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Health screening – What and Why?

Health is wealth

A lot of people are unaware of the health conditions that they might be suffering from. A health screening is a medical test that includes tests or procedures that are done to check for diseases, infections, and other conditions. You may be advised to have a health screening if you are worried about your health or if you want to assess the risk of certain diseases. Screenings are often used to identify conditions that might not have caused any signs or symptoms.

Technology has long been used in helping doctors identify patients who need more specialized care, but now it is being utilized as a tool for diagnosing patients as well. Artificial Intelligence (AI) has found its way into doctors’ offices and is changing how they approach their work with patients. Technology that reads medical records, analyzes symptoms, and is capable.

Managing your health means managing a number of factors in your life. You can get a good idea of how effective this management is by the results of some of the laboratory tests you have done. Some screenings are performed by your doctor in the office, while others require specialized equipment and technicians, so they are performed in hospitals or other clinic settings.

Why health screening??

Health screenings are performed to detect sickness and its symptoms as soon as possible. When a person first shows symptoms of an illness, the disease may already be advanced in its growth. Regular health checkups can help you feel more secure in your daily activities. When creating health screens, healthcare providers decide which illnesses are common enough to trigger routine tests. In general, those illnesses that are treated successfully with an early diagnosis are among those which providers do screenings. The average patient should be able to afford and easily undertake a health screening.

The objective of medical screening is to identify disease in its early phase. In Nepal, cancer is becoming the second most common cause of mortality among women. Factors responsible for this are delayed diagnosis, limited cancer screening, and lack of knowledge. So, screening for cancer from tests (CEA, APF, CA19.9, CA125 ) has become one of the greatest successes of screening.

What health screenings are recommended for you?

Your doctor might recommend that you get specific health exams based on factors including your sex, age, family history, and risk factors. He will prescribe screenings based on their understanding of you and your overall health.

Health screening is often recommended at a certain age depending on some factors.

When you have a family history of breast cancer, it is frequently advised to start breast cancer screening at age 40. Cervical cancer screening is recommended every three years beginning at age 25. While cholesterol screening should normally be done once a year and screening for diabetes should start at age 20. If you have a family history of diabetes or other risks, your doctor may advise you to have a fasting blood sugar test.

By having regular health checkups, you can determine if you have any problems before you show any symptoms. One of the most important parts of health screening is getting the information required to make better decisions. If you do this, you’ll be able to get any treatment you need as early as possible.

Blood pressure and sugar testing: Why, when and how?

“High blood sugar affects one in 5 people and high blood pressure affects two in 5 people.”
(Dr. Vijaya Prasad Paudel, 2017 )

Nearly two in five Nepali people have high blood sugar, also known as hypertension. Even if your blood pressure is relatively high, you won’t likely have any symptoms, so by the time you start feeling ill, some damage may have already been done. Therefore, it’s crucial to frequently check your blood pressure as part of your “Cardiovascular Risk Assessment“.

Persistent high blood pressure can cause the heart to enlarge and weaken. It also damages the blood vessels, especially if you also have raised blood cholesterol or diabetes, or if you smoke. If blood vessels become narrowed or blocked, a heart attack or stroke may occur.

Similarly, Diabetes is a serious condition where your blood glucose level is too high. It can happen when your body doesn’t produce enough insulin or the insulin it produces isn’t effective. Managing diabetes can be challenging. Considering that chronic damage to many of the body’s organ systems, such as the liver and kidneys, can take place throughout this time. In order to reduce the damage of diabetes, screening should be an effective strategy.

What are healthy levels for a blood glucose series?

Pre-lunch between 4.5 and 7.8mmol
2 hours after lunch between 4.5 and 8.5mmol
First thing in the morning (fasting) between 4 and 6mmol.

High blood pressure and sugar: hidden dangers

In the short term, high blood pressure and sugar levels can zap your energy, cause excessive thirst and urination, and blur your vision. High blood sugar levels can also lead to dehydration, dry and itchy skin, and infections.

Over time, high pressure and blood sugar affect many parts of the body. –

Memory problems
Vision problems like blurriness, diabetic retinopathy, and blindness
Gum disease leads to tooth loss, which can make eating healthy foods difficult due to problems chewing
Heart attack and stroke due to increased plaque build-up in the vessels and other vascular issues
Kidney disease can lead to the need for dialysis or a kidney transplant
Nerve damage can cause decreased sensation in the feet and legs which increases the risk for wounds to turn into serious infections and even amputation.

When should I get my blood pressure checked?

