Talking About Men's Healthâ„¢

A recent posting on Boston.com has stated that melanoma on the scalp and neck are the most deadly types of skin cancer (click here). This is a big concern for many men who have higher rates of melanoma than women do. Men can be very reluctant to use sunscreen or wide brimmed hats when they are in the sun. Sunscreen is often an after thought and applied too late to provide proper protection. To help limit the number of people who develop skin cancer, preventative care like healthy sun exposure behaviors should be used. These behaviors should start very early in life and continue throughout adulthood. People need to take more responsibility for their own health. Knowing the A,B,C’s of skin cancer can also be beneficial to you and your healthcare provider. More often than not, even a small spot on your skin can be just as deadly as a large noticeable one. Any changes in moles should be reported to a healthcare provider or physician.

Life expectancy rates have been declining in many areas of the United States. A recent posting in The Wall Street Journal (click here) looked at a report stating that even if the United States provided universal health care it still would not solve the declining rates of life expectancy. The biggest problem that needs more attention is preventing chronic disease. Preventative measures such as eating healthy and exercising can reduce the risk of developing dozens of chronic diseases such as obesity, hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, osteoporosis, anxiety, high cholesterol, metabolic disease, certain cancers, and the list could go on. Generally people understand that a healthy lifestyle is important to maintain but the maintenance part is the trick. How do you convince someone who is extremely overweight or at risk of developing diabetes that changing their comfortable lifestyle is going to help save their life in the long run? It is a struggle to get people to see that the lifestyle choices they make today may not have an effect on them for another 2 to 10 years. The reality is that long term poor lifestyle habits are causing a decline in life expectancy. More effort should be put into slowing their progression down.

The Chicagotribune.com posted an article regarding elderly drinkers putting their lives at risk by consuming more than the recommend amount of alcohol for their age (click here for article). The elderly group has been defined as those over the age of 65. The concern is that alcohol can cause greater problems for those suffering from dementia, depression, balance issues, and mixing it with prescription drugs.

When it comes to alcohol consumption, what is the best way to determine if an elderly person has a drinking problem? Is alcohol use harder to detect in the elderly population than the younger population? Do people understand the risks involved when they mix medications with alcohol? Are they provided with the support and resources needed to seek help if a problem is suspected? The author of the article pointed out that health-care professionals should be aware of the symptoms so that they can screen for heavy drinkers in the elderly population. Health-care providers can provide resources for those who may have a tendency to over indulge on alcohol in a manor that can be detrimental to their life.

Also, those who care for older adults need to be provided with educational resources on how they can help reduce the risk of over consumption of alcohol in older adults. It was also mentioned in the article that there are a limited number of outpatient programs that target older adults who are seeking treatment. This is an issue that is going to grow as the population ages. Preventative education now can help reduce this problem and help keep it under control.

An article from Sci-Tech Today.com, Action is Louder than Weight, described how Americans do not really take the recommendation of exercise too seriously. This is a concern especially with the raising obesity rate in the US. The article states that most American’s know exercise is good for their health but they do not really understand the extent of how it reduces the risk of developing preventable diseases. If they know that exercise is beneficial to their health then why aren’t more of them participating? It could be that they do not understand how to fit in daily exercise?

Many people face extensive barriers to daily exercise. Family and job commitments often keep people too busy to squeeze in a run or a trip to the gym. They might also lack the ability to pull themselves away from the TV long enough to take a quick jog around the block. In some cases, there could be a lack of resources and knowledge on how benefit from proper exercise. By providing more than just a recommendation to exercise and actually demonstrating the act, more people might participate in daily physical activity. Instructions on how to create a supportive environment that is conducive to exercise is important to get people motivated to move.