Important Health Checks You Shouldn’t Overlook

January 8, 2020 Leave a Comment

Many of us wait until we feel ill to see a doctor. However, there’s no need to wait until you you’re unwell to see someone about your health. There are health checks that you should have carried out to help pick up on any problems before they become more obvious. This is especially important as you get older because your risk of developing a number of different illnesses and health conditions rises as you age. Once you reach 50, there are many health checks and tests that can help you stay on top of your health and catch any problems earlier.

 

Cancer Screening

 

There are many different types of cancer, and several of them become more of a risk as you get older. Some cancers should be screened for when you’re a younger adult, such as cervical cancer and testicular cancer. However, as you get older, there are various other cancers which are more common. These include breast cancer, bowel cancer, and prostate cancer. There are different screening tests that pick up on different types of cancer. For example, a mammogram is designed to detect signs of breast cancer. Prostate cancer can now be detected with a blood test. It’s also a good idea to check your skin and keep an eye on moles for signs of skin cancer.

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Blood Pressure Tests

 

Your blood pressure can be an indicator of your health in a number of ways. If it’s too high (hypertension) or too low (hypotension) is could mean there’s a problem or it can increase your risk of developing several problems. High blood pressure can put you at risk of heart attack, heart failure, stroke and kidney disease. It might also be linked to some types of dementia. Your blood pressure can be checked at any time and any age. It involves a cuff around your arm, which will inflate to measure your blood pressure. They’re usually digital these days, but they can sometimes be manually pumped up too.

 

Health Checks for Your Heart

 

Measuring your blood pressure will help to pick up on any problems that could cause heart issues. There are other ways to test the health of your heart too, from simple things you can do yourself to tests your doctor or a nurse can carry out. You can check your pulse on your own using a watch with a second hand or digital watch/timer. Your doctor can also measure your pulse, often with a small device placed on your finger, as well as listen to your heart with a stethoscope. Blood tests can check your heart health too by checking for signs of kidney and liver failure, which can be signs of heart failure.

 

Eye Tests

 

Getting your eyes tested is something that you should do throughout your life. You could find that you need glasses at any point, and your eyesight can get worse or sometimes better at any time. There are also various eye conditions that can affect you, especially as you get older. Eye tests can even pick up on some signs of other health conditions, from brain tumors to diabetes. An eye test every two years is usually recommended, and some people might benefit from having them more often.

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Hearing Tests

 

As well as testing the health of your eyes, it’s a good idea to get your hearing checked too. While people are often great at keeping up with routine eye tests, getting our hearing tested isn’t something that we do as often. It’s most important as you get older, but also if you notice any problems with your hearing. As hearing test will pick up any hearing loss by checking the functioning of your ears and the sounds that you are able to register. Hearing tests consist of several different parts, including a physical examination of the ear, a pure tone test that consists of different tones being played into the ear, and a speech test.

 

Cholesterol and Blood Glucose Tests

 

Checking your cholesterol is something you should do if you’re over 40, take cholesterol-reducing medication, are overweight, have a condition that can raise your cholesterol (such as high blood pressure) or there is a history of cardiovascular disease in your family. High cholesterol levels can increase your risk of cardiovascular diseases, such as heart attack and stroke. Testing your blood glucose (blood sugar) levels is also a good idea, helping to pick up on signs of diabetes and other conditions.

 

Routine health checks can help you to detect problems with your health before they have a chance to develop further or cause more issues. Talk to your doctor about which checks you should be having.

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The Invisible Health Complaints That You Must Learn To Manage In 2020

January 8, 2020 Leave a Comment

When picturing a healthy person, it’s only natural to think about body image and other visual elements. In reality, though, millions of us have health issues that other people cannot see. While they can range from mild inconveniences to major issues, they all deserve our attention.

 

Unfortunately, without anybody spot the conditions and advise you about seeking help, it’s easy to ignore them. Here are six that you must not overlook a second longer.

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Digestive Problems

 

We all appreciate the importance of feeding our bodies with the right nutrition. However, it’s not solely about the calories and macros. Millions of people have extra dietary needs. If you are one of them, treating those digestive issues is crucial.

 

The most common intolerance include dairy and gluten. Adapting diets to meet these additional needs will have a huge impact on your mood and energy levels. IBS, Crohn’s, and diabetes will require medications and medical management. Without it, you will experience ongoing pain and discomfort.

 

Meanwhile, nut allergies and other dietary requirements must be respected. Even if it simply means adjusting your diet, those changes can transform your world.

 

Mental Health Issues

 

Whether it’s depression, anxiety, or early signs of dementia doesn’t matter. Mental health issues deserve the same degree of attention as physical conditions. After admitting that there is an issue, the next step is to seek help.

 

Opening up about your mental health issues to a mental health expert instantly halves your problems. In addition to the instant release of pressure, it allows you to develop coping mechanisms. From appreciating your triggers to battling through tough moments, the benefits are huge.

 

The stigma surrounding mental health has largely faded. Whether the signals have started recently or have plagued your life for years, now is the time to take charge.

 

Eyesight Problems

 

Sometimes it can be very difficult to spot changes in your health, especially when the damage grows on a gradual basis. Gradual sight loss is a very common issue in today’s world, particularly as we spend so much time glued to our screens. Sadly, delaying treatment increases the harm.

 

There are various symptoms to look out for. If you have noticed any of the possible dangers, speaking to an eye doctor should be top of the agenda. There are various ways to protect and correct your vision, but a correct diagnosis is always the first step to success. 

 

Every aspect of your life will be affected by the failure to treat your eyesight issues. With this in mind, you must not ignore it any longer.

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Hearing Loss

 

On a similar note, we rely on our hearing on a daily basis for a host of issues. From human interaction to staying alert to data, auditory communication is vital. Sadly, the gradual nature of most hearing loss means many people do not get checked until it’s too late.

 

If you have noticed yourself struggling to hear people or turning up the television, you may have an issue. Even if it’s only a mild form of hearing loss, a professional hearing test can diagnose it. Whether you require sound therapy, hearing aids, or another form of management, fast action is key.

 

Hearing loss affects over 50 million Americans. So, if you do experience these issues, you are not alone.

 

Restricted Mobility

 

Our bodies are designed to move, put chronic aches and pains can cause serious restrictions. You may think it’s OK to use push through the problems with the support of painkillers. In reality, now is the time to take control of the situation.

 

Restricted mobility won’t always relate to postural issues. It’s equally common for rheumatoid arthritis to occur, especially as you get older. Pains in the hands and other joints should not be ignored. Operations, medications, and other solutions may be possible. 

 

Protecting your full range of movement today will prevent further regression and damage. So, it’s a smart move for your future as well as the present.

 

Continued Headaches

 

We all experience headaches from time to time. However, frequent headaches, particularly those that aren’t related to hangovers or dehydration, can impact your life. Worse still, they can surface at any time.

 

The headaches may be a symptom of other conditions, including poor eyesight or stress. Or it can be linked to a host of other conditions. While the situation can often be solved with a simple treatment plan, it’s best to get the correct diagnosis right away. It’s better to be safe than sorry.

 

Besides, headaches will impact your enjoyment of time spent with family as well as your ability to work.

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3 Health Issues We Don’t Always Take Seriously

December 24, 2019 Leave a Comment

There are certain issues with health that we will take seriously and we will always focus on. For instance, if you have a pain in most areas of your body, you’re probably not going to ignore it. This can lead to a lot of false alarms. Back pain, for instance, is known for having a bark for worse than it’s a bite. So people often rush to the doctor only to discover that they’ve just pulled a muscle. However, there are other issues that we won’t focus on at all. Here are some of the health issues that you certainly shouldn’t ignore and are more important than you think. 

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Hearing 

 

It’s probably easier than you think to damage your hearing. Once sound reaches above a certain volume, your hearing is at risk. The worrying thing is that there are a lot of situations in typical daily life that cause this type of danger. A train passing by is loud enough to damage your hearing and so is an Imax theatre. These are things which we don’t even think about and we often consider are completely safe. There’s also the dangerously loud noises that will be apparent in certain work environments too. 

 

It’s also fair to say that a lot of people underestimate the importance of their hearing. For instance, you might not take the problem of tinnitus seriously. However, this can impact your quality of life and it’s not uncommon for people with tinnitus to feel depressed or even suicidal. Crucially, you can’t cure tinnitus which means that the only option is to come to terms with a condition like this once it sets in. 

 

So the question then becomes how should you handle the issue. There are numerous options here. One of the best possibilities is always going to hearing protection and this is available in various different forms. So, you will always be able to find the right choice that you need. That could be ear muffs, custom protection or earplugs. 

 

Oral Health

 

Ignoring this issue is not a case of misunderstanding the importance. Instead, it’s about avoiding something that we all hate. We’re of course talking about the dentist appointment. No one likes going to the dentist because there’s always the concern that you might end up with a filling or worse still, a root canal. The problem with this is that dental checks are actually quite crucial. 

 

Dental checks aren’t just to make sure that you are brushing your teeth regularly enough. It’s also about ensuring that you’re not showing any signs of serious health issues like oral cancer. A doctor won’t check this, only a dentist will typically notice the signs and help you move forward with a potential diagnosis. 

