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Whether you’re anxious, busy, or just plain obstinate, following the recommended routine of going to the doctor every year for an annual physical exam is harder than it sounds. Despite the myriad of excuses we’re all guilty of making, the fact remains that yearly physical exams are exceptionally important.

How necessary can they possibly be, you ask? The truth is, even individuals in great health should make an annual doctor’s visit to get a more comprehensive view of their personal health, catch minor issues before they become major problems, and create an open line of communication with their doctor to share information and discuss concerns.

Why You Shouldn’t Skip Your Yearly Checkup

Aside from the obvious aspects of annual exams that make them vital—updating your immunizations, for example—there are numerous compelling reasons to adhere to a yearly schedule. Many of these motivating factors boil down to one simple fact—preventative care is better than emergency treatment.

Most people go to the doctor for one reason—because they’re sick. The frequency with which this occurs varies from person to person, but it leads to a single result. Doctors end up fighting fires rather than preventing them from starting in the first place.

Annual exams give your doctor an opportunity to assess your health on a regular basis and identify problems before they manifest themselves via symptoms. This effectively nips issues in the bud and prevents them from developing into more serious illnesses.

While there are nearly limitless examples that could be employed here, the most common and obvious include issues related to blood glucose levels, blood pressure, body mass index (BMI), and cholesterol. Evaluating these aspects of your wellbeing can help your doctor ascertain your overall health, specific areas of concern, and what changes should be implemented if necessary.

Identifying current and future issues early is one of the most important benefits of annual physical exams, but the advantages do not stop there. By maintaining a yearly schedule, you give your doctors—and yourself—the ability to observe your health in the context of several years. In other words, you can see how your body and wellbeing change over the years.

From vaccine records to shifts in your BMI, observing the long-term story of your health can establish context and alert your doctor to any concerning changes that may occur. A single exam is helpful and can be insightful, but the accumulation of years of annual exams provides a much deeper understanding of you and your health.

Without consistent physical exams, minor concerns can develop and turn into significant health problems. By visiting your doctor on an annual basis, you give them the chance to catch issues early, address them, and stop them from taking a turn for the worse.

Why Doctors Are Backing Away from Prescribing Daily Low-Dose Aspirin

For years, doctors have encouraged aging Americans to take a daily low dose (typically 81 mg) of aspirin every day to help think the blood and reduce their risk of heart attacks and strokes. Low doses of aspirin are prescribed to knock out blood platelets and thin the blood, reducing the risk of forming blood clots, which can cause heart attacks, stroke, and other complications.

However, two leading cardiology groups – the American College of Cardiology (ACC) and the American Heart Association (AHA) – recently recanted that advice, saying that in most situations an aspirin a day is not necessary and may even do more harm than good.

Why the Change of Heart?  

According to recent research, for low-risk adults who have no history of heart attack, stroke, or cardiac surgeries, taking low-dose aspirin daily may cause bleeding, which is now considered a greater risk than benefit.

A 2010 St. George’s, University of London study of more than 100,000 people determined that an aspirin a day reduced heart risks by 10 percent, but that there was a 30 percent increase in life-threatening or debilitating internal bleeding. Also, they found that of those individuals who took a daily aspirin for around 6 years, 1 in 120 avoided a potential cardiovascular event, but 1 in 73 experienced potentially significant bleeding.

Even in low doses, aspirin can eat away the stomach lining, which causes bleeding and ulcers internally. Because low dose aspirin also slows down blood clotting, it also means more blood loss when external cuts and other injuries occur.

However, both the AHA and ACC continued to emphasize that daily aspirin is important for high-risk individuals – particularly those with a medical history of stroke, heart attack, or other cardiac procedures like stents or open-heart surgery. For these high-risk individuals, an aspirin a day may save their lives.

For low-to-average risk individuals, however, maintaining a healthy lifestyle is a much smarter way to protect their heart taking low-dose aspirin. A heart-healthy lifestyle includes the following smart behaviors:

• Not smoking or vaping and avoiding secondhand smoke.
• Eating heart-healthy diets that include plenty of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and lean meats and fish.
• Limiting salt, fried foods, processed foods, sugar, and saturated fats.
• Getting at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week.
• Maintaining a healthy weight.

