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In Case of Emergency: Hurricane Readiness Part 2

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

Brevard Medical Equipment is continuing this month’s theme of National Preparedness Month by discussing what to do in case of a natural disaster, such as a hurricane, would come through and what should you do to prepare.

Some hurricanes don’t cause any damage but others can get very strong and may force you to prepare and evacuate sooner. People who use home medical equipment should keep extra items available like wheelchair batteries, oxygen canisters, medications and prescriptions, food for service animals and any information about model numbers to your home medical equipment.

If the hurricane is strong enough, you should never ignore an evacuation order. Obviously, you can’t take everything with you from your home so take only the things you truly need such as:

Clothes
Home Medical Equipment, if applicable
Living will
Personal information
Medications
Some food
First Aid kit
Cellular Phone

Hopefully, the hurricane doesn’t do much damage to your home when you return. Things to do before evacuating would be to:

Turn off utilities like gas, water and electricity
Disconnect appliances
Make sure your vehicle is ready to go with a full tank of fuel and other fluid levels topped off

When you are ready to evacuate, make sure your vehicle is packed up, family or friends are ready to go and your home medical equipment is with you. Follow the designated evacuation routes your city has planned out. Don’t rush traffic as it will take time to get where you’re going since everybody else will be leaving too.

If you have nowhere else to go, consider finding a public shelter and take your essentials, as listed above, with you in case you need them until the storm passes over.

Brevard Medical Equipment can help you make sure your current medical equipment is in working order and we can also set up travel equipment as well. Contact us today if you need help with service or set up traveling equipment.

Tags: Hurricane, In-Case of Emergency, National Preparedness Month
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In Case of Emergency: Hurricane Readiness Part 1

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

A natural disaster can happen at any second, of any day, of any month or of any year. A natural disaster could affect your home, business and your family. September is National Preparedness Month and being prepared for any situation may not seem logical to think about now, but it could help in case of any disaster. Brevard Medical Equipment would like to share with you how to be prepared for a hurricane in Florida, in case of emergency.

As you may know, a hurricane is a tropical storm that includes tornado-like winds and thunderstorms, or it’s called a cyclone. Hurricanes can be very strong, produce high speed winds and cause a lot of damage; even death. What do you get and prepare for if you stay at your home during a low-risk hurricane?

Make sure to stock your home with plenty of food, water and additional supplies if you stay in your home. Stock your pantry with non-perishable food items like dry milk, canned fruits and juices, canned meats, peanut butter, bread, cereal and non-perishable food items in case you have a pet to care for too.

Make sure to protect important documents like living wills or power of attorneys, insurance information, investments, bank information and personal information by putting them in protective sleeves, zip-lock bags or a safe to protect from the hurricane elements.

You should consider getting a refill on your prescriptions to make sure you have enough to make it through a hurricane storm. Also, have an adequate supply of batteries, a flashlight, sanitary or beauty supplies, extra set of home and car keys, change of clothes and a list of important phone numbers. If applicable, consider getting a gas powered generator to help with refilling your oxygen tanks or helping you sleep at night with your CPAP machine.

If you have any home medical equipment needs such as oxygen or CPAP masks or machines, consider having back-ups ready to go in case of the power shutting off and you are unable to refill your oxygen or breathe easily during the night. Brevard Medical Equipment will be able to assist you get the right products you’ll need to prepare for the storm.

Tags: Emergency, Hurricane, National Preparedness Month
Posted in Emergency | No Comments »

Not Your Typical Allergies

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

That looks like it hurts! Rubbing doesn’t make it better!

In these summer months, you tend to see people suffering from typical allergies from pollen, dust or animals. The typical reaction to these allergies are sneezing, running noses, coughing or all the above! Brevard Medical Equipment wants to learn about other allergies that are out there like skin and eye allergies.

You may want to speak to an allergy specialist if you repeatedly see redness, blistering, itching, hives or rashes on your skin. You may have gotten into something that your skin and body don’t exactly agree with. Allergic contact dermatitis is better known as skin allergies and it happens when you come in contact with an allergen that your skin is sensitive or allergic too. Each allergen you come in contact with may have its own treatment plan. The most common skin allergies you may come into contact with are poison ivy, poison oak and sumac, a small tree.

It’s best to treat the rash as soon as possible. Wash the affected area with soap and water as best as you can and don’t itch if you absolutely don’t have to. There are over-the-counter medications, like cream and ointments, can provide relief too.

