Health and Fitness Information Center

Home Management of Your Family's Health

• Health Topics

• Asthma/Allergies
• Blood Pressure
• Blood Testing
• Body Fat Measuring
• Breast Exam
• Breastfeeding
• Cholesterol
• Defibrillator
• Diabetes
• Family Health
• Fitness
• Nutrition
• Safety
• Stress
• Thermometry
• Weight Control

What's your temperature?
When you fear you or a member of your family are "running a temperature" or "burning up", it helps to be more specific. Own a thermometer , read the instructions, practice shaking the thermometer down , and be able to report the exact temperature.

Also, remember that children's temperatures tend to rise in the early evening; that's when pediatricians get most of their phone calls about fever. Remember, too, that fever is only one sign of illness. Be sure to mention symptoms like a cough and ear pain or vomiting and diarrhea -- these help your doctor make a diagnosis.

What's your pulse?
If the problem involves a rapid or forceful heartbeat, know exactly how fast it is beating . Feel a pulse in the arm or throat, or put an ear to the chest. Count the exact number of beats occurring in one minute, or have someone do this for you.

If there is a problem with the pulse, determine whether the beat is regular or irregular. Is the heart "skipping a beat", "turning flip-flops", "missing every other beat", or is it "completely irregular"? A pulse irregularity is often gone by the time you reach the doctor. If you can describe it accurately, your doctor may be able to understand what happened.

What's your weight?
Like gender and ethnicity, weight is an essential part of every person's self-image, and when pounds go haywire, the result is distress. Doctors have observed for many years that being overweight is associated with greater risk for diseases. Hypertension, high blood cholesterol levels, and heart attacks are all more common with overweight patients.

Changes in weight is also very important. It's good practice to know what your normal weight is. If your weight changes, know by how much and over what period it changed.

Know your body
When something changes, report it accurately. A change in skin color, a lymph gland on the back of the neck, an increase in swelling in the legs, and many other new events are easily observed. Just as important, knowledge of your body will help you avoid reporting silly things. The "Adam's apple" is not a tumor. "Knobs" on the lower ribs or pelvis are usually normal. The vertebra (bone) at the back of the head - the "knowledge bump." These are not emergencies.