High Cholesterol and Diabetes

Another reason for the reduced need for daily aspirin is that overall, doctors are doing a better job at treating risk factors such as high cholesterol and diabetes. Keeping arteries clear by controlling cholesterol is an important step to prevent heart disease. While the above healthy behaviors can often help with high cholesterol, sometimes statins – a type of medication designed to reduce cholesterol – may need to be taken for people with low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels of 190 mg/dl or higher. Individuals with Type 2 Diabetes or who are considered to have a high potential for a heart attack or stroke may also need to take statins. In some situations, a low-dose aspirin a day may still be a good idea for people who struggle with controlling blood sugar or cholesterol. This really depends on whether or not their risk for bleeding outweighs the possible benefits of aspirin.

Living in good health may always be referred to as wealth as an individual’s happiness depend on it. Regular treatments and checkups help you maintain good health. The advancement in technology has led to the rise of digital clinics, which have significantly transformed healthcare. Men worldwide can now get treatment for hair loss, sexual health, heart disease, skin issues, and erectile dysfunction all at the comfort of their homes without the hassle and stress of visiting a medical facility. With most men feeling uncomfortable visiting medical facilities for some of these ailments, digital healthcare clinics, therefore, play a significant role for men who may get uncomfortable asking for direct help from a doctor at a hospital. It also enables individuals to detect health issues early, hence seeking medical care before they get complicated. Here are some fantastic benefits of digital healthcare clinics:

Privacy

Conventional medical clinics give doctors a better chance to diagnose a patient in a one-on-one setup. Online clinics offer patients more privacy as some patients may feel embarrassed due to some male-targeted disorders. It eliminates the chances of bumping into people you may know who may know what you are doing in such a hospital. Even though one is still forced to disclose their medical history to their virtual doctor at AkosMD Mobile Clinic, they are kept in a virtual file that is very secure. They can also consult medical doctors or have their health status checked wherever and whenever they wish.

Hassle-free

Digital health clinics offer the convenient right solution to patients at the comfort of their homes. This means a patient doesn’t have to step out of your home to get treated. Their test samples are collected at the doorstep then sent to the hospital for examination. This saves you time and effort as you don’t have to travel for medical treatment at a diagnostic clinic. Your test results and necessary treatment method will then be shared to your email or courier to your address after ascertaining the health issue.

Economical

Most health kits are sold in healthcare pharmacies at discounted prices. And since most treatments are done virtual, there is a low cost of operation as medical practitioners will not be required to rent facilities to see their patients. And with limited contact between doctors and their patients during virtual medical checkups, medical fees are relatively pocket-friendly than in conventional facilities.

Access To Different Specializations

Most online healthcare clinics have several doctors at hand who are experts in varied fields of specializations. This may be beneficial as one may want to inquire about conditions caused by several factors or different reactions to medication. You will also be able to rule out disease from various classifications without necessarily visiting multiple medical facilities.

Seeking medical help from a digital health clinic enables you to adjust as you wish and according to your flexibility. Choosing AkosMD mobile clinic allows you to get accurate results through the easiest process ever. You will also forget about the fear of hospital hygiene, the difficulty of booking appointments with the doctor, and reduce your healthcare expenditure.

Keeping your blood oxygen levels is extremely important, which is probably why people all over the world are deciding to get their own, personal, device that can measure those levels. The device is called a blood oxygen meter, or a pulse oximeter and it can nowadays easily be found and bought almost anywhere. That, however, doesn’t quite mean that you shouldn’t think carefully about where you are purchasing it and which one you are choosing.

Before we get to that, though, let me explain just why this device is important and how it can be useful for everyone. Basically, if your oxygen saturation in the bloodstream is negatively affected, you may start having troubles breathing normally, which can be an indicator of an underlying medical issue that needs to be treated and healed right away. For a long time, this device has been a necessary household object only for those families in which there were people suffering from Asthma, or other types of respiratory and lung diseases.

Yet, it has recently become rather useful for every single household, since the new virus that the world is battling with is known for attacking people’s lungs and causing respiratory issues. So, in order to make sure that COVID-19 isn’t causing lung problems, and in order to address those problems if it is, people have decided to get buy oximeters and have them at hand in case they get infected, or in case they suspect that they have been infected. Now, oxygen saturation has been significant even before COVID-19. It’s just that the spread of the virus has shed some more light on the importance of having a blood oxygen meter at hand.

So, if you are thinking of getting one of these devices, there are a couple of things you should know. First things first, you will need to think thoroughly about which one you are buying, because you want to get the absolutely best value for your money. On top of that, you will also have to learn how to properly use the device, so that you don’t end up doing this the wrong way and thus getting the wrong values whenever you try to measure blood oxygen levels. Fortunately for you, those are the two questions that I am going to be addressing today, so let us get started right away.

