A few useful items at home…

As a primary care physician, I do a lot of yearly check up exams – vitals, mental health routine labs, cancer screenings, etc. Towards the end of the visit, I tell patients about some almost universally useful items and general measures that might to contribute to their quality of life.

Here are the things I’m mentioning most frequently for this Fall & Winter.

1. COVID home testing kits – I’m still surprised not more people are aware of these kits. They are available at most pharmacies (Fred Meyers, Walgreens, CVS, etc.). The kits cost $20-25 and has 2 test cards. You collect the nasal swab sample yourself, and run it on the card with a reagent dropper – get +/- results in 15 minutes. The most common brands I see is BinaxNOW and QuickVue. These tests are not as accurate as a PCR test (which takes a a couple days to result), but these are fast and convenient. Keep in mind that these are sold out very quickly at the stores.
2. Vitamin D supplement & SAD light – if you are living in the Pacific NW, just go ahead get a bottle of Vitamin D3 2000IU (usually people take 1 daily) and a “SAD” light (SAD stands for Seasonal Affective Disorder). The SAD light runs $40-$60 and a common brand is called Verilux. They all should be about 10000 lux intensity. Within 30 minutes of waking, put the SAD light about 1-2 ft away from your face for about 20-30 minutes. These lights will help keep a balance wake/sleep cycle and likely reduce seasonal affective symptoms.
3. Blood pressure machine and a pulse oximeter – in the age of telemedicine, you want to be able to provide vitals to your doc. An automated BP machine costs about $30, a popular brand is OMRON, make sure to get it for your arm and not wrist! Keep in mind there are different size cuffs, you might need to order a bigger or smaller cuff. A pulse oximeter costs about $20-$30, it goes on the end of your finger, immediately gives you an estimation of your blood oxygen levels and heart rate. Your doctor will thank you.

I’ll update if I think of more things. Stay safe this cold & cough season.

For our clinic patients – we are doing PCR COVID tests if you need it (seeing results come back within 24-48 hours), we can collect at your home or drive-by at the office, including weekends & after-hours if necessary.