Men's Health 365 -- Taking control of your health.
As we say goodbye to Men’s Health Awareness Month — The Answer Inc would like to encourage men everywhere to take control of their health.
In the spirit of Men’s Health Awareness Month… one of our latest World Wide Web searches for “News You Can Use” brought us to a list of recommendation from The National Institutes of Health and the National Library of Medicine in the United States — for males aged 18–39 years (8), 40–64 years (9), and 65 years and older (10), which can readily be adapted for males with IDD and used for health encounters with the purpose of:
• Screening for possible diseases and disorders
• Assessing the risk for future medical problems
• Helping develop a healthy lifestyle
• Updating vaccinations and
• Maintain a good relationship with the physician
The article goes on to remind us that many health problems are silent, and the person may not know, for example, if he has high blood pressure unless it is measured or the consequences of high blood pressure become apparent. The following health screening is therefore recommended for males with IDD:
• Blood pressure screening on a yearly basis for adults over 18 years of age
• Cholesterol/lipid/glucose screening and heart disease prevention yearly from age 35 years
• Dental exam every year for an exam and cleaning
• Vision and hearing exam yearly
• Immunizations: after age 19 years, a tetanus–diphtheria and acellular pertussis (Tdap) vaccine once as part of tetanus–diphtheria vaccines and tetanus–diphtheria booster every 10 years. HPV vaccine should be considered. Shingles or herpes zoster vaccination once after age 60 years and also pneumococcal vaccine. The flu vaccine every year.
• Infectious disease screening: depending upon lifestyle and risk behavior screening for infections such as syphilis, chlamydia, and HIV, as well as other infections.
Beyond the recommended screenings… the article also took a closer look at Male Health and Intellectual Disabilities as well as General Health -- all of which fits our criteria for “News You Can Use” and we encourage men everywhere to work these recommendations in to your strategy for taking control of your health.
