Jun
21
Preparations: Your Health
Filed Under Health
Over the past month a lot has happened in my life. From issues and indecision about selling our house to being preoccupied in finding the perfect motorcycle to buy (which I found by the way), it seems like life is non-stop right now. During all of this, I have been struggling with my personal health in all sorts of ways. I’m not in danger of killing over where I stand (heh- when I stand that is), but I have had some interesting health events happen that have made me realize (yet again) how important health is, not just in emergencies, but everyday life as well.
To summarize, between May and June I had a biometric screening that labeled me as obese, Stage 1 Hypertention, low HDL, and almost Pre-Diabetes. I also went to the emergency room because I was having a very difficult time breathing normally, only to be diagnosed with bronchitis and put on antibiotics.
In early June I developed what I thought was a canker sore on the inside of my mouth (on the left side of my inner-cheek right where my bite is). After 10 days of trying to get rid of it I decided it was something else and went to see my awesome dentist. I was lucky that I had already made an appointment for routine cleaning. He took one look at it and delivered the verdict: a blocked saliva gland… WHAT!?! Sure enough, I realized that it indeed seemed to flare up after eating and looked very weird (like a hard clear sac). He told me to drain it myself and try and get the calcium deposit that caused it to come out. It’s been 3-4 weeks since then and it’s still there, although I think it might finally be clearing up.
Add to this my seasonal allergies, which seem to be worse where we are currently living, and you’ve got a few miserable months!
It has really drilled home the importance of being as healthy as you can in case of a personal or societal emergency, especially having some basic preparations that will help you cope and overcome minor health issues that might arise during emergent situations. Things like having a needle and rubbing alcohol to drain my saliva gland… Who would’ve thought!
The truth is you won’t be any good for yourself or your family if you aren’t able to work. This applies to life in general, but doubly in stressful situations such as natural disasters or other major events. I might be a fat, lazy guy who just types on the computer all day, but the thought of being a burden to someone else because I’m not able to hold my own is unbearable to me.
Often, when I have this kind of self-epiphany, I like to create action items. Well, my action items for this epiphany are:
- Walk at least 5,000 steps each day. This might sound pathetic, but this is about 2.5 miles and probably about 2-3 times as much as I currently walk on a given day.
- Work out twice a week for at least 15 minutes. I’ve got to start somewhere and I figure one day or strength training and one day of endurance is a decent start from where I’m at right now!
- Organize my first-aid kits.
I know I’m missing something, probably lots of something’s. What are they???
I think that your idea about being a little more active is great, but I also think that watching what you eat is just as important. Maybe you should start tracking what you eat in a food journal, and if possible write down the calories. This way you can get an idea of what you are putting in your body on a daily basis, it might be a lot more than you think. Then once you see where your struggles are, i.e. snacking or large portions, you can work on finding healthier options. Just a suggestion