How to Take Charge of your Family Life and Health

                                                               

There are simple guidelines; you will have to follow in order to gain knowledge and confidence to take control of your own health and life particularly for those of us in Africa. Researchers have discovered that almost 50% of all deaths in Africa could have been avoided by life style changes.

1. Making sure you keep your environment healthful by maintaining  regular cleanliness at home as well as ensuring good personal hygiene,
2. Building and maintaining lasting friendships. Every individual needs family and friends for loving, emotional, and social support. 
3. Listen to your body as it gives you subtle cues and signals that you may not have been paying attention to. 
4. Take active and confident part in staying healthy in order, to be in a better position to control your health. It is very important that you know what to do in times of minor injuries, illness, or emergency. 
5. Find out if you have health risks factors and what these factors are, and take actions to prevent the preventable ones. If you are not sure of any risk factors in your family, please find out from your parents, grandparents or elder members of your family. 
6. Eat healthy balanced meals particularly fruits and vegetables, less red meat (mainly cow meat in my part of the world), low fat, low sugar, and high fibre diet. 
7.  Get involved in more physically active exercises on a regular basis i.e. about three times in a week but if you have any medical condition, do see your Family Physician (medical doctor) before starting exercises. 
8. Go for regular medical examination and health screening tests to assess your health status. Ignorance should never be an excuse to succumb to life threatening illnesses.   
9. Know your health needs, set realistic and achievable goals that will help you meet those needs. 
10. Get answers to your health concerns and question from credible sources. 
11. Follow accurately instructions from your health practitioners. 
12. Find out other credible health resources including books, reading blog articles, support groups or organizations. 
13. Identify and belong to any religious or social group of your choice, where ideas are shared and discussed in a friendly atmosphere. 
14. Be safety conscious and safeguard yourself and family against avoidable accidents, whether at home or at work. 
15. For your daily routine, if you smoke (active smoking) or stay around persons who smoke (passive smoking) you just must stop and learn to relax.
    

On a final note, the key to taking charge of your own health and life lies in your learning to listen and communicating with your body. When you have the confidence to care for yourself during minor illness or injury, you will recover faster from such conditions. 

Taking the necessary time and effort to care for your health will help in early detection of a disease before the appearance of its signs and symptoms which ultimately will lead to better health in the long run.