Another good reason to avoid being an orphan


The medical fraternity realized many years ago that some medical conditions ran in families.  I recently mentioned Dupuytrens Contracture, which we have managed to trace back to the Vikings who brought a ‘rogue gene’ with them in the longboats.

As medical knowledge continued to grow, we have found that for many more conditions there are familial or hereditary factors giving a clue as to whether you are going to have the same problems.  Heredity is one of the pointers to your health in the future, and what you can do to enjoy a long, lively and healthy one.  This is really where ‘thanks Mum and Dad’ comes in.  One problem of being an orphan is that it leaves the person with no idea as to what ailments are going to befall them.  Dad might have legged it or ‘fled the scene’, but did he live to tell the tale when he was 60?

With the increasing research into genetics, we are able to map out our likely futures and can predict such ailments as diabetes, epilepsy and other neurological problems like Huntington’s Chorea and Alzheimer’s Disease, some cancers such as breast, ovarian, lower bowel, prostate, skin and testicular, heart attacks, blood pressure problems, certain blood diseases like Sickle Cell anemia and so the list goes on.



If either of your parents had diabetes, your elder brother has diabetes, your younger brother has diabetes and your cousin has diabetes, what are the odds on your getting (or already having) diabetes?  Again this does not need Einstein.  The answer is pretty damn high!  And yet, I see families like this, where the individual members are totally surprised and amazed when they fall ill, go to hospital, and diabetes is diagnosed.



This is where careful application of family history can be life saving.  If there is a common thread, then go looking for it.  This is the advantage that you get provided you are not an orphan.  You know what to look for before it becomes a problem.  Going back to the family with diabetes, what should the younger members do?  Well, if it were me, I would be having my blood sugar checked at least once a year from the age of 20.  Any time I had reason to visit the doctor in between, I would also ask to have the level checked.  We are talking about a very inexpensive test that could literally save you millions of baht in the future, as well as giving you a better Quality of Life, