Blood pressure monitor won't inflate
May 16, 2016 3:31 PM Subscribe
I'm confined to the house for a week because of an illness (not bp-related) so can't go to the friendly local bp machine at the pharmacy. I have a home blood pressure monitor, and suddenly it won't work. It starts to inflate and then just goes off. It's pretty new. Any clue on why this machine just stopped working?
I changed the batteries, no help. I'm having one of those nagging headaches that often indicates a bit too high bp, but I don't want to take a pill until i have more than just conjecture! It's branded as CVS, but I think it's just one of the generic machines.
I changed the batteries, no help. I'm having one of those nagging headaches that often indicates a bit too high bp, but I don't want to take a pill until i have more than just conjecture! It's branded as CVS, but I think it's just one of the generic machines.
Response by poster: I think you're right, citygirl-- it must be the air valve. I'll fiddle with that. Somewhere around here I have a wrist monitor-- will look for that too.
posted by my-sharona at 4:11 PM on May 16, 2016
posted by my-sharona at 4:11 PM on May 16, 2016
I don't like this. As a person who cares for a loved one who had a stroke I say call the paramedics and explain your situation. I know for a fact that my local paramedics will stop by just to help someone to stand up if they have fallen , talking about stroke people here who can't stand up themselves. Believe me society would rather come by and check your blood pressure rather than take care of your paralyzed ass the rest of your life. trying to make a joke here on a serious subject...if you can't do that you should call the nurse hotline in your area and I bet in these circumstances they are going to tell you to take an extra pill. Headaches and possible high blood pressure? that is serious! I want you to take better care of yourself!
posted by 17.5002 at 8:20 PM on May 16, 2016
posted by 17.5002 at 8:20 PM on May 16, 2016
Some monitors are just really fussy. I have one that will stop inflating if it detects any little thing amiss: It needs to have the cuff placed tightly on the arm with the velcro aligned *perfectly* straight & the sensor directly over the right spot. If anything isn't lined up absolutely perfectly, my machine does the same thing -- it hums and inflates like everything's okay then it just decides to deflate and quit. It's a pain because it means I need to have my spouse put the cuff on my arm (impossible to do perfectly straight using one hand) in order for the machine to work. Maybe yours is similarly picky. Or the hose is kinked, or a valve is loose, or the moon is waning, etc. (I pretty much hate my bp machine for this).
posted by cuddles.mcsnuggy at 8:42 AM on May 17, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by cuddles.mcsnuggy at 8:42 AM on May 17, 2016 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: I should report back! I called the pharmacist as suggested, and she said that these things are fussy and need all the batteries to be the same brand (like all Duracell). So I tried that, and it works again. The bp was a bit high, so I took an extra pill, and everything's okay now.
I feel much better being able to check again!
posted by my-sharona at 9:56 PM on May 22, 2016
I feel much better being able to check again!
posted by my-sharona at 9:56 PM on May 22, 2016
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by citygirl at 4:03 PM on May 16, 2016 [1 favorite]