An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure

Benjamin Franklin is usually credited with the above axiom, but it was in fact Henry de Bracton, a cleric and legal advisor to the monarchy in 13th century England, who coined the phrase.

When it comes to your well-being, it’s something well worth putting into practice on a regular basis. So what does it really mean?

Let’s go over a few basic things you can do now in order to avoid complications later. Some of these ideas may seem rather obvious, which is perhaps why they get ignored so easily!

1) Do you wash your hands regularly throughout the day? Numerous studies have concluded that this simple practice, if repeated sufficiently, drastically reduces the chances of contamination and sickness through germs.

2) What do you feed your kids? The pattern of a child’s eating habits are formed by the time he or she is two-years-old. Providing the right nutrition and encouraging physical activity routinely early in life will prevent many cases of obesity, not only in childhood but into adulthood as well.

3) Are you out in the sun a lot? Even a small amount of exposure to the sun’s rays can burn your skin, and that can lead to painful blisters and later in life, skin cancer. Take the trouble to slather on plenty of sunscreen lotion. It works.

4) Do you have the shots you need? Vaccines are so easy to get now – you don’t even have to go to a doctor’s office for them. Many of the chain pharmacies can set you up with immunizations for numerous conditions. For example, this is what Walgreens offers.

5) Are you getting screened? You should be! Many types of cancer can be prevented by screening tests such as colonoscopies and mammograms. The EBT Scan at Virtual Imaging can detect heart disease as well as colon and lung cancer. The scan is read by a board certified radiologist.