Allergic conjunctivitis, or eye allergies, happens when there is inflammation to the inner tissue of the eyelid. Your eyelids help keep your eye moist. The most common eye allergy is pink eye. Pink eye is caused by allergens, and if bacteria or viruses get in the eye it gets worse. Pink eye can be spread easily from person to person. Pink eye looks bad and I uncomfortable, but isn’t a serious health issue and can be treated fairly quickly if diagnosed right away. Pink eye treatments vary per person but include trying to tear up and holding cold or warm cloths on your eyes to relive some of the pain or itching.

It’s always interesting learning about different allergies and what people have to go through to get them feeling better. If you want to learn more about any allergy, take a look at the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America.

Take a look at Brevard Medical Equipment’s skin care products!

Tags: Allergies, Prevention, Unique Allergies
Posted in Allergies, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Drowning in the Remaining Summer Months

Posted on: August 6th, 2013 by BrevardBlogger No Comments

Remember to wear a life jacket if you’ll be out on the water.

Everybody loves spending time in the water or out in a boat on a lake. These are great American summer pastimes. Did you know about ten people die from unintentional drowning situation every day? Of the ten people, two are children 14 years or younger. Brevard Medical Equipment wants to keep you and your family safe this summer and to understand what some drowning risks are, to help you prevent a drowning incident this summer.

According the Center for Disease Control (CDC), the main risk factors of drowning are:

Lack of swimming ability – a number of children and adults cannot swim well enough to save themselves. Don’t be ashamed if you have to take swimming lessons. Lessons for adults or children will greatly reduce your drowning risks.
Lack of barriers – A fence or barrier should be put up around your backyard pool. Having a fence up reduces a child’s risk of drowning 83 percent!
Lack of supervision – Make sure to keep an eye on your children as well as other adults. Even if there is a lifeguard on duty, still keep a strong lookout.
Location – Young children aged one to four are most likely to die in family pools. As we get older, we’re more likely to drown in natural waters like ponds, rivers, lakes and oceans. These bodies of water account for more than half of all drowning accidents.
Seizure disorders – There are many reasons and causes for seizures. Seizures cause the sufferers to drown because of unintentional injury. The major risk is not in a pool, river or ocean; amazingly it’s with the bathtub.

If you or someone you know is living with a fear of drowning, stop by Brevard Medical Equipment today. We offer a wide selection of walkers, wheelchairs and canes. We also custom fit the product to you for the best fit.

Tags: Drowning, Life Jackets, Water Safety
Posted in Drowning, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Taking the Message of Therapeutic Recreation Home

Posted on: July 11th, 2013 by BrevardBlogger No Comments

Happy National Therapeutic Recreation Week from Brevard Medical Equipment! We have been discussing the ways that therapeutic recreation helps people with illnesses, disabilities, and other conditions to develop and use their leisure in ways that enhance their health, functional abilities, independence, and quality of life. Therapeutic Rec week is the second week of July each year.

Whether you or someone in your life has a disability or not, this is a good time to talk about how exercise and leisure can benefit all of us. Here are some tips on getting started in the right direction no matter age or fitness level.

1. Assess yourself

Do this honestly and fearlessly. Take a good look at yourself and your habits. Write down how often you exercise and what you eat for a week or longer. Set your baseline by seeing how long you can walk without getting winded. How is your upper body and lower body strength? How does your body look without clothes and without “sucking it in?”

2. Access your risks

What are your risk factors? What types of diseases run in the family? Which ones are lifestyle-based and which are genetic? What health issues have you had in the past or are dealing with now? Now start with a plan to lower these risks; what will it take? Do you have any physical restrictions? What activities can you do even with these restrictions? What have you tried in the past, but never succeeded? How can you succeed this time?

3. Pick one small healthy-lifestyle goal to start

You may not want to commit to never eating chocolate again or running marathons. Start small. Write the goal and steps down, and keep it handy o you see it. It may be eating a better diet and only eating chocolate on the weekends. It may be walking all the way to that certain place a distance from your house each way without stopping more than 2 times. Keep it realistic!

Share your fitness goals and plans with Brevard Medical Equipment. Ask us about what equipment and supplies can help you to reach those goals. You can do it!

