Winter has helped prolong the torment that COVID has given us. We can’t get out and do the things we would normally do during an ordinary winter, much less a pandemic winter. As people get their vaccinations and cases go down, we anxiously await an end to the misery that has dragged us down into a pit for too long. I don’t know about you, but I’m desperate to be pulled out of that pit.
Sunday, March 14, will officially mark the beginning of Daylight Savings Time in Michigan and our days will get longer with one more hour of light to help remove us from our gloom. Spring will officially begin on Saturday, March 20. A new season with all the hopes and dreams we normally associate with it, but with a little more extra luck needed for this year. Cross your fingers, wear your favorite socks, bring out your four-leaf clovers and do whatever else your culture or religion suggests you can do for good luck. Everyone’s help is needed this year. We all want some good news and to feel hopeful, as we dare to dream about a post-COVID world.
A change in season can also signal to us a needed change in our behavior and what we would like to focus on for the new season. Perhaps taking better care of ourselves by eating healthier and getting outside more for physical activity would be a good start. Maybe it’s time to call our primary care physician and get an appointment for any needed health screenings and the yearly physical we put off in 2020.
Here are some National Health Observance items that alert us to what we can do for our personal health in the month of March:
National Nutrition Month. Most of us could make better food choices and develop sound eating and physical activity habits. Healthy eating and increasing our physical activity are also the two main things a person can do to prevent type 2 diabetes.
https://www.eatright.org/food/resources/national-nutrition-month
Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. Colorectal cancer is preventable and treatable. Current guidelines recommend screening for colorectal cancer beginning at age 50 (or earlier if certain risks are present.) Colonoscopy continues to be the gold standard for screening.
https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/colorectal/basic_info/screening/index.htm
Save Your Vision Month. This is our reminder to get a yearly eye exam from an optometrist. The American Optometric Association recommends eye exams every two years for adults 18-60 and yearly for people 61 and older.
https://www.allaboutvision.com/eye-exam/
National Kidney Month. Our kidneys are important for our health. Diabetes and high blood pressure are the leading risk factors of kidney disease. Learn more about how you can keep your kidneys healthy at:
https://www.kidney.org/content/national-kidney-month
Evidence-based Clinical Practice Guidelines such as the ones at the Michigan Quality Improvement Consortium (MQIC) are always a great resource. The aim of the Adult Preventive Services are to recommend to the health care provider appropriate screenings for a specific age group. Talk to your provider about any concerns you have about your health. If they don’t bring up screenings that are appropriate to your age group, bring them up yourself.
http://www.mqic.org/pdf/mqic_adult_preventive_services_ages_18_to_49_cpg.pdf
http://www.mqic.org/pdf/mqic_adult_preventive_services_ages_50_to_65plus_cpg.pdf
The pandemic has caused much pain and played many tricks on us during its seemingly endless grip on our lives. As the trees, plants and flowers start their renewal, let’s look to them for strength and begin ours, too.
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