Patient instruction sheets

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Diabetes and hormones

Insulin, low sugar, sick days, home testing and the thyroid tablet. Diabetes and Obesity at Caspian

Drawing: An insulin pen, a new pen needle, a glucometer, and the ring of injection points around the navel.

Injecting insulin with a pen

The ten steps of an injection, where to inject, how to rotate sites, and how to store insulin in Hyderabad heat.

Drawing: A glucometer and four fast sugars: sugar in water, a juice carton, glucose tablets, and biscuits for afterwards.

Low sugar: what to do

How to recognise a low, the 15 gram rule in Indian household measures, and what the family must do if you cannot swallow.

Drawing: A thermometer, drinking water, a glucometer, your tablets, and a bowl of soup.

Sick day rules for diabetes

Which medicines to pause, why insulin must never be stopped, how much to drink, and when to go to hospital.

Drawing: A glucometer with a strip, a lancing device, the strip bottle, the side of a fingertip, and a record book.

Checking your sugar at home

The right technique, when to test, what the numbers should be, and why a reading can be wrong.

Drawing: The thyroid gland, the tablet bottle, a glass of plain water, a clock, and, kept apart, the cup of tea.

Taking your thyroid tablet

Empty stomach, same time, same way every day, and the four-hour gap from calcium and iron.

Also on this site: Wearing a glucose sensor · Diabetes medicines before surgery or a procedure · High sugar on steroids · Fasting with diabetes in Ramzan · Foot care plan · Weight-loss injections: side effects · Storing injection pens · Returning used pens and needles

Children

Fever, loose motions, inhalers, medicines and vaccination. Pediatrics at Caspian

Drawing: A digital thermometer, syrup with an oral syringe, water, light cotton clothes, and a favourite toy.

Fever in a child: care at home

How to measure, how much paracetamol by the child's weight, what not to give, and when a fever needs a doctor today.

Drawing: An ORS packet mixed in a jug of water, a glass and spoon, zinc tablets, soft food and a banana.

Loose motions and vomiting in a child

How to mix ORS, how much to give after each motion, zinc for 14 days, and the signs of dehydration.

Drawing: An inhaler fitted into a spacer with a face mask, a toy to keep the child calm, and soapy water for washing the spacer.

Inhaler with a spacer and mask, for a young child

The steps for a child who cannot yet use a mouthpiece, how to clean the spacer, and what to do after a steroid inhaler.

Drawing: A medicine bottle, an oral syringe, a measuring cup and a dropper. Not a kitchen spoon.

Giving medicine to a child safely

Why the kitchen spoon is the commonest cause of a wrong dose, how to mix an antibiotic powder, and what to do if the child vomits.

Drawing: The vaccination card, the vaccine, a plaster, a cool cloth, and the date of the next dose.

After your child's vaccination

The reactions to expect and when, how to comfort the child, and the few signs that need a doctor at once.

Heart and blood pressure

Home blood pressure, heart failure, angina and blood thinners. Heart Health and Preventive Cardiology at Caspian

Drawing: An upper-arm blood pressure machine, a chair with a back, a table with the record, and a clock.

Measuring blood pressure at home

The right machine, the right posture, a 7-day morning and evening record to print, and the readings that need action.

Drawing: A weighing scale, the heart, salt to avoid, measured fluids, and the daily tablets.

Living with heart failure: daily care

The daily weight check, salt and fluids, medicines to avoid, and the signs that the heart is struggling.

Drawing: The heart, the tablets, the spray, a chair to sit on, and a phone to call 108.

Chest pain from angina: using the tablet under the tongue

How to use the under-the-tongue nitrate tablet or spray, when to call 108, and the medicines it must never be mixed with.

Drawing: The tablets, a drop of blood, the INR test tube, leafy greens, a fixed day for the test, and an alert card.

Taking a blood thinner safely

Same time every day, what to do about a missed dose, the foods and medicines that interfere, and the bleeding signs that need a doctor.

Also on this site: Lp(a) heart risk check

Mind and sleep

Antidepressants, sleep, panic attacks, lithium and the first visit. Psychiatry at Caspian

Drawing: The tablets, a calendar ticked week by week, a sunrise, and a plant beginning to grow.

Starting an antidepressant

When it starts to work, the early side effects that pass, why you must not stop suddenly, and the warning signs to act on.

Drawing: The bed, the night, a fixed alarm, no tea or coffee late in the day, and the phone put away.

Sleep: habits that help

The rules that retrain sleep, the caffeine and screen cut-offs, and what to know about sleeping tablets.

Drawing: A place to sit, slow breaths, a steady heart, time passing, and calm.

