HealthyLife Articles

Category: Well-Being

  • How To Make Those New Year’s Resolutions Stick

    WELL-BEING

    Image of top resolutions written on small paper notes.

    Tap into your company’s wellness program to help you make and achieve your New Year’s goals, suggests Alere Health.

    Identify your core values.

    Make a list of your core values-such as vitality, health, honesty, compassion, security-to get a sense of what is really important to you.

    Set your priorities.

    Target 3 or 4 of those values to focus on. Base your decision on values that you know would make you happier and improve your quality of life. Then look at what you are doing or not doing that is keeping that value from manifesting in your life.

    Establish specific, measurable goals.

    After you determine the changes you want to make, set specific, measurable goals to track your progress. One of the reasons that many people fail with resolutions is that their goals are too vague. Track your daily progress.

    Be realistic.

    The best health and wellness programs teach you to gradually reduce your unhealthy habits so that you can learn behaviors that will last. Go for ridiculously easy ones, and you’ll achieve your goal every time.

    Be creative.

    Who says resolutions have to be about weight loss or exercise? Getting plenty of sleep can also promote better health and vitality. Or walk around the office if you sit all day. Pledge to stand up once an hour or when you take a phone call.

    Chill out more.

    Stress is the enemy to feeling better and being more productive. Stress management programs can provide the tips and support to manage those life situations that may anger, sadden or worry you and help to keep you on goal.

    Do something for someone else.

    Many stress management programs offered by employers encourage employees to manage stress and improve happiness by doing something for others. Employers are recognizing that employees that are active and engaged in helping others in their community are often more productive and healthier than those who do not. If your company supports a special cause, or if you have one important to you, make the effort to spend a few hours a month volunteering or helping in some way.

    © American Institute for Preventive Medicine

  • Prevent Clothes Dryer Fires

    WELL-BEING

    Image of a man cleaning dryer duct.

    Built-up lint blocks air flow in your clothes dryer, which leads to high heat and a potential fire. Thousands of fires occur each year, according to the U.S. Fire Administration.

    Take these simple steps to keep your home safe:

    *  Clean the lint screen every time you use the dryer.

    *  If you use fabric softener, wash the screen in warm soapy water periodically to get rid of film build-up that restricts air flow.

    *  Make sure the lint screen has no tears (otherwise lint gets into the duct system and restricts air flow).

    *  Inspect the duct, dampers, and access covers for damage every 3 months. Clean all removable parts. Vacuum the duct to remove excess lint build-up.

    Don’t dry items that have been cleaned or soaked in gasoline, dry cleaning solvents, vegetable or cooking oil, machine oil, or other chemicals such as mop heads, which can be explosive when heated.

    © American Institute for Preventive Medicine

  • Stay Healthy When Swimming

    WELL-BEING

    Image of beach ball in swimming pool.

    Did you know you can get sick from swimming? Whether it’s a pool, hot tub, water park, fountain, lake, river or ocean, some water can have germs or chemicals in it that cause recreational water illness (RWI). And, the number of RWI outbreaks have increased steadily in the last 30 years.

    RWIs can ruin summer fun

    RWIs most often cause diarrhea, but they can make you sick in other ways too. They can also cause nausea and vomiting, skin rashes, and infections of the eyes, ears, skin and respiratory system.

    Most healthy people will recover from RWIs, but they can be dangerous to pregnant women, young children, and people with weakened immune systems.

    Healthy swimming guidelines

    Many times, the water may look clean and safe when it contains dangerous germs or unsafe chemicals. Though proper chlorine levels are important, some germs are not killed by chlorine. Some water may be treated with too much chlorine or an improper balance that can make people sick. So what can you do to enjoy the water this summer and stay healthy?

    *  Don’t swim when you have diarrhea or you’ve been vomiting. Even a tiny, invisible amount of germs can get in the water and make others sick.

    *  Never get swimming water in your mouth. Keep your mouth closed when underwater.

    *  Shower with soap before you swim and wash your hands after using the toilet or changing diapers. Have your children wash their hands as well.

    *  Don’t allow kids to play in fountains that haven’t been treated with chlorine.

    *  Stop swimming at least once every hour for bathroom breaks and/or diaper changes. Use swim diapers on kids who aren’t potty trained. Many kids will have “accidents” in the water if they don’t get out to use the bathroom.

    *  Don’t change diapers near the swimming area. Do it in a bathroom or away from the water.

    *  If you own a pool, check chlorine levels regularly. Use pool test strips to check for proper pH levels and chemical balances.

    *  Ask to see the last pool inspection report before swimming in a public pool or water park.

