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Adulting Health Healthy Living

Mom, Never Miss These 8 Check-ups and Health Screenings

Moms are superheroes. They always put their families first and manage to do it all while looking great. But even superheroes need check-ups and health screenings to stay in top shape. Here are the check-ups that every mom should never miss!

Check-ups and Health Screenings You Shouldn’t Miss

Annual Physical

Even if you’re feeling good, you must get a check-up with your doctor every year. Your doctor will do a physical exam, including assessing your heart rate and breathing. They may also do blood work and other tests to detect any issues before they become serious problems.

Mammogram

For women over 40, getting an annual mammogram is not just recommended – it’s essential! This screening test can catch signs of breast cancer early on so that you can take action quickly if necessary. Don’t wait too long between appointments – put it on your calendar now!

Dental Check-Ups

Make sure you see the dentist twice a year for regular check-ups and cleanings. Your dentist will assess your teeth, gums, and mouth to ensure there aren’t any underlying issues that need attention. A local dentist can also do a professional teeth whitening when you want to dazzle the room.

Eye Exam

Visiting an optometrist for an eye exam is essential for moms who spend long hours on the computer or behind the wheel. These exams can pick up signs of macular degeneration, glaucoma, cataracts, and other vision-threatening issues. They can also detect potential trouble before you even experience symptoms!

Skin Cancer Screening

If you have fair skin or spend lots of time outside in direct sunlight, getting a skin cancer screening from a dermatologist is essential. Early detection of skin cancer can make all the difference in getting successful treatment.

Mental Health Check-Ups

Being a mom is one of the most rewarding yet challenging jobs. Make sure you’re taking time to check in with yourself and ensure you’re feeling your best. Consider reaching out to a mental health professional for ongoing support and guidance.

Colon Cancer Screening

Getting a colon cancer screening is an essential part of preventive health care. Most doctors recommend these screenings for women starting at the age of 45, but some may recommend them sooner if you have a family history of the disease.

Vaccinations

Vaccines are one of the best ways to protect yourself and your family against contagious illnesses. Make sure you’re up to date on all recommended vaccinations, including flu shots and the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine.

Recap: Check-ups and Health Screenings

Moms are busy, but that doesn’t mean they should neglect their check-ups! Make sure you prioritize your health and get to your appointments on time – your family will thank you. Schedule any necessary check-ups today, and you’ll be less likely to forget about them later. It may take some juggling, but ensuring your health is taken care of should always be a top priority! And when you go in for those check-ups, remember that even superheroes need to take care of themselves. Go get ‘em, mamas!

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Healthy Living Parenting

5 Easy Tips for Helping Your Child Overcome Dental Anxiety

‍Unfortunately, dental visits usually aren’t at the top of most kids’ wish lists. However, children must establish healthy dental habits early on in life. According to the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD), children should see a pediatric dentist by their first birthday and regularly throughout their life. Getting their child comfortable with the dentist can be challenging for some parents. Children are notorious for having irrational fears and phobias that may make them reluctant to return to the dentist’s office anytime soon. Here is how you can help your child overcome dental anxiety and get through appointments.

How to Help Your Child Overcome Dental Anxiety

Schedule regular check-ups

It is essential to make regular dental check-ups a part of your child’s schedule. Doing so will help the child get used to the dentist and the dental office environment. It will also allow the dentist to evaluate your child’s oral health and provide necessary treatment if required. This visit is about creating a healthy oral hygiene foundation for life. It will include looking at how a child’s gums fit over their teeth, inspecting the inside of their mouth for signs of bacteria, and checking for tooth decay.

Find an understanding dentist to help your child overcome dental anxiety

When you first start going to the dentist with your child, make sure to find a dentist such as Martinson family and cosmetic dentistry who is understanding, patient, and experienced in dealing with young patients. The last thing you want is a dental professional who is not sensitive to your child’s needs. Ask friends and family members for recommendations, or visit your local dental society to find a pediatric dentist in your area.

