Bath Safety	Home Health Care and Skincare
Diabetes Care	Orthopedic Support and Braces
Health and Fitness	Vascular Supports

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             (Please note the information provided should not replace your doctor's advice.)

Bath Safety: Tips to Help Make the Bathroom Safer

Keeping the following tips and suggestions in mind can help reduce your risk of an accident in the bathroom:

• Make sure the bathroom area is adequately lighted.
• Hot water burns are the second most common cause of all bathroom accidents; keep temperature control devices for tubs and shower set at comfortable ranges to avoid burns.
• Hot and cold water handles should be easily accessible and well marked.
• Tubs and shower floors should have non-slip surfaces and should be clean and free of soap residue at all times.
• Area rugs are not advised for the bathroom, but if you do use them, make sure they have non-skid backing. Carpeting is not recommended because it attracts moisture, which encourages the growth of fungi and bacteria.
• Glass shower doors and tub surrounds should be tempered and rounded. Shower doors and tub enclosures should open outward.

Diabetes Care: Ten "Toe Tips" For Diabetic Patients

1. Wash your feet daily. And be sure to dry between your toes.
2. Inspect your feet daily. Look for cuts, abrasions, sores, bruises, etc.
3. Change your socks often. Avoiding prolonged contact with moisture.
4. Don't go barefoot. Protect your feet.
5. Wear good shoes. Avoid high-heels, pointed toes, and sandals.
6. Make sure shoes fit properly.
7. Use moisturizer on your feet.
8. Cut your toenails straight across.
9. Seek professional help. Don't remove calluses, warts, or corns yourself.
10. Avoid tight clothing around your legs.

Diabetes Care: What Is Diabetes?

Diabetes is a chronic disease of the metabolic system in which too much sugar is present in the bloodstream. An estimated 14 million Americans currently have this disease, about half of whom have not yet been diagnosed. Diabetes interferes with the body's ability to produce or process insulin, a hormone produced in the pancreas. Insulin is responsible for helping transfer blood sugar, or glucose, to the muscles where it can be stored or converted to energy. Diabetics either don't make or can't use insulin effectively, causing high levels of sugar in the blood. Over time, this build-up can cause kidney damage, eye disease and blindness, cardiovascular disease, circulatory problems, nerve damage, and even death.

There are two major types of diabetes. Type 1 (Insulin dependent) exists when the body is not able to produce insulin because they immune system attacks insulin producing cells inside the pancreas as if they were foreign cells. Type 1 most often appears before the age of 20 and accounts for less than 10% of all cases in America. Type 2 (non-insulin dependent) develops when the body either can't produce insulin or becomes partially immune to its effects. Type 2 typically occurs in adulthood and accounts for 90 to 95% of all cases of diabetes.

Unlike many other diseases, diabetes does not skip a generation. If an immediate family member has the disease, a person's chance for getting it are doubled. Diabetes seems to be linked to heredity, yet the patterns for its development can be unpredictable. Type 1 may be caused by a virus or by the failure of the immune system. The development of Type 2 can be more closely linked to genes. Another factor that contributes to Type 2 is obesity. Excess body weight sometimes prevents cells and tissues from being able to use the insulin from the pancreas. Other triggers of diabetes include pregnancy, surgery, major illnesses, chronic emotional stress, and the overproduction of certain growth hormones.

Health & Fitness: When to Use Hot or Cold Therapy

Cold Therapy
Recommended to help reduce swelling and relieve pain, use it for:

• Sprains
• Strains
• Bumps and bruises
• Toothaches
• Simple headaches
• Insect bites

Hot Therapy
Recommended for:

• Treating aching muscles
• Stiffness, tension, cramps
• Arthritis
• Heat aids recuperation from injuries and should be used only after swelling has subsided

