Age forty is the point when you are not young anymore, but you are not yet old as well. It is when a person enters his midlife. You need to keep in mind that from this point, your body and health will only get worse if proper care is not taken. The bones start getting weaker at this time as well as the brain starts losing its sharpness. Apart from getting a medical cover from the health insurance companies of South Africa, every person needs to make a proper plan to care for his health. (Information Credit – https://getsavvi.co.za)
- Check your physical state: Even if you do not notice any health problem, once you cross forty, you must visit doctors regularly to be up to date about your current state of health. You should measure your body weight, blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol levels. If any of them is close to a level that may arise risks, then you need to take initiative immediately. Not doing this may lead to kidney failure, heart disease, stroke and more severe diseases.
- Take care of your eyes: Eyes start to lose their vision after a person is forty. So, whether or not you notice a problem in your eyesight, you must get your eyes checked to know their condition. If you notice problems in your eyes and your vision, then you can consider going for glasses or contact lenses. You must also start taking extra care of your eyes. Starting with a stable diet with vegetables and fruits for vitamins, minerals and antioxidants to using sunglasses for resisting the damage caused by UV rays, every caution possible must be taken.
- Scan your bone mineral density: The damage and decay in bones start after the thirties, and they become a lot weaker after forties. Bone density refers to the amount of bone mineral that is present in bone tissue. If your bone density gets significantly lower, then there are risks of developing osteoporosis. It is a severe disease that causes so much reduction of bone mass that it becomes weak and break. It is recommended to do a bone mineral density scan to prevent it.
- Take care of your heart: The major cause of heart disease is high cholesterol level. So, it is a must to check your cholesterol once every few years. You can have a simple blood test to check your cholesterol level. You have to keep in mind that the risk of heart disease goes higher after a person turns forty, and it becomes severe after the fifties. So, you must start taking care of your heart earlier.
- Check your blood pressure: A high blood pressure can be the reason for a number of health issues, including a stroke, problems in the vision, heart attack, kidney problems etc. So, checking your blood pressure regularly is highly important. The normal blood pressure stands around 120/80. If you have normal pressure, check it once in a couple of years. You need to check it more frequently if your blood pressure is higher than the safe level.
- Look out for colon cancer: The risks of developing the colon cancer get higher after the fifties, so, you must start taking precautionary actions against it after reaching the forties. Your doctor can recommend tests to you that will help you detect colon cancer, including –
- Faecal occult blood test once a year.
- Colonoscopy once in every ten years.
- Sigmoidoscopy once in every five years.
Apart from repeating these tests, there are –
- CT colonography: X-rays are used to capture pictures of the colon. Doctors look at these pictures to check if anything is wrong.
- Multi-targeted stool DNA testing: Doctors look for DNA mutations as they give a signal that there is a health issue.
- Precancerous polyps can be found in the colon during sigmoidoscopy and colonoscopy. Colon cancer may be prevented by removing these.
- Get health insurance: A person should get health insurance at an early age so that he does not have to miss out a medical treatment necessary any time. However, if you have not had health insurance yet, then it is the high time to do it. After you turn forty, various health issues will be your daily routine and you may have to continue tests and medications for a long time. Get health insurance before it is too late to get the right treatment at the right time from any doctor in South Africa.
- Get a hospital plan: Whether you have to be admitted to a hospital for having a disease or due to a sudden accident, hospital bills can be a huge problem. By getting a medical plan covering hospital bills, you can escape from the financial crisis.
You can contact the health insurance companies of South Africa to get a suitable medical plan for you that will help you with your medical treatments till your death.