How to Stay Healthy

The other day a patient asked me: “How do physicians keep from getting sick since they see patients every day that are ill? Tell me the secret to staying healthy.”

“Well,” I said, “It isn’t true that doctors never get sick. I usually get sick at least once or twice a year. What I do for myself and recommend for others is not a secret; actually it is simply common sense that we frequently tend to forget.”

Rest

When you move to a foreign country you may get tired more easily. With a new culture, language and environment, consider giving yourself one extra hour of sleep. If you sleep well, you potentially avoid many health problems such as stress, migraines, back pain and common colds. Your own immune system will take care of most of the germs we come in contact with. Take regular breaks at least once a week and longer breaks once or twice a year. If you are well rested, you will be more mentally and physically fit for work or school.

Exercise

Regular physical activity – walking, cycling, swimming – will reduce your risk of obesity, hypertension, diabetes, coronary artery disease and high cholesterol. Exercise also helps to reduce stress, improve self-esteem, sense of well-being and general mood.

Healthy diet

A great number of health problems come from an unhealthy diet. In most developed areas of the world, excessive amounts of high caloric and processed food and over-sized portions are problems. We need to eat a balanced diet that is low in fat and excess sugar, while not forgetting vegetables and fruits, as they are rich in vitamins and fiber.

Leisure

We need to work and study hard but also to relax, enjoy life and spend time with family. One day a patient told me that he had been living in Shanghai for 20 years. I asked him what was the biggest change in the city during this period, to which he replied, “Speed of life. Before we didn’t have so many options as we do today, but we had more time to enjoy life – just walk in the park or have a cup of tea with your neighbor.” Time should be a gift, not your task master.

Make friends

We all need to be part of a group. It can be family, friends or a soccer team. This network will help to support us when necessary. Everybody needs a group of friends to share their thoughts, feelings and doubts – someone that will just listen and stay with us no matter what happens. This group can support, encourage and help each other.

Purpose of life

We all need a purpose or goal in life; otherwise we may feel life is meaningless. Don’t let time slip by. Find ways to use your gifts to serve others. There are many opportunities to serve the community in Shanghai.

Avoid dangerous habits

Smoking – even passive smoking – increases risk of cancer and coronary artery disease. Avoidance and cessation of tobacco use could potentially reduce the incidence and mortality from lung cancer by about 90 percent. Alcohol consumption above recommended amounts is associated with multiple health problems including motor vehicle crashes, suicide, violence, hypertension, mental health disorders and alcohol dependence. Unsafe sexual behavior risks not only include chlamydia, gonorrhea, HIV, syphillis and HPV, but also intangibles such as shame, guilt and depression not only for the affected person but the family and friends. Avoid high risk and inappropriate behavior.

Preventive measures

Simple hygienic measures that will help keep you healthy include washing your hands frequently before eating and after using the toilet, as well as avoiding touching your eyes, nose and mouth unless you have recently cleaned your hands. Use seat belts whenever you travel in a car, a helmet when cycling and protective gear when skating. Avoid tanning in salons and apply sunscreen when out in the sun. Keeping your vaccinations current is also critically important. Chicken pox, measles, mumps, polio, rubella, hepatitis A and B, diphteria, pertussis, tetanus, meningitis, pneumonia, hemophilus, yellow fever, Japanese encephalitis, rabies, HPV, influenza are diseases that caused death and sufferings to inumerable people in the past, but now can be prevented by vaccination.The HPV vaccination can also prevent cervical, other genital and anal cancers, while the hepatitis B vaccine can prevent liver cancer.

Health check-ups

• Starting from birth, regular well baby check-us are recommended to detect birth defects, follow growth and development and update vaccinations.
• Periodic health maintenance visits are recommended every one to three years for adult patients under the age of 50 and annually for those over 50.
• The 2007 United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) guidelines advise screening every two years for persons with SBP and DBP below 120mmHg and 80mmHg, respectively, and yearly for persons with SBP 120 to 139mmHg or DBP 80 to 89mmHg.
• Women are recommended to have well women check-ups with pap smear starting at age 21, and pap smear plus an HPV screening at 30 years, at least every three years.
• Breast cancer screening (mammogram) is recommended for women between 50-69 years old yearly. Women with a strong family history of breast and ovarian cancer should receive more intensive screening.
• All males should discuss with their physician about screening for prostate cancer between the ages of 50-69 years old.
• Colon cancer screening is advised at age 50 and over for patients with an average risk for colorectal cancer and earlier for those with increased risk.
• Likewise, bone density scans are recommended between ages 50 and 65 with risk factors for osteoporosis (family history, smoking) and for all women over the age of 65.
• Asking two simple questions about mood and anhedonia (“Over the past two weeks, have you felt down, depressed, or hopeless?” and “Over the past two weeks, have you felt little interest or pleasure in doing things?”) can accurately detect people who should be further evaluated for depression.
• The American Diabetes Association (ADA) recommends screening for diabetes for patients age 45 and older without risk factors. The ADA also recommends testing for diabetes in adults who are overweight or obese (BMI ≥25kg/m2) and have one or more additional risk factors for diabetes.

References:

www.uptodate.com/contents/overview-of-preventive-medicine-in-adults