Answer as many questions as you can

Try to answer as many questions as you can. Your child may be anxious or unsure about what they are experiencing, and they might feel too embarrassed to speak up and ask. Some questions you may want to prepare for include:

  1. What is that smell?
  2. If your child asks you a question, answer it to the best of your ability.
  3. What is the dentist doing?
  4. If treatment will hurt, how can the dentist make it stop?
  5. What is that noise?
  6. If you don’t know the answer, let them know you will find out.

Go at their pace

If your child is feeling anxious, try to go at their pace. Let them sit in the dental chair as long as they need to. Let them have some breaks if they need them. If your child is having a tough time, let the dentist know. Let them know that your child may need more time and breaks. If your child is still young and has trouble sitting still, try to take them to the dentist while they’re sleeping. It is an excellent option for very young children who are too young to sit in a chair or be awake when going to the dentist.

Prepare before the appointment

At the same time, try to prepare before the appointment. If your child is going to be having any treatment, make sure they are comfortable and feel OK. Bring them any toys or other things that they might find comforting. If your child is getting teeth removed or a filling, let them know before the appointment that the dentist will be doing something that might be uncomfortable. It can help them manage their fears and anxieties.

Recap: Overcome Dental Anxiety

Going to the dentist for the first time can be scary for young children. Relaxation can help children feel more comfortable in the dentist’s office. If your child is nervous about visiting the dentist, try relaxation methods like deep breathing, meditation, or visualization. It is essential to encourage children to visit the dentist as often as possible to get their teeth cleaned and to prevent tooth decay and other oral diseases. A visit to the dentist is the best way to maintain oral health.

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Health Healthy Living

4 Simple Ways to Protect Your Health

It can be hard to protect your health in the modern world. Despite having such great access to healthy things, it seems people are less healthy than they have ever been before. Unfortunately, bust schedules and fast food are not the best combinations, and convenience becomes a staple when it should be a treat. However, you can remedy the situation. All you need is a little motivation to get started. Anyway, let’s discover some simple ways you can protect your health.

How to Protect Your Health

Drink More Water

Yes, drinking more water is a great way to make you healthier, especially if you drink a lot of soda and coffee. If you drink coffee beyond 3 pm at the latest, you may feel more fatigued in the long run. Swap your afternoon coffee for water, and in a few days, you will feel better. The body needs water to function, and almost three-quarters of all Americans are dehydrated. This problem can manifest in many forms, including headaches, fatigue, and kidney disease. Drinking more water can make you look younger and fresher by plumping up dehydrated skin. It could make you feel more confident in the long run. The good news is that water is easy to add to your diet even if you are extremely busy.

Home Cooking

Okay, this may not sound so simple, but it can be. You could start cooking in bulk and freeze some to eat during the week when you are busy. It can save a lot of time and money. A lot of food freezes well, so look and discover what you can make. When it comes to cooking, you can experiment and try new things. It makes the whole process much more fun and may entice you to do it more often. If you can get the kids involved too, all the better.

Meditation

Meditation is a fantastic stress buster, and stress is a modern plague affecting millions of people. Stress can cause illnesses, including heart disease and diabetes. So, if you can find ways to reduce it, you have to try. Meditation is simple and free to do. All you have to do is find a peaceful space where you will not be disturbed. Then close your eyes and breathe deeply. Concentrate on your breathing and try to let everything else fade away. Don’t fight the thoughts that emerge, but let them float away naturally.

Seek Help to Protect Your Health

If you have any health problems, no matter how minor they seem, you should get medical help. Leaving a small issue can lead to a huge issue so nip it in the bud. Something like a skin complaint might need a simple eczema treatment, don’t cover it up and try to forget about hoping it will go away. Remember, you can’t do this. The more you try and forget that there is an issue, the more it will play on your mind.

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Adulting Health Healthy Living Parenting

5 Reasons Why Yoga Is A Great Exercise For New Moms

Yoga is a holistic practice that strengthens your muscles, calms your mind, and enhances your flexibility. The best thing about it is that you can try various poses according to your abilities and expectations. You can work out anytime and anywhere without any equipment or specialized knowledge. A basic understanding of yoga poses enables you to pick the ideal ones and perform them safely. You can even rely on online resources to get started with the holistic wellness journey. There are many benefits of yoga for new moms, and many prefer it for their go-to workout schedule.

