How Communication Promotes Healthy Aging

Tip for Healthy Aging: Communicate with Your Doctor

When it comes to your health, it's important that you consult and communicate with your primary health care physician on a regular basis. Communicating with your doctor is particularly vital as you enter your golden years. By consulting with your doctor regularly, you reduce your risk of developing a number of diseases that affect the elderly. And should you be at risk for developing diseases, these can be detected and treated early. According to studies, people who regularly discuss their health with their doctor tend to live longer and healthier than those who don't.

Communication is a two-way process. This means when your doctor is reviewing your health, you need to be willing to participate -- by providing your doctors with relevant information, and even becoming actively involved in the search for treatments or cures for your ailments. Don't completely rely on your doctor to provide you with all the information you need; spend time learning about health care, your medications, the illnesses you have, etc.

For example, if you have arthritis, a condition that commonly affects the elderly, it's to your advantage to learn and understand about your condition. You'll learn that arthritis can be the result of injuries, specifically bones that never properly healed. You'll also learn that arthritis can be the result of genetics. Thus, it pays early on to find out if you are predisposed to developing arthritis, and if you are, you can take measures to delay its onset or at least make the disease a little less painful for you. Arthritis may be in your genes, but you should also know that it is highly treatable if it is caught at its earliest stage.

Another disease prevalent among the elderly is Alzheimer’s, a mental disorder that affects brain functions. According to doctors, Alzheimer’s is curable if caught at its earliest stage. The problem, however, is that many elderly people visit their doctor when the disease is already at its advanced stage and it is next to impossible to treat it. Alzheimer’s is not a curable disease once it is in its advanced stages. Thus, it pays to know the symptoms of this disease and to visit the doctor regularly so that it  can be properly diagnosed.

Cancer is another disease that affects the elderly. Experts say that many cancers can actually be avoided or treated if patients take the time to study and learn about these disease. And once again, experts say that many elderly people would be able to avoid dying from cancer if they had visited their doctor regularly and caught the disease at the early stage. Many of these people would also have spared themselves of dying from cancer if they took the time to study health care. Up until this day, cancer still has no cure.

However, recent studies show the blood from a newborn child's umbilical cord show promise of healing some types of cancer. The blood is frozen, stored and used for treating patients with leukemia or other types of cancer. The blood from a newborn child's umbilical cord has been found to rapidly create new cells. This means that they can quickly replace dying cells. As we age, more and more of our cells die and accumulate and the rest starts to degenerate. There are still a lot of tests and studies to do, however, to make sure that this is indeed a cure for cancer.

Be aware that when you hit 30, your body starts on a downward slope; your bodily functions start declining. Don't wait until you are 60 to start seeing your doctor regularly. Start right now, when you are still young and able. The early that your doctor detects illnesses and diseases in your body, the better your chances are of leading a healthy, happy life.