Wellness Month Is Every Month

Prevention and early disease detection are important for your health and wellness. During National Wellness Month and every month, it is important to know about your health maintenance. Chronic disease is medical diagnosis that lasts beyond three months.  Many patients have at least one like arthritis or obesity.  As age increases so can more chronic disease. Preventive healthcare such as routine checkups are necessary to keep wellness while keeping chronic disease stable and/or absent. The following blog posts encourage wellness and health literacy:

MY PATIENT HANDBOOK: Chronic Disease Month Prevention Health 

MY PATIENT HANDBOOK: Cook Your Way to Good Health! 

MY PATIENT HANDBOOK: Health Literacy Month: Read Health

MY PATIENT HANDBOOK: Healthy Life Line: Make Medical Test Screen Part of Healthy Routine 

MY PATIENT HANDBOOK: Women's Health Month Wellness 

MY PATIENT HANDBOOK: Men's Health Month Means Checkup Time 

Patient Handbook to Medical Care: Your Personal Health Guide is an excellent book resource to inform you about basic proper physical exams and tests every patient may need. 

This link http://bit.ly/dpEGyA with Google Books has excerpts from the book.  You can also click on "Find a library" and see bookstores where the title is available.  Patient Handbook to Medical Care is in the Kindle library.  It is free to Kindle Unlimited users.  

Read how to make your healthcare the best. YOU are your most important asset! Your health and care of your health is a primary priority. Best health!

Summer Sun Safety

Summer months include more sun and more Vitamin D.  As more time may be spent in the sun. more of your body may be exposed.  Remember to enage in good skin care by keeping your skin safe from those damaging UVA and UVB rays that cause serious, irreparable sun damage and skin cancer. Simple things you can do include:

• Limit sun exposure – avoid 10AM to 3PM, spend less than one hour in direct sun - less or none if fair complexion, burn easily, prone to skin cancer.
• Wear protective clothing – wide brim hats, long sleeves, long pants, skirts and/ or clothes made with sun protection fabric.
• Umbrella and shade.
• Use sunscreen SPF 15 or greater. Put on every hour if sweating or swimming. Put on every area exposed to sun, and be sure to remember behind those ears and on the neck.
• See your family doctor and/or dermatologist for moderate to severe sunburn, or any suspicious skin spots that fail to heal.

Home remedies to ease the suburn: gel from aloe plant; oatmeal bath; ice pack in soft cloth; powder on bed sheets; vinegar & baking powder paste. Keep yourself well hydrated by drinking lots of water. Also, do a self skin exam monthly to keep track of any abnormal skin lesions.  Best health!


by J. L. Richardson, MD, family practice physician, patient advocate, and author of Patient Handbook to Medical Care: Your Personal Health Guide. http://amzn.to/13m51UU

Women"s Health Maintenance

During Women's Health Month it is important to remember preventative health tests you may need done. Ladies, schedule your routine screenings and appointments to include:

1. mammogram/ MRI for breast cancer
2. PAP smear & HPV test for cervical cancer
3. stool check for blood (fecal occult blood test, FOBT) for colorectal cancer
4. cardiology doctor for cardiovascular prevention (get EKG, ECHO, and thallium stress test if indicated)
5. bone density scan to check for osteoporsis
6. counseling for smoking cessation, alcohol/drug dependence, and domestic violence
7. evaluation for depression and other mental disorders if necessary
8. complete physical exam, and routine blood tests.

Be sure to go over all test results with your healthcare provider.  Any abnormal results should be looked into further especially if you have symptoms.  If you are without symptoms, be sure all abnormalities are followed up routinely.

Get in 5 to 10 minutes of exercise a day at least, sleep enough, and eat healthy! Laugh a lot and love a lot! Best health!

by J. L. Richardson, MD, family practice doctor and author of Patient Handbook to Medical Care: Your Personal Health Guide. (Amazon.com: Patient Handbook to Medical Care: Your Personal Health Guide eBook : Richardson M.D., J. L.: Kindle Store)

Read Daily World Book Day Is Everyday

Read what you need. Learn about what you need to maintain good health and well-being.  Health literacy is an important part of your self-care health care.  It helps promote better health and quality of life. During this Health Literacy Month make your health healthier with more medical information.

Medical science progresses so rapidly!  It is impossible for health care providers to keep up with all these new developments. Be aware of treatments your doctors and healthcare team have yet to hear about or are unlikely to ever find out about.  The overwhelming amount of new health information that comes out is far too much for many to stay current on every disease and treatment.  This should not stop you the patient from finding out all you can.  The same goes for wellness.  Participating in your health care is mandatory to maintain good health, achieve wellness, and overcome illness.

There are so many different treatments and modalities that compliment traditional medicine.  As many lack training in these areas they are unable to tell the patient.  Asking your doctor is a good starting place as is telling your doctor about the things you have read about or tried that helped.  In turn this may evoke a response by your physician to find out more,and even share with other patients and colleagues who may in turn share their “new” information which your doctor can share with you.

Reading and learning are vital to good health. Health literacy helps you make healthier, informed choices based on facts that have proven to yield better health outcomes.  Be health literate.  Best health!

Good health maintenance reads: 

Healthy Life Lines Amazon.com: Healthy Life Lines: Simple Tips to Improve Your Health eBook : Richardson M.D., J L: Kindle Store

Patient Handbook to Medical Care Amazon.com: Patient Handbook to Medical Care: Your Personal Health Guide eBook : Richardson M.D., J. L.: Kindle Store

Healthy Life Lines: Heart Month Hypertension Healers

Make less stress, tolerate even less.

Learn relaxation techniques.

Meditate daily.

Eat heart healthy food.

Exercise at least fifteen minutes or more a day in your best way.

Pursue enjoyable hobbies that you like.

Sleep soundly at least eight hours per twenty-four.

Let love keep you healthy.

Smile a lot.

Pray often.

Own a blood pressure device and /or an application on a phone.

Check your blood pressure at home. 

Give a blood pressure monitor as a gift.

Use love and positive kindness as daily medicine.

Best health!

MY PATIENT HANDBOOK: hypertension