Every adult should have their blood pressure and sugar checked regularly. It is more common in older age groups but it can affect younger people too. Your doctor will advise you depending on your age, whether you are taking any medications, and your general health. Regular checks are important for:

all men aged over 45 and women over 55 years
smokers
those who are overweight
pregnant women and those taking the oral contraceptive pill
those with a family history of heart disease.

Hypertension and Diabetes Mellitus are both major modifiable risk factors leading to premature death due to cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Therefore, early diagnosis and treatment are a must to reduce mortality due to the following diseases. In 95% of people with high blood pressure, there is no obvious cause. The remaining 5% generally have a specific cause, such as kidney disease and others. Several laboratory tests like lipid profile, liver function test, thyroid function test, diabetic profile, renal function test, urine analysis) can give you an indication of the level of your diabetes and other diseases. They can also assist you in observing changes over time and determining whether or not the diabetes management techniques you are applying are effective or not.

Cholera – a diarrheal disease

“Eat healthy food, it is a medicine. Eat contaminated food, it is a poison”

Cholera, an infectious disease caused by the vibrio cholerae bacteria. It is an acute infection of the small intestine that causes diarrhea, abdominal cramps, vomiting and dehydration, and even death if left untreated. It is caused by eating contaminated food and water where the bacteria is present. The incubation period ranges from 18 hours to 5 days. Cholera has become a global threat to public health and an indicator of a lack of social development.

Cholera is common in Africa, South Asia, and Latin America. About 1.3 to 4 million people suffer from cholera every year and 21000 to 143000 people lose their lives from it.

Symptoms of Cholera are mild but they can turn serious. Some of the symptoms are:

Thirst
Muscle cramps
Low blood pressure
The dry mucous membrane inside the mouth, nose, and eyelids

Cholera has existed in Nepal for a long time. The cases of Cholera today in Nepal are increasing at an alarming rate. The largest cholera outbreak in Nepal was in 2009 in Jajarkot with more than 30000 people affected and more than 500 people losing their life. If you have such symptoms, it is necessary to get them tested to be sure if they are the symptoms of Cholera. Since cholera is highly infectious and is a communicable disease, getting the test done in time will be easy to treat and protect yourself and your family.

To see if you have the symptoms of cholera you would need to go through Rapid Diagnostic Test (RDT). To know more information about this test, you can contact Crystal Diagnostic and even get the test done here.

7 Tips to manage your motherhood and mental health

Motherhood is a rich and fulfilling journey. Multitasking is often a necessary part of motherhood, but it can be stressful at times. According to a 2019 Oxfam survey conducted in India, Indian women spend 312 minutes a day doing household chores and raising children. This is accelerated by a pandemic in which women try to do different jobs at the same time. According to a survey of working women in India, 47% experience increased stress and anxiety during a pandemic. The stigma surrounding mental illness and maternal health problems discourages women from seeking medical assistance.

Many mothers manage various responsibilities. Our culture expects mothers to raise families as if they don’t have careers and work as if they don’t have children. As working mothers strive hard to balance their day, they are often left exhausted by these conflicting expectations. Sleep deprivation is another common problem faced by mothers that contributes to sadness, anxiety, tension, panic attacks, and other illnesses. Mom guilt begins during pregnancy and intensifies as friends, family, and the media focus on perceived defects in parenting. It is time to talk about the importance of mental health in mothers, support them, and encourage them to speak up and seek professional help.

How mothers can support their mental health?

Mothers go through a massive change in their identity when they have children. Many experience significant changes in their career, hobbies, interests, social connections, and overall lifestyle. Society sets unrealistic standards of perfection for mothers which may lead to mental health concerns. It is time for mothers to take care of themselves and prioritize their mental health. Follow these health tips to support your mental health better:

Reset your expectations
The influence of social media pressurizes many mothers to be best at everything. It is important to set your own standards of what a “good mother” is and work towards that each day. Don’t set unreal expectations for yourself.
Exercise regularly
Even 15 minutes can do wonders in terms of how you feel about yourself and helps boost your mental health. Include a meditation routine also.
Don’t try to do it all
It is essential to learn to say no and set your priorities right. One cannot please everyone and that is true for mothers too.
Connect with other moms
Networking with other moms and joining social media communities is really helpful. It helps with immense emotional support and makes you realize that you are not alone.
Rediscover your hobbies
Immerse yourself in creative activities. Pursue a hobby that you enjoy or learn something new.
Spend me-time
Dedicate a time for yourself every day. Allow yourself to take 30 minutes to sip tea or coffee, watch a TV show you love, or read a book.
Start journaling
Express yourself in a gratitude journal and acknowledge all the good things in your life. Write down about all the things that are positive and give you resilience.
Self-care is essential for mothers for themselves and their family. Researchers suggest that emotionally strong and secure moms are more likely to raise children who are less aggressive, more self-controlled, and more likely to do well academically.