Benefits of Yoga for New Moms

Boost energy levels 

The postpartum phase is hard on your body and even hits your energy levels. Your body is exhausted after bearing the rigors of childbirth. Moreover, the sleepless nights with the baby saps your energy levels further. Yoga includes breathing exercises that calm your mind and restore your energy naturally. The best part is that you can start sooner than later because these are not vigorous. 

Overcome postpartum blues 

Postpartum blues are something most new moms have to deal with. You may miss out on the joys of motherhood due to the anxiety and sadness caused by hormonal disruptions and fatigue after childbirth. Fortunately, yoga is an ideal solution to overcome the hormonal blues as a new mommy and be your old self. Deep breathing relaxes your mind, and muscle-toning poses restore your weight and confidence. 

Yoga for new moms is a complete workout for the whole body 

Yoga is a complete workout for the whole body, making it ideal to get back into shape after pregnancy. You can explore various poses for weight loss, muscle toning, and skin tightening. Some forms are versatile enough to serve multiple benefits. For example, the downward dog pose realigns the spine and strengthens arms and shoulders. It helps regain back stability and provides better support for breastfeeding. Yoga also promotes strength and stamina. 

Improve bladder control 

New moms often encounter bladder problems because pelvic muscles lose their strength due to pregnancy and childbirth. You may even experience incontinence in the long run, which can be embarrassing for any woman. But yoga can strengthen your pelvic muscles and give you better control over your life. You need not worry about leaking in public because of incontinence. 

Fit easily into your routine 

Caring for a new baby is a full-time job, and it can get even more daunting if you have other kids to manage. Fitting a workout routine into your busy schedule may be next to impossible. But things are less complicated with yoga as you can do it anytime, even when the little one is awake. You need not drive to the gym, step out for a walk, or set up a home gym for your daily workouts. Relax and enjoy a few yoga poses when you can! 

Recap: Yoga for New Moms

Resuming normalcy in your routine and energy levels after childbirth is not an easy task. But you can pick yoga as your savior because it serves as a holistic solution for your physical, mental, and emotional needs. 

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Dental Health Healthy Living How To

3 Easy Ways to Choose the Right Dentist

Choosing a dentist is a big deal – because you’ll need to be comfortable with them looking inside your mouth, performing surgery, and giving advice and information that isn’t always pleasant. Most people choose a dentist based on location – the closest one is fine. However, if you want a dentist you like, take the time to find the right one. Here are a couple of tips to help you choose the right dentist. 

How to Choose the Right Dentist

Opening hours

A dentist with extended opening hours is essential if you work late into the evening or can’t take time off during the day. Make sure that the opening hours are convenient for you so you’re less likely to skip regular dental appointments.

Emergency 

Ideally, your dental surgery will have emergency options. That way, in the face of a dental emergency, you can visit where you are familiar.

Clean

A distinct disinfectant smell is associated with hospitals, and it should be that familiar smell you find in your dental practice. When you visit the dentist, all areas should be clean, including the following:

  • waiting room
  • reception desk
  • rooms that the dentist sees you in

The staff should also practice wearing gloves, masks, and clean uniforms. They should also sanitize the tools.

Recommendations to Choose the Right Dentist

Thanks to the internet, we can check how other people feel about the dental practice that we are considering. Bad reviews are usually in-depth, and you might find that the content isn’t enough to put you off. Read a few pages of honest reviews to get a feel for the dental practice.

Specialization 

If you have a young family, you should look for a dental practice specializing in children and family dental. For those with special needs, you can find dentists that will be perfect for you.

Think about the care that you and your family need so that the care you get meets expectations. 

Preventative 

With dental care, prevention is by far the best option. It’s better than watching and waiting for a cavity, gum disease, and more to develop. A dentist that provides preventive advice and support is a beneficial tool in dental health.

Cost 

Depending on your situation with insurance – you must discuss your financial needs with your dentist. Ask them for the price list for basic procedures and what type of payment options you have. It can help you avoid the issue of having higher-than-expected fees. 

