Active patient recovery

The recovery program consists of all the procedures that help the physical and mental recovery of patients who have suffered from various diseases.
Rehabilitation should be instituted as soon as possible to ensure a normal life.
Rehabilitation methods differ from person to person, but they have the same aim:
– to achieve a functional status that provides independence and minimal help from others
– to accommodate physically and mentally to the changes brought about by the disease
– proper integration into the family and community.
Motor functions (use of limbs, walking) recover after a relatively short period of time, so it is very important that rehabilitation and physical recovery starts as soon as possible. The patient is encouraged to get out of bed and try to take a few steps. In some cases this process may take time until the patient regains muscle strength and learns to walk again (learns to walk a second time).
Initial recovery varies from patient to patient, depending on a number of factors, such as: the condition suffered, the patient’s age and associated diseases.
Recovery also requires a lot of patience and support from healthcare staff as well as family and friends.
Initial rehabilitation continues after discharge or transfer to another medical (rehabilitation) ward.
The rehabilitation programme includes:
– a series of physical exercises
– drug treatment (if necessary)
– psychological counselling
– encouragement of social activities (walking, reading, watching TV, etc.)
– participation in various educational programmes
– healthy lifestyle
– Encouraging activities that can provide the independence needed for a normal life.
Rehabilitation is a lengthy process that can become frustrating and can trigger recurrent episodes of depression. In this case, psychological counselling and specialist medication is recommended. Language and communication disorders can slow down the patient’s recovery, so social reintegration can also be more difficult. It is good for the patient to talk to the family about the frustrations they have, to make it easier to overcome them.

Healthy lifestyle

It is composed of:
– Rest (sleep), active rest and stress management (energy management).
Healthy eating and hydration
– Work and movement
– Education
– Nature – Natural factors
Rest: 7-9 hours a day – who sleeps less or more shortens his life.
Rest through sleep, the healthiest sleep is at night between 22:00 – 23:00 until 6:00 – 07:00 in the morning.
Rest can also be active. Active rest or doing something that relaxes you, that relaxes you, doing what you like in life: dancing, swimming, intense work, movement, exercise or intense sport, reading a book, listening to music, walking with friends in the park (in nature), etc.
Healthy eating: less animal food, protein, animal fat (milk, cheese, meat, eggs and their derivatives) and more vegetable food as more and more nutritionists recommend.
Hydration: 6-10 glasses of water a day, preferably at least 7-8 glasses (2 litres) of water a day (water and NOT: coffee, sweet or fizzy drinks, market juices, preferably plain water or tap water – if you can afford it, you can use a carbon filter).
Work and movement: Work (preferably intense) 8 hours a day. Intense sweaty movement (especially for those with sedentary work, office work, etc.) at least 1 hour a day or housework, exercise, sports, even climbing stairs and walking at least 30-45 minutes a day is healthy.
Stress management (energy management): let’s take life as it is with good and not so good to not let the troubles, stress to bring us down otherwise the immune system will decrease, and a man with low immune system will imminently appear diseases, serious and even fatal diseases: obesity, cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease (CVD), stroke, etc.
Let’s find ways to relax, to detach ourselves from the daily stress that can bring diseases in our lives like this: Listening to music that relaxes us, or reading a book, going out with friends or pets in green areas where we can oxygenate our brain and feel better, doing movement, exercise…Sport makes the immune system more resilient and we feel better to be more resistant to stress and prevent and even cure diseases that have been triggered by an unhealthy lifestyle.
Education (which includes self-education, personal development): Education is another important factor that goes into a healthy lifestyle. Healthy lifestyle means changing our way of living and our (unhealthy) way of thinking to a constructive, positive healthy way of living and thinking.
To give up bad, unhealthy habits through information, education, self-education and replace them with good, healthy habits for ourselves and those around us.

Main elements to fight against chronic pain

Chronic pain is widely regarded as representing the disease itself. It can be greatly worsened by environmental and psychological factors. Chronic pain persists longer than acute pain and is resistant to most medical treatments. It can and often does cause serious problems for the patient. Pain signals remain active in the nervous system for weeks, months or years. Physical effects include muscle tension, limited mobility, lack of energy and changes in appetite. Emotional effects include depression, anger, anxiety and fear of recovery. Such fear may prevent the person from returning to their usual work or leisure activities.
Common chronic pain complaints include :
– Headache
– Back pain
– Cancer-related pain
– Arthritic pain
– Neurogenic pain (pain resulting from nerve damage)
– Psychogenic pain (pain not due to a past illness or injury or any visible sign of internal injury).

