The medical world is not everyone's forte. This book is to help address aspects of anatomy and physiology and health care for writers. General and angsty authors welcome.
There are 4-6 vital signs (VS) depending on who you ask.
Blood Pressure
Heart Rate
Temperature
Respiration Rate
Oxygen Saturation
Pain
VS are a quick "snapshot" of how the body is doing. They aren't (typically) used as a diagnostic measure (though high blood pressure is considered a diagnosis), but they can be clues that something is wrong within the body, if they're out of normal range. Most of the ranges depend on age which are broken into categories:
Neonate; 1-28 days old
Infant; 1-12 months
Toddler; 1-3 years
Preschooler; 3-5 years
School Aged; 6-12 years
Adolescent/Adult >13 (after puberty)
Blood Pressure
The body requires a certain amount of fluid within the blood vessels to allow for oxygen and nutrients to function adequately. This is called blood pressure (BP) Too low of a pressure and organs might not get what they need, or won't get it as fast as they should (this causes people to feel light headed if they stand up too quickly after laying down). Too high causes extra stress on the blood vessels which over time can cause various cardiovascular problems such as a stroke.
Normal ranges:
Neonate: 60-80/35-55
Infant: 80-160/50-70
Toddler: 90-105/55-70
Preschooler: 95-110/60-75
School Age: 100-120/60-75
Adult: 110-120/65-80
For adults Hypertension (high BP) is greater than 140/90 and hypotension (low BP) is less than 90/60
Heart Rate:
Heart rate (HR) measures how many beats per minute the heart pumps. Similar to BP this number needs to be high enough that the heart is effectively delivering blood in the vessels, while at the same time not being too hard as to overwork the heart and cause it to enlarge. Numbers can vary depending on activity level and how fit the individual is.
Pulses can be taken at a variety of locations on the body.
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The two most common ones are the radial pulse in the wrist, below the thumb, and the carotid on the side of the neck. In emergency situations the femoral pulse, which is along the side of the groin area, is used to check perfusion of blood to the legs.
Neonate: 100-180bpm
Infant: 100-180bpm
Toddler: 90-140bpm
Preschooler: 80-120bpm
School Age: 75-118bpm
Adult: 60-100bpm
Temperature
The body requires a certain temperature range to be able to create the chemical reactions needed for cell function. Outside of that range the normal bacteria/enzymes/chemical structures break down. An elevated temperature isn't always a bad thing, assuming it's not too high or too prolonged. Fever is a natural response to kill invading microbes that don't survive well at temperatures outside their preferred range.
Temperature can be taken in the mouth, armpit, ear, forehead, rectum, or if someone has certain indwelling lines they might have the capacity to take a core temperature. The range can vary depending on the location but a generalization is normal temp is 96.6-99 °F (35.8-37.2 °C). Fever is "official" at 100.4 °F (38 °C). Fever can range from 104-107 °F (40-41.6 °C) and at those levels it is dangerous and needs to be brought down before the body starts "breaking down."
Respiration Rate
On a basic level breathing is bringing oxygen in, and letting out carbon dioxide. Respirations are a full inhale and exhale and are counted per minute.
Neonate: 30-50
Infant: 25-40
Toddler: 20-30
Preschooler: 20-30
School Age: 20-24
Adult: 12-20
(Additional VS)
Oxygen Saturation
Commonly abbreviated SpO2, oxygen saturation measures the amount of oxygen present in the red blood cells. SpO2 monitors are the little tabs or clips usually attached to the finger or toe and typically monitor both HR and SpO2.
Normal range is 95%-100% (though some might say 99% instead of 100%). 91-94% involves more monitoring but, unless the patient has concerning respiratory signs, actions such as oxygen therapy probably won't be started until the levels start dipping below 91%. For people who don't have chronic lung conditions anything below 90% IS concerning, but there are some people who's normal levels are in the high 80s due to damage of their lungs.
Pain
Pain is one mechanism the body uses to inform the brain that something is wrong. While the brain can sometimes take the transmission out of proportion, pain is another indicator that can be used as a vital sign. This one is the most subjective of all but different scales have been created to help quantify pain. These involve faces scales (like Baymax shows on Big Hero 6), observing characteristics in a patient who might not be verbal (such as grimacing/crying/tensing), and the traditional 1-10 scale.
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