How to Choose the Right Dentist

When you go to the dentist when you should, you set a positive example for your kids. Here are some extra dental tips for your little ones: Why It Is Essential To Take Care Of Your Child’s Oral Health

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Food Health Healthy Living

What Are The 3 Best Secrets to Healthier Cooking?

With more people learning to prioritize their health better, you must be more conscious of what you eat. Statistics show that more than 80% of people have diets low in vegetables, fruits, and dairy. When you have a busy lifestyle, the idea of quick and easy pre-made meals sounds appealing and convenient. However, most of those meals tend to be processed and unhealthy. Instead, you can learn about healthier cooking to help you focus on taking care of yourself while still enjoying your food.

One of the best ways to make a conscious effort to eat healthier is by cooking your meals from scratch using natural and organic ingredients. Although it might take up more of your time, it would be worth it. Making healthy and delicious meals can be easy, and these tips can help you get started.

The Best Secrets to Healthier Cooking

1. Incorporate more fruits and vegetables into your diet

Most people fail to include fruits and vegetables in their diets, which are essential to their well-being. Fruits and vegetables have anti-inflammation properties and are rich in antioxidants, vitamins, and fiber. Ideally, you must eat about 2-3 cups of fruits and vegetables daily. 

If you don’t like eating raw fruits and vegetables, you can get creative with how to incorporate them into your meals. There are tons of delicious smoothie recipes and salads you can make. You can also use vegetables as replacements, especially if you want to reduce your carb intake. 

2. Explore vegetarian options

Vegetarian meals are healthy and delicious, and it’s easy to include them in your diet and meal plans. A vegetarian diet, whether whole or partial, has many benefits. Apart from making you healthy, it’s also a more sustainable option, especially if you’re concerned about animal treatment and environmental conservatism.

You may not always get the necessary nutrients from a vegetarian diet, especially proteins. Fortunately, there are several high-protein vegetarian meals that you can try out. Other vegetarian-friendly foods can also provide you with additional nutrients.

3. Enjoy treats

Just because you’re eating healthy doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a treat or two. So, if you’re wondering if you can have some dessert, you should go for it! Depriving yourself of treats will only cause you to binge and would prevent you from enjoying your meals. 

However, it would be best if you didn’t go overboard. Don’t eat desserts simply because you feel you must or because it just happens to be around you. Instead, you can use it as an occasional treat. Even then, remember that moderation is essential. If you have a sweet tooth and are trying to reduce your sweet intake, you can start by eating dark chocolate. There’s no problem indulging in dessert; you only have to be mindful of your portions.

Recap: The Best Secrets to Healthier Cooking

Cooking healthier has many benefits, including helping you look and feel great. It’s also a great way to get back into cooking and enjoy the process of creating dishes from scratch. If you have a busy lifestyle, there are many quick and easy recipes you can easily fit into your schedule.

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Health Healthy Living

4 Proven Ways To Alleviate Back Pain for Good

Back pain can have many contributing factors, strike people of any age, and occur at any time. Extreme back pain can limit a person’s movement and interfere with their daily activities. There’s nothing worse than being in agony and unable to move around, so use these strategies to alleviate back pain and get back on your feet and maybe even avoid this problem in the future.

How to Alleviate Back Pain at Home

Reduce your weight

You’re more prone to severe back pain when your joints and muscles are overworked from trying to support excess weight. You might have an injury, and as a result, you experience intermittent back pain from time to time. Losing weight will help lessen the discomfort and reduce the likelihood that you experience reoccurring pain. Eat a healthy diet and reduce the number of portions so you can lose weight and alleviate the discomfort. Maintaining a healthy weight will also be beneficial for your overall health.

See a specialist

When you feel that twinge of back pain for the first time, one of the first things you should do is make an appointment with a qualified professional. Back pain can improve with physiotherapy by learning daily exercises to strengthen the muscles and joints of the back. You might also contact a Chiropractor who can identify the source of your discomfort and suggest treatments to eliminate it once and for all. A chiropractor will also help fix any issues you have with your posture.

