Although many formulas will help to increase your longevity, some things are a must-have among them. One of those essential things is preventive medicine. Even though you may exercise and eat right, getting preventive medical care will likely help you live longer.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that seven out of ten Americans will die from some type of chronic disease. They also state that many of these diseases are preventable or at least capable of being delayed.
Having good health may come easy when you are young, but keeping your body healthy and active over the years will likely require some preventive care if you want to live longer. As your body ages, you will experience different problems. Getting solutions to those problems early on can help you continue to enjoy a better quality of life longer.
Getting preventive medicine early on can also help to keep your medical bills lower. If you wait to receive medical treatment, it will cost more in the long run. Preventive care means catching problems early in their development, which will mean fewer visits to the doctor or specialist, and you get to keep more of your money.
Most health insurance companies now require some degree of preventive care. Of course, it is less expensive for them to catch medical problems early. If you have not seen a doctor lately – and if you are a senior – it is a good idea to have some preventive care testing. This includes testing for high blood pressure, breast and cervical cancer testing for women, and colorectal tests for everyone over 50. Men over 50 need testing for prostate cancer.
- Everyone over 40 should be tested for diabetes. You can reduce the likelihood of developing this disease if you maintain a healthy weight with diet and exercise. If you develop diabetes, be sure to follow the doctor’s instructions – and take the needed medicine – if required.
- If you snore and are overweight, you may need to get checked for sleep apnea. This health problem can reduce longevity and take years off of your life.
- Paying attention to your teeth is also necessary for good health. Besides keeping them look good, researchers now know that the state of your teeth affects your overall health more than you know. Gum disease can lead to more than 100 diseases – and many of them are fatal.
- A type of cancer that is often not detected until it is too late is head and neck cancer. These are often caused by smoking and oral sex (from HPV) – which may only show up later in life. Although it will not affect a lot of people, the number of people getting this type of cancer is growing. Most of the time, it is your dentist that will first discover these cancers. There is currently no test to detect or medicine to cure it.
People often only learn of having fatal medical conditions after it is too late. Some of these conditions have no or very little pain associated with them, which is why they may be discovered too late. Getting the right kind of timely preventive treatment and care can often alter the outcome.
The best preventive medical care recommendations will come from your doctor. If you have health insurance, your insurance company likely offers some preventive care services for free. Be sure to take advantage of them to increase your longevity of life.