Preventive healthcare involves measures taken to identify and minimize risk factors for disease, improve the course of an existing disease and screening for early detection of disease. Screening is a method of finding diseases in people who do not yet have any signs or symptoms of the disease being screened for. There are three levels of prevention Primary, Secondary and Tertiary.
Primary level of Preventive Health Care is early recognition and prevention of disease is an important part of healthcare because it detects disease at the initial and curable stages thereby preventing complications and co-morbidities. It is also a whole lot cheaper and effective than treating a full-blown disease at a later stage. Thus focuses to prevent disease among healthy people.
Secondary level of Preventive Healthcare is directed towards those in whom disease has already developed. It also aims health promotion, modification of the individual’s social circumstance and lifestyles so that their health is improved (or maintained) and secondary disease is prevented.
Tertiary level of Preventive Healthcare is the early identification of high-risk individual prone to major life-threatening illnesses like heart disease and cancers. This helps in taking timely, precautionary lifestyle modification measures or treatment which reduces the disability consequent to disease.
Prevention, in such cases, is not only better than cure but is often the only option for a healthy life. Modern lifestyles don’t leave people with quality time for healthy routines. It then becomes necessary that periodic health checkups be done for early detection of risk factors and diseases. Diabetes, Obesity, Hypertension, Stress, High Cholesterol, Heart Diseases… Most of the diseases are “silent”; we often do not have any early symptoms. Hence regular screening tests are the only way for early detection. All these diseases are quite debilitating. They seriously impair normal life and if left untreated, lead to complications and may even cause death. Fortunately, these diseases can be easily prevented and even fully cured if detected early. Some of these diseases can be ‘managed’ so that you can lead a near normal life. All that you need to do is to make slight modifications in your lifestyle, eat regularly and responsibly, exercise, avoid stress, and sleep well. Regular health check-ups coupled with these lifestyle changes, can go a long way in the prevention, early detection and cure of these diseases.
Source: http://www.ArticlePros.com/author.php?Manoj Sharma
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