Exercising 

In addition to helping strengthen your muscles and joints, physical activity can help you lose weight. If you’ve injured your back, it’s essential to take it easy and gradually increase the intensity of your workouts. If you already have an injury, consulting a doctor for advice on safely exercising could be beneficial.

Sit up straighter

Last but not least, slouching when sitting is one of the most common factors contributing to back pain. At work, it might be all too tempting to slouch over your desk. However, this posture does more harm to your back than you might realize.

You can help reduce your back discomfort and keep it from returning if you learn to sit up straight. If you find yourself slouching at your desk, you can buy back support to fit onto your desk chair, encouraging you to sit straighter.

Recap: Alleviate Back Pain

These treatments can help with the long-term management of back pain. You can implement them right away to maximize their effectiveness and reduce the likelihood of reoccurring back pain. Check out these short-term treatments so you can feel better very soon.

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Health Healthy Living

7 Cancer Causing Things You Should Avoid to Improve Your Health

Cancer is a scary disease that can profoundly impact our lives. While there are many things beyond our control regarding cancer, there are also some lifestyle choices we can make that may help lower our risk of developing the disease. We will explore cancer-causing things you should avoid to keep your risk as low as possible.

Cancer Causing Things You Should Avoid

1. Smoking

It’s no secret that smoking cigarettes is harmful to your health, but did you know that it’s also one of the leading causes of cancer? Cigarette smoke contains more than 7,000 chemicals, many of which are known to cause cancer. If you smoke, quitting is the best thing you can do for your health. If you don’t smoke, avoid starting.

2. Excessive Sun Exposure

Too much sun exposure can damage the DNA in our skin cells, which can lead to skin cancer. Protect your skin by wearing sunscreen and staying in the shade when possible, especially during peak hours of sunlight (between 10 am and 4 pm).

3. Alcohol Can Be Cancer Causing

Drinking alcohol has been linked to an increased risk of several types of cancer, including breast cancer. If you choose to drink alcohol, do so in moderation. The American Cancer Society recommends limiting yourself to no more than one alcoholic beverage per day for women and two for men.

4. Processed Meats

Processed meats have gotten treated to preserve or enhance their flavors by smoking, curing, or adding salt or other chemicals. These meats include hot dogs, bacon, and deli meats. They have been linked to an increased risk of stomach and colorectal cancer. If you eat processed meats, do so in moderation.

5. Unhealthy Weight

Being overweight or obese is a risk factor for several types of cancer, including breast, endometrial, and colon cancer. Maintaining a healthy weight is one of the best things you can do for your overall health to lower your cancer risk.

6. Poor Diet

Eating a diet high in processed foods, red meat, and refined carbohydrates increases cancer risk. To lower your risk, focus on eating plenty of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. These foods are full of nutrients that can help keep your body healthy and lower your cancer risk.

7. Sedentary lifestyle

A sedentary lifestyle involves little or no physical activity. It can increase your risk of developing cancer. To lower your risk, aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise most days of the week. Going for a walk or biking and swimming are all great forms of exercise.

8. Chemicals at work

Some jobs expose workers to chemicals like AFFF firefighting foam, increasing their cancer risk. These include occupations such as painters, drywall hangers, and construction workers. If you have a job that exposes you to harmful chemicals, take precautions to protect yourself, such as wearing the proper safety gear.

Recap – Cancer Causing Things to Avoid

Making healthy choices can help lower your risk of developing cancer. While there is no guaranteed way to prevent cancer, these lifestyle changes may help. Talk to your doctor about any concerns about your cancer risk. They can help you make decisions about how to protect your health.

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Health Healthy Living

4 Helpful Tips for Addressing Long-Standing Health Issues

If you’ve been dealing with long-standing health issues and want to put them behind you, it’s essential to approach those changes appropriately. Many people have health issues or non-urgent matters that they put off and ignore for as long as possible. But that’s usually not the best course of action, and you can address long-standing health issues.

Tips for Addressing Long-Standing Health Issues

1. Consider the Benefits of Taking Action

First, it’s essential to be clear about why you want to take action and what benefits you hope to accomplish. When you take action, you’ll be able to embrace the benefits of no longer having a health issue hanging over you or causing any frustrations or problems. Consider taking action to address those issues if you want to feel free.

