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An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. - Benjamin Franklin

January 2020, Volume 37



It's All About Our Health - 2020


As we ring in the year 2020, it's time to start to think about our health!

Below you will find lists of recommended preventative and diagnostic health screenings for people 50 and over. As providers, caregivers, and family members, we are seeing many of those individuals we love and support get older, but they continue to need our support in order to take proper care of their health.

But these screenings are not just for people who are 50 or over and who have DD.

As adults we get caught up in helping everyone else and kind of leave ourselves behind. Let's start the upcoming new year off right and get ourselves preventative care that can help keep serious illness in check.



SCREENINGS RECOMMENDED FOR EVERYONE 50 AND OVER
  1. Hepatitis C Screening - Your physician will order a blood test to detect the Hepatitis C virus, which attacks the liver and leads to inflammation.
  2. Colonoscopy - This test allows your doctor to detect cancer or precancerous growths in your colon. Early detection greatly improves the odds of survival.
  3. Blood Pressure Screening - Blood pressure can be checked during any regular doctor visit. Lowering blood pressure helps prevent future health problems.
  4. Cholesterol Screening - This is a simple blood test that checks the LDL, which is the bad cholesterol that can clog up your arteries, increasing your risk of a heart attack or stroke.
  5. Blood Sugar Screening - This is another simple test that uses a blood sample to check your blood sugar. A high blood sugar reading can be a sign of diabetes.
 

Additional Screenings for Men 50 and Over
  1. PSA Screening - This blood test detects infection, enlargement, or cancer of prostate. The doctor will also perform a prostate exam during your check-up.
     
Additional Screenings for Women 50 and Over
  1.  Mammogram Screening - This is a diagnostic and preventative X-ray of the breast that detects changes in the breast even if the woman has no signs or symptoms of breast cancer yet.
  2. Pap Smear - This test is recommended for women up to 65 years old. Cervical cancer and precancerous lesions can be detected with this test.
  3. Bone Density Screening - This is recommended for all women 65 or older, but any woman has a family history of osteoporosis or fractures should have this test done at an earlier age. This X-ray passes over the hips and lower spine and detects loss of bone tissue.
  4. THS Screening - This is a blood test that can detect a thyroid disorder before symptoms appear. If untreated, a thyroid disorder can cause health problems.

References
www.nextavenue.org/health-checks-50, author Lisa Fields

www.everydayhealth.comre, author Julie Stewart

www.huffpost.com, contributor Bonnie Moore


January 2020 Activity Tip


 
What do you want to accomplish in the year 2020? Is it a new job, finding new friends, traveling, starting a new hobby or recreational activity? Make a Vision Board to help motivate you in starting the New Year!

A Vision Board is a collage of images, pictures, and affirmations of one's dreams and desires. It is designed to serve as a source of inspiration and motivation, and to use the law of attraction to attain goals. (Wikipedia.)
 
Supplies:

First, choose a board, for example:
  • Heavy poster board
  • Cork board (a framed cork bulletin board or just a plain sheet of cork board)
  • Dry erase, magnetic, or slate board
Materials for the creation of the bits and pieces of the collage could include:
  • Pictures - from magazines or printed off the Internet
  • Inspirational sayings or quotes
  • Paper for the affirmations - scrap paper, note cards, sticky notes
  • Writing instruments - pens, colored markers, colored pencils, crayons, paints and paintbrushes
  • Stickers, ribbons, etc if you want to add extra flare
Finally, you will need items for cutting pieces out and for holding the collage pieces to the board:
  • scissors
  • glue
  • tape
  • pushpins
  • straight pins
  • thumbtacks
There is no right or wrong way to do this. Choose the pictures and words that show your goals and ideas. Cut them out and lay them out on your board. Once you are happy with the look, attach them to the board. Locate the best place to hang your board where you'll see it multiple times every day. 

If you don't have any old magazines there are lots of people and places you can ask for free ones: your friends and family, the local library, offices of your dentist, doctor, hair stylist, or spa. The more you can find the better, because you want to give yourself as many choices as possible. It's also great to include lots of magazines you don't usually read so you can keep your mind open and broaden your horizons.
 
 
References:
https://www.makeavisionboard.com
Google Images

If you're new to Aging Gracefully, past issues can be found at the Lucas County Board of DD's web site, http://lucasdd.info/, under Publications.
Copyright © January 2020 Aging Gracefully, Volume 37, All rights reserved.



Contact us at:
419-380-4000 or
seniorcommittee@lucasdd.org
1154 Larc Lane
Toledo, Ohio 43614

Contributions to this Newsletter comes from:
Triad Residential Solutions
Unique Healthcare Solutions
Lucas County Board of Developmental Disabilities


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Lucas County Board of DD · 1154 Larc Lane · Toledo, Oh 43614 · USA

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