Blog About Safety

Are you concerned about getting the flu? Does it scare you that high cholesterol, heart attacks, cancer… run in your family?

If you worry about these things, what do you do to take care of yourself? Do you go to the doctor for regular checkups and talk to him or her about your concerns? Do you make sure to get a flu shot each year? Do you exercise, eat healthy, take vitamins? Many times the worry is worse if we don’t do anything to take care of ourselves.

For me it works better to make these changes in small steps. If I went from not exercising at all to a one hour workout every day, I’d never make it. Starting slowly, then increasing works much better for me. Currently, I’m starting yoga. It may not seem like much, but my muscles need to be stretched since I sit at the computer for too long each day. I’ll take yoga once a week for the first couple weeks, then go twice a week. I’m also adding a yoga stretch to my routine a couple of times each day. That only takes a few minutes, but makes a huge change in how I feel. I’ve done this type of change with many things over the years.

Preparedness in our own healthcare means staying on top of things and being in charge of our own health. This includes things like knowing your complete medical history and what a physical exam should include. There is a great book with a guide to all of this written by J. L. Richardson, M.D. The book can be found at http://www.mypatienthandbook.com/

The more we are prepared for, the better off we’ll be. More preparation and less worry and stress is the goal.