Tags: fitness, people with disabilities, Therapeutic Recreation
Posted in Therapeutic Recreation | No Comments »

Happy Therapeutic Recreation Week: Get Active – Part 1

Posted on: July 9th, 2013 by BrevardBlogger No Comments

There may not be a card for it, but Happy National Therapeutic Recreation Week from Brevard Medical Equipment! Therapeutic Rec week is the second week of July each year when the National Therapeutic Recreation Society (NTRS) works to raise awareness of therapeutic recreation. They do this in order to help people with illnesses, disabilities, and other conditions develop and use their leisure in ways that enhance their health, functional abilities, independence, and quality of life.

The NTRS wants you to get involved so here are a few suggestions our team at Brevard Medical Equipment has gathered:

Are you civic minded? Ask to speak before your town board or city council about accessible recreation needs. Are trails and parks accessible? What about equipment in children’s parks? Talk to local disability groups about their needs and wants. Are there any big projects that they could use backing on?
Ask your local leaders to proclaim “National Therapeutic Recreation Week.” The press will be great for the cause and an easy way to inform a lot of people quickly.
Work with local disability groups to plan a community disability awareness event. These are often held at local malls or churches.
Present to your co-workers, civic group or church group on the benefits of therapeutic recreation. Make the event bigger by inviting equipment vendors to demonstrate adaptive recreation equipment. There are many products out there including hand bikes and upper body exercisers.
If you enjoy sports, try organizing a coaches’ seminar on recreational inclusion. There are many benefits of sports for youth and adults with disabilities. Many sports already have adapted versions including basketball, soccer, tennis and volleyball. Check out some of the amazing performances of the athletes at the 2012 Paralympics in London. The net great Olympian could be from your neighborhood.

You don’t have to be an Olympian to benefit from some of the great equipment at Brevard Medical Equipment. See us for everything from dressing aids to wound care treatment supplies.

Tags: adaptive sports, disabilities, Paralympics, Therapeutic Recreation
Posted in Therapeutic Recreation | No Comments »

Celebrating Men’s Health Week- Blog Part 2

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

Brevard Medical Equipmentis Celebrating Men’s Health Week the whole month of June and we want give a little extra attention to the men in our lives and let them know how important they really are to us.

Cancers of all types lead the list when it comes to causes of death for men, making visits to the doctor vital.

Some of the most common screening and health information a man can receive includes information on prostate cancer and other prostate issues, cholesterol, blood pressure, glucose, testicular cancer, mental health, and low testosterone.

Some of the other important screening may be more often thought of as women’s issues, but are also important to men and include screenings for breast cancer, osteoporosis and skin care. Surprised? Studies show that in 2012, over 2000 men in the U.S. will be diagnosed with breast cancer and over 400 of them will die from the disease. A man’s risk or breast cancer is higher if he has a history of female breast cancer in the family.

Osteoporosis is also more common in women because of hormone changes but affect men as well. Osteoporosis usually occurs later in men and is normally less destructive due to a larger male skeleton. But as life expectancy for men goes up, more of these bone problems occur and result in broken hips and other broken bones.

Skin care in men is not about vanity, it’s about skin cancers. Historically, men have been exposed to more sun than women due to the types of work and activities they do. This means that men are at a greater risk of skin cancers and make screening very important.

Looking for a gift for a man who’s hard to buy for? Brevard Medical Equipment has a wide variety of practical gifts that can increase health, happiness, independence and safety in any man’s life. See our online store or visit us today.

Tags: cancer in men, Men's health, skin cancer
Posted in Men's Health | No Comments »

Celebrating Men’s Health Week

Posted on: June 13th, 2013 by BrevardBlogger 1 Comment

Making an appointment with a doctor is such an easy way to keep tabs on your health, so why not do it?

Here’s fact that everyone can agree on; as a species, men don’t like going to the doctor. In fact, a recent study found that women are 100% more likely to visit the doctor for annual examinations and preventive services than men.

100?! Come on guys, we really need to take control of our health and this is the month to start doing it. If we don’t do it for ourselves, let’s do it for the other people in our lives and set good examples for our sons and grandsons.

Why are screenings so important? Men die at higher rates than women from the top 10 causes of death including many types of cancers and heart disease. Screening for prostate cancer, blood pressure, diabetes, and kidney, liver, heart, and thyroid issues are so important for men, especially as they age. On average, men die six years younger than women and often spend the last few years of their lives with more health related issues and disabilities.

