House Call: Preventive medicine endures

‘An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

It is an old saying – a proverb that dates back to at least the 13th century. And there is a reason this saying has withstood the test of time.

Preventive medicine, health and wellness, healthy living, healthy lifestyle: These are all phrases you have read in previous columns, heard about frequently in the news and seen on health-related Web sites.

Perhaps your own health-care provider used one of them when talking with you at your last visit.

So what is preventive medicine anyway? It can start with seeing your doctor for regular checkups, getting screenings such as cholesterol level and fasting blood sugar, keeping your immunizations up to date and managing stress.

Preventive medicine also includes things you might not think about like remembering to wear seatbelts, making sure your smoke detectors work, limiting alcohol intake, practicing safe sex and keeping your home safe for children.

Of course it also means healthy food choices, not smoking, staying away from secondhand smoke and getting regular adequate exercise.

Preventive medicine fits into so many parts of our lives, but it is easy to forget. Honestly, if you feel just fine, but your doctor tells you that you are at risk of a serious disease, how do you get motivated to make necessary changes?

Sometimes it helps to get information about what your real risk is and what the costs are.

Perhaps you know you should quit smoking, but you have been putting it off for a long time. Did you know that 440,000 people die each year of smoking-related illnesses and that half of those people die in middle age?

Maybe you bought a gym membership last year, but only used it once. Did you know that 30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise five days a week can reduce your risk of certain types of cancer, lower your blood pressure and even treat depression?

The good news is that there is still time to make changes and there are plenty of ways to work preventive medicine into your daily life.

We all need to take the long view of the little changes in our lives that make a difference. Seventy-five percent of health care money is spent on treating chronic illnesses and many of these are preventable.

Heart disease (clogged blood vessels on the heart), cancer and stroke (caused by blood vessel problems in the brain) are the most common causes of death in the United States for adults. Just exercising, eating right and getting regular checkups can reduce your risk of all of these.

I know how hard it can be to fit things into your daily schedule. We all know that old habits can be hard to break while new ones take a lot of practice. Still, if you can get started on something, it gets easier with time.

So what about the other changes? Most of us remember our seatbelts now that newer cars remind us to put them on. Are your children in the right kind of booster seat or car seat for their age and weight?

Have you checked your smoke detectors in the past six months to make sure they are working? Is there a fire extinguisher in your house? Do you have safety locks that keep children away from chemicals or gates to keep little ones off of stairs?

What about the phone number for poison control – do you know where to find it? Are guns locked away where children cannot access them?

These and other preventive medicine topics often come up during routine exams at the doctor’s office – so that we can remind you to keep yourself and your family safe.

It is easier to stay healthy than it is to get better. With that in mind, why not talk to your health-care provider on your next office visit and ask her what you can do today and every day to improve your health and improve your chances of avoiding disease tomorrow?