eye level

look them in the eye

 

from below, or sight line

look into their eyes

   

assess what's inside

use their first name

while you lie to their face

 

take their hand  

again

feel the skin

take a pulse

feel the heartbeat

slowly

run your fingers slowly 

up the inside of the forearm

palpate the brachial artery

speak softly

use their first name

auscultate the brachial artery

 

retake the bp

smile and say something nice

while you pump up the cuff

 

maybe it worked

  

maybe it's worse

 

establish a trend

don't mention if it's bad

not yet

good luck

 

Author's Note

Reviews

[iTryToWriteAllTheTime]

This is hypnotic, lovely. Thank you for writing this.

[Davidgeo]

Getting a good blood pressure from someone that just finished flipping the f**k out is something like that. Hypnotize them, almost... by any means. Comfort them. It's about to get worse for them usually either way.

[R J Askew]

I have great trouble having my BP taken. It's the sense of some strange monster pounding away inside like some alien monster. But it will stop one day, so that's OK.

[Davidgeo]

It helps to tune out and sing the "The Beat Goes On" by sonny and cher to yourself. Seriously, that helps. You aren't alone in feeling this way, nurses call it "white coat hypertension"... they can usually tell when they are putting the cuff on and will note this (not is those words) in their primary assessment. There are other songs but I like Cher. Please don't be hesitant to monitor your bp. Take it yourself if you don't like other people... if it ever gets above 180/120 it's important you go to the er. Take some aspirin, sit down and drink some water after you call 911. The Beat Goes On.

[R J Askew]

That is very kind and considered advice! I actually do have a cuff at home - still in the box I bought it in a year ago. I do appreciate that BP is a very serious matter and a vital indicator which needs watching and should not be a big deal to do. I vow I will get the cuff out of its box and start to de-sensitise myself about actually using it!

[Davidgeo]

This makes me very happy to hear. I really care about stuff like that, it quite literally saves lives when we spread that kind of info. It seems basic and common knowledge but most of population chooses to ignore it for, well, I think obvious reasons (the implications can be life altering... people really do not want to change after a certain point... finding out you have chronic high blood pressure is something most of us know we cannot ignore, so, we don't look).

[R J Askew]

I will let you know how I get on with my home test cuff. For now it is still in the box. But I will start using it tmr.