Tools to Determine your Health History and In Home Help
It is well known that we often inherit our eye color, hair color, and even our laugh from someone in our family. This is how we get some resemblance to family members and many siblings are said to look a lot alike. While these family traits are great to recognize as something we are born with, it is also key to realize there is value in knowing our health history when it comes to future disease diagnoses and for learning to prevent possible illnesses as well.
Family history needs to include the first, second and third generation of relatives to get a more descriptive health history. Collecting ages of when illnesses and disease occurred for each affected family member is also helpful. Ethnicity is also important as some diseases are genetic and more common in ethnic groups. Determining if there is a history of chronic disease is also helpful.
The US Surgeon General has printable forms that are useful for collecting family health information. One helpful tool is the “My Family Health Portrait”. This form will help to organize information onto a chart that looks like a family tree. This form can be maintained privately online as well as printed for your own records.
There are some tools to determine your health history available online and in our local County Clerk or Recorder of Deeds offices. Collecting documents such as birth, death and marriage certificates is a great start to gathering family history. Be sure to find information that is as accurate as possible. If you are a senior and would like guidance with the collection of data or transportation to these local branches, it is available through Senior Helpers of Lafayette to any of the following areas: Lafayette, Louisiana. We also provide services in Vermillion, Iberia, St. Landry, St. Martin, Acadia, Jefferson Davis, and St. Mary parishes.. Call (337) 269-5030 for more information about in home help and transportation services available.
While there are tools to determine your health history, one of the most valuable is direct from the mouths of those we love most. The first start with discovering your health history is to write down your own history first. Then check with parents and elderly loved ones to find out any health concerns they may have dealt with as this is the key to our health history. Whenever there is a chance to ask questions, take the time to make a mental and sometimes physical note of possible illnesses in the family history. This conversation can easily be integrated in a family dinner discussion and doesn’t have to take up the entire visit, so it’s win-win for important gathering of information as well as companionship and bonding time with your loved ones.
If you would like to learn more about professional dementia and Alzheimer’s care and the many benefits of caring and consistent in home elderly care, call Senior Helpers to speak to a senior care specialist today (337) 269-5030! Senior Helpers of Lafayette provides a wide range of services including Alzheimer’s and dementia care, companionship, personal assistance, and so much more to all areas of Lafayette, Louisiana. We also provide services in Vermillion, Iberia, St. Landry, St. Martin, Acadia, Jefferson Davis, and St. Mary parishes..