Women health care at Crystal Diagnostic Center

Women are routinely screened for postpartum depression after childbirth, but as life continues mental health matters often tend to be ignored. Timely therapy and counselling and diagnosis can help empower mothers to cope better with stress and manage their life. At Crystal Diagnostic center, we have Women Health Packages and Consultancy services. You can connect with us or visit us to learn more.

Tips to stay healthy during Summer Season

Hi Everyone, Summer is here ! A change of season calls and demands for a change in routine, a revamped diet, and of course, a new exercise regimen that suits the weather. HThe onset of warm weather can make your body more vulnerable to different types of diseases and certain health guidelines must be followed to ensure a healthy summer.

Here are a few tips to stay healthy this summer

1. Eat healthy and light

Eat light, small, frequent meals. Heavy meals with large amounts of carbohydrates and fats give rise to a lot of heat in the body. Focus on fresh fruits and vegetables that have high water content – such as oranges, watermelon, tomatoes, etc.

2. Treat your eyes well

Protect your vision from the harsh sunlight at work and at play, wear protective eyewear. When outdoors, wear sunglasses that block at least 99% of ultraviolet rays.

3. Avoid Alcohol and Caffeine

Alcohol, fizzy drinks and coffee all can leave you dehydrated quickly. If at all possible, try to reduce the amount of these favorite beverages, especially during hot weather. Plain or flavored water is a good substitute.

4. Drink plenty of water

Heat and sweat in the summer months can leave your body dehydrated, causing unwanted health outcomes such as fever and chills. Keep yourself well hydrated by drinking at least 2 to 3 litres of water every day.

5. Stay indoors

Restrict outdoor activities to the cooler parts of the day – early mornings before 11. am or late evenings after 5.00 pm.

6. Avoid outside food

Roadside food can be contaminated and may lead to foodborne illnesses. Also in the summer heat if food is not stored properly it may get spoilt and lead to a stomach infection.

Summer Travels – Healthy Tips

Are you and your family travelling in summer? If you plan to travel within India than you must take a few precautions to keep you safe from the summer heat. Here are a few tips:

- Accessorize right

Wear light colours and natural fabrics like cotton and linen. When you are outside, use proper covering for your mouth, nose and ears to shield yourself from the hot winds, which can cause dehydration. Use a hat or an umbrella for shade and wear sunglasses to protect your eyes.

- Wear sunscreen

Apply a good waterproof sunscreen to all exposed parts of your body and reapply it every three to four hours to ensure that your skin remains protected.

- Adopt an appropriate skin care routine

Summer can wreak havoc on your skin if proper care is not taken. Excessive oil and sweat can cause troublesome irritation, rashes, prickly heat, and exacerbation of acne. Wash your face often or use tissues to wipe a sweaty face to avoid acne. Use natural face packs with aloe vera gel or sandalwood powder to soothe the skin.

Understand Common Summer Diseases

Summer brings in a host of health problems that range from simple ones like a headache, skin rashes, sunburns, etc. to severe ones like measles, jaundice, and more. You must take necessary preventive measures against summer diseases. Here are a few tips:

- Sunburn

Some of the symptoms of sunburn include red or reddish skin, mild dizziness and fatigue. To protect yourself from sunburn, apply a sunscreen lotion on the exposed areas of your body 20 minutes before heading out in the sun.

- Heat stroke

Heat stroke is another common summer disease, which if left untreated can be fatal. Some of the symptoms of heat strokes include difficulty in breathing, rapid pulse, high body temperature, confusion etc. Avoid stepping out in peak afternoons.

- Prickly heat

Prickly heat refers to red rashes that occur due to an excess of humidity and heat. Prickly heat may be caused by clogging of the sweat glands. You can relieve prickly heat by applying prickly heat powder on areas that show signs of prickly heat.

- Food poisoning

Owing to excessive heat in summer, the food can spoil quickly. To prevent the risk of food poisoning, put the leftover food inside the refrigerator. Food must be well-cooked to ensure that it doesn’t get spoiled.

- Diarrhoea

Because food gets spoilt quickly, diarrhoea is common in summer. Eating contaminated food and unsafe drinking habits can lead to diarrhoea. To keep away from diarrhoea, make sure that you drink water only after boiling it and wash vegetables thoroughly before and after slicing them.