Treatment of chronic pain usually involves medication and therapy. Medications used for chronic pain include analgesics, antidepressants and anticonvulsants. Different types of medication help people with different types of pain. You usually use long-acting drugs for constant pain. Short-acting drugs treat transient pain.
Some types of therapy help reduce your pain. Physiotherapy (such as stretching) and low-impact sports (such as walking, swimming or cycling) can help reduce pain. However, too much or no sport can harm patients with chronic pain. Occupational therapy teaches you how to adjust your pace and how to perform routine tasks in a way that doesn’t harm you. Behavioural therapy can reduce pain through methods (such as meditation or yoga) that help you relax. It can also help reduce stress.
Lifestyle changes are an important part of chronic pain treatment. Adequate sleep at night and not moping during the day should help. Quitting smoking too, as the nicotine in cigarettes can make certain medicines less effective. Smokers have more pain than non-smokers.

Most pain treatments will not completely eliminate your pain. Instead, treatment will reduce the amount of pain you have and how often it occurs. Talk to your doctor to find out the best way to control your pain.

Continuous professional blood glucose monitoring

The blood glucose measured with the glucometer is only its value at that moment; it cannot tell you if in the next few minutes your blood glucose will go down or up, so when determining glycated haemoglobin HbA1c we get values that do not agree with the blood glucose values determined on the glucometer. Doctors are always looking for new tools to assess the degree of glycaemic control of their patients in a quick and easy way that optimises diabetes management. For this, the professional continuous glucose monitoring device is recommended.
Continuous professional blood glucose monitoring is the way to measure and know in real time, day and night, blood glucose values. This method lets you know the direction of your blood glucose, gives you additional information on the effect of diet, exercise, medication, intercurrent conditions on blood glucose and makes it possible to issue alerts about impending hypo- or hyperglycaemia.
It is carried out with the help of a small sensor mounted subcutaneously in the abdomen; the mounting procedure is extremely easy, takes about 5 minutes and does not disturb your daily activities.The monitoring is carried out over 3-5 days, depending on your doctor’s recommendation and allows the recording of 288 measurements/day.
Recommendations for continuous blood glucose monitoring:
– children, adolescents and young people with type 1 diabetes who have glycosylated haemoglobin (glycated haemoglobin) within normal range, with nocturnal or undiagnosed hypoglycaemia;
– people with type 2 diabetes on insulin or oral antidiabetic drugs who have poor glycaemic control or hypoglycaemia
– young women who are planning to become mothers and have blood glucose values above normal limits
Benefits of continuous blood glucose monitoring:
– Provides your doctor with information about how diet, physical activity and medication influence your blood glucose values;
– identifies low blood glucose values during the night or day;
– detects how high your blood sugar gets after each meal;
– allows individual adjustment of the treatment regimen;
– detects unidentified postprandial hyperglycaemia and prolonged asymptomatic hypoglycaemia in children;
– diagnoses unknown hypoglycaemia and hyperglycaemic variations in patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes and facilitates clinical decisions leading to improved glycaemic control;
– improves glycaemic control and reduces the risk of macrosomia during pregnancy;
– download daily reports on quick identification of movements, analysis of the impact of daily activities, focus on mealtimes.


With the help of diabetes therapy management software the professional continuous glucose monitoring sensor is an alternative for patients/parents motivated in diabetes control.

Everything about hypertension

High blood pressure is the No. 1 global risk factor for death from stroke, heart attack and other complications.
Every year, more than 10 million people die from high blood pressure, only half of them know they have this problem.
And all these deaths are preventable…
In Romania, among deaths from cardiovascular disease, the greatest impact is caused by high blood pressure (63%), followed by unhealthy diet (50.4%) and hypercholesterolemia (26.9%).

What is hypertension?