    The germ that survives chlorine

    Cryptosporidium, commonly called crypto, is a bacteria that can be spread in swimming water. Chlorine won’t kill crypto, and people with weakened immune systems can get very sick from it. It can cause severe watery diarrhea and is a leading cause of RWIs. To avoid getting or spreading crypto, follow the healthy swimming guidelines on this page. It is not killed by hand sanitizer, so washing hands with soap and water is critical.

    © American Institute for Preventive Medicine

  • Turn Awareness Into Action

    WELL-BEING

    Image of 2 women holding a sign with the word "Prevent" written.

    Breast cancer screening guidelines vary with different health groups. The U.S. Preventive Service Task Force advises women ages  50-74 to get a mammogram every 2 years.

    Women ages 40-49 and 74+ should discuss their breast cancer risk and the pros and cons of breast cancer screening with their doctors or health care providers. Women at a high risk for breast cancer should seek expert medical advice about breast cancer screening and prevention.

    Many women can survive breast cancer if it’s found and treated early.

    Your doctor can help you decide if you should take medication to help prevent breast cancer and if you should seek genetic counseling.

    Even though you cannot control breast cancer risk factors such as aging and inheriting certain breast cancer gene mutations, you can take action to help prevent breast cancer.

    *  If you have babies, breast-feed them.

    *  Talk to your doctor about the risks and benefits of taking hormone therapy using estrogen and progestin for menopausal symptoms. Taking both estrogen and progestin for more than five years increases breast cancer risk.

    *  Lose weight if you are overweight, especially if you have reached menopause.

    *  Limit alcohol. The more alcohol you drink, the greater the risk.

    *  Be physically active. Strenuous exercise for more than four hours a week may help lower breast cancer risk.

    © American Institute for Preventive Medicine

  • 3 “S”S For Taking Supplements

    WELL-BEING

    Close up image of hand with supplements.

    Many people use vitamins, herbs, and other supplements. But sometimes, supplements aren’t safe or helpful. Follow these 3 S’s before you take vitamins, herbs, or natural remedies.

    1.Say something to your doctor.Supplements can interact with medications. Some are not safe if you have health conditions. Your doctor can tell you whether certain supplements are safe for you.

    2.Skip them if pregnant or breastfeeding.Some supplements are not safe for women who are pregnant or breastfeeding. Always ask your obstetrician or gynecologist before taking supplements.

    3.Stop taking them before surgery.Some supplements can cause problems if you take them before surgery. They may make bleeding worse or change how you respond to medicines. You may need to stop them two weeks or more before your surgery.

    © American Institute for Preventive Medicine

  • Find Unclaimed Money

    WELL-BEING

    Image of the word 'scam' spread across money.

    Uncle Sam may actually owe you money. How? If the government owes you money, and you do not collect it, it becomes unclaimed money. This can happen because of bank or credit union closures, investment funds, pensions, tax refunds, or savings bonds, among others.

    But before you assume that there has to be unclaimed money out there for you, beware, says USA.gov, a government information website.

    There are people out there who will contact you, claim to be the government, saying they will send you unclaimed money for a fee. This is a scam. Legitimate government agencies will not contact you about unclaimed money or assets.

    Right now, there is no single government site for finding unclaimed money by name, social security number, or state. You need to visit each site separately and perform a search.

    After searching, if you are owed funds, there will be instructions and steps to follow to collect your money.

    For more information on unclaimed money, or other government resources, visitUSA.gov.

    © American Institute for Preventive Medicine

  • “I Know Where You Are”

    WELL-BEING

    Illustration of smartphone next to a shield with the word "security".

    The new you may not be you at all. Hackers and cyber criminals steal millions of records and identities, according to the consumer advocacy nonprofit Privacy Rights Clearinghouse.

    Stay safer online by following these practices:

    *Assume you’ve already been compromised.Whether it’s your baby monitor, your Smart TV, the webcam on your laptop, or apps you installed on your smartphone or tablet, your antivirus is not enough protection. It’s time to take their privacy policies, and the permissions you grant them, much more seriously.

    *Change your passwords.All of them. Now. And do it as frequently as you can tolerate. Also, if you don’t want to change it often, then use any unique characters you can think of, such as a dollar sign ($) or exclamation mark (!), or replace an “oh” with a “zero” (0). This goes a long way in preventing attacks against your password.

    *Turn off wireless and geolocation services.Protect your smartphones and tablets by turning off WiFi, Bluetooth, NFC and GPS, except when you need them. That way, if you are at a local coffee shop or in a shopping mall, no one can spy on you using nearby (proximity) hacking attacks, and they can’t track where you were and where you are going on your GPS.

    *Assume most of your apps are creepware.This is malware that spies on you and your online behavior. Do you really need them? Delete all of the apps you aren’t using too often.

    Source: Gary S. Miliefsky is CEO of SnoopWall and the inventor of SnoopWall spyware-blocking technology. He is a founding member of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

    © American Institute for Preventive Medicine