Home Health Care & Skincare: 3 Steps to Healthy Skin

Skin care is important for everyone, but especially for people with wounds, stomas, those who are bedridden, or experience incontinence. There are specialized skin care products for diabetics and nursing mothers as well. Maintaining clean, soft, bacteria and odor free skin is essential for ensuring a comfortable and healthy lifestyle. Uric acid and fecal matter can break down tender perineal skin. To prevent skin breakdowns follow this simple three-step process:

• Keep skin clean: The type of cleanser you use can make an enormous difference. Soap and water are effective but can strip the skin of essential oils, ultimately leading to skin disorders. Use a non-irritating incontinence or wound cleanser or all over body wash. Many of these products are no-rinse, ideal for those who are bedridden. Anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, and anti-microbial products are all available.
• Moisturize & heal: Active enzymes, uric acid, and bacteria can all cause skin breakdown. It is essential to remoisturize and heal the skin with a soothing cream. Specially formulated products are available for dry skin, bed sores, burns, psoriasis, incontinence, wound drainage, fungal conditions, rashes, stomas, radiation dermatitis, dermal ulcers, and other skin conditions.
• Protect the skin: It is very important to provide a barrier against destructive microorganisms. This is especially necessary for people dealing with incontinence, wound drainage, fungal conditions, stomas, burns, and dermal ulcers.

Orthopedic Support & Braces: Caring for an Injury

Regardless of the severity of an injury, initial care includes a few simple steps to decrease pain, swelling, and inflammation. These steps are important to help prevent the injury from becoming worse and to allow for better assessment of the injury.

All soft tissue injuries, regardless of how insignificant they may seem, should be treated immediately by following four basic steps. Think of them as RICE.

• Rest: Stop what you are doing to help minimize further injury. This is usually necessary for 24 to 48 hours.
• Ice: Lower the temperature at the injury site as soon as possible. This reduces pain, swelling, and spasm. Ice should be applied for 20 minutes every one to two hours for the first 48 hours.
• Compression: Wrapping the area with a bandage reduces the fluid build-up and limits the swelling in the surrounding area. An elastic wrap with a foam or felt pad directly over the area of maximum swelling is best.
• Elevation: Raise the injured body part higher than the rest of your body. Fluids will drain away from the area toward the heart, assisted by the force of gravity.

Within seconds of an injury, swelling begins. It is important to begin the RICE treatment immediately.

Orthopedic Support & Braces: Maternity Supports - How to be Pregnant and Comfortable

Maternity and post-pregnancy supports offer comfort by providing effective support where it is needed most.

Relieves back pain by transferring the weight of the abdomen to the spine, reducing strain on muscles and ligaments. Relief is immediate.
Relieves abdominal muscle and leg pain by supporting the abdomen, reducing pressure at the pelvis and improving circulation in the legs.
Stabilizes the pelvic ring - the normal softening of the ligaments can cause discomfort, often as SI pain. Integrity is restored by gently compressing the pelvic ring, reducing pain.
Abdominal lift pad is contoured to provide lift with no undesirable abdominal compression. With the support in place the weight of the enlarging abdomen is transferred back to the spine, providing almost miraculous relief.

Vascular Supports: Getting The Blood Moving

There are two kinds of blood vessels in your body's circulation, arteries and veins. Arteries carry blood from the heart to the rest of the body, actually helping the heart pump blood by squeezing or contracting, fast yet gently. Veins have thinner walls and don't do any pumping. They have a small set of valves that open when the blood is pushed past them and close, after each heartbeat, to stop the blood rushing down your legs. Sometimes these valves become damaged and can't do this job very well.

It's a precise squeeze

Gradient compression vascular stockings help to return the blood back to your heart by compressing your leg muscles, which gently squeeze the veins and help push the blood in the right direction. Gradient compression vascular stockings are not like some of the support hose you might get in the store. Doctors recommend them because the knit of the stocking is very special.

The "squeeze" at the ankle is greater than the "squeeze" at the calf or at the thigh. This squeeze feels refreshing and stimulating—the therapy starts with the first wearing.