Whilst your own health should arguably be your main concern and priority in life, you should also lookout for the health in your family. Those of any age can go through some complications, and you may be the only one who can spot something.
This article will explore a number of health concerns that you should be aware of and address your family with concerns.
What To Look Out For In Your Children
If you have slightly older children, then you will likely be familiar with the changing health concerns they have from year to year. As an example, a baby will have vastly different health concerns to watch out for compared to a toddler.
Therefore, you will need to think about your children’s age and think about what you need to know. Speak to your family doctor about the next year of your child’s life, as they may be able to provide you with some key information that will go a long way in boosting their health. This could alert you of certain concerns before they develop into something further. If your children start displaying some worrying anxiety and mental health issues, consider reaching out to a professional for a free mental health screening for children.
What To Look Out For In Your Elderly
When it comes to the elderly members of your family, there will be several health concerns that you should be wary of. Of course, we will go over some of the more general health concerns that affect all groups of people below, but this section will focus more on the elderly.
A common health problem that afflicts the elderly is arthritis. Arthritis causes joint pain and inflammation, which prevents them from moving as much. Even when they move, it can be painful to do so and lead to injuries through weaker bones.
It could also refer to something known as osteoarthritis, which is a more age-related disease. Aging plays a role in this and changes your joint tissues and cells to weaken them. When it comes to looking after the elderly family members in your life, it may mean helping them get up and around and get them from one place to another.
Another potentially age-related issue to look out for in the elderly community is dementia. This disease affects the brain, and can lead to physical injuries as well as emotional trauma for all of you. It may get to the point that you can no longer manage them yourself, which will require you to get extra care. This could be in-house care, or it could refer to them being moved to a care facility of some kind.
General Health Concerns To Look Out For
Whilst there may be health concerns that only focus on the young or old in your family, there will be more general concerns that could affect anyone at any age. That’s why this section will spend a fair amount of time looking into general health concerns.
A major concern still affecting all age groups in 2022 is Covid. While many know the main symptoms, its good to be refreshed and remember what to look out for so it can be addressed immediately. The main symptoms still remain fever/chills, cough, trouble breathing, aches, sore throat, and loss of taste or smell. If worried, don’t forget there are still tons of covid testing near me sites set up across the entire country.
Anthoer general health concern could be regarding somebody’s weight in your family. Of course, this may be a sensitive topic to approach them with and you may have to think about how they might receive what you say. Even if you’re coming from a good and positive place, it’s possible that it could be misinterpreted, which could cause pain and confusion in some way.
When it comes to talking about weight, you should come to them from a nice place, and avoid using jokes that may come across in a mocking fashion. Try to not speak to them in a group setting, as this could make them feel more embarrassed and not know how to deal with it. Instead, try to take them to one side and bring your concerns, focusing on health and how their lives could be improved.
Another health concern to look out for could be mental health within your family. You may have noticed that they are acting differently or seem more down than usual. If you suspect this to be the case, then consider speaking to them from a safe place, to help them feel more comfortable opening up to you.
It could be a more physical issue that you need to bring up, or that they’ve come to you with. For example, they may have a lump on their body, which could cause concern. This could be a sign of a tumor, or it could be evidence of a cyst. There are key differences when it comes to cysts vs tumors, and health experts such as Ezra can provide screenings to help you identify which one you or a family member might have.
Be aware that one of the main differences between the two is that a cyst is a sac-like pocket of fluid, whilst tumors will be a combination of abnormal cells. Cysts may contain fluids such as blood, or it may be something more solid. Thankfully, most cysts go away on their own, but you could also undergo a small procedure that looks to drain them.
A Change In Behavior
As we touched upon above, something you need to look out for in your family is a change of behavior. A behavior change could be a sign of something deeper at play that you may have to work with them to open them up. A change in behavior is likely a sign of a change in mental health.
When you think about mental health problems, you probably think of adults. However, young people and even children can suffer from certain mental health problems. This could come in the form of anxiety, depression, or disorder.
Don’t feel like the responsibility of others’ mental health in your family falls solely to you. The last thing you want to do is to take on the burden of managing someone else’s mental health when you yourself aren’t equipped to do so. You could even end up doing your own mental health problems. In cases like this, you should try and find them, or convince them to sign up for, a therapy service.
A change in behavior doesn’t just mean that there could be issues with mental health, it could also mean that there is something concerning them that they don’t know how to speak to you about. It could be that they have a physical injury or concern that they’re hiding, or it could be about something out of their control, even away from home.
External Factors When Away From Home
That takes us to this section about how there could be health signs of concern away from home. It may refer to how they are doing at work or school or could be about their daily commute. External factors can easily influence health, if your family member works in a factory, then they may be susceptible to some health concerns, such as operating dangerous machinery.
However, it could go deeper than this and refer to long-term health concerns. You may work with chemicals or around smoke that slowly seep into your system over time. While this won’t be a major concern to begin with, it could develop into something bad more long-term, such as lung cancer.
There won’t be too much you can do about what they do outside of the home, but you can offer guidance and support while at home. If you are concerned for their wellbeing when outside of the home, then you should bring that up to them, and come from a place of support.
