Top 4 commonly Ignored health problems
Most of us are guilty of ignoring health problems because it’s difficult to try to fit a doctor’s appointment into an already busy lifestyle. Getting little aches and pains is a normal part of getting older so we often tend to just ignore them and hope they’ll go away. Most of the time they do so you don’t need to rush off to the doctor every time you get a slight twinge. But occasionally, those aches and pains turn into something more serious. Lots of illnesses start off with tiny symptoms that gradually get worse so ignoring the everyday pains you get can be dangerous. These are the top health problems that most of us are ignoring.
Back Pain
Most ageing people complain about back pain, it’s almost a rite of passage for the older generation these days. It’s just a natural part of getting older, isn’t it? That’s partly true and you aren’t going to avoid it completely but if it starts happening earlier, or gets very severe, you might need to do something about it. Most of the time, back pain is caused or at least made far worse by environmental factors. The most likely is a bad mattress. If you aren’t getting enough support from your mattress then you’ll wake up with a stiff back every day and the pain will only get worse. Luckily, there are plenty of mattresses designed specifically for a bad back. Visit Choose Mattress for some great information on the best ones. They offer much more spinal support which is the key to fighting back pain. You might also be getting worse back pains if you’re working in a job that involves a lot of heavy lifting. Health and safety isn’t exciting but you should listen to advice on proper lifting techniques if you don’t want to have a bad back for the rest of your life.
Grinding Teeth
Grinding your teeth isn’t something that people really consider a problem. It’s just something that some people do. What they don’t realize is that it can do you a lot of damage. Waking up with a stiff jaw and sore teeth is the last of your worries, the long-term damage that you’re doing to your teeth is a more pressing concern. You risk chipping and cracking them as well as wearing them down in general. You’ll start to find that your teeth are more sensitive to hot and cold and you’ll get more problems with decay if you’ve got small holes in your teeth.
Insomnia
A recent study found that 27% of people in Britain are experiencing bad sleeping patterns on a regular basis so it’s no wonder that we are starting to accept it as a normal part of modern life. But that’s risky because it’s already doing us a lot of damage and it’s more difficult to notice if you’re slipping slowly towards full-blown insomnia. Not sleeping enough contributes to all sorts of health problems including heart disease, diabetes and obesity. On top of that, it increases stress levels and makes your general brain function a lot slower. Missing out on even a few hours of sleep a night is something that you should be concerned about. See a doctor and ask if there is any medical reason you’re not sleeping, but it’s more likely to be environmental factors that are causing it. Drinking too much caffeine late in the day might be making it harder to sleep at night, and so could using your phone or laptop in bed. The light from the screen tricks your brain into thinking it’s still daytime and stops it from releasing hormones that encourage you to go to sleep. Why not consider reading a book instead? It’ll make it far easier to nod off later on.
Headaches
Chances are, when you get a headache you reach straight for the paracetamol and get on with your day. They’re so common and most of the time they’re probably just caused by stress, but if you keep getting them regularly, it could be more serious. It could be caused by any other medication that you’re taking if it doesn’t agree with you, or it could be a symptom of a larger health problem. Lots of small things like your posture or the amount of red meat that you eat can even bring on headaches. Even if they are stress headaches, you shouldn’t be getting them all of the time so instead of just putting it off with painkillers, do something about it.
It’s always a pain to take time out of your already busy day to get to the doctors but it could be dangerous not to.
