The solution to health is not always doctors, some secondary actors can prevent the situation of living … or dead.
When it comes to seeking medical help, men usually have a very narrow vision. We went to the doctors and nobody else. And this leaves behind some essential secondary actors who are not exactly doctors but, even so, can prevent the situation of “alive … or dead.” We are talking from pharmacists and physical therapists to dentists and optometrists; What’s more, even massage therapists play an important role.
According to Dr. Ted Epperly, family medicine counselor for Men`s Health: “All these health professionals have a very important role in our care. They can cover cavities and prescribe contact lenses, but they also observe your general condition and save your life. ” The trick is to know how they can help you in order to get the most out of your skills. Are you ready to put together your own “Dream Team” doctor? Keep reading and remember that, if one of these professionals detects something, you should immediately consult with a specialist to follow up.
Health Detective Dentist
Even if you brush your teeth three times a day and floss as if you had a dentist supervising everything, your mouth may still be hiding a dark secret: mouth cancer. How? What have you never chewed tobacco? It doesn’t matter, you may be at risk of a mode of mouth cancer from Human Papillomavirus (HPV) that is transmitted through oral sex. So open your mouth when you go to your dentist. According to surgeon Kenneth Young: “As part of our regular exam, we look for lesions in the back of the throat, gums, the inside of the cheeks and under the tongue, in order to detect the following:
Tongue fall People who snore frequently suffer from sleep apnea. A situation in which the air inlet is blocked by an obstacle. “Fortunately during dental exams, you have your head tilted back, allowing your dentist to see if your tongue slips back or if the soft part of the palate can collapse overnight.
Weak jaw Dental x-rays can be a window to the general state of your skeleton. Particularly, some studies have linked the mineral density of the lower jaw bone to those of the spine and hip. Dr. Young says: “We can detect in time the loss of minerals in the bones, because patients come to their exams twice a year. And, before you rule out osteoporosis as a disease that attacks the elderly, consider this: one in five men develops the disease, according to a review by the Mayo Clinic, published in 2008.
Bad teeth A high amount of blood sugar does not cause tooth decay, but it can spoil your teeth and, even worse, trigger diabetes. In a 2011 study from Columbia University, scientists were able to correctly diagnose prediabetes in 73 percent of participants by simply looking for a combination of gum problems and the lack of four or more teeth. The reason? An elevated blood sugar level functions as a high octane fuel for mouth bacteria.
Health Detective Massage
According to therapist Anita Benedictis, president of the Association of Therapeutic Massage Therapists in the United States: “Most people believe that we are only dedicated to relieving muscle pain. But we are trained to detect internal or external problems. ” For example:
Suspicious spots Your therapeutic massage therapist can check your body. “We can see more than you could and, for this reason, we are the first line of defense in the detection of melanomas, other suspicious lesions, moles and skin disorders.” A therapeutic massage therapist can replace your dermatologist’s mole check, but many of them are trained to detect problems that you should tell your doctor.
Pharmaceutical Health Detective
The guy in the pharmacy can have an entire arsenal to help clients diagnose and prevent disease. According to Norman Tomaka, a clinical counselor in Florida: “Pharmacists try to make preventive care more convenient and accessible to everyone.”
High blood pressure Some certified pharmacists can measure your blood pressure, blood sugar and testosterone level with a saliva or blood sample, check prostate function and cholesterol level. All this, according to the Pharmaceutical Association. Tomaka says: “Most of these tests are done free of charge, but even if the prices were charged, they would surely be lower than those of a laboratory.” The benefit is that most of the time they give you the results immediately.
Side effects of medicationsThe doctor prescribes you a medication, but if you ever suspect that something might have escaped, either from prescription or over-the-counter drugs, immediately seek the help of an expert. Trained pharmacists have access to databases that alert them to the interactions and side effects of each medication, not to mention that they talk to dozens of people who take the same as you. Tomaka says: “Pharmacists observe trends that may mean a clinical benefit for patients. For example, people with some sensitivity to some foods may be at a higher risk of having an allergic reaction to a new drug. ” Alert your pharmacist of any allergies or hypersensitivity you suffer,
Optometrist Health Detective
You know how to schedule an appointment with the optometrist when you need a new pair of lenses. But did you know that he, moreover, can look closely into our body? According to Stephanie S. Chan, a private optometrist from Los Altos, California: “The eyes are the only place in the body where we can directly examine blood vessels without making a single incision.”
Narrow blood vessels An eye exam is an essential (and painless) tool for early disease diagnosis. Chan says: “Diabetes can be shown in small areas of bleeding in your retinas, as well as narrow and irregular blood vessels in the same area, which represents the first signs of high blood pressure.” According to a recent Australian study, people who had narrow blood vessels in their retinas were 60 percent more likely to have severe arterial hypertension in less than 10 years.
Rings around the cornea You may see a slight discoloration, but your optometrist will see problems. “A gray or white arch around your cornea can indicate a high level of cholesterol,” says Chan. A 2010 study, published in the American Journal of Ophtalmolgy, found that people with a high level of LDL (bad cholesterol) cholesterol were 94 percent more likely to have the bows in their corneas.
Poor peripheral vision Your skills on the basketball court are not the only thing at risk. According to Chan: “A poor peripheral view may indicate that you have a time bomb in your head. Ask your optometrist to perform a visual field test. This test assesses your peripheral vision and can detect tumors that affect your eyesight. ” Optometrists may suspect the existence of a tumor if they find the inflamed optic nerve when viewing through dilated pupils. “Tumors increase the pressure of the fluid that goes to the brain, pressing the optic nerve and causing it to swell.”
Health Detective Physical Therapist
If you consult your GP about a muscle ache or a wound, the consultation will last as long as 20 minutes; However, with a therapist about one hour. And, after that, he will see you two or three times a week for months, depending on your condition. According to physical therapist Gail O’Neill, of Manhattan: “We talk to you, we listen to you and see how your body moves.” This kind of close scrutiny gives physical therapists an opportunity to identify serious illnesses early.
Numbness of limbs “While manipulating your body, physical therapists can detect early signs of Parkinson’s, such as light tics, numbness and stiffness of arms, legs and joints,” says O? Neill. Nervous system disorders can also slow your reflexes and reduce your muscular strength, and the changes can be so subtle that they require the touch of a physical therapist to return to normal.
Swollen joints “Lyme disease has the same symptoms as the common cold: it is characterized by fever, chills and a cut body, followed by other rather erratic signs (and people commonly leave with the most common diagnosis). But a physical therapist can easily detect abnormal muscle movements, joint inflammation and weakness in the muscles caused by an inflammatory tick-borne disease, ”says O? Neill.
Weak muscles Physical therapy may not be on your list of things to do next, especially if you are healthy and fit, but maybe it should be. According to physical therapist Jen Lausten, of the Tompkins Orthopedic Physical Therapy service in Leesburg, Virginia: “It doesn’t matter what your fitness level is, if your body is poorly aligned or you have a bad posture, you will eventually end up with an injury.” . The solution? Schedule a review during which a physical therapist can assess the alignment of your body, its strength in both the upper and lower parts, the flexibility and control you have over your lower back. From then on, the therapist will design an exercise routine with the aim of propping up any weak points that he can locate.