Blood circulation puts pressure in the blood vessels. It allows blood to travel through the body and to deliver fresh blood with oxygen and nutrients that the body needs. High blood pressure, medically known as hypertension, is important because it leads to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease with complications such as heart attack, heart failure, stroke, allergy problems and even blindness. It is the leading cause of death worldwide and in Romania. In 2000, the number of people with hypertension was 972 million worldwide. In 2025, it is estimated to reach 1.56 billion. It is estimated that half of people with hypertension don’t even know it.

What can we do to reduce the risk of hypertension?

Prevention is the key to reducing risk, and this can be done by following 10 simple rules:
– Maintain a normal body weight
– Exercise for at least 30 minutes every day
– Sufficient fruit and vegetables in your daily diet
– Reducing salt in the diet
– Reduce sugar and fat
– Quitting smoking
– Reducing coffee consumption
– Moderate alcohol consumption
– Adding beetroot to the diet
– Avoiding stress as much as possible and allowing time for relaxation.
Many people have hypertension but don’t know it. However, if your blood pressure is checked and intervention is taken very early, many complications can be avoided, so checking your blood pressure is key, so check your blood pressure and go to the doctor!

What is considered blood pressure?

If your blood pressure is 130/80 mmHG or higher, you are likely to be diagnosed with blood pressure.
In 2017, the American Heart Association updated the definition of blood pressure to 140/90 mmHG or higher.

Prevalence and risk factors

Almost half of the world’s population has hypertension.
But prevalence increases with age, with the over 60s age group seeing prevalence rise to 65%.
Family history. Having a family history of hypertension increases your risk.
Obesity. The heavier you are, the more blood is needed to provide oxygen and nutrients to the body.
Lack of physical activity. People who don’t exercise at all have a higher risk of high blood pressure.
Dietary choices. What we choose to eat can increase the risk of high blood pressure, especially too much salt (it retains fluids and increases blood pressure).
Alcohol consumption. Drinking more than two drinks a day for a man and one for a woman has negative effects on blood pressure.
Stress. If you are always under intense stress it can lead to temporary increases in blood pressure. If you try to cope with stress with cigarettes and alcohol, they will lead to increased blood pressure.
Chronic diseases. If you have kidney problems or diabetes, these also affect your blood pressure.
Pregnancy. If you are pregnant, this is a cause of increased blood pressure.
Contraceptives. Women who take birth control pills have a higher risk of high blood pressure.

Secondary hypertension. What is it and what causes it?

When blood pressure rises suddenly it causes a condition called secondary hypertension.
Certain conditions lead to secondary hypertension:
– Kidney problems
– Thyroid problems
– Blood vessel defects
– Alcohol consumption or constant drinking
– Drugs

Drugs that can increase blood pressure

Medications you take for other health problems, such as arthritis, epilepsy or allergies, can increase your blood pressure. For such situations, you should talk to your doctor.

Complications

If left untreated, high blood pressure can lead to :
– Stroke
– Heart attack
– Angina
– Heart failure
– Kidney problems
– Loss of vision
– Sexual dysfunction.
Symptoms of hypertension
Many people who have high blood pressure have no signs or symptoms, even when it is very high. This is why hypertension is nicknamed the ‘silent killer’. In rare cases, when the pressure reaches a dangerous level, a person may experience headaches or nosebleeds that are worse than normal.
Treatment
People with high blood pressure need lifelong treatment. In addition to treatment, a healthy diet with less salt and a healthy lifestyle with exercise, limiting alcohol consumption, quitting smoking and stress management are needed.
High blood pressure during pregnancy
Women may have high blood pressure before becoming pregnant or develop it during pregnancy. When it happens later than 20 weeks, this is gestational hypertension. It is a form of secondary hypertension, caused by pregnancy and generally disappears after childbirth. Monitoring and control of hypertension during pregnancy is essential for the health of both mother and baby. If left untreated, it leads to complications for both mother and baby. Hypertension can affect the mother’s kidneys and is a risk of heart failure in the future. It also increases the risk of birth complications.

Hypertension in children

Hypertension is becoming increasingly common in children and adolescents. Kidney or heart problems can cause high blood pressure in children, but so can lifestyle, unhealthy diet, obesity and lack of movement.
Article taken from info-pacient.ro