lenux

my boss asked me to buy a sphygmanometer...i just said "yes, ma'am!" but in the back of my mind, i want to tell her...what is sphygma...sphygmameter? .what's that again ma'am? good thing im living in the modern days and internet is the key..."ah pang blood pressure pla un..hahaha :D" with that knowledge its now easy to buy "that" thing.  Thanks to Paps of Streamlines, she refer me to one of their supplier of medical supplies in Bang-Bang.

So I went there (with kuya ricky, because if im alone I might get lost) at F & K to purchase a set of sphygmanometer (a set meaning -aneroid sphygmanometer (3M) with stethoscope w/ free...yes...FREE thermometer and a bag! -good buy). after purchasing, I came up with a dillema, how does this thing work? am I still the one in-charge of getting the BP of my employees - stupid me, of course being an HR i think I should do it...but how?  Things become complicated when i asked my officemates on how to use use...they were telling me things like systolic, diastolic...whatever, I think its best to read the manual kit or browse the internet to teach me things that I badly need to know...

I find this article, and its so easy to understand:  http://www.wikihow.com/Check-Your-Blood-Pressure-With-a-Sphygmomanometer

1. Remove the cuff, stethoscope, pressure gauge, and bulb (also known as a "bladder") from the kit, taking care to untangle the various tubes.
2. Sit down at a table or desk where you can easily rest your arm so that when you bend your elbow, your elbow is parallel to your heart. (Some experts recommend you use your left arm; others suggest you test both arms. But while you're first adjusting to self-testing, use the left arm if you're right-handed, or vice versa.)
3. Gently place the stethoscope's ear pieces in your ears.
4. Bend the arm you're going to test.
5. Wrap the cuff around your arm, slipping the top part of the cuff through the metal bar that's attached to the cuff. Most cuffs have Velcro, making it easy to keep the cuff in place.
6. Make sure the cuff is snug, but not too tight -- if you cut off your circulation and become agitated, you're going to get an alarming blood pressure reading!
7. Place the wide head of the stethoscope on your skin just above the elbow, on the inside of the arm of the arm: that's the brachial artery. You will not normally hear a thumping until you have begun to inflate the cuff. To aid in finding this you can press two fingers (not your thumb) to the area where it should be and move around until you feel a pulse.
8. Take the other end of the sphygmomanometer -- the end with the pressure gauge or dial -- and look for a little clip on the back. Attach that clip to something sturdy, such as a hardcover book, that you can place on the table. It's important to keep the gauge anchored and stable.
9. Take the rubber bulb (or bladder) and tighten the little valve at the base; be sure to turn the valve all the way clockwise to shut it off.
10. Pump the bulb using slow but very steady pressure until the needle on the gauge is at about 20-30 points above your usual systolic (top) number. Now, gently start turning the bulb's valve counter-clockwise so that air is released slowly and steadily.
11. As you watch the needle fall back down the gauge, listen for a thumping sound. (The clinical name for this is "Korotkoff sounds.") Keep your eyes on the gauge -- when you first hear thumping, you have your systolic number, which represents the greatest amount of pressure exerted on the artery walls as your heart pumps blood.
12. Keep watching the gauge. When the thumping fades to silence, you have your diastolic (bottom) number, the lowest amount of pressure.

Di ba its so easy?... after a few "trials" with my officemates as my subject, I can now detect their blood pressure...accurately.... :D