Early detection can help you save on health cost I

Prevention is better than cure, as they say. The growing health insurance segment bears this truism out, which is witnessing almost 100% claims ratio. Insurers say that some 16 out of every 100 policyholders register claims under the health policy every year. In other words, the cost of treating 16 policyholders is equal to the premium collected from 100. 

Insurers have now discovered that they can make substantial money out of health insurance if they can prevent one out of 100 policyholders from falling ill. To this effect, they are now offering freebies like free health check-ups and discounts on gym memberships to policyholders.

The same financial logic applies to individuals as well. For instance, getting a cavity filled in early will help save several times the amount on a root canal treatment. Most ailments requiring surgery do not occur overnight, but build-up over a period of time and in many cases, can be detected early through regular checks. Doctors say, you almost save up to 50% on health costs with regular check-ups, exercise and balanced diet. The idea is to avoid severe health complications which could also take a toll on your biological as well as financial health.

Monitor BP and sugar levels 
Blood pressure is a function of stress and anxiety rather than heredity. Such cases can be kept monitored through counselling, yoga and meditation instead of direct medication if the BP is not alarmingly high. “You can read the early signals such as a constant headache and body ache. Patients suffering from severe stress and hypertension should get their BP checked at least once every week.

Otherwise, once a month check-up would suffice,” explains Dr T Samuel, a senior medical practitioner. BP test can be done for as low Rs 50 with a general physician. Diabetes is a function of heredity, hence it is better to monitor your sugar levels twice a year if any of the parents or grand parents are diabetic.

Exercise and side-effects 
Join a gym, shake a leg to some music or just go for a brisk walk in the neighbourhood park for half an hour everyday. There are a plethora of exercise options. First, it will help you destress, thereby keeping tabs on your BP. It helps production of high-density lipoprotein (HDL), or “good” cholesterol. It helps you lose weight and maintain an ideal BMI (body mass index) and promote better sleep, leading to a healthier lifestyle.

A cervical or a lower back pain doesn’t sound new to most working professionals who spend 90% of their time sitting in front of the computer. “Just taking a walk every half an hour in the office may sound like a breezy suggestion. But it helps you break the monotonous posture. This combined with regular exercise, good posture and stretches should help the pain ease up,” explains Dr KS Ramakrishnan, a Mumbai–based senior physiotherapist.

Check your oral hygiene 
You don’t have to walk to your dentist only when you develop a cavity or for a root canal. It could be for flossing, threading, crowding of teeth or just a gum check. If your gums hurt or bleed while brushing or flossing, or you experience a persistent bad breath, you should visit a dentist. These could be early signs for persistent dental problems. 

Hypertension

• Hypertension is the permanent elevation of blood pressure beyond the standards. 
• As such, hypertension is a symptom, but the result of the examination by the doctor, taking tension. 
• This excess of blood pressure is manifested by a number of varied signs (headache, dizziness, small flashes before your eyes ...), but more often it shows no visible or felt by the person. 
• The installation in the duration of this elevation of constant pressure which leads to hypertensive disease called "hypertension", whose consequences are very important throughout the body. 
• Officially Hypertension is defined as a systolic blood pressure (the first number) greater than 140 mmHg and / or diastolic blood pressure (the second number) above 90 mmHg. These measures should have been made in medical practice, under specific conditions of rest, and must be confirmed by at least two measurements per visit, during three successive consultations over a period of three to six months. 
• Clearly, this means that if in 3 or 6 months your doctor tells you during 2 successive consultations that you are over 14 / 9, you are considered (e) as hypertensive (e). 
• Also, if you are over 18/11, your doctor will ask you to take back the power quickly in a period that you determine.
  

Over-Stress: How to Manage it...

Stress is the body's response to a challenge or tough situation. When the body is stressed focus, strength, stamina, and alertness are all heightened. to be more specific, hormones are released into the blood stream and heart rate increases, as well as breathing rate, blood pressure and metabolism. This is known as the 'fight-or-flight' mechanism. Our ancestors would have experienced stress responses when they were hunting animals for food or were, in fact, faced with an animal that could potentially kill them (i.e. lion, crocodile). In those days, whether you stayed to fight off the animal or ran for dear life, the movement of the body (or exercise) would use up all the stress hormones floating through the blood and reduce the heart rate and blood pressure, etc.

These days we continue to go through the exact same stress response as our ancestors, however we might facing a deadline rather than a lion or managing a team of  people instead of feeding a tribe. The thing is, unlike our ancestors we don't fight or run to get rid of the stress hormones, we continue to sit at our desk, typing away on the computer while the hormones build up, heart rate continues to rise and blood pressure goes through the roof! When a stress response is active long term it can cause health issues such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), headaches or depression.

So how to you deal with stress? Obviously you wont be able to remove all stress from your life so its a matter of finding ways to reduce the stress response and manage the way you're feeling.

• Exercise - going for a jog and doing a boxing class will get rid of any pent up energy, stimulate the production of endorphins (happy hormones) and lower your 'flashpoint'.
• Watch what you're thinking - attitudes and perceptions will heavy influence the way you see and feel about things so think positively.
• Set realistic goals - work out what your priorities are and set achievable timelines.
• Relax in a way that suits you- take time out to do something you enjoy such as  reading, meeting with friends, doing a yoga class.
• Take 'Breathing Breaks' - I'm a big fan of cigarette breaks, just minus the cigarette. Smokers take 5-10 minutes out every few hours and to go outside and take deep breaths. So do yourself a favour and take 'Breathing Breaks', it'll lower your heart rate and blood pressure.
• Talk to someone - there is nothing wrong with venting your frustrations. Talk to someone you trust about what is stressing you out, besides two heads are better than one, you might come up with a brilliant solution.

Just remember that we weren't designed to stew over things and become more and more aggravated, we were designed to be active and work off the stress response so the best thing you can do to reduce stress is to get into the gym and run, run, run!!!