Are You As Healthy As You Think?

Are You As Healthy as You Think?

For many adults, it’s easy to ignore warning signs of illness. Common symptoms and signs may be simply written off as wear and tear, or the daily grind of juggling work, family, and other responsibilities. That’s why so many adults are taken off guard when they end up severely ill.

It’s crucial to stay in touch with your body and to pay attention to early warning signs. Use the following tips from a Houston family doctor to notice and prevent potential illnesses before they get worse.

• Fatigue and Sleep: Today, it seems like no one gets enough sleep, so it’s easy to ignore changes in sleeping patterns, but not getting enough sleep can potentially be a symptom of another problem It could also exasperate another issue and make it far worse. Pay attention to physical and mental fatigue, and sleeping patterns, and prioritize getting enough nightly shuteye.
• Not Everything is Random: Many people will ignore a bad headache and chalk it up to a random event. Or when it happens again, or another symptom kicks in, they may consider it a coincidence. The fact is, most of the time repeated issues with something such as headaches, a cough, a sore throat, or ongoing bad heartburn aren’t random at all.
• Physical Pain & Body Chains: Sometimes a physical pain is ignored or written off, but it’s actually only one link, down a long chain, from a larger problem. A bad back turns into a bad leg or hip, and is ignored, or only the symptom is treated and not the cause. Chronic pains or aches have to be explored and fully understood in order to be solved, and shouldn’t be ignored.
• Mental Cues: Sometimes people can trick their bodies into feeling sick, by believing or saying they are. Ever tell a white lie as a kid to get out of school for the day, only to end up truly feeling sick? It can work the other way around too, tricking the body to feel better than it is. In this case though, an illness could become worse when left untreated. It’s important to be aware of how your mind can affect physical feelings of sickness or healthiness.
• The Common Cold: Stuck with another cold? Well, there’s nothing to do but grin and bear it, and stock up on tissues, right? Not necessarily. People who are prone to catching colds may have an underlying illness compromising their immune system, or could take other preventative action with their lifestyles to improve their all-around health and wellness.
• The Thermometer Isn’t Everything: Many people give themselves a one and done check when they’re concerned with being sick — they check their temperature. If they’re normal here, then they ignore everything else and carry on. But the thermometer isn’t everything, and even with a regular body temperature, there could be numerous other symptoms and signs of sickness which shouldn’t be overlooked.

Holmsten Clinics provides primary medical care services throughout Houston, including the surrounding areas of Sugarland, Rosenberg, Richmond, Katy, El Campo, Guy, Pasadena, Wharton and Needville. With several locations, they’re a convenient and trusted Houston family medical center. Call 713.777.3131 (Braeswood) or 281.633.0148 (Richmond) to schedule an appointment, or visit HolmstenClinics.com for more information on how they may be able to help.