5 Tips to Help Prevent Yourself from Getting Sick   

Millions of people all over the world visit their doctors each year. Reasons vary from minor ailments to more serious conditions, but many of these illnesses can be prevented by taking a few simple steps and lucky for us, my first and foremost biggest tip is to always get enough sleep and rest! 

1. Wash Your Hands

Germs can get on your hands in many ways. For example, when you visit the bathroom, handle food, or pick up objects that other people have touched. These germs and bacteria can cause many health problems from diarrhea to more serious conditions. There’s a very simple preventative measure you can take, and that is to wash your hands. Get into the habit of doing this several times a day, each time you have visited the restroom, after handling food and objects from other people, etc. It’s also a good idea to wash your hands after traveling on public transport, especially if you have touched handrails. Hand sanitizer is useful if you can’t get to a washroom. However, soap and water are thought to be more effective.

2. Practice Good Oral Hygiene

Poor dental care not only affects your mouth, teeth, and gums, it affects your overall health. Serious illnesses associated with this are cardiovascular disease, respiratory infections, and diabetic complications. Brushing and flossing do more than keeping your teeth clean and sparkling. They prevent disease.

As part of your dental care routine, it is important to visit your dentist regularly. He or she will identify any potential problems and act quickly to resolve them.

3. Manage Stress

Stress is linked to many physical and mental health issues. Examples include heart disease, asthma, depression, and many others. Minimizing your stress will benefit your mental, physical and emotional health. This is a complex area and is the subject of countless scholarly articles and books. Identifying stress is the first step. You then need to take steps to prevent or reduce it.

4. Quit Smoking

Smoking is the cause of many illnesses, and it lowers life expectancy. It impacts the body in so many negative ways which I’m sure you have all heard, but this can include cancer, heart disease, and respiratory diseases. If you’re a smoker, seek help and quit now.  

5. Food and Diet

Eating a good diet and exercising regularly will help you maintain a healthy weight. Obesity is the cause of many conditions and serious illnesses. This advice crops up a lot, and it’s easier said than done. We all want to be fit and healthy, but it’s not easy. Life is busy, and we don’t always feel like going to the gym after eight hours at the office. And we certainly don’t feel like cooking a home-cooked meal every night.

Make small changes initially. If you don’t like the gym, then do something else. Finding an exercise that you enjoy will help you stick to it, like trampolining or badminton, or do something simple like increasing the number of steps you take each day.

Where food is concerned, cut down on the number of ready meals and processed food you eat. They tend to be packed with fat, salt and sugar. Replace them with healthier options. If you’re busy during the week, freeze some healthy meals at the weekend. Or, when you do cook, make double the amount and freeze half of it. Toss out any unhealthy biscuits and crisps and replace them with fruit, veggies and nuts.

Illnesses occur for many reasons and sometimes we have no control over that. Embrace the areas you can control and take these simple steps to a long and healthy life.

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