How To Choose The Perfect Device

As mentioned previously, the most important thing to do is think carefully about which particular device you are purchasing. There are quite a lot of those on the market and while most of them will function properly, the truth is that you can easily come across some poor-quality products that will not only completely break down after a short while, but also start malfunctioning rather quickly, which can lead to you getting some wrong data on the levels of oxygen in your blood. Since I am pretty certain that you don’t want that to happen, I say you do your best to find the best quality product.

The first thing you can do with the aim of finding the best quality product is this. Talk to the people around you who have already been using pulse oximeters for a while and hear their recommendations regarding the manufacturers you should shop from. Of course, if you know certain medical professionals personally, getting their input on this topic will be extremely useful. Even if you aren’t friends with any medical experts, though, you can always ask the doctors and nurses in your area for recommendations, as I am sure that they will be happy to help.

Apart from talking to the people around you, it would be a good idea for you to do some online research. As you might have concluded it by now, the trick is in finding the perfect manufacturer, meaning that you should check those out in more details with the help of the World Wide Web. The Internet will undeniably be able to provide you with as much information as you need when trying to make this decision. The only thing is, you’ll need to make sure that you are getting the information from reliable and trustworthy sources.

So, for starters, you should check out the websites of certain manufacturers that you have in mind, in order to get a better idea about the quality of the blood oxygen meters that they are selling. Additionally, you should also try and find any comments that previous customers have left online, because those will certainly help you understand how satisfied those customers actually were with the specific products that they bought. If you find that too many people are complaining about particular blood oxygen meters, the best thing to do is avoid buying those. There’s no need to settle when you can easily find some perfect products out there and when you can always learn more about how to make this important choice.

How To Use It Correctly

After spending some time searching for the right device and after finally buying one for you, there will only be one thing left to do. Basically, you will have to learn how to use your pulse oximeter correctly, so that you don’t get any wrong values while trying to determine the levels of oxygen in your blood. Now, the best thing to do would be to contact a medical professional and let them explain step by step how this device should actually be used. If you don’t quite feel like doing that, though, don’t worry. The truth is that these products aren’t that complicated.

First of all, you should remember to warm your hands if they are cold before measuring these levels. Removing nail polish would also be a good idea. It’s also important that you don’t take any measures before getting rested for at least a couple of minutes after walking, or engaging in any kinds of physical activities. Once you are sure that you’ve followed all the rules, just place the device on your index finger and let it work its magic.

You already know many of the things that can have a big impact on your physical health. Experiencing a personal injury will definitely impact your long-term health, as will the food you eat. You probably know that sitting too much is dangerous to your health, while being exposed to germs from others will definitely increase your chances of getting sick.

Those are all important things to think about and pay attention to if you’re trying to take care of your health, but there’s a lot more to consider. There are a lot of things that can affect your physical health that you may not know about!

Stress

You know that stress can affect your mental health, but chronic stress can do much more than that. The most immediate effects of dealing with stress include headaches and upset stomach. You may also experience problems with sleep, which comes with a whole host of additional health problems. Those who experience stress often are more likely to experience high blood pressure and chest pain.

Stress can also lower your immune system, causing you to get sick more often. As your body is flooded with stress hormones that are only supposed to be released rarely when faced with serious threats, organs become chronically inflamed, which means your immune system can’t fight off germs.

Loneliness

Loneliness can cause some serious health problems, especially for older adults. Seniors with poor social relationships are 29 percent more likely to experience heart disease, while those who have experienced heart failure in the past are 68 percent more likely to find themselves in the hospital again in the near future.

For those who are socially isolated, health consequences are even more dire. Seniors are 50 percent more likely to experience dementia when socially isolated from others, and social isolation increases your risk of premature death from any cause. This finding is similar to other things that you already know affect your health, like smoking and inactivity.

Although much of the research has been done on seniors, you aren’t out of the woods if you’re a younger person experiencing loneliness. It can affect your mental health in many ways, ultimately affecting your overall health, and impacting your health as you age.

Exercising Too Much

You know that exercise can affect your health, but you’re probably thinking that the more you exercise, the healthier you will be. That’s definitely not the case. Did you know if you exercise too much you can experience negative health consequences? The obvious possible result of exercising too much is experiencing an injury, but it can affect you in other ways too.

When you exercise too much, certain chemicals are released in the body, depressing the immune system. If you push yourself too hard or you hit the gym a little too often, you could actually find that you get sick more frequently.

