Do I Need A Pulse Oximeter?

The blood is, as many already know, red when oxygenated properly and blue when it contains no oxygen. Therefore, when a patient is not getting enough oxygen, the blood in his or her arteries will appear more purple than red - a dark, or bluish color.

When someone looks at his or her hands or feet, for example: he or she will see the reddish color of his or her arteries and the darker, more bluish color of the veins. The veins, which have dispersed oxygenated blood through the body, are now on the way back to the heart. The heart, which is oxygenated by the lungs then pumps fresh, oxygenated blood back into the bloodstream. Therefore, the blood pumping through the arteries should then – under healthy conditions – be a bright reddish color.

When your hemoglobin – which is an essential part of your circulatory system – does its job it delivers oxygen to all parts of the body. It transports the most essential oxygen to all of your cells, muscles and organs. There are four "sites" of hemoglobin that oxygen must adhere to in order to be fully and vitally functional.

The role of pulse oximeters is a non – invasive method of determining the amount of oxygen from the heart contained in the blood or circulatory system. Often, a pulse oximeter is placed gently over your fingertip or your earlobe. In the most basic terms, a pulse oximeter is a measuring device with a light and a detector – essentially of the color of someone's blood.

A pulse oximeter will show how well the light is absorbed by the hemoglobin in the patient's blood. When hemoglobin is fully saturated with oxygen it reflects light differently than hemoglobin levels that are not fully saturated, often due to some kind of pulmonary condition.

It is always a good reminder for yourself if you are a patient or a caregiver that the amount of oxygen prescribed should never be altered without the expressed permission of your doctor or other medical professional. However, the technology behind pulse oximeters is skyrocketing and high quality pulse oximeters are available right now on the market. Talk to your doctor, a pulse oximeter has no risks, and may be perfect for you!

The Ideal Honeymoon - Taking a Wedding Cruise

A wedding cruise could provide the most intimate, secluded honeymoon atmosphere ever imagined by a bride or groom. For one thing, the happy couple could be bonding and enjoying each other while traveling to their final honeymoon destination, rather than rushing and hassling between crowded airports and other transportation to get wherever they are going.

It would be possible for the wedding party, or even the entire wedding reception to be at the docks to see the couple off as they depart on their wedding cruise! This would be such a dramatic send-off, as compared with a bunch of old shoes on the back of a car! Save at least a few bottles of champagne for this last toast to the happy couple!

The wedding cruise could be going somewhere that the couple planned to visit, that of course will always have a special significance to their life together from there on. This would add some extra excitement and anticipation to their happy time.

Alternately, the wedding cruise itself could be the honeymoon destination. It would be even more relaxing, knowing that they have nowhere to be except together. They would enjoy their first night falling asleep together, and their first morning waking up as Mr. and Mrs., while being in the most beautiful atmosphere imaginable.

The wedding cruise accommodations would give them the option of going on their first lunch date as a married couple – again without any transportation hassles. Or, they could opt to order a leisurely lunch in their private cabin.

Of course, the wedding cruise ship would have a lovely, romantic place to go out for cocktails and dinner. The couple would dance together and be able to step outside to cool off in the ocean breeze; and to practice looking lovingly into each other's eyes, with nothing but the moon reflecting on the water to illuminate this memorable time together.

Everything they could possibly need or want on their wedding cruise would be right there – sports and recreation, just strolling around the decks together, a hot tub, sunbathing; and just staring out at the water would create such a relaxing atmosphere – as if there is no tomorrow...

Of course the ship does stop in different exotic ports, and if the couple is ready for a little excitement on their wedding cruise, they could have fun site-seeing and shopping for souvenirs and mementos.

Certainly a wedding cruise as an option for a honeymoon is a very romantic idea that everyone can consider, now that cruises are not just for the rich. There are lots of affordable cruises to near and far destinations that will create an intimate atmosphere in which to begin their life together!

Kidney Surgery

Kidney surgery is usually done to remove a kidney. This is also called nephrectomy. Most kidney surgery is done for one of two reasons. Either there is a need to remove the kidney, or part of the kidney, due to disease, or a kidney is being removed because someone has agreed to be a live donor. A live donor is someone who donates a kidney while still alive. It is usually to a family member.

There are certain degrees of surgery depending on what has to be done. In a partial procedure part of the kidney is removed because of disease or a tumor is removed from the kidney. A simple nephrectomy means that the entire kidney is removed. In what is called a radical procedure not only is the kidney removed but so are the surrounding lymph nodes and the adrenal gland. In bilateral kidney surgery both kidneys are removed. All of these are done because of illness, except in the situation where a kidney is removed to transplant.

Transplant surgery that is done with a live donor used to be a major surgical procedure but there have been advances that have made this surgery not as difficult to heal from. It used to be that this type of kidney surgery required the removal of a rib to get access to the kidney. The donor would spend at east a week in the hospital and the healing took time. This was a safe way to remove a kidney from a live donor but the recovery was slow for the donor.

Recent advances have made this type of kidney surgery less invasive. No longer must a rib be taken out. A smaller incision can now be made and the pain following surgery is much less. The opening is smaller and so heals better. Complications are less likely to occur because the surgery is less invasive. Though after this kind of surgery a person could have complications resulting from infection. This can be a danger because when the kidney is removed the other organs may be injured accidentally. It is the one thing that the donor must watch. If pain, fever, nausea or excessive swelling is noticed the donor should see their health care provider immediately.