With today's widespread and affordable technology, it's simple and convenient to measure your vital signs at home and not make unnecessary appointments with your doctor. Blood pressure, heart rate, breathing rate and even blood sugar (glucose) levels can readily be measured at home with electronic devices made for personal use. If your vitals are not within normal ranges, then a doctor visit may be warranted, but if your numbers are good then medical attention is likely unnecessary. Ask your doctor what the most appropriate ranges are for your vital signs — be aware they can change with age.  Home medical devices can be widely found at pharmacies, medical supply stores and rehabilitation facilities. Measuring your cholesterol levels at home is also possible. A number of years ago, the cholesterol kits weren't very accurate, but now they are very close in accuracy to standard lab tests (about 95% accurate). Blood and urine can be analyzed with special dip sticks that are designed to turn different colors in reaction to certain compounds or parameters. Although medications are obviously helpful to reduce symptoms such as pain and inflammation — and some are truly life saving — all of them create side effects. Drugs that are known to create numerous side effects in a high proportion of users are statins (prescribed for high cholesterol) and antihypertensives (for high blood pressure). Over-medicating and even closely following directions for these drugs commonly lead to other symptoms and additional doctor visits. Ask your doctor about the risk of side effects for all prescriptions she recommends. Consider also researching alternative remedies (plant-based) for certain conditions, which can cause fewer and less serious side effects (though these remedies are often lacking scientific study or verification that they actually work).  Statins commonly cause muscle pain, liver problems, digestive issues, skin rashes, flushing, memory loss and confusion.  Herbal remedies that may help lower cholesterol levels include artichoke extract, fish oil, blond psyllium, flaxseed, green tea extract, niacin (vitamin B3) and oat bran.  Antihypertensives commonly cause coughing, dizziness, light-headedness, nausea, nervousness, tiredness, lethargy, headaches, impotence and chronic coughing. Herbal remedies that can help lower blood pressure include niacin (vitamin B3), grapeseed extract, omega-3 fatty acids, coenzyme Q-10 and olive oil. One way to reduce your doctor visits long-term is to schedule a yearly check-up for screenings, immunizations, and to identify any potential health issues and catch them before they become too serious.  Your health insurance may cover this visit — ask your insurance agent about what is covered under preventative care.A preventative care visit is done when you feel healthy and not to address a specific illness or physical issue. A more practical way of cutting down on unneeded doctors visits is using your local walk-in clinics more often for immunizations, renewing prescriptions, getting vital signs measured and getting basic physical exams. More and more pharmacy chains are offering these types of medical services and taking advantage of them reduces the burden on your doctor's office and the healthcare system in general. These small clinics typically don't employ medical doctors, but they staff qualified nurses, nurse practitioners and/or medical assistants.  Common vaccinations offered for children and adults at pharmacies include the flu and hepatitis B vaccines.  Small walk-in clinics don't require appointments, although if you have to wait it's often easy and convenient to do some grocery shopping (if the pharmacy is inside of a grocery store) to pass the time.
قم بحساب علاماتك الحيوية في المنزل. تناول الدواء فقط عند اللزوم. قم بزيارة سنوية إلى الطبيب. الجأ إلى العيادات الصغيرة أو المستوصفات عند الشكوى من أمور بسيطة.