Negativity

Your brain is a powerful organ. What happens in your brain can greatly affect your health, and that includes how you see the world. Negative thinking can actually make you sick. Whether you are cynical, you regularly feel hostile and angry, or everything just seems to make you feel sad, negative feelings come with a whole host of possible health problems that include:

• Higher chance of heart disease
• Higher risk of stroke
• Increased risk of type 2 diabetes
• Greater chance of having a disability
• Decreased immune function

The good news is that neural pathways change minute by minute throughout your entire life. Practice seeing the world through rosier lenses and you could greatly impact your physical health for the better.

Your Commute

One of the most surprising things that can have an effect on your physical health is your commute to and from work! Some of what makes commutes so dangerous to your health is the fact that they can create a lot of stress, but that’s not the whole story.

The longer your commute, the more time you spend sitting, which isn’t good for your health, and your commute itself could cause high blood pressure, which can increase your risk of heart disease. Not to mention, when you’re always on the go, you’re more likely to go through the drive thru and eat heavily processed foods that aren’t good for your body either.There are a lot of things that can affect your physical health. By all means, eat better and sit a little less, but you can do even more to preserve your physical health when you follow the guidance on this list.

While blueberries often steal the spotlight when it comes to talking about the benefits of adding berries to your diet, blackberries pack in a powerful punch of nutritional value as well. If you’re a blackberry fan, we’re sharing four reasons you should keep enjoying them! Plus, we’re sharing how to incorporate these delicious berries into your diet, so you can reap all of their amazing health benefits.

The Top 4 Health Benefits of Blackberries

1 Rich Source of Vitamin C

During the winter months, we need to make sure we are armoring our body with exactly what it needs to help keep germs at bay. Blackberries happen to be a great source of vitamin C, making it a great fruit to help keep us healthy all winter long.

2 Great Source of Dietary Fiber

One of the great things about berries is their fiber content, and blackberries are no exception here. Blackberries are a great fiber-rich fruit to add to your diet to help support digestive health, promote regularity, and help keep you full between meals.

3 Rich in Anti-inflammatory Health Benefits

Berries are most well-known for their anti-inflammatory health benefits, and blackberries make a delicious addition to any anti-inflammatory diet. Keep in mind that reducing your total inflammatory load is one of the best preventative steps you can take for your health, as inflammation is at the root of nearly all disease seen today.

4 May Support Brain Health

Similarly to blueberries’ potential brain-boosting benefits, blackberries may also hold some brain health benefits. This all has to do with their antioxidant content, known to help ward off free radicals, which may help reduce brain inflammation, and in turn, support better cognitive function.

How to Enjoy Blackberries

Blackberries are easy to add to your diet. If you like berries in general, then you shouldn’t find it difficult to find ways to enjoy this fruit! Here are some healthy ways to include them in your diet.

• Blend into a smoothie.
• Add to your salads.
• Enjoy with a bowl of oatmeal
• Pair with some nuts and enjoy as a healthy snack.

Green tea has been a popular beverage choice over the last few years. More people are reaching for a mug of green tea or matcha green tea instead of their morning cup of coffee. This is because green tea has been found to offer some promising health benefits, and may make a healthy beverage choice, especially if you avoid adding any extra sugar to your cup. Here are four reasons why you may want to consider sipping on some green tea.

Four Health Benefits of Green Tea

1 Rich in Antioxidants

One of the most talked about health benefits of green tea happens to be the fact that it’s loaded with antioxidants. Antioxidants are essential for keeping free radicals at bay and keeping your inflammation low.

2 May Help Boost the Metabolism

Many people sip on green tea to help support a speedy metabolism. Green tea has been found to increase fat burning, so it might be a great beverage option to assist in weight loss efforts, just be sure to lay low on any added sugar.

3 Green Tea May Support Brain Health

Green tea has been found to help support brain function, and also protect your brain as you age. This is huge when it comes to protecting your brain from degenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s.

4 May Keep Your Immune System Strong

Another potential health benefit of green tea happens to be the fact that it’s rich in catechins that are thought to help fight off bacteria and reduce your risk of infection. These catechins may also help prevent dental health issues related to dental caries. (4) Consider sipping on a mug or two of green tea in place of that third cup of coffee each day.

How to Enjoy Green Tea

Green tea is easy to add to the diet. You can try swapping out your daily cup of coffee for a mug of green tea, or just add a mug to your daily routine for an added afternoon energy boost.

You can also make a green tea smoothie, by using chilled green tea as your beverage base and add in things like banana, ginger, and turmeric for a powerful anti-inflammatory beverage option.

