Men's Health at the Critical Years

For men, ages 18 to 34 is a critical time for maintaining good health. It will have a profound impact on avoiding conditions such as obesity, diabetes, coronary artery disease, back and joint pain and hypertension, that have started to plague men at these younger ages. These problems can dramatically worsen quality of life and adversely affect longevity.

When it comes to actually treating such illnesses or conditions, taking care of them at the very first sign of symptoms, at the onset of the problem, and not waiting until it worsens, is the cardinal rule for avoiding expensive and prolonged medical crisis care.

Yet, fear and mistrust of and/or the high cost of traditional health care can be major deterrents in getting care at this crucial time.

But understand that the medical office visit is not the only route to obtaining good initial health care. There are a number of things you can do for yourself to save money and be outside of the traditional doctor’s office or clinic.

When symptoms first arise, go to your pharmacy and ask the Pharmacist about it. They are usually a wealth of information about taking inexpensive over-the-counter remedies for initial and/or minor symptoms or illness.

Many non-traditional practitioners such as Chiropractors, Massage Therapists, Acupuncturists, Naturopaths as well as practitioners of Oriental Medicine do offer affordable care. If you are considering any of these practitioners but are unfamiliar with them, learn about their modalities, as conce
s your particular problem, through one of their national associations’ websites. Then, get a referral to a practitioner that a trusted friend has been successfully treated by and satisfied with.

But by far the best approach is to guard against the possibility of ever getting any of the conditions in the first place. This is the preventive approach by maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

First, make sure you become aware of any condition that you may be predisposed to from family history or unhealthy lifestyle habits. Arm yourself with two guides that will help you to understand any symptom or condition you may be conce
ed about.

One is The Merck Manual, which is an in depth guide to conditions, illnesses and diseases and their common treatments. The second is, Dorland’s Medical Dictionary. Dorland’s will explain most of those foreign sounding terms in Merck’s.

There are also several websites like WebMD and other professional healthcare websites that are virtual encyclopedias about most any condition or illness and treating them.

Next, find out about free or reduced fee screenings/exams in your area by contacting various resources such as local Visiting Nurses Associations, YMCA/YWCA, non-profit organizations for particular conditions and community health clinics and organizations.
Many hospitals and large medical clinics now have mobile RV units that travel around an area as a public relations medium offering such screenings/exams for no-to-minimal fees.

These are all valuable sources for finding low-to-no fee screenings (and low-to-no cost care) for the various conditions that afflict men. Take advantage of these screenings/exams before any symptoms occur and take advantage of them on a yearly basis. Most are non-invasive and take little time to perform. Think of them as “quasi-traditional preventive care”.

Finally, finding the time and money to invest in the basic healthy lifestyle habits of good daily nutrition, adequate daily exercise and proper amounts of sleep each night, is paramount in preventing many chronic conditions such as obesity, diabetes, coronary artery disease and hypertension.

The websites of any number of organizations such as the Centers for Disease Control at WWW.cdc.gov, the Harvard School of Public Health at www.hsph.harvard.edu, the American Heart Association at www.americanheart.org, and the American Diabetes Association at www.diabetes.org are replete with information about the many preventive benefits of these healthy habits.

For daily nutrition, the new Dietary Guidelines for Americans and MyPyramid at www.MyPyramid.com put out by the U.S.D.A. and Department of Health & Human Services is a good resource.

Begin a fitness program that includes strength and aerobic exercises. Learn about the recommended amounts and types of exercises at the American College of Sports Medicine’s website, www.ascm.org under “Physical Activities Guidelines”.

In my professional opinion, there is nothing better or more cost effective than a healthy lifestyle in helping to prevent these ailments and the expensive crisis care that goes along with them.