Health. Self help.

[jansman]

So. As you may have read, I couldn’t get a doctor appointment today- ain’t seen one in five years - and had to go to casualty.

Diamond Lil suggested we may have to start looking out for ourselves in the future. Mrs J and me have thought the same. Now don’t get me wrong, when you have a SERIOUS problem, you need a proper medical professional- end of!
I know this, as without our lovely NHS Mrs J would have died without cancer treatment.

So looking after ourselves? Well, we are both first aid trained and have proper ( user- capabilities) kit. We carry a fair over- the - counter- medication stock. Mrs J is interested in Chinese/ herbal medicine. We eat a good diet, and stay as fit as possible- without dying of boredom as gym - bunnies!

So ; this is not knocking our NHS. It’s under pressure. No political sh@t. How can we help ourselves?

[Nurseandy]

Bit simplistic but an once of prevention is worth a pound of cure - moderate exercise, good diet, sensible amount of alcohol, ditch the fags, more water, more sleep & stretch daily for the body.
Read, learn a new language/instrument, sleep more for the brain.

[jansman]

^^^^like^^^^^^

[Le Mouse]

I quite like aromatherapy. Not in a 'it cures everything' way (because MY WORD IT DOESN'T), but in a 'some things make me feel a bit better' way. I have a diffuser and I made a cough blend using oils that are reputed to be good for respiratory complaints. It's helped this summer when hayfever has embuggered my asthma. Now, I know it does little if any actual medical good and it is very likely a placebo, but it does help relax my breathing. I still make sure I use my inhalers as prescribed and am due to have my asthma review in about a month (in person - hallelujah! ), but having something that just settles me really helps.

I am due to renew my first aid training soon. I'm also a mental health first aider. I try not to ask Dr Google about things that might be wrong, because that way madness lies , but having reputable sources of information for conditions you might have is useful. For me, that's Asthma UK - it's helped empower my own health care.

[Kiwififer]

Yup, cut down the red meat, booze (boo!) and sugar. I’ve never smoked in my life so it’s something I don’t have to think about and the only wild thing I get up to these days is a couple of cocodamol when my back and knee flares up!

Also and it is a biggie, look after your MH. I’ve worked in MH services, addictions and homeless projects for over 30 years now and I consider looking after your MH just as important as your physical. As folk get older, friends move or die, kids leave home and work begins to curtail off. Having something in your life does help, a hobby, a support network like a men’s shed or even helping out yourself can do wonders. Self care is very important and nobody on the planet skips through life without having a worry so having a MH Toolbox is essential to have.

I have plans for my future unless mad Vlad decides to nuke us all!

[jansman]

There’s a thing; Mental health. That is massive.

[GillyBee]

• Good lifestyle habits for a start - although most of us have at least some bad ones.
  Use self help as a first line of action i.e. first aid, over the counter or herbal meds for minor ailments.
  For more serious stuff and things that won't clear up it is the GP or A&E.
  Learn to take responsibility for your own health & do the work if you have a "diagnosis. The docs are knowledgable but they only have limited time to look after you. You need to learn everything you can about your complaint including what does and does not work for you so that you can have an intelligent conversation with the consultant.

e.g. t'other half is under the care of the rheumatologist and was also under the cardiologist. We thought he had a nasty heart failure. He forgot his statins when on holiday and had a remarkaby good week A bit of digging showed that the side effects of his statins are identical to heart failure Statins stopped and heart failure is now almost completely gone I have no idea why the cardiologist missed it for over a year. Probably because statins are "good for everyone" - except when thay aren't.
Rheumatologist expected him to be in a wheelchair by now. But a strict regime of daily Tai Chi for mobility and a wheat free diet has staved that off for 5 years now. We researched and found that many arthritis sufferers have food sensitivities. The consultant was happy we had done the exclusion diet (properly) and found the reason things were getting so bad.
Most of his patients are not determined enough to do that sort of diet which is why it is not standard advice. (Even though his hospital was the one doing the published research 20 years ago into exclusion diets!)

[Arzosah]

Looking after our eyes: "exercise" them by taking a break for a couple of minutes and changing the focus. Closing your eyes ditto, resting them completely. Wearing sunglasses, to protect against the sun.

Looking after our skin: protection from the sun - all the odd bits you don't necessarily think about - ear tips, that sort of thing. Barrier cream (though honestly, I don't use it, if I need a barrier I put gloves of some description on). Repetitive strain injuries (take notice of your aches and pains before they become a medical issue) and blisters (sepsis? infestation? general yuck). Take care of extreme dryness - if your skin cracks and bleeds, you'll know about it.

Hydration affects both of the above, and everything else too, including mental health.

What genetic predispositions do you have? For me, it's skin cancer - both parents, and 8 aunts/uncles/cousins.

[Kiwififer]

There’s a thing; Mental health. That is massive.

Indeed it is. First rule of first aid is not to become a casualty yourself and that goes for mental health first aiders as well. Being kind to yourself is no longer seen as being soft which is a very good thing.

[Frnc]

For me, losing weight was number one. I've lost nearly 3 stone so am not really overweight anymore, but want to lose a bit more. I've been doing more exercise, mostly riding my bike, plus things like pushups and pullups. Little things like not biting my nails, which leads to sore fingers. I had to adjust my diet because of kidney stones. It's easy to eat too much salt as there is so much in processed food. I need to cut down my booze, have done a bit but need to do better. I don't eat much sugar these days. Hydration is important, including to avoid kidney stones. Essential oils like tea tree are useful to keep and have many uses, but medically they need to not be too old. Maybe keep some in the fridge. It seemed to cure my athelete's foot. I'm careful to avoid dry hands as that can quickly lead to eczema for me. I've built up a bit of a stock of meds including steroid cream. I want to learn more about natural medicines. In WW2 they used sphagnum moss on wounds as it has antibiotic properties. This is the moss that forms peat bogs, and it used to grow in many places in Cheshire as well as the obvious places. Mining peat is to be banned as these bogs sequester CO2. Ethnobotany is the study of indigenous people's use of plants for medicines etc. Most of our modern drugs are simply industrialised versions of these. I had to give up using a mouse years ago as it wrecked my hand/wrist, magic trackpad is the way to go.