2. Talk to Your Doctor

It’s a good idea to start this whole process by talking to your doctor. They may or may not be aware of the symptoms and issues you’ve been experiencing. Either way, they’ll be able to get to the bottom of it and find treatments and options to ensure you can put those health issues behind you. You certainly don’t need to go through this whole process alone.

3. Make Some Lifestyle Changes to Handle Long-Standing Health Issues

It might also be necessary to make some changes to your lifestyle if you want to experience those health benefits. The right lifestyle changes will make it easier for you to take things in a positive direction, whether that means drinking less alcohol, being more active, or changing your diet. Things like giving up smoking are always going to be beneficial. 

4. See Your Dentist

Regularly seeing your dentist is essential. One of the main reasons why many people procrastinate on visits to the dentist is because they want to avoid treatments. Lots of people have a fear of the dentist, but that needn’t be the case. Their interventions can change your life for the better. For example, all-on-5 dental implants that replace damaged and broken teeth will relieve pain and ensure eating is never a problem.

5. Keep Track of Your Progress

When you progress with your health, it always motivates you and helps you to feel a lot more optimistic about a situation. So start paying more attention to those things. Look for ways to track your health and see that progress. You’ll experience less temptation to give up or slip back into your bad old habits.

As you can see, there’s no shortage of different ways to get your health matters under control and put yourself in a better position moving forward. Each of the tips and ideas outlined above will serve you well and help you make the changes and progress the way you want to.

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Health Healthy Living

Here are 4 Ways To Get Back To Enjoying Regular Health Checkups

It’s very easy to ignore your health if you’re not experiencing an issue. For instance, it’s only when we really begin to realize that we’ve been drinking too much soda and ignoring our flossing when we encounter tooth pain. Does this mean the issue that grows provides a vindictive point and a ‘serves you right’? Not at all. After all, our bodies are fragile, and difficulties can happen. Getting back to enjoying regular health checkups can help you sooner, promoting your overall health.

You don’t have to live the most perfect discipline of running every day and never having a glass of wine in order to live a full and healthy life. However, as much as possible it’s good to focus on the smaller measures that matter; like limiting our alcohol intake, exercising as much as possible, eating well, drinking enough water, and avoiding problems like spending too long in the sun without adequate protection.

However, it’s also important to note that going for health checkups is an essential part of this. It might be that you’ve been putting these off for some time. In this post, we’ll share some reminders and strategies for coming back to the appointments you need.

Enjoying Regular Health Checkups

Ask Your Professional About A Specific Treatment 

It can be healthy to head to your specialist for a particular treatment that you need and then have a standardized checkup as part of that. Talking to your dentist about invisalign can help you secure a teeth-straightening strategy for the future. It’s also good, as you age, to ask about fillings and crowns you may need, or to find the number for an emergency dentist should an issue rear its head without expectation.

Schedule Them Regularly

If you have a habit of not visiting your dentist or another essential professional for years, taking out the difficulty of memory can make a big difference. Scheduling a similar appointment every few months and set it in your smartphone calendar with a reminder two weeks before the event can make a big difference.

Schedule An Annual Checkup

Once you reach the age of forty or beyond it can be healthy to schedule an annual checkup with your health professional. This way, you can make sure that every part of your health is being cared for appropriately, and that issues can be identified ahead of time. If you act on the advice of your medical professional, this time next week your perspective and outlook may be much-improved.

Your Own Regular Health Checkups

Sure, you may or may not have any medical experience yourself, but it can be worthwhile to make your own health checkups as you know your body like no one else. Keep this limited of course, and seek additional advice if you need it. Your own health checkups include checking for cancerous lumps in breasts, or, if you’re male, in your testicles (remember that men can have breast cancer too). On top of that, keep an eye on your skin and its approximate condition, a watchful eye over your sleep, and make sure to consider how healthy your digestive process is, especially if certain foods affect it negatively. This will help you better identify if something is wrong and why.

With this advice, you’re sure to get back to enjoying regular health checkups in the best manner.