Imagine yourself walking down the street. Suddenly someone walking in front of you collapses. What now? Is the person breathing? Is the person’s heart beating?
A persons heart and breathing rate are two of the main signs of life called:
Vital Signs.
Obviously I’d recommend you immediately phone the emergency services. If the person does not show those two signs of life, someone trained in basic first aid should start CPR. It is beyond the scope of this blog post to explain the CPR process. However, if you are untrained or rusty it is recommended that you start with chest compressions until emergency personnel arrives.
On adults, you use both your hands while on children you use only one. On infants, it’s recommended using only two fingers. An in-depth explanation on CPR can be found here.
In a more everyday setting, vital signs are used to monitor a person’s general health. Like the warning light in a car, they can indicate that there may be a deeper problem.
The four main Vital Signs:
- Heart Rate
- Blood Pressure
- Breathing Rate
- Body Temperature
The above listed main four vital signs are indicators of how the person is doing medically. They can help identify problems and may indicate medical intervention before a visit to the ICU is necessary.
Here we also routinely measure blood glucose to check for signs of diabetes. This is one of the so-called fifth vital signs.
It is imperative that an individual visit his or her doctor on at least an annual basis for a routine check-up. Your health is your responsibility. Don’t wait for a visit to the emergency room to find out there is a problem.
About the Author
Sarina often sat on the peaks of the dunes of Southern Africa watching the ocean tide drift in. A daydreamer, often dreaming up stories for lands somewhere over the rainbow. She is a mother, a wife, a blogger and an overall creative spirit. Above all, she is a human being.
Find her here:
Shining Seeds 
It’s vital to keep as healthy as you can.
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True. 🙂
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