Services & screening
Know what checks to get and when to get them

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Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT): Uses and Effects
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Treatment

Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT): Uses and Effects

Electroconvulsive therapy (also known as ECT) is a treatment for certain types of severe mental illnesses that have not improved with all other treatment options. ECT is the process of passing an electrical current through the brain and stimulating a controlled seizure by placing an electrode on one side of the temple area of the head or an electrode on each side of the head. Before the electrical current that lasts between 6 - 12 seconds is delivered, the person is given a general anesthetic and muscle relaxant. The treatment is normally done two times a week for a maximum of twelve times; however, it is stopped as soon as a response to the treatment is seen. How ECT works is not fully understood, but it is thought that it changes the levels of certain chemicals in the brain.

Kidney Function Test (U & E): What It Is and Importance
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Treatment

Kidney Function Test (U & E): What It Is and Importance

Blood tests have many different uses. Some of these include being used to diagnose a condition, to monitor a particular organ in the body such as the kidney or liver, and they can also be used to give measurements of bodily processes such as sugar levels in the blood or for levels of inflammation such as a CRP or ESR blood test.

Medication Aids: Helping You Manage Prescriptions
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Treatment

Medication Aids: Helping You Manage Prescriptions

Much like how a walking stick helps someone to walk independently, medication aids help individuals take their medications independently and easily. Medication aids can help you to remember when to take medicines and help with dexterity issues that affect your ability to use your inhaler, for example.

Modified-Release Formulations: Uses & Benefits
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Treatment

Modified-Release Formulations: Uses & Benefits

Standard tablets and capsules are known as immediate-release medicines. This means that they fully disintegrate in your stomach following oral administration, releasing the medicine from the formulation. The medicine is then usually absorbed into your bloodstream through the small intestine once it has dissolved in intestinal fluids. Most tablets and capsules are designed this way. Modified-release tablets and capsules are different. They have been specifically designed to change the release of the medicine into the body to provide a clinical benefit for the patient. The main types of modified-release medicines are delayed-release and extended-release medicines. We will explore these in more detail below.

Sharps Bin: Proper Uses and Safe Disposal Explained
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Treatment

Sharps Bin: Proper Uses and Safe Disposal Explained

A sharps bin is a container used to dispose of sharp medical supplies. They are used by people who need to dispose of sharps (needles or other sharp items) that need to be used in the course of their medical treatment. There are a lot of medical conditions that require people to self-inject medications. Some examples of these include anticoagulants to prevent blood clots, immune system modulators for inflammatory conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, fertility treatments, and growth hormone deficiency treatments. People with diabetes that use insulin or test their blood sugar levels will also need a sharps bin. Items that can go in a sharps bin include needles, syringes, broken glass, finger-pricking devices such as lancets, clippers used to detach needles, and the sharp part of syringes. Sharps bins come in a range of different sizes, depending on the capacity that the patient needs.

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