Mental health screenings for depression and other common emotional issues are also getting more common and medical professionals are working to remove the stigma of these issues to encourage men to seek help earlier and more often. The National Institute of Mental Health is working hard to raise awareness about the issue of depression among men and boys.

If you are a father, have a father or care about a special man in your life, make this Father’s Day and Men’s Health Week the time to make the commitment for better health. If you’re looking for a great gift for a man in your life, see the selection of canes and walkers at Brevard Medical Equipment. These accessories come in a variety of sizes, styles and colors to fit any man and make getting around safer.

Tags: depression in men, Men's health, prostate cancer
Posted in Men's Health | 1 Comment »

Juvenile Arthritis Treatment Options

Posted on: May 24th, 2013 by BrevardBlogger 3 Comments

In our last blog post we introduced you to juvenile arthritis and talked a little bit about how prevalent it is in the United States. Today, we’ll go over other basic information and treatment options.

The Arthritis Foundation gives on great advice on this. Having arthritis will affect the entire family. That’s why it’ so important to stick to as many of your child’s daily routines and comforting habits as possible. Having arthritis should be part of your child’s life – not the central focus of their life.

According to the Arthritis Foundation and the CDC, juvenile arthritis (JA) is an umbrella term used to describe the many autoimmune and inflammatory conditions that can develop in children ages 16 (or 18) and younger.

While there is not current cure for JA, certain medications and therapy have been shown to reduce pain and make life easier. The goal of treatment for JA is to relieve inflammation, control pain and improve your child’s quality of life. Most treatment plans involve a combination of medication, physical activity, eye care and healthy eating.

Medications used to treat JA can be divided into two groups:

1- Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs, corticosteroids and analgesics that help relieve pain and inflammation

2- Disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs), and a newer subset known as biologic response modifiers (biologics). These medicines can alter the course of the disease, put it into remission and prevent joint damage.

Each child responds to his or her treatment plan differently. Some medications affect the immune system or have other side effects, making careful and frequent monitoring very important.

At Brevard Medical Equipment, we want to help every person that comes through our doors improve their quality of life and live better. Our staff is ready to help and recommend medical equipment and products to help people of any age manage arthtirits. From walkers and wheelchairs to bath safety equipment and more, we will help as much as we possibly can.

We’ll see you all next month with two more blog posts focusing on improving your health and living better!

Source: pediatriconcall.com, the CDC, the Arthritis Foundation

Tags: juvenile arthritis treatment
Posted in Juvenile Arthritis | 3 Comments »

Juvenile Arthritis- Impacting all Ages

Posted on: May 8th, 2013 by BrevardBlogger 7 Comments

May is National Arthritis Month. You may think of arthritis as something that only happens to older people, but how much do you know about Juvenile Arthritis (JA) and its prevalence and causes? Brevard Medical Equipment supports young people with this debilitating condition and carries a wide variety of equipment and supplies.

How common is JA? In 2007, CDC estimated that:

294,000 U.S. children under age 18 (or 1 in 250 children) have been diagnosed with arthritis or other rheumatic conditions.
Childhood arthritis-related diagnoses range from a low of 500 children in Wyoming to a high of 38,000 children in California.
Children diagnosed with arthritis and other rheumatic conditions account for approximately 827,000 doctor visits each year, including an average of 83,000 emergency department room visits.

There is no known cause for most forms of juvenile arthritis, nor is there evidence to suggest that toxins, foods or allergies cause children to develop the disease. Some research points toward a genetic predisposition, which means the combination of genes a child receives from family members may cause the onset of arthritis when triggered by other factors.

Coping with a chronic illness is difficult for anyone, but especially for children who are not emotionally or physically equipped to handle the situation. Expect and prepare for your child to sometimes feel sad or angry that he or she has arthritis. It’s important to address, rather than ignore these emotions. Help your child maintain the attitude that “arthritis is part of who I am, not the only thing I am.”

While we don’t offer the medications to treat juvenile or adult arthritis, we do have medical equipment and products to help arthritis management for people of any age. Brevard Medical Equipment offers walkers, wheelchairs and bath safety equipment to help make easier for those with juvenile arthritis.

We’ll talk more about juvenile arthritis in our next post when we go over possible treatment options. Be watching for this future update, and we look forward to hearing from you soon!

Sources: pediatriconcall.com, the CDC, the Arthritis Foundation

Tags: juvenile arthritis
Posted in Juvenile Arthritis, Uncategorized | 7 Comments »

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