- Skin Rashes

During summers, skin rash is a common skin problem amid children and adults. This typically happens when an individual sweats too much. Bathe often, change your clothes often and avoid wearing tight clothes.

- Chickenpox

Chickenpox makes one of the most common summer diseases. It starts in the form of fluid-filled, red and small rashes accompanied by high fever. This is common in children and in people with low immunity and is highly contagious.

- Measles

Measles is yet another common summer disease. The paramyxovirus which causes measles breeds faster during the summers. Its initial symptoms are cough, high fever, sore throat, and reddening in eyes. At a later stage, the tiny white spots and measles rash appear all over the body.

- Jaundice

Jaundice is a common water-borne disease. It can be a result of Hepatitis A and is mainly caused due to the consumption of contaminated food and water. If not treated on time, this disease can affect the functionality of the liver leading to overproduction of bile.

- Typhoid

Typhoid is passed through the oral-faecal route to healthy individuals. The contaminated food and water sources become the breeding ground for the bacteria. Visible symptoms of typhoid are weakness, loss of appetite, fatigue, pain in the abdomen, high fever.

- Mumps

Of all summer diseases, mumps is another extremely contagious viral disease and affects children. It is contagious in nature and gets transmitted when an infected person coughs or sneezes. Some of the visible symptoms include swelled salivary gland, muscle ache, fever, headache, loss of appetite and weakness.

The primary reason behind the outbreak of diseases in summer is the presence of favorable weather conditions for bacteria, virus and other parasites to breed. Take prevention steps and protect your and your family’s health in summer.

Sleep disorder and its impact on Heart

This blogpost is based on the RESEARCH Conducted by Harvard Health Center. Growing evidence suggests that poor sleep is linked to a host of health problems, including a higher risk of high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, and heart disease. Now, a recent study on people in midlife finds that having a combination of sleep problems — such as trouble falling asleep, waking up in the wee hours, or sleeping less than six hours a night — may nearly triple a person’s risk of heart disease.

“These new findings highlight the importance of getting sufficient sleep,” says sleep specialist Dr. Lawrence Epstein, assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. Many things can contribute to a sleep shortfall, he adds. Some people simply don’t set aside enough time to sleep. Others have habits that disrupt or interfere with sleep. And some people have a medical condition or a sleep disorder that disrupts the quality or quantity of their sleep.

Who was in the study?

The researchers drew data from 7,483 adults in the Midlife in the United States Study who reported information about their sleep habits and heart disease history. A subset of the participants (663 people) also used a wrist-worn device that recorded their sleep activity (actigraphy). Slightly more than half of participants were women. Three-quarters reported their race as white and 16% as Black. The average age was 53.

Researchers chose to focus on people during midlife, because that’s when adults usually experience diverse and stressful life experiences in both their work and family life. It’s also when clogged heart arteries or atherosclerosis (an early sign of heart disease) and age-related sleep issues start to show up.

How did researchers assess sleep issues?

Sleep health was measured using a composite of multiple aspects of sleep, including

regularity (whether participants slept longer on work days versus nonwork days)
satisfaction (whether they had trouble falling asleep; woke up in the night or early morning and couldn’t get back to sleep; or felt sleepy during the day)
alertness (how often they napped for more than five minutes)
efficiency (how long it took them to fall asleep at bedtime)
duration (how many hours they typically slept each night).

To assess heart-related problems, researchers asked participants “Have you ever had heart trouble suspected or confirmed by a doctor?” and “Have you ever had a severe pain across the front of your chest lasting half an hour or more?”

A “yes” answer to either question prompted follow-up questions about the diagnosis, which included problems such as angina (chest pain due to lack of blood flow to the heart muscle), heart attack, heart valve disease, an irregular or fast heartbeat, and heart failure.

Poor sleep linked to higher heart risk

The researchers controlled for factors that might affect the results, including a family history of heart disease, smoking, physical activity, as well as sex and race. They found that each additional increase in self-reported sleep problems was linked to a 54% increased risk of heart disease compared to people with normal sleep patterns. However, the increase in risk was much higher — 141% — among people providing both self-reported and wrist-worn device actigraphy data, which together are considered more accurate.

Although women reported more sleep problems, men were more likely to suffer from heart disease. But overall, sex did not affect the correlations between sleep and heart health.

Black participants had more sleep and heart-related problem than white participants, but in general, the relationship between the two issues did not differ by race.

What does this mean for you?

