Keeping Track of Your Family Medical History
Did you know that the NIH has an online (and secure!) Web site that you can use to track your family’s medical history? Why is this important? Many diseases and tendencies toward diseases are genetic, meaning hereditary, and this site can help you track the information to tell healthcare provider about.
This report is convenient as you can fill it out as you discover information about medical issues in your family’s past that are pertinent to your own health today and tomorrow. It can then be printed and presented to your physician as you discuss ways to lower your risks for the diseases you are most likely to contract over time.
If you are skittish about using a Web site for this purpose, the NIH has provided downloadable software at no charge. Your information will not be on the NIH site but will be on your computer for your convenience. The site and software are provided in both English and Spanish.
Seven Diseases - Is Your Doctor Missing Something?
According to Prevention Magazine, there are seven diseases that doctors frequently miss. Seven serious diseases. And although most of them can affect both men and women, most of these diseases affect women at much higher percentages. This article lits the seven diseases and gives the information necessary to help women become more proactive in their own healthcare. Of course, we as patients are not qualified to diagnose ourselves. But we are qualified to raise concerns with our physicians and ask about symptoms of these diseases if they have not been adequately diagnosed.