Medically Reviewed by Dr. Riaz Ali Shah
Medical monitoring is of utmost importance, but none of us have time to go to a medical facility to get our checkup done. If you are concerned about your health and want to get an upper hand on your health status, you must regularly monitor your vitals that include: monitoring your pulse rate, blood pressure, respiratory rate, weight and body temperature. One of the easiest ways to keep a tab on your health is to get these monitoring tools at home and regularly check your vitals. Get to know about monitoring your vitals and its importance in this post.
Check Your Pulse Rate
Knowing your pulse rate tells you about the number of times that your heart beats in a minute. For a normal person, a healthy pulse rate ranges from 60 to 100 beats per minute. By checking your pulse rate on a regular basis can help detect a developing or underlying heart problem. With pulse rate monitors, you can easily check your pulse rates easily at home. These monitors are easy to use and give accurate readings.
Monitoring Blood Pressure
Keeping a blood pressure monitor device at home is a convenient and easy way to monitor your blood pressure on a regular basis. When you maintain a journal of your blood pressure readings, you can help your physicians and doctors better understand how your prescribed treatment and medicines are working. Also, you can detect signs of hypertension by regularly monitoring your blood pressure as hypertension can be dangerous and has no symptoms.
Tracking Your Weight
You should have a weight scale at your home for tracking your weight regularly alerts you of any unhealthy weight gain or loss. Noting your weight on a weekly or bi-weekly basis lends a helping hand in understanding your general health conditions by making it easy to identify any sort of abnormal weight loss or gain. If you note sudden and unintentional changes in your weight, you must communicate to your doctor as it can be related to underlying health conditions.
Taking Your Temperature
It is important to note down the body temperature because it shows the ability of your body to generate and expel heat. Normal temperature for your body averages around 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit or 37 degree Celsius. With a thermometer at home, you can easily take your body’s temperature. Keeping an eye on your temperature allows you to monitor and learn about your body temperature.
Measuring Respiratory Rate
You can track your respiratory rate by noting a number of breaths taken in a minute… For adults, a normal respiration rate falls between 16 to 20 breaths per minute. Your respiratory rate may be regarded as abnormal if it is below 12 or over 25 breaths.
It is important to note your respiratory rate as it can provide valuable information related to your cardiac, neurological and pulmonary conditions. By knowing your respiratory rate, you can get indicators of any underlying conditions.
To track your respiratory rate, sit upright and keep a normal resting rate. Avoid manipulating your breaths to deter from receiving a false reading. Count the number of times your chest inflates within a minute.
