A Splash of Red on Valentine’s Day

Posted on: February 13th, 2013 by Medi-RentsBlogger No Comments

Valentine’s Day is here again, and it’s another chance for you to show your significant other how much you love them. While the day is meant to express the romantic side of your heart, you can also take care of your actual heart when you go out for an intimate dinner. When your server takes your drink order, select a red wine. You’ll be giving your heart a little boost.

The antioxidants found in red wine can help your heart fight off plaque buildup.

The antioxidants found in red wine can help your heart fight off plaque buildup.

That’s right. Your favorite merlot or malbec wine may be helping you avoid heart disease, and here’s how.

Our body contains groups of atoms called free radicals that can cause damage to certain cell membranes. By creating chemical chain reactions, free radicals harm your DNA or other cell membranes, resulting in cancer or a variety of other medical conditions.

When these atoms are released in the linings of our arteries and heart, they oxidize low-density lipids (LDLs, “bad cholesterol”), leading to damage in the soft inner walls of our heart and arteries. Enough damage over time can eventually lead to heart disease or other coronary complications.

Antioxidants are our body’s natural defense system against free radicals, although our bodies can’t always produce enough of them. When our body doesn’t produce enough antioxidants on its own to stop the activity of free radicals, that’s where eating and drinking antioxidant-rich food and liquids, such as red wine, helps.

Red wine contains vitamin E, vitamin C and beta-carotene, all of which are antioxidants.  When they are eaten and absorbed into the body, they help stop the domino effect of destruction caused by free radicals. This is not a license to overdo on the wine though; two to three small glasses a week is fine.

The next time you have a choice between red or white wine, remember your heart and go with the red, in moderation of course. Medi-Rents & Sales hopes that you and your loved ones always seek a heart-healthy lifestyle, and there’s no better time than now to start living better!

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The Wellness Approach: Health for Body and Mind

Posted on: January 18th, 2013 by Medi-RentsBlogger No Comments

So, here we are again in a brand new year with all sort of possibility lying before us. As we discussed in a blog post last month, now is one of the easiest times to plan to live healthier in the this year, regardless of your age or health status. A new year deserves a new approach to your health, one based not on fancy health products, wonder-pills or a high profile study, but on prevention, a healthy lifestyle and the willingness to take charge of your own health.

The route to wellness in the new year begins with a trip to your doctor for physical exam.

This approach, called wellness, works to keep your body and mind in good shape instead of waiting for it to breakdown, then treating it. In this way, it is similar to caring for a car. You can wait for your parts to wear out, and possible break other parts, and then repair them, or you can do preventative maintenance.

In wellness, monitoring your own health daily is your priority, which is why a logical first step this year should be to get a physical exam. This will help you know where you are with your health and what conditions you are at risk for. From there, you can make easy changes in your lifestyle to avoid these conditions. Sure, you may have to take a medication to help correct an imbalance, but again, it is from a preventative perspective.

Perhaps the best thing about the wellness approach is that it can be practiced by anyone at any age or in any condition of health. Everyone can improve their health in some way, which is the ultimate goal.

So, join Medi-Rents and Sales in living the “wellness life” this year. Schedule an appointment with your doctor, eat healthy, take advantage of free or low-cost health resources in your community and exercise your body and mind to make this year better than the last one.

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Thyroid Awareness Month: A Grand Gland

Posted on: January 9th, 2013 by Medi-RentsBlogger No Comments

Did you know that there is a gland in the body that not only helps regulate our metabolism, but also is very influential in the function of the heart, brain, liver, kidneys and our skin? That is a lot of responsibility resting on one part of our body, but the thyroid gland, located in the neck just below the voice box, does it all.

Thyroid conditions can affect the function of the heart, liver, brain, kidneys and skin.