If you have trouble falling or staying asleep, there are many ways to treat these common problems, from simple tweaks to your daily routine to specialized cognitive behavioral therapy that targets sleep issues. These are well worth trying, because getting a good night’s sleep helps in many ways.

“Treating sleep disorders that interfere with sleep can make you feel more alert during the day, improve your quality of life, and reduce the health risks related to poor sleep,” says Dr. Epstein.

Calculate your Body Mass Index at home

As per WHO, BMI, formerly called the Quetelet index, is a measure for indicating nutritional status in adults. It is defined as a person’s weight in kilograms divided by the square of the person’s height in metres (kg/m2).

Understanding BMI

Body mass index is a value derived from the mass and height of a person. The BMI is defined as the body mass divided by the square of the body height, and is expressed in units of kg/m², resulting from mass in kilograms and height in meters.

Formula for BMI

Let us try to understand the concept and working for BMI with the help of an example. For example, an adult who weighs 70 kg and whose height is 1.75 m will have a BMI of 22.9.

70 (kg)/1.752 (m2) = 22.9 BMI

For adults over 20 years old, BMI falls into one of the following categories.

Table 1. Nutritional status

BMI	Nutritional status
Below 18.5	Underweight
18.5–24.9	Normal weight
25.0–29.9	Pre-obesity
30.0–34.9	Obesity class I
35.0–39.9	Obesity class II
Above 40	Obesity class III

BMI table for children and teens, age 2-20

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends BMI categorization for children and teens between age 2 and 20.

Category	Percentile Range
Underweight	<5%
Healthy weight	5% – 85%
At risk of overweight	85% – 95%
Overweight	>95%

BMI chart for children and teens, age 2-20

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) BMI-for-age percentiles growth charts.

BMI Chart for Boys
BMI Chart for Girls

Risks associated with being overweight

Being overweight increases the risk of a number of serious diseases and health conditions. Below is a list of said risks, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):

High blood pressure
Higher levels of LDL cholesterol, which is widely considered “bad cholesterol,” lower levels of HDL cholesterol, considered to be good cholesterol in moderation, and high levels of triglycerides
Type II diabetes
Coronary heart disease
Stroke
Gallbladder disease
Osteoarthritis, a type of joint disease caused by breakdown of joint cartilage
Sleep apnea and breathing problems
Certain cancers (endometrial, breast, colon, kidney, gallbladder, liver)
Low quality of life
Mental illnesses such as clinical depression, anxiety, and others
Body pains and difficulty with certain physical functions
Generally, an increased risk of mortality compared to those with a healthy BMI

The BMI ranges are based on the effect excessive body fat has on disease and death and are reasonably well related to adiposity. BMI was developed as a risk indicator of disease; as BMI increases, so does the risk for some diseases. Some common conditions related to overweight and obesity include:

premature death,
cardiovascular diseases,
high blood pressure,
osteoarthritis, some cancers and
diabetes.

BMI is also recommended for use in children and adolescents. In children, BMI is calculated as for adults and then compared with z-scores or percentiles. During childhood and adolescence the ratio between weight and height varies with sex and age, so the cut-off values that determine the nutritional status of those aged 0–19 years are gender- and age-specific.

The cut-off points of the 2006 BMI-for-age reference for children aged 0–5 years for the diagnosis of overweight and obesity were set as the 97th and the 99th percentile, respectively. For those aged 5–19 years, overweight is defined as a BMI-for-age value over +1 SD and obesity as a BMI-for-age value over +2 SD.

Risks associated with being underweight

Being underweight has its own associated risks, listed below:

Malnutrition, vitamin deficiencies, anemia (lowered ability to carry blood vessels)
Osteoporosis, a disease that causes bone weakness, increasing the risk of breaking a bone
A decrease in immune function
Growth and development issues, particularly in children and teenagers
Possible reproductive issues for women due to hormonal imbalances that can disrupt the menstrual cycle. Underweight women also have a higher chance of miscarriage in the first trimester
Potential complications as a result of surgery
Generally, an increased risk of mortality compared to those with a healthy BMI

BMI is a measurement of a person’s leanness or corpulence based on their height and weight, and is intended to quantify tissue mass. It is widely used as a general indicator of whether a person has a healthy body weight for their height. Specifically, the value obtained from the calculation of BMI is used to categorize whether a person is underweight, normal weight, overweight, or obese depending on what range the value falls between. These ranges of BMI vary based on factors such as region and age, and are sometimes further divided into subcategories such as severely underweight or very severely obese.

