campaign organized by major breast cancer charities every October to increase awareness of the disease and to raise funds for research into its cause, prevention, diagnosis, treatment and cure. The campaign also offers information and support to those affected by breast cancer.

Look at any woman’s health website, women’s magazine and many food packages and you will probably see the famous pink ribbon that represents breast cancer. Jewelry, car magnets, t-shirts and hundreds of other products carry the pink ribbon of support. While people are seeing the ribbon, are they really aware of just how many women deal with breast cancer every year?

Mammograms are the best defense in the fight against breast cancer. Early detection and early treatment greatly increase the odds of survival. Studies show that 98% of women with early stage breast cancer are alive at five years after diagnosis. But little is said about what happens after the five year mark. More recent studies show that an estimated 20% to 30% of women will have a recurrence of their disease. Many of those will die from the disease.

While women from any race can and do get breast cancer, white women have the highest rate of the disease overall. However under age 45, African American women have a higher incidence of breast cancer that white women. African American and Hispanic women tend to be diagnosed with later stages breast cancer more than white women and also have larger tumors. Breast cancer rates are the lowest in Asian American and Pacific Islander women.
This information is not meant to scare you or give you a false sense of security, but to inform you and encourage every woman of any race to schedule a mammogram. Brevard Medical is there for any woman dealing with this disease and stands ready with everything from blood pressure cuffs to wheelchairs.

Tags: Breast Cancer, cancer, Men and Women
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Brevard- It’s Walk to School Day

Posted on: October 8th, 2013 by BrevardBlogger No Comments

National Walk to School Day 2013 is October 9. National Walk to School Day was created to encourage school-aged children to get more exercise naturally by walking to and from school as weather and safety permits.

If you are a parent or grandparent of a school-aged child, Brevard Medical Equipment wants to know what you are planning to do to encourage the children in your life.

Walking to school used to be the rule, not the exception that needed a special day assigned to it. For most people of a certain age, walking or riding your bike to school was what you did. Parents only gave you a ride if the weather was bad or if you were really running late. Most kids today have become accustom to parent as chauffeurs on-call to take them everywhere and to keep them supplied with snacks and videos while they are getting to where they need to go. Is it any wonder that the rate of childhood obesity is at an all-time high?

Walking to school can be social. Walking with a friend or group is a great way for kids to socialize, assuming they are not texting the whole time. It encourages kids from the same neighborhood to communicate more on a neutral territory. The distance to school seems shorter when you are engaged in conversation. Walking to school with others makes kids more accountable to the other person and less likely to skip or quit school.

Walking is healthy and a natural way to keep in shape at any age. Walking is good for building muscles and strength in growing children. Walking will increase blood flow to the brain before school and give kids a way to strengthen muscles after sitting all day in a classroom.

The best way to encourage your kids or grandkids to walk to school is so to walk with them. Start by walking with them to the school evenings or weekends to learn the route. It’s a great way to get some one-on-one time and will be great experience for both of you!

Brevard Medical Equipment does more than sell walkers, we encourage walking and hopes it lifts your spirits too!

Tags: exercise, Healthy, Walk to School Day
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