Panic attack: what to do

What a panic attack is, the slow breathing that settles it, what not to do, and when chest pain needs emergency care instead.

Drawing: The tablets, the blood level test, water, salt kept steady, hot weather, and the test dates.

Taking lithium safely

The 12-hour blood test, why fluids and salt must stay steady, the medicines to avoid, and the signs of too much lithium.

Drawing: Two chairs for a conversation, your old records, a list of questions, and a quiet room.

Your first psychiatry appointment

What to bring, what the doctor will ask, your rights to confidentiality, and how to prepare for psychological testing.

Lungs and breathing

Inhalers, asthma attacks, spirometry and nebulisers. Pulmonology at Caspian

Drawing: An inhaler, a spacer, the inhaler fitted into the spacer, the lungs, and water to rinse the mouth.

Using an inhaler with a spacer

Shake, one puff, breathe: the steps that get the medicine into the lungs instead of the mouth, and how to care for the spacer.

Drawing: A capsule inhaler, the capsules, their bottle kept closed, and the lungs.

Using a capsule inhaler

The opposite of a puffer: breathe in fast and deep. Step by step for the two commonest capsule devices.

Drawing: The lungs, the reliever inhaler with a spacer, a chair to sit upright, a phone to call 108, and a clock.

Asthma attack: what to do

Sit up, one puff at a time up to ten, and the signs that mean call 108. Keep it on the fridge.

Drawing: A spirometer with its mouthpiece, a nose clip, the lungs, and the breathing curve on a screen.

Before your spirometry

What to avoid before the test, which inhalers to hold back and for how long, and what happens in the room.

Drawing: A nebuliser with its tubing, cup and mouthpiece, a mask, medicine ampoules, and soapy water for cleaning.

Using a nebuliser at home

How to give a dose, how to clean the cup and mask after every use, and when needing it too often is a warning.

Also on this site: Home sleep study

Tests and general care

Test preparation, sample collection, bowel preparation, kidney biopsy, fever and iron. Primary Care at Caspian

Drawing: The two bottles of the kit, a glass, plenty of water, the clock, the date, and clear soup.

Bowel preparation before colonoscopy

The two-bottle Coloprep kit: what to eat, when to drink each dose, what to expect, and when to stop and get help.

Drawing: Blood sample tubes, a urine sample cup, the clock, an empty plate for a fasting test, and the request slip.

Preparing for your tests

One table for every common test: whether to fast, for how long, and what to do with your morning medicines.

Drawing: The glucose drink, two blood samples, two hours on the clock, and a chair to sit on.

The glucose tolerance test

A two-hour test to diagnose diabetes or prediabetes: how to prepare for three days, and what happens on the morning.

Drawing: The collection container, a clean jug to pour from, the clock, and one full day and night.

Collecting a 24-hour urine sample

When to start, what to throw away, what to keep, and how to store the container.

Drawing: Sample containers, a sealed bag, and soap and water for the hands.

Urine, stool and sputum samples at home

A midstream urine sample, a stool sample and a sputum sample: the right way, so the test does not have to be repeated.

Drawing: A thermometer, water and coconut water, paracetamol only, and protection from mosquitoes with a net.

Dengue and viral fever: care at home

Paracetamol only, plenty of fluids, and the warning signs that mean hospital now. The risky days come when the fever falls.

Drawing: The iron tablets, a drop of blood, lemon water, no tea near the tablet, and the months marked on a calendar.

Taking iron tablets

When to take iron, what blocks it, why once a day is enough, and how long to continue.

Drawing: The kidneys, the ultrasound machine, the bed for the night's rest, the blood pressure check, and the review date.

Kidney biopsy: before and after

What to tell the doctor, which medicines to stop, the night of bed rest after the test, and the warning signs once you are home.

Also on this site: Your report, explained · FibroScan liver camp · Body composition test · Iron infusion · Day care infusions · Adult vaccination · Staying with a patient: attendant policy

How these sheets work

Each sheet has blanks for your name, your dates and your doses. The doctor or nurse fills them in for you. What is written there is your instruction.
Each sheet prints on A4 with a QR code, so the paper copy opens on a phone as well.
Each sheet names its sources: national and international guidelines and product labels, listed at the foot.
They do not replace your doctor. If the doctor told you something different, follow the doctor.

Caspian Healthcare has no emergency department, intensive care unit or cath lab. In an emergency call 108 or go to the nearest hospital with an emergency department. For problems that are not critical, a doctor is on duty here at all hours.

For doctors and nurses: procedure forms (renal biopsy checklist, consent, requisition and post-procedure orders).