When it comes to drinking alcohol, the consensus has long been that if consumed at a moderate amount, one can live a long healthy life. This is evident in that one of the hottest trends in the Mediterranean diet which encourages a daily glass of wine with lunch and dinner. Other ideas supporting this are scientific studies that suggest up to four drinks for a man and up to two drinks for a woman per can be helpful with heart health. It has previously been believed to reduce the incidence of cardiovascular disease, strokes, and high blood pressure.

About the Study

In the April 14th, 2018 version of The Lancet, researchers published the startling findings of an internationally conducted study with almost 600,000 participants. Factors such as age, gender, history of diabetes, history of cardiovascular health, whether the individual was a smoker or not, and more were taken into account. Individuals also had to check in one year after their baseline was recorded.

They concluded if individuals drink more than one drink a day, they were more likely to die sooner than a similarly situated person who drank less. This certainly contrasts with recommendations set in the U.S., which can be twice this threshold, and also for much of Europe where guidelines are often 50 percent higher than this study’s standards.

The Specifics

To arrive at their results, the team’s study members recorded over 40,000 deaths among the participants and cross-referenced this with information that the participants self-reported concerning their drinking habits. The specific findings are as follows:To arrive at their results, the team’s study members recorded over 40,000 deaths among the participants and cross-referenced this with information that the participants self-reported concerning their drinking habits. The specific findings are as follows:

Alcohol Consumption per week		Life expectancy reduced by
100 -200 ml		6 Months
200 – 350 ml		1—2 years
More than 350 ml		Up to 5 years

• Those who drink between 100-200 ml of pure alcohol in a weekly period, can be expected to die six months sooner than those who drink less than 100 ml per week, less. (NOTE: 100 ml = 3.381 fluid ounces.) This implies that even one drink a day reduces life expectancy.
• Drinking between 200-350 ml weekly reduces life expectancy by between one to two years.
• Drinking more than 350 ml each week is predictive of a shorter life by up to five years.
• Despite gender or body weight, the study found no correlation between the volume of consumption.
• Any amount of alcohol consumption is related to a higher risk of stroke, coronary disease (excluding heart attack), heart failure, fatal hypertensive disease, and fatal aortic aneurysm.
• Drinking alcohol is related to a decrease the risk of a heart attack.

Conclusion

How ambulatory surgery centers are saving money while providing increased access to procedures. For those seeking medical care, the prospects can be daunting. From expensive procedures to crowded schedules, finding the time and money to receive the care you need can be challenging. The stress of such a situation is only compounded by the fact that it is your health on the line. That’s a big deal.

This is especially true of surgeries, which are invasive and, to most people, frightening. Thankfully, modern medicine and infrastructure are addressing these challenges head-on to provide patients with a higher level of care in a more convenient and cost-effective manner.

Ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) are at the forefront of this trend. These specialized centers focus on bringing high-quality care at a lower price, giving people a compelling alternative to traditional full-service hospitals.

How exactly are ASCs changing the landscape of the surgical treatment world? Read on to find out.

Cost Savings

For those with Medicare, the copayment for surgery at a hospital outpatient department would be significantly higher than that at an ASC. For example, a cataract extraction procedure would see a copayment savings of over $200.

The same holds true for those with private insurance, meaning that patients across the spectrum can experience the cost savings associated with ASCs.

It’s not just patients that benefit from the quick, affordable treatment, either. Over the course of the approximately 22.5 million surgical procedures performed by ASCs each year, Medicare saves over $4 billion. That’s a significant amount of taxpayer dollars.

Private insurance companies will incur lower costs, too, incentivizing them to encourage ASC use. As they save money, those savings will likely be reflected in the costs you, as a patient, see.

Efficiency and Quality

Because ASCs are specialized centers, they can provide a level of care that meets or exceeds the standards set by hospitals while doing so in a more convenient and efficient manner. So, while you will likely see significant cost savings, you will also enjoy benefits more related to the overall surgical experience.

This improved convenience and efficiency allows ASCs to schedule and performs procedures on a quicker timeline, meaning less waiting for you. While this may not be exceptionally important for some elective procedures, it is vital to those who are in need of medically necessary surgery. ASCs can address your needs more quickly and put you on the road to recovery sooner.

ASCs are already an integral part of the healthcare system, and their importance will only continue to grow as the demand for quick, convenient access to critical diagnostic and surgical care increases. With a significant portion of out-patient procedures already being performed by ASCs, there is no doubt that these specialized centers will continue to account for a higher percentage of such procedures.

Both patients and providers benefit from the convenience and cost savings associated with ASCs, making these surgical centers a true win-win in the medical community!