The Nation Newspaper

Tag: equipment

  • Health equipment you should have at home: The weighing scale

    Our body weight is important. When it is right we feel well and we function well. You should be familiar with your body weight and know how it fluctuates. Many people keep a scale in their bathrooms or bedroom. It is handy for monitoring weight on a regular basis.

    You can also calculate your body mass index (BMI) which is an indication of healthy weight. Body mass index (BMI) is a measure of body fat using a person’s height and weight. Once you know your height and weight, you can calculate your BMI from the table below. It is recommended that normal BMI is 18.5 to 24.9. If your BMI is less than 18.5, you are underweight; if your BMI is 25 to 29.9 you are overweight. If your BMI is 30 or greater, this is an indication of obesity.

    If you care to know your health risks with overweight, then you should also measure your waist. Too much fat around the waist and a waist measurement that is more than 35 inches in women or 40 inches in men are associated with heart disease and type 2diabetes. A tape rule is therefore another health instrument to have at home. The waist measurement is taken just above the hipbones and just after a person breathes out.

    Doctors usually recommend that you lose weight if you are overweight or obese and also have two or more risk factors such as: hypertension, high “bad” cholesterol, low “good” cholesterol, high blood sugar, cigarette smoking, or a family history of heart disease. Weight loss of about 5-10% of your current weight may be very effective in lowering the risk of associated diseases. If you are overweight but have no risk factor, you need to keep your weight under control so that you do not gain more weight.

    Weight gain can be rapid during festive seasons but if we have a regular habit of checking our weight, it should not result in any health problem. Rapid means of shedding weight include: regulated fasting (the body draws from its own reserves during fast); abstinence from sweets and fatty foods; sports and exercise that burn calories and body fat; doing more work and working hard at what you normally do in order to burn more energy.

    Dr. ’Bola John is a biomedical scientist based in Nigeria and in the USA. For any comments or questions on this column, please Email bolajohnwritings@yahoo.com or call 07028338910

  • NPA to acquire equipment to boost security

    The Managing Director, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Mallam Habib Abdullahi has approved the purchase of more equipment to boost port security.

    The items include boats for water front patrol, motor cycles, patrol van and towing vans for the security department of the agency to ensure efficient and effective security at the nation’s seaports.

    NPA’s General Manager, Security, Lt. Col Jamil Tahir (Rtd), made this known while addressing heads of security department at a quarterly meeting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

    Tahir said baggage scanners and scanning machines for vehicles, trucks and their drivers would also be installed at the ports.

    He pointed out that the equipment would not affect Customs operations because the duties of his men and customs’ differ. He said: While “Customs officials look for contrabands, Nigerian Ports Security look for dangerous cargoes”.

    He thanked the management of the authority for sponsoring some security officers to attend local and international courses last year and appealed for more in view of the dynamic nature of security challenges.

    While commending his officers for their dedication to duty in the past year, he enjoined them not rest on their oars in order to reciprocate management’s gesture.

     

  • Health equipment you should have at home

    Our health parameters (such as body temperature and blood pressure) need to be regular for our bodies to function well. We can have a few basic measuring equipment at home to keep track of our health parameters. A household could have a clinical thermometer for measuring body temperature, a balance or scale for measuring body weight, and a sphygmomanometer for measuring blood pressure.

    We need other equipment to keep our bodies fit by exercising. A household could have at least one skipping rope and one bicycle for exercise. If affordable, a treadmill is a useful work-out equipment to have for exercise. There are numerous other exercise equipment, big and small, that one could use and we will look at a few examples. However, it is most profitable for us to exercise first by doing housework and chores in the garden and around the home and for the home including shopping and repairs. This not only exercises our bodies, but makes good use of our minds, as well as serves good relationships and family bonds.

     

    The Thermometer

    Fever or pyrexia (high body temperature) is a feature of many conditions involving infections or allergy. Having a simple clinical thermometer at home is handy for taking body temperature. The thermometer is a hand-held narrow glass rod with a tiny hollow tube (capillary tube) running along its middle. The tube is connected to a reservoir of mercury (a liquid metal) at the bottom. When the reservoir bulb is heated, the mercury expands and is driven from the reservoir and up the stem through the narrow tube. The stem is calibrated by markings to form a scale for interpreting the temperature. Normal body temperature is about 37 degrees Celsius or 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit. It is commonly taken from under the tongue. It can also be taken from the armpit, the ear, the anus, or the vagina.

    Apart from the measurements in body cavities, the temporal artery of the head can give accurate measurements because it is close to the surface of the skin and is not far from the heart.

    The temperature in the anus (also called rectal temperature), vagina, or in the ear (otic temperature) is about 37.5 °C (99.5 °F); the temperature in the mouth (oral temperature) is about 36.8 °C (98.2 °F); and the temperature in the arm pit (axillary temperature ) is about 36.5 °C (97.7 °F).

    The temperature may fluctuate by plus or minus 5 degrees Celsius along the course of the day, depending on level of activity (including exercise and feeding), environment, and other factors. It also naturally fluctuates with the sleep-wake cycle, with the menstrual cycle, and with seasons.

    For women, after ovulation, the body temperature rises sharply because of the hormonal changes and this is one indicator of fertility.

    Elderly people tend to have lower body temperature and should be supported in extreme changes in environmental temperature. Body temperature regulation is according to a set-point determined by the functioning of the hypothalamus is the brain. People who cannot regulate their body temperatures well may develop hyperthermia during extreme heat or heat waves (their body absorbs more heat than they can safely eliminate through sweating and other mechanisms) or hypothermia (their body loses more heat than they can functionally generate).

    When used orally, the thermometer should not be grasped with the teeth so that it breaks. Parents should not leave children alone with a thermometer. It is attractive as a play thing. If it breaks accidentally, the mercury can spill. Mercury is poisonous. Because of this, some people use electronic thermometers made from solid plastic and with a thermocouple (not mercury) sensor. Of course, clean the thermometer well after use.

     

    •Dr. ‘Bola John is a biomedical scientist based in Nigeria and in the USA. For any comments or questions on this column, please Email bolajohnwritings@yahoo.com or call 07028338910.