Being overweight or underweight can have significant health effects, so while BMI is an imperfect measure of healthy body weight, it is a useful indicator of whether any additional testing or action is required. Refer to the table below to see the different categories based on BMI that are used by the calculator.

Calculating BMI using Excel and Spreadsheet

To compute BMI for men and women, the computation and input factors might vary. You can use a simple excel calculator to quickly get your BMI computed.

Weight Loss chart and BMI calculator for women – Click the link to download the excel template
Fitness progress tracker and BMI calculator for men – Click the link to download the excel template

Download these templates in excel and spreadsheet for free and start computing your BMI. These templates can be useful for Professionals, dieticians and consultants.

If you have any irregularity in your BMI, you can consult with Crystal Diagnostic Lab and avail the health packages offered, as per your requirement.

Senior’s Guide to Staying Healthy

No matter your age, it’s important to take care of your body and prevent illness.

But if you’re 65 or older, something as simple as the flu or a common cold can progress and lead to complications. This includes secondary infections like pneumonia, bronchitis, an ear infection, or a sinus infection. If you have a chronic condition such as asthma or diabetes, a respiratory illness can make these worse.

Because of this, it’s important to make healthy choices to strengthen your immune system and reduce the likelihood of illness.

Follow these nine tips to stay healthy year-round.

Get active

Physical activity is an immune system booster.

The more you move, the more your body is able to fight inflammation and infections.

The activity you partake in doesn’t have to be strenuous. Low impact exercises are effective, too.

You might consider biking, walking, swimming, or low impact aerobics. If you’re able to, engage in moderate intensity exercise for about 20 to 30 minutes a day to reach the recommended total of 150 minutes a weekTrusted Source. Also, strengthen your muscles by lifting weights or doing yoga.

Modify your exercise routine to find what feels best for you.

Take supplements as necessary

Some supplements help support a healthy immune system. Before taking a supplement, always ask your doctor if it’s safe, especially if you’re taking a prescription medication. Some supplements they may recommend include calcium, vitamin D, vitamin B6, or vitamin B12.

Take supplements or multivitamins as instructed to boost your immune system.

Eat a healthy diet

Diets rich in fruits, vegetables, and lean meats also give your immune system a boost and protect against harmful viruses and bacteria that cause illnesses. Fruits and vegetables are a good source of antioxidants. Antioxidants protect your cells from damage and keep your body healthy.

You should also limit your consumption of sugary and fatty foods, which can trigger inflammation in the body and lower your immune system.

In addition, limit your intake of alcohol. Ask your doctor about safe amounts of alcohol to drink per day or week.

Wash your hands frequently

Washing your hands on a regular basis is another excellent way to stay healthy year-round. Viruses can live on surfaces for up to 24 hours. It’s possible to become ill if you touch a virus-covered surface and contaminate your hands, and then touch your face.

Wash your hands with warm soapy water often, and for at least 20 seconds. Avoid touching your nose, face, and mouth with your hands.

You can also protect yourself by using antibacterial hand sanitizer when you’re unable to wash your hands. Also, disinfect surfaces around your home and workstation frequently.

Learn how to manage stress

Chronic stress increases your body’s production of the stress hormone cortisol. Too much cortisol can disrupt different functions in your body, including your immune system.

To reduce stress, increase physical activity, get plenty of sleep, set reasonable expectations for yourself, and explore relaxing, enjoyable activities.

Get plenty of rest

Not only can sleep reduce your stress level, but sleep is how your body repairs itself. For this reason, getting an adequate amount of sleep can result in a stronger immune system, making it easier for your body to fight off viruses.

Sleep is also important as you get older because it can improve memory and concentration. Aim for at least seven and a half to nine hours of sleep per night.

If you have trouble sleeping, talk to your doctor to find the underlying cause. Causes of insomnia can include inactivity during the day and too much caffeine. Or it can be a sign of a medical condition like sleep apnea or restless leg syndrome.

Take steps to prevent infections

Getting annual vaccinations is another way to stay healthy throughout the year. If you’re age 65 and older, talk to your doctor about getting a high-dose or adjuvant flu vaccine.

Flu season is between October and May in the United States. It takes about two weeks for the vaccine to be effective, and it reduces the risk of the flu by 40 to 60 percent [Trusted Source] when the vaccine strains match the circulating strains.

The flu virus changes each year, so you should get the vaccine yearly. You can also talk to your doctor about getting pneumococcal vaccines to protect against pneumonia and meningitis.

Avoid contact with people who are sick

Another way to protect yourself year-round is to avoid being close to people who are sick. This is easier said than done. But if there’s a flu outbreak in your area, limit contact with people who aren’t feeling well and avoid crowded areas until conditions improve.

