Live Healthy Live Well

It seems that every week or month there is a different health observance being mentioned on the news, social media, or highlighted with a walk or run. These health observances encourage us to become aware of preventable health problems and diseases through early detection and treatment. Here are a few basic health recommendations:

• Schedule regular checkups – this includes visits to your family physician, dentist, optometrist, or gynecologist (for our women readers).
• Have regular and recommended screenings – this includes blood pressure and cholesterol (that you may be able to get at a Health Fair), colorectal cancer screenings (over age 50), skin cancer screenings (for those with a family history or blonde/red heads with numerous burns), and hearing tests. For a list of recommended tests depending on your sex and age go to the Department of Health and Human Services Health Finder site at http://www.healthfinder.gov/myhealthfinder/.
• Don’t forget the basics – wear your seat belt, bike helmet, quit smoking, and don’t text and drive.

How do I find a credible source?

There are a number of websites with both Women’s and Men’s Health resources from trusted, research-based sites. My colleagues at our local library recommend the following tips to ensure you are reading the most recent information from an unbiased source. Ask yourself these questions: Who wrote the article? What are their credentials? How current is the information? Look to sites that end with .gov or .edu. If you can’t find what you are looking for go to your local library; they really are experts at finding information. Some of the sources for Men’s and Women’s health information include:

The CDC or Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – Men’s and Women’s Health
http://www.cdc.gov/men/
http://www.cdc.gov/women/

National Institutes of Health – Men’s Health and Women’s Health http://health.nih.gov/category/MensHealth
http://health.nih.gov/category/WomensHealth

The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center – https://patienteducation.osumc.edu/Pages/Home.aspx.

Sources:

Women’s Health Project, http://womenshealth.gov/.

Getting All The Facts: Determining Credibility of Medical Information, L. Hartley, hartlele@oplin.org.

WebMD, http://women.webmd.com/tc/early-disease-detection-overview.

Others listed above.

Author: Lisa Barlage, Extension Educator, Family and Consumer Sciences, Ohio State University Extension, Ross County, barlage.7@osu.edu.

Reviewer: Cynthia R. Shuster, Extension Educator, Family & Consumer Sciences, Perry County, Buckeye Hills EERA.