All About Medical Equipment and Supplies

All About Medical Equipment and Supplies

Doctors, hospitals, clinics, and other healthcare facilities use medical equipment and supplies. These include devices for medication administration, such as syringes and dosing cups, and first aid items, like thermometers and wound cleansers.

Not all devices should be considered medical equipment, however. Implants and single-use equipment can’t be inventoried or serviced regularly, and borderline devices that are inexpensive and durable should be excluded from this category.

First Aid Kits

First aid kits contain medical supplies for minor injuries, such as cuts and scrapes. They may also include items to help control bleeding, such as butterfly closure strips that work like stitches and can seal in the dirt to prevent infection or hemostatic agents that promote clotting for severe blood loss.

These kits are helpful at home, in your car, or office. Invest in a quality kit with name-brand products to ensure you’re ready for any injury or illness.

Syringes

Syringes are one of the medical equipment Cleveland OH items that we all use daily. They are simple, but they have had a long history of getting where they are today.

The barrel of a syringe has graduated marks showing the fluid volume inside. It is usually transparent to allow this. Most modern syringes are plastic with a rubber piston and are designed to be used only once. This prevents the spread of blood-borne diseases such as Hepatitis and HIV.

A wide needle can damage the rubber septum, so a narrow needle is usually used for non-medical purposes. Other syringes are used in laboratories to transfer liquids, solvents, and reagents between reaction vessels. Additionally, they may be used for various chores, including DIY projects like woodworking and crafts and refilling ink and e-cigarette cartridges.

Oxygen Masks

Oxygen masks are helpful for patients who need a higher oxygen concentration in their blood. They are commonly used in situations that require immediate attention, such as respiratory failure and hypoxemia.

Patients can choose from various masks, including straight face, air-entrainment, and non-rebreathing. A simple face mask covers the patient’s nose and mouth, and it has a valve that collects oxygen from the tank into the patient’s lungs.

Air-entrainment masks have a cone-shaped design with entrainment ports of different sizes that adjust to provide varying oxygen concentrations. These masks are often used for long durations, such as by aviators and hyperbaric chamber patients. Non-rebreathing masks are similar in structure to reservoir masks but do not contain openings for rebreathing exhaled carbon dioxide.

Blood Pressure Cuffs

Blood pressure monitors can be helpful if you have high blood pressure or want to keep track of it. There are two types of monitors: aneroid and digital.

An aneroid monitor uses a cuff that wraps around the arm and has a gauge on it to measure blood pressure. A healthcare professional must listen to the heartbeat with a stethoscope and watch the gauge on the device to get accurate measurements.

With digital monitors, the cuff automatically inflates and deflates to take readings. A digital monitor may also record and store your results for later use. The cuff should be appropriately sized: too small can lead to overestimation, and too large can cause edema. Wrist and thigh devices are available for patients who can’t use an arm cuff due to arms size or medical reasons.

Thermometers

Taking a person’s temperature is essential and should never be left to guesswork. A thermometer is a medical device that measures the core body temperature and can help diagnose when someone has a fever, a symptom of many diseases or infections.

Modern digital thermometers measure the tip of a probe against a computer chip to calculate and display an electronic reading on a screen. Some models feature a “talking” function that reads the result aloud for blind and visually impaired patients. Others are connected to smartphones for continuous monitoring.

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