If you must go out, protect yourself by wearing a face mask. If you’re caring for someone with the flu, wear a face mask and gloves, and wash your hands frequently.

Schedule annual physicals

Scheduling a yearly checkup can also keep you healthy. Always speak with your doctor if you have concerns about your health.

Conditions like diabetes and high blood pressure can go undetected. Regular physical examinations will enable your doctor to diagnose any problems early. Getting early treatment may prevent long-term complications.

Also, if you have any cold or flu symptoms, see your doctor immediately. The flu virus can lead to complications in adults over the age of 65. The immune system weakens with age, making it harder to fight off the virus.

If you see a doctor within the first 48 hours of flu symptoms, they can prescribe an antiviral to reduce the severity and length of symptoms.

Nutritious food not to be avoided

Parents should now allow their kids to decide what to eat and what not to eat. Parents should be sensitive and strict on this fact. Your kids will demand chocolate cookies and junk food, but don’t fulfill these wishes of theirs.

Your kids won’t go hungry to bed; they will eat what’s available in the fridge. Allowing them to eat their favorite snack once in a week is fine but not always. Parents should always consider the long term impact of any food and eating habit they instill in their kids.

Kids should enjoy their food

Always see to it that your child enjoys the food you provide. Make your child’s food fun. Add the element of fun by opting for different fillings and preparations every day or ask your kid to spot different kinds of dishes on the table or fruits or vegetables. One best example can be adding dry fruits and strawberries or banana in their oat meal.

Breakfast is the key meal of the day

Parents should always encourage their kids to have a healthy breakfast. After a good night’s sleep, your child needs good food to stay active and concentrate at school. Your child’s performance at school will also go up, because your child will be less hungry till lunch. A bowl of cereal with milk is an excellent option for breakfast.

Washing hands is important

The fastest way for your child to fall ill is through eating without washing hands. When your child plays, or touches something, the germs gets transported through that something via the hands to the mouth. Hence, always instill the habit of washing hands regularly in your kids to keep them away from health problems. Plus teach them to never put their hands in their mouth or bite nails.

Importance of Physical Exercise

Establish exercise habits in your kids as early as possible, say by the age of 5-6. Heavy weight training exercise is not advisable but daily 10-15 minutes of exercises like stretching or brisk walking should be instilled. Exercises like cycling, jumping ropes or swimming should be encouraged in kids.

Let your kids eat their own lunch

Teach your kids not to share lunch with anyone at school. Sharing lunches is the most common way of transferring germs. She further stresses that besides parents, even school authorities should make it mandatory to not allow kids to share lunch with other kids.

Don’t make exercise boring

It is really a task to make your kids exercise every day. Hence, don’t stick to the regular exercise mode like stretching. Besides stretching and workouts there are different modes of exercise which are fun like dancing, gardening and playing basketball. Choose the exercise which your child likes not which you like.

Sleeping is essential

The most important issue for kids is to get enough sleep. It is very essential that your young kid gets at least 10 to 11 hours of a good night’s sleep.

If your child doesn’t get good sleep, then there are high chances that your child will doze off at the desk, not pay attention in class and come home exhausted and irritated. Besides, a regular sleeping pattern makes sure that your child enjoys some quiet time without television before his bedtime.

School bags shouldn’t be heavy

School bags are the most important part of a school kid’s life. While buying a school bag, parents should pick a wide bag with cushion shoulder straps and cushioned back.

The bag should not be too heavy as this will strain your child’s back. While packing the bag, keep heavier items in the center and the weight of the bag should not be more than 10-15 percent of your child’s body weight. And ensure that your kids carry the bag on both the shoulders to avoid muscle strain.

Water is crucial

Besides good food, water is also essential for a child’s healthy lifestyle. Parents should encourage their kids to drink at least 5-9 glasses of filtered water every day. In order to avoid interference with digestion, your child shouldn’t drink liquids with meals. In fact drink water or herbal tea in between meals.

Vaccinate your child

Vaccination will help your child combat various preventable diseases. Vaccination for very young and very old kids is very important. Check with your doctor and get a timely schedule vaccination according to your child’s age, health and vaccines available.

Too much TV and computer isn’t good

Encourage your child to participate and engage in activities other than sitting in front of the PC and TV. Limit screen time so that your child is active and doesn’t bear the risk of increasing body fat. Apart from being fit, your child will also be protected from the harmful effects of the screen.

