We all want to be happy, healthy, and safe. From new-born infants to the elderly there are lots of ways you can protect yourself and your family from diseases and accidents. At home, there are many hazards that can cause injury and may require long-term care. Likewise, our health and well-being can be affected by hidden dangers like carbon monoxide, electrical faults, and not having non-slip rubber mats in the bathroom. We have put together a short health and safety guide, crammed full of tips and good ideas to ensure you stay healthy and active—whatever your age.
Health Safety Tips for Children
Kids are going to get sick and take tumbles. It is all part of being a kid and dealing with it is all part of being a parent. But there are plenty of things you can do to keep these incidents minor and to a minimum.
Getting Vaccinations
Infants and young children are highly susceptible to diseases that can prove to be life-threatening. For this reason, there is a recommended schedule for immunization to ensure their health and well-being. You should ensure that your child keeps to the schedule as recommended by your health care professional. The schedule includes shots that will protect your child from diseases such as mumps, measles, and diphtheria.
Going to the Dentist
Parents often wonder when they should first take their child to the dentist. Obviously, babies don’t have many teeth and their baby teeth will, of course, fall out early in life so all too often dental care is neglected. It is recommended that your baby visits the dentist before they are 12 months old, but you can wait until your child is two or three years old. The dentist needs to check that the permanent teeth growing under the baby teeth are developing correctly.
You can visit a pediatric dentist if your dentist is not child-friendly. If you wait too long to take your child to a dentist and they have been drinking sugary drinks their first visit could involve fillings and is not the best experience. If you start going to the dentist early, and your child’s teeth are in good condition, then this should lead to a lifelong habit of healthy teeth and dental care. It will also help your child to not be fearful of dentists which all too often leads to adults also being fearful of dentists and not accessing dental care when they need it.
Getting an Eye Exam
Your child should have their eyes examined by your family doctor or pediatrician in their first year. It is recommended that children then have eye exams when they are three to five years and every two years from the ages of five to 18. The ophthalmologist will be looking out for problems such as near and farsightedness and amblyopia, commonly known as lazy eye. These disorders can easily be treated if diagnosed early with eye drops and glasses.
Keep Areas Safe
Children will fall and they are curious so you should take steps to child-proof your home. This includes placing guards at the bottom and top of your staircase and child-proofing cupboards that contain items or substances that could harm your child. It is also vital that your car is fitted with seat belts that are age and size appropriate. Get into a sensible routine when taking an outing and ensure that your children know that the car will not start until all seatbelts are fixed securely.
Healthy Eating
A healthy diet for life starts with young children. Encourage your child to eat fruit and vegetables by arranging them in fun ways such as smiley faces or animals. Get them involved in making simple snacks and choosing new foods to try. You can get them to decorate pizzas with fresh vegetables. Good habits will stay with them for a lifetime and help them to avoid diseases associated with obesity and poor nutrition such as diabetes and heart disease.
Health Safety Tips for Young Adults
As your children become young adults you no longer have the control you had over them as when they were little. Teens are at risk of a whole host of problems that could adversely affect their health into adulthood. Take some steps to minimize the risks.
Drugs and Alcohol
Many teens will experiment with drugs and alcohol, but it could cause a lifetime of misery. Educate your child about the dangers and let them know that this behavior is not acceptable and there are consequences. In particular, you should educate girls about the dangers of accepting drinks from others and the real danger of date rape drugs.
Healthy Eating
Hopefully, with a good education from a young age, your child is eating a healthy diet. Alarming statistics, however, reveal that up to one in ten of college women suffers from an eating disorder of some description. Eating disorders cause serious health damage, misery and can be fatal. Once the routines of eating disorders are established, they are far more difficult to treat.
Take steps to help your teenager by monitoring weight, eating, and exercise habits, as well as their mood. Check out any internet use that may indicate your child is accessing online material that encourages this type of behavior and illness. Talk to your child and get professional help at the earliest stage if you suspect there is an issue. Eating disorders are on the rise in males so teenage boys who are obsessed with the gym and eating regimes should also be observed.
Health Safety Tips for Adults
Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is important at any stage of life. Take these steps to stay healthy.
Be Smoke-Free
Many adults took up smoking when they were teenagers or young adults. As we all know, smoking causes premature and often painful deaths. Smokers are at risk of heart disease, cancers, strokes and circulation problems that can lead to amputations. After 20 years of smoking, problems are likely to occur and only get worse.
Do yourself and your family the biggest favor you can by giving up these death sticks. There are various methods you can use from patches to e-cigarettes. All will save you a bundle as well. Seek professional help to give up smoking and get support from others. Set goals and treat yourself with all the money you have saved. Smoking also causes low self-esteem and when you have kicked the habit your sense of achievement will be immense.
Keep Active
It is all too easy to become inactive when you are leading a hectic lifestyle holding down a professional job and looking after a family. It is recommended that to stay healthy an adult should take part in at least two and a half hours of moderate activity a week. Preferably they should team that with over an hour of vigorous activity.
“But when do I have the time for that?” is often the question. You can make time if you think carefully. Change the weekend matinee movie to a day out in the park. Walk the dog. Think of a physical activity you enjoy, join a club, and make new friends. It might be Badminton or Swimming. If you enjoy it and you have friends waiting for you to show up, then motivation should not be a factor.
Healthy Eating
As with exercise, it can be easy to grab snacks and fast food when you have a hectic family-orientated lifestyle. Eating fast food is not just bad for your health and can lead to ongoing health problems it will leave you feeling de-energized to deal with your lifestyle. Weight gain can lead to low self-esteem, as well as setting a bad example for your children. After all, why should they eat healthily if you don’t? Lead by example and maintain a healthy diet with lots of fresh produce, cook regularly, and make time to enjoy family meals.
As with any age group healthy eating is the building blocks of good health. As we age our calorific requirements decrease due to being less active. Elderly people should concentrate on eating lots of fiber and maintaining a good intake of fresh fruit and vegetables. It may be that with certain medications some foods need to be avoided such as grapefruit. If it has become difficult or dangerous to prepare fresh meals daily then consider public or private services that can deliver a fresh meal to your home each and every day.
Health Safety Tips for the Elderly
As we become elderly, we once again approach a vulnerable stage in our lives when we are more prone to illness and accidents. Take steps to stay healthy and active for as long as possible.
Prevent Falls
Often, mobility becomes an issue when as we become older. This can lead to falls which can be devastating and difficult to recover from. Taking steps to prevent falls is key to maintaining mobility. If you have had a fall then take the advice of health care professionals and after having a falls risk assessment accept any mobility aids and advice recommended.
For your own peace of mind, if you have had a fall, you should consider a safety bracelet or necklace that will alert emergency services if you fall. Take simple steps such as wearing non-slip shoes and slippers. Consider moving to a home without stairs or install a stairlift. If the phone is ringing don’t try to rush to answer, let the answering machine pick it up or carry a cordless phone with you.
Other Steps
Safety-proof your home by removing clutter. Arrange for people to make regular visits. Install a home security system that will deter ruthless burglars that may choose to target the elderly. Do not draw attention to your age when answering the telephone. All too often, elderly people tell people and strangers their age with very little encouragement. Maintaining a social life will aid against loneliness and depression in the elderly, which, in turn, wards against other health problems.