However, more and more Americans (currently around 35-40 million) are begin diagnosed with thyroid conditions. Indeed, thyroid cancer is one of the fastest growing cancer diagnoses in the United States. Here are the other thyroid issues affecting millions in the U.S. every year:

  • Hyperthyroidism- an overactive thyroid that produces too much thyroid hormone
  • Hypothyroidism- an underactive thyroid that produces too little thyroid hormone
  • Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis- immune and autoimmune cells damage the thyroid, leading to hypothyroidism
  • Thyroid Cancer- the appearance of a painless carcinoma lump on the thyroid
  • Thyroid Nodules- a small lump or lumps in or on the thyroid, sometimes cancerous but mostly benign

Because the thyroid plays such a large role in our body, Medi-Rents and Sales would like to make everyone aware of how to spot these conditions as part of Thyroid Awareness Month this month. A family history of thyroid issues is a great indicator as to if you are at risk of or suffering from a thyroid condition, as well as:

  • Neck swelling or tenderness
  • Daytime fatigue, even after nights of adequate, deep sleep
  • Sudden feelings of depression (hypothyroidism) or anxiety (hyperthyroidism) 

Once diagnosed, thyroid conditions are very treatable and can be managed effectively.

We hope that you will use this information to keep yourself and your loved ones healthy and well throughout the year. So, please join us at Medi-Rents and Sales in spreading awareness about thyroid conditions and helping yourself and others live better this year.

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Navigating the Feast

Posted on: November 20th, 2012 by Medi-RentsBlogger No Comments

The scene is familiar to most of us: the cooked turkey on a platter in the center of the table surrounded by massive helpings of mashed potatoes, stuffing, green beans, cranberries and other traditional Thanksgiving food. While most of us would salivate just thinking about that meal, a diabetic may cringe and know that they have some tough choices ahead of them.

Carefully managing a special meal like Thanksgiving dinner can help keep your diabetes in check.

Thanksgiving and other food-centric holidays provide diabetics with extra challenges as they try to keep their blood sugar balanced. Through the pre-dinner drinks, the feast and the dessert, diabetics have a lot to think and be anxious amount. However, we have some tips that will hopefully help you or a diabetic you know get through the holiday season unscathed.

Prepare ahead of time- treat Thanksgiving just like any other day, meaning you eat breakfast, check your blood sugar and exercise like you normally would. Not eating for fear of too many calories is not a good idea, as the sudden introduction of loads of carbs, fat and protein into your diabetic body can create a dangerous overload.

Watch your portions- there’s no need to load up on turkey when there are plenty of delicious side dishes to choose from as well. Keep the portions of each food small and vary what you eat. While you grandma’s mashed potatoes may be amazing, they also have tons of butter and cream in them. Go for less of those and more green beans.

Make tradeoffs- have sweet potatoes or mashed potatoes, stuffing or a roll, etc. If alcoholic beverages are being served, go with one glass of wine instead of two bottles of bear, and so on. Choosing one or the other will help keep you from consuming too much or throwing your blood glucose level a curveball.

We at Medi-Rents & Sales hope these tips will help you or a diabetic you know to navigate the many feasts of the holiday season. We hope you all enjoy your Thanksgiving with your loved ones, and please don’t hesitate to call or come by for your home medical needs.

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Holiday Madness: Traveling with a Mobility Device

Posted on: November 6th, 2012 by Medi-RentsBlogger No Comments

The holidays are here again starting with Thanksgiving this month, meaning that you and your loved ones may be doing a lot of traveling. Normally this wouldn’t be a big deal, except that you or one of your own relies heavily on a mobility device such as a walker, wheelchair or mobility scooter to get around.

Call the airline ahead of time if you are traveling with a mobility device to reduce headaches and waiting.

If you’re traveling a long distance by car, then you most likely have a way of transporting the mobility device from previous experience. However, holiday air travel with a mobility device can be a hassle on top of the already grueling process of flying anywhere these days. Allow us to give you a few tips that may help.

First and foremost, check the website of the airline you’re flying with to see their exact rules about mobility devices. In most cases, you can bring your mobility device right up to the gate and have it checked there. Be sure that you can explain how to disassemble it if the airline’s rules require it. From there you can use a provided wheelchair or assistance from an airline worker to get to your seat. Your mobility device should be waiting for you when you land at your destination.

