Healthy Living: The Main Factors in Maintaining Health and Well Being

In the history of public health, there have been major turning points that have contributed to overall health and longevity. Surprisingly, the main such advances have not come from new knowledge in the medical treatment of diseases, but from a few insights into prevention of disease. Sanitation practices and inoculations against specific diseases are the two most influential advances in the history of public health. Flushing toilets and the disposal of garbage, including dead bodies have probably saved more lives than all of the advances in medicine combined. Inoculations, for example smallpox vaccinations have virtually wiped out death from diseases that used to practically threaten civilizations. Smallpox, itself, as a particularly good example was eliminated to the point that it only existed in laboratory specimens. It was no longer a disease capable of epidemic threat. Similarly poliomyelitis was virtually eliminated in the United States along with numerous other diseases of various degrees of threat to life.

Unfortunately, disease organisms don't stop mutating and evolving, either, so there are new threats to health that have not yet been prevented by any form of vaccination. We have a welter of sexually transmitted diseases, some highly lethal. We have viruses to which we have no form of immunity or treatment, some of these, also lethal. However, in all of these cases, knowledge of how these diseases are transmitted allows for the prevention methods of specific types of sanitation and specific practices that avoid risk factors for these diseases. In other words, if we know what causes the problem, we can avoid it.

But actual organism caused disease is not the only form of threat to health. Environmental contaminations, reduction in nutrition, personal habits that risk health or invite trauma, and simply unhealthy life styles, most of which are under our personal ability to control have significant impact on our well being. What can we do to improve our chances of living out a full lifespan in as healthy a manner as possible? This is a two part article that addresses this question. This first part is preventing specific risks. The second part will address the generally healthy behaviors that should improve quality of life, and, possibly its length.

The two most easily controlled risk factors that reduce life expectancy come from simple personal habits. The first personal habit? This will come as no surprise to anyone conscious: don't smoke. The list of diseases that smoking invites is truly frightening. Most important on that list, for both men and women, are the cardiac effects. Yes, cancers (lung and others) are increased dramatically by smoking, but the risk of cardiac problems is so much higher overall that the increase in this risk actually kills more people than the cancers, many more. Moreover, the cancers take a long time to develop, lung cancer, for example, takes about 30 years on the average to develop, and, with a history of smoking for an extended period of time, stopping in middle age will have little or no effect on the probability of the cancer. But, and this is a big but, cessation of smoking at any age immediately begins to reduce the risk of myocardial infarctions (heart attacks) and other diseases of heart and respiration. There is no time at which stopping smoking does not reduce the risk of ill health consequences. Straightforward though this may be, it is obviously easier said than done. Smoking is second to only overeating as an unhealthy habit hard to break. There are several aids available that have promise to help anyone determined to quit smoking. Some of these are nicotine replacements and some are prescription drugs that target the addiction. It's the worth the effort and the expense.

The second personal habit? Buckle up. Trauma, accidental injury, particularly from automobiles is, and has been a major cause of death in the United States. How can you reduce this? Wear harnesses when you drive or ride. Yes, airbags are very helpful, but they are not infallible and not all cars have full surround bags, anyway. Whether or not your car is well equipped with airbags, always wearing a harness still increases your chances of avoiding a major injury substantially. It's cheap, it's easy, and it is available on all cars. Use the seat belt/harness system.

The rest of the health behaviors are, or should be, obvious. Children should get the inoculations available. Adult inoculations for such things as flu strains are a little more arguable, but definitely worth getting in some high risk groups. Trust your physician's judgment. It's certainly not infallible, but it's probably better than yours.

In this day's world, there is an entire class of diseases reaching epidemic proportion. Sexually transmitted diseases, ranging from the annoying to the fatal, are epidemic in some parts of the world, endemic in others, and highly threatening in all. Are they preventable? Yes, almost completely by rigorous safety measures, which include the use of latex condoms. Exclusive relationships with testing over at least a six month period can eventually lead to a relaxation of this precaution, but nothing less is safe.

There is also the possibility of being exposed to a variety of diseases through contact with infected people or carriers, particularly in the health care industry, but there are federal rules and guidelines for safe contact. It is, of course, a good idea to follow these guidelines for handling and disposing of biologically hazardous materials and contact with potentially infected people.

This is a very quick once over of how to avoid the most obvious risks for disease or injury. Part two will be a discussion of personal living habits that make a substantial contribution to health and well being on the one hand, or ill health and poor functioning on the other.