The Industrial Revolution monetized efficiency and the post-modern era is losing its sense of time. In our fast-paced society, everyone is in a rush to do more, be more, and achieve more. The speed has reached a limit where most folks have no time or thought to spare for their health.
If you are too busy to look after your health, you are indeed too busy. Good health is among life’s most precious assets which must be preserved as far as possible. One area of medicine that is focused on promoting health through disease prevention or early aversion is preventive medicine.
In this article, we will discuss how this practice is key to a healthy life in a world moving at supersonic speed.
Understanding Preventive Medicine or Healthcare
The era of preventive medicine is not exactly new as it started in the mid-19th century. This was around the time when Louis Pasteur discovered the role of microbes in causing various infections. As per Healthline, preventive medicine or healthcare is the practice of receiving routine care to maintain one’s health.
This branch of healthcare aims to prevent the onset of serious diseases for a healthier and longer life. Most of us may only consider paying a visit to our healthcare provider when we are feeling sick. Preventive medicine reverses this in the sense that it targets routine screenings for early identification of symptoms.
What Does Preventive Medicine Involve?
A stitch in time saves nine is a fancier version of the cliche ‘prevention is better than cure.’ In truth, this statement is cliche only in theory. The reality is that plenty of people continue to follow bad lifestyle habits until it’s too late.
This is precisely why around 129 million Americans suffer from at least one chronic disease like diabetes or hypertension. What’s more shocking is that 42% have two or more such conditions and 12% suffer from at least five.
It is only when the symptoms of their poor lifestyle choices become evident that they decide to learn more. Given how beneficial and powerful preventive medicine can be, it should be treated as a top priority instead of a last resort. Let’s look at the different components of preventive medicine or healthcare.
Regular Screenings
You must have heard individuals claiming to undergo routine tests or screenings for specific conditions or a full-body checkup. These tests are one-way preventive medicine services detect disease early so that proper treatment can be given.
These may include a variety of tests like mammography, fecal occult blood test, blood pressure test, and A1C test for blood sugar. Healthcare providers can identify beforehand whether a particular patient is at future risk of conditions like diabetes, cholesterol, or even cancer.
Lifestyle Discussions
A second important aspect of preventive medicine or healthcare is to have discussions on the patient’s current lifestyle. Did you know that studies have discovered that people with a highly sedentary lifestyle are at a 16% higher risk of early mortality?
Most Americans today have a comfortable desk job but do not let it make you too comfortable. People who sit for extended periods throughout the day need to make lifestyle changes. This would include regular physical activity.
Moreover, those who do not eat a healthy balanced diet must amp up their nutrition. Preventive medicine lifestyle discussions also involve getting sound sleep for at least seven to nine hours each night. Those who indulge in bad habits like drinking or smoking must quit.
Counseling and Therapy
Besides having lifestyle discussions with patients, preventive medicine services involve age-related counseling sessions and therapies. For instance, women of childbearing age may get involved in a contraception counseling session.
Those experiencing early symptoms of anxiety or depression may attend a session that revolves around these issues. These sessions will involve therapy for better mental health. Similarly, sessions can be conducted for better physical health. An example would be hormone pellet therapy.
According to EVEXIAS Health Solutions, this therapy uses pellets to help with hormonal imbalance issues. This therapy helps those displaying early signs of hormonal imbalance, even perimenopausal and menopausal women.
How Preventive Medicine Supports a High-Quality Life?
Each of us wants to experience and enjoy a high quality of life as long as we’re alive. Being perpetually sick is a burden that few of us can bear. Preventive medicine or healthcare practices open up the doors to a premium life.
This approach can help detect chronic health conditions while they’re in their early stages. The patient can receive proper care during the most treatable stage of the disease. As a result, they can recover faster and better. Plus, they will have to incur less costs when compared to curative healthcare procedures like dialysis or chemotherapy.
The most important aspect of preventive medicine is a disciplined and healthier lifestyle. If its lifestyle discussions are religiously applied to life, chances of serious conditions diminish significantly. This means you can enjoy your prime years in good health. Even the geriatric demographics can manage their age-related conditions better and lead a good quality of life.
Finally, the thought of frequent visits to the emergency room or recurring hospital readmissions can be terrifying. With preventive healthcare, you or your loved ones will not have to experience this hassle. The reduced distress in itself will add more years to your life. After all, stress is much more dangerous than we think.