by Ayesha Siddiqa Banu, OT Nurse; and Dr. Ganesan Keerthivasan, MD, PhD

As we grow older the possibilities of having the age related disease are high. Even though, we can treat effectively and control those diseases for a long time and we can lead a normal life with expected life span, it is always better to prevent those diseases. The quality of life is much better and the pains are reduced and that is why prevention is better than cure!

However diseases due to environmental condition, like Respiratory diseases due to pollution and smoking, Heart diseases due to improper diet, stress and lack of exercise, cancers mainly due to exposure to toxic and cancer inducing substances, pathogens and chemical found in packaged foods and almost all personal care products and house hold cleaners, are all certainly preventable.

It will be a good practice to watch for the pollution levels in national pollution tracking websites like https://www.iqair.com/india and stay indoors if the pollution level is high. If going outside when pollution is high, please wear a  surgical mask and be back home as soon as possible. It might be useful to have an air purifier installed at home if the pollution is uncontrolled and present most of the days in a year. By breathing better air, we can prevent respiratory diseases like Asthma and COPD, cancers and also heart diseases. If you are a chronic smoker or passive smoker, please try reducing the smoking frequency and have a plan to stop it completely.

Alcohol consumption is another major factor that affects health. When we grow older, our balance goes down and alcohol can significantly increase instability and result in falls, which almost always results in bad fractures in old age. Alcohol also causes cognitive disorders and dementia in the long run. So preventing that is going to help improve our health.

We can be disease free by following regular exercise, balanced and healthy diet, healthy life style  and most important is emotional wellbeing and timely health check-ups. Health4Silvers does Health Check-ups regularly for their members and it also provides customized diet plan, keeps track on their medications, and give health education to all of its members. Prevention is Better than Cure!! Enrol as a member sooner and take care of your health early on.