 It's
the New Year - and the time many of us set goals for ourselves,
and our family. One of which is usually to eat right and exercise
more: to generally manage our health better.
Managing
your health, and the health of your significant other, family
members, or parents, means putting prevention into practice.
Beginning
today, and on the next three Fridays in January, we'll provide
you with preventive care health guides to help you manage your
health and the health of your loved ones.
-
The
first Managing Your Health: Personal Health Guide presents
important information on preventive care for adults -- such
as blood pressure, immunizations, cholesterol, weight, colorectal
cancer, oral health care, and preventive care for women.
- The
second Managing Your Health: Personal Health Guide Additional
Information presents important information on health guidance,
including tobacco use, physical activity, nutrition, depression,
safety, HIV and AIDS, family planning, and alcohol and other drug
use for adults.
- The
third Managing Your Health: Child Health Guide presents important
information on preventive care for children -- such as checkup
visits, immunizations, and tests and exams.
- The
fourth Managing Your Health: Child Health Guide Additional Information
presents important information on health guidance, including development,
nutrition, dental and oral health, physical activity, tobacco
use, safety, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), and child abuse.
Use
your PersonalMD Medical Record to help track your preventive care
and to know when this care is needed.
Blood
Pressure
Maintaining
a good blood pressure will help protect you from heart disease,
stroke and kidney problems. Have your blood pressure checked
regularly. Eating a healthy diet and getting regular physical
activity are two ways you can help to keep your blood pressure
under control. Some people will need to take medicine to help
keep a healthy blood pressure.
If
you have high blood pressure, talk with your health care provider
about how to lower it by changing your diet, losing excess weight,
exercising, or (if necessary) taking medicine. If you need to
take medicine, be sure to take it every day, as prescribed.
Ask your provider how often you need your blood pressure checked
and what a healthy blood pressure for you is.
Immunizations
Adults
need immunizations (shots) to prevent serious diseases. The
following are common shots that most people need:
-
Tetanus-diphtheria.
Everyone needs this every 10 years.
- Rubella
(German measles). If you are a woman who is considering pregnancy
and you have not had a shot for German measles, you should talk
to your provider.
- Pneumococcal
(pneumonia). Everyone needs this one time at about age 65.
- Influenza
(flu). Everyone over age 65 needs this every year. If you have
lung, heart or kidney disease, diabetes, HIV, or cancer you may
need pneumococcal and flu shots before age 65. Health care workers
may also benefit from annual flu shots.
- Hepatitis
B. If you have contact with human blood or body fluids (such as:
semen or vaginal fluid), you may be at risk for hepatitis B. You
may also be at risk if you have unprotected sex (vaginal, oral,
or anal) or share needles during intravenous drug use. Hepatitis
B shots will protect you. Health care workers should also consider
getting hepatitis B shots. Discuss this with your provider.
Cholesterol
Having
your cholesterol checked is important, especially if you are
a man age 35-65 or a woman age 45-65. Too much cholesterol can
clog your blood vessels and cause heart disease and other serious
problems. Your health care provider may check your levels of
"bad" (LDL) and "good" (HDL) cholesterol.
You
can lower your cholesterol level and keep a healthy level by
changing your diet, losing excess weight and getting regular
exercise. If necessary, your provider may prescribe medication
for you. Ask your provider what a healthy cholesterol level
is for you and how often you need it checked. If you have high
cholesterol, talk with your provider about a plan for lowering
it.
Weight
 Weighing
too much or too little can lead to health problems. You should
have your weight checked regularly by your health care provider.
You can control/maintain your weight by eating a healthy diet
and getting regular physical activity.
Talk
with your provider about what a healthy weight for you is and
ways you can control your weight.
Colorectal
Cancer
Colorectal
cancer is the third leading cause of deaths from cancer. If
it is caught early, it can be treated. If you are 50 years of
age or older, you should have tests regularly to detect it.
The tests you may have are:
-
Fecal
Occult Blood Test-to look for small amounts of blood in your
stool. This test should be done yearly.
- Sigmoidoscopy-to
look inside the rectum and colon using a small, lighted tube.
Your health care provider will do this in the office or clinic.
This test should be done every 5 to 10 years.
Tell
your health care provider if you have had polyps or if you have
a family member(s) with cancer of the intestine, breast, ovaries,
or uterus, you may need testing before age 50 or more often.
Ask
your health care provider at what age you need to start and
how often you need these tests:
Oral
Health Care
Good
oral health care is important for your teeth and general health.
With proper care, your teeth will last you for life.
-
Visit
your dentist regularly for checkups. Brush after meals with
a soft or medium bristled toothbrush, using a toothpaste with
fluoride.
- Use
dental floss daily.
- Limit
the amount of sweets you eat, especially between meals.
- Do
not smoke or chew tobacco products.
- Ask
your provider how often you should get dental checkups.
Preventive
Care For Women
Women
ages 40-50 should discuss when to begin getting mammograms with
their health care provider. All women should begin having mammograms
regularly by age 50. Some women may need mammograms earlier.
A mammogram is an X-ray test that can detect a breast cancer
when it is so small that it cannot be felt and when it can be
most easily cured.
Talk
with your health care provider about when to begin and how often
to have mammograms. Make sure to tell your provider if your
mother or a sister has had breast cancer. You may need to have
mammograms more often than other women.
Pap
Smear
You
need to have Pap smears regularly. This simple test has saved
the lives of many women by detecting cancer of the cervix early-when
it is most easily cured.
Talk
to your health care provider about how often you need Pap smears.
Tell
your health care provider if you have had genital warts, sexually
transmitted diseases (STDs/VD), multiple sexual partners or
abnormal Pap smears. You may need Pap smears more often than
other women.
Additional
Preventive Care
Below
is a list of other preventive care. If you answer yes to any
of the statements, discuss whether you need screening with your
health care provider.
If
you:
-
Have
diabetes, or if you are over age 40 and African American,
or if you are over are over age 60:You should have routine
eye examinations.
- Have
had sexual intercourse without condoms, have had multiple sexual
partners or have had a sexually transmitted disease: You may need
AIDS (HIV), syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, or hepatitis tests.
- Have
injected illegal drugs or had a blood transfusion between 1978
and 1985: You may need an AIDS (HIV) and/or hepatitis test.
- Have
had a family member with diabetes, are overweight or have had
diabetes during pregnancy: You may need a diabetes (glucose) test.
- Are
over age 65: You may need a hearing test.
- Now
or in the past, have ever consumed a lot of alcohol or have smoked
or chewed tobacco: You may need a mouth examination.
- Are
a man 50 years of age or older: You may need a prostate examination.
- Are
a man aged 15-35 years, particularly if you have a testicle that
is abnormally small or not in the normal position: You may need
a testicular examination.
- Have
had skin cancer in your family or if you have had a lot of sun
exposure: You may need a skin examination.
- Have
had radiation treatments of your upper body: You may need a thyroid
examination
- Have
been exposed to tuberculosis (TB), or if you have recently moved
from Asia, Africa, Central or South America, or the Pacific Islands,
or if you have kidney failure, diabetes, HIV, alcoholism or use
illegal drugs: You may need a tuberculosis test (PPD).
Source:
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), formerly
the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR)
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