Knowledge is Power! A Key to Illness Prevention is Knowing Your Family History.

When a patient accesses health care either by admittance to the hospital or when they see a new physician for the first time, somebody (typically a nurse) obtains their history.  Just like complying your individual medical history, an important component of that history is family history. Most people underestimate the significance of knowing their family history and can’t recall important family illnesses. However, your family illnesses can provide valuable clues to help prevent the same thing from happening to you.

For example, if you have a strong family history of Gastrointestinal disorders: Peptic Ulcer Disease, Inflammatory Bowel Disease (Crohns, Ulcerative Colitis, etc), Colon Cancer or Gastrointestinal Esophageal Reflux Disease, then chances are you are at risk for the same.

How can this help you?

In an ideal world, to stay healthy, everyone would maintain a healthy weight, wouldn’t smoke or over drink and would exercise everyday! The reality is that we often have good intentions but don’t always have the willpower to comply. Knowing what you are at risk for can help you to focus on improving the behaviors specific to that illness.

For example, if you know you are at risk for heart disease then you would engage in the behaviors specific to reducing your chances of getting heart disease:

•  Get your cholesterol checked
•  Stop smoking (if you’re smoking)
•  Reduce your intake of saturated fats
•  Maintain an exercise program focusing on cardiovascular exercise
•  Get your blood pressure checked regularly and manage it if it’s high. Note: high blood pressure doesn’t have symptoms until damage has occurred

We can’t prevent all illnesses from occurring but we can minimize our risks. The first step is to know what you are at risk for and then ask your health care provider what you can do to reduce your risk. Hiring a patient advocate can also help you to prioritize problems and create a plan for successful risk reduction. Remember, knowledge is power!

To read more about compiling a complete medical history, read:

http://uppta-advocates.blogspot.com/2011/11/every-patient-has-story-putting-your.html

Take care and be well

R.Thompson, MSN, RN

To find out how advocacy can help you or your loved one, please contact the advocates at Uppta at www.uppta.com