 

As well as this, there are certain oral health issues that impact other areas of the body. An example of this is certainly going to be teeth grinding. Grinding teeth can cause you to develop issues with headaches. If you’re waking up with headaches in the morning, this is usually a clear sign that there’s a problem with your teeth. 

 

Diet

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Your diet can affect a lot more than just your weight. Studies show that the food we eat can impact everything from our mood to our general level of fitness. Some studies have even suggested that diet can mean you are more at risk of developing long term cognitive issues including dementia. Diet also becomes far more important as you get older. Once you start to age, your body is less able to bounce back as effectively. Instead, it becomes difficult to both lose weight and stop the negative impact of unhealthy foods. 

 

So, how can you make sure that you are eating the right diet that your body needs? Well, there are a few possibilities here. For instance, you can think about simply getting your five a day. However, your main focus should be on antioxidants. These are found in lots of natural foods. They help fight back against the process of oxygenation in your body. This is another process that has been linked to a variety of negative issues that can impact your body. It’s usually just a case of ensuring that you are consuming more fruit and veg. 

 

We hope this helps you see that there are certain health issues that we tend to ignore and that we definitely shouldn’t. Instead, it’s important to be aware of the potential dangers here and take the right steps to ensure that we are protecting our health. 

 

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What’s That Constant Ringing In My Ears?

March 19, 2019 Leave a Comment

Can you hear that? It’s a low buzzing sound but sometimes it becomes a high pitch ringing noise. Well, firstly you may want to calm down because no, you’re not insane or superhuman. You’re not actually hearing things are happening elsewhere, you’re just hearing things that aren’t there. This might be confusing but it can be explained simply by this. You’re having a hearing hallucination but you’re still hearing real noises too. This is called Tinnitus as the strange buzzing or ringing noise you constantly hear is partially biological and partially mental. It’s not that uncommon but it’s not all that common either, and it’s even sometimes temporary. The noise feels like it’s coming from the inside of your head and sometimes it’s right in the base of your ear. The condition doesn’t interfere with your normal life in any way and there are some easy ways to get around it or have it treated.

 

 

Brush up

 

Before anything else, you should learn more about tinnitus as it will help you understand the real world implications of having the condition. There’s no need to panic, first of all, it could just be triggered and momentary. Using various sources around the internet, you can learn about what the condition is, what possible treatments you have on offer medically, and how to cope with it in your normal everyday life. Brush up on how it is caused and with more knowledge you can better adjust your life to it.  

 

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Blockage in the tunnel

 

Our ears are incredibly sensitive, any small detail in the ear itself and our hearing can be affected. Speak to an audiologist who can run various tests on you to see if there is a problem with your hearing physically. Using magnifying tools, they can look deep into your ear canal and see if there is anything blocking the eardrum and surrounding area. Don’t forget that our ears have very small and thin bones that vibrate to absorb the sounds we hear, it’s not out of this world to believe something could be wrong internally.

 

One of the biggest issues that can cause tinnitus is ear wax. This isn’t just any old ear wax, this is wax that has accumulated over time and becomes very thick and hard. The audiologist can melt down the ear wax, and using very precise tools excavate the ear canal free of the impeding earwax. If you have experienced a sudden drop in hearing and an increase in a strange ringing sound, this is a treatment that could do you wonders.

Don’t focus on it

 

Sometimes the ringing noise can be caused by the environment you’re in such as a loud manufacturing facility or it can be simply all in your mind. Regardless of this fact however, don’t focus on the noise. It is indeed a white noise that your brain is making up and even doctors don’t fully understand how or why this is being done. The key to not aggravating the hallucination is to simply not focus on it. Don’t stop what you’re doing to mentally try and pinpoint the sound of the noise. This only makes things worse.

 

However, you know the old adage of when you try not to focus on something you end up either consciously or subconsciously focusing on it even more. Find a hobby which you can focus on, or perhaps cook something new tonight. Do anything you can to take away your mind’s focus and revert attention away from the ringing noise.

 

See a specialist

 

If things really do get out of hand and you’re worried about it interfering with your life, then go and see an ears, nose and throat specialist. There could be something wrong with the nasal passage that can also cause uncommon vibrations. The specialist will do their best to see what could be the cause of the problem. However, don’t go into the room thinking they will find a perfect solution because this is still not understood in the medical world. As mentioned before, the ringing noise in your ears is partly environmental but also involving hearing hallucinations. Don’t worry though, because it’s known to come and go and often times it will eventually become far less severe.

 

The ringing noise you constantly hear is a condition called tinnitus. It’s a strange white noise that you seem to hear due to environmental causes as well as mental tricks your mind is playing. The key to not making it worse is to simply not focus on it and whisk your mind away to someplace else. If you really want to get to the bottom of it then go as see an audiologist who can remove any ear wax that could be causing the issue and run some other tests.  

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