At the security gate, you can request a manual search if you cannot walk through the detector. Also, if you use a cane you have two options: you can put your cane through the screening system and walk through the detector, or you can wait for the cane to go through, have it handed back to you, and then walk through the detector.

You should also call the airline ahead of time to advise them of your limitation, as well as request any assistance requirements to be documented. This gives staff members at your destination advance notice that you will require assistance.

We hope that these tips help you in your holiday air travels over the next few months. From all of us at Medi-Rents & Sales, we wish you safe travels, and let us know if there is anything we can do to help you this holiday season!

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Finding the Perfect Fit

Posted on: October 24th, 2012 by Medi-RentsBlogger No Comments

If you’ve had your sleep apnea diagnosed and have begun CPAP therapy any time recently, you know that it’s not the most comfortable thing in the world. Air is continually being pumped into airway, you’re wearing a mask and there are straps pressing into the back and sides of your head. Needless to say, it’s not the most comfortable thing you’ve ever experienced.

Successful CPAP therapy is determined by your comfort level with your mask.

However, there is one part of this equation that can make a world of difference in your comfort level, and thus the efficiency of your therapy: finding the perfect CPAP mask. Everyone has a different preference when it comes to a nasal or full-face mask based on how they normally breathe at night, but that can change when CPAP therapy is introduced.

A full-face mask can seem like a good option to start, but can bring with it feelings of claustrophobia since the mouth and nose are both covered. Nasal masks can help alleviate the claustrophobia, however they depend on the user breathing only through their nose. Even nasal masks that are minimal contact masks can cause contact sores. So, how do you find a mask that’s right for you?

First, recognize that you may have to try a few masks out first before you settle on one. Second, no whether you are a mouth or nose breather, or both. Once you have these two things determined, choose a mask suiting your breathing style from the large selection Medi-Rents offers.

You can try getting used to the mask by wearing it while reading or watching television before bed. Any mask will uncomfortable at first, but stick with it! If after a few weeks you find yourself becoming more comfortable with it and feeling less anxious about using it, you’ve found the one. If not, try the same process with a different mask.

Medi-Rents is proud to offer a large variety of masks, as well as other CPAP equipment to help you with your sleep apnea treatment. Give us a call or stop by our store today!

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Home Medical Equipment for a Better Life

Posted on: October 10th, 2012 by Medi-RentsBlogger No Comments

For some people and business, doing things the old-fashion way is best. Medi-Rents and Sales built and will continue to build business based on hard work, integrity and focusing on the needs of our customers and patients. For over 30 years, our professional and caring staff has asked, “What type of home medical equipment would make your life better?” While times and technology change, our commitment to providing high quality equipment as an answer to that question never will.

Our easy-to-use website can provide has all of the equipment supplies you need to chose from, as well as helpful resources and information.

Based in Baltimore, Maryland, we offer home medical equipment for patients of all ages. Not only that, but our staff of RNs, Pharmacists, Respiratory Therapists and LPNs can ensure you get the right product and training for optimal use of each product. We also have delivery professionals that will deliver and help set up your equipment, and a billing specialist can help with billing Medicare, Medicaid and private insurances as part of our resolve to provide the best customer service.

This resolve also applies to all of our interaction with our customers, which is why we have launched this blog. It will act as a way for us to circulate useful information, tips and advice and other home medical equipment related material to our customers. This will range from general information about products we carry, how to prevent/cope with certain medical conditions such as Alzheimer’s and COPD, as well as what to look for when purchasing certain pieces of equipment.

Our hope is that results in more educated customers, both in knowing what they are looking for when they come to us, as well as knowing what to watch for in their own bodies so they can stay healthy.

We look forward to building relationships with all of our customers in our store or through our blog. If you have any questions feel free to give us a call, and we look forward to hearing from you soon!

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