Oral health is a must

Teach your kids to brush at least twice daily with a good fluoride toothpaste to maintain oral health. Ask your child to avoid nibbling foods all day long and avoid intake of any food after brushing your teeth at bedtime.

Other resources to consider

Blogpost by Family Doctor – Child’s Health
Blog post by KidsHealth – Kids and Food

7 Benefits of Sleep for Exercise Recovery

Exercise is physical stress imposed upon the body, but it’s during the post-exercise recovery phase between workouts that the body actually changes as a result of the exercise stimulus. One of the most effective methods for recovering from a hard workout is something that you already do, but you probably don’t do enough of it, or you may not utilize it to the fullest extent. A sure-fire method of promoting recovery so that your exercise program produces the results you want is to get optimal sleep.

Achieving results from any exercise program requires having a post-workout recovery strategy and getting the optimal quality and quantity of sleep is one of the most efficient means of allowing your body to recover from one day’s workout and to properly prepare for the next exercise session. To help ensure that you are getting the most out of your workout program, check out these seven benefits of sleep for exercise recovery:

Achieving Best Workout results

The National Sleep Foundation recommends that adults get between 7 and 9 hours of sleep per night. Increasing sleep time by one hour per night is like getting an entire extra night’s worth of sleep over the course of a week. When it comes to planning your workouts, keep in mind that the end of one workout is the beginning of the next, and how you recover (refuel, rehydrate and sleep) will allow you to be fully prepared so that you can achieve the best results possible.

Repair Muscles

One function of sleep is to allow time for muscles to repair themselves. Growth hormone is an anabolic hormone produced during stage 3 of non-rapid eye movement (NREM) or dreamless sleep and helps to repair tissues damaged during exercise; the longer a period of sleep, the more time for muscle tissues to regenerate and grow.

Hormonal Balance

A full night’s sleep allows time for anabolic hormones to perform the function of tissue repair ; conversely, insufficient sleep could result in higher levels of catabolic hormones responsible for energy production. If you have ever been completely exhausted but couldn’t fall asleep, or if you did sleep yet woke up not feeling completely rested, it could be the result of elevated sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activity and higher levels of the hormone cortisol. The SNS releases cortisol, which helps convert free fatty acids into energy for exercise. However, when glycogen is in low supply, cortisol can also convert amino acids into adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which inhibits muscle growth.

Brain Revival & Blood Flow

Being overly tired, especially during exercise, could result in reduced reflex times or poor judgement, each of which could cause a training injury. One important benefit of sleep is that it allows time for the removal of unnecessary metabolic waste from brain cells. Think of sleep as the time when your brain is removing unwanted waste, while also enhancing blood flow to cells and bringing important oxygen and glycogen necessary for optimal cognitive performance.

Metabolism

Metabolic overload occurs when muscles exercise to the point of fatigue, exhausting the amount of glycogen available for energy production. While you’re sleeping, your body continues to digest carbohydrates from your diet and metabolize them into glycogen, which is then stored in muscles cells to fuel muscle contractions. One gram of glycogen in muscle cells can hold three to four grams of water; as glycogen is replaced, it helps to increase muscle size, which is another example of how your muscles grow while you’re sleeping.

Immunity Balance

Adequate sleep promotes optimal function of the immune system. Outside of traumatic injury, illness is the second leading cause of missed playing time for athletes, and no, you do not have to play sports to receive this benefit. No matter what your job may be, getting great sleep supports a strong immune system, which, in turn, reduces the risk of becoming sick. This allows you to optimize your performance and be more productive.

Physical Enhancement

To ensure optimal performance during your workouts, it’s a good idea to plan your workouts based on the sleep you’ll be able to get each night. For example, if your evening plans include attending a concert or a late night out with friends, you are less likely to get the recommended seven to nine hours of sleep. This does mean you should skip your workouts; rather, you should try to schedule your high-intensity workouts on days when you plan to get a great night’s sleep and plan lower-intensity workouts on days when your normal nighttime routine might be disrupted. Taking your evening plans into account as you schedule your workouts can help to ensure that you are properly prepared for the more challenging workout sessions that can provide the desired results.

One final thought to keep in mind: Too much exercise and too little sleep could result in overtraining, which, at best, could keep you from reaching your goals and, at worst, lead to an injury that doesn’t allow you to exercise at all.

Other Relevant Blogs

To fully harness the power of a good night’s sleep, check out these blogs that address specific sleep-related topics including: specific benefits of sleep like promoting weight loss, the overall importance of good sleep hygiene or how to improve your quality of sleep. Consistent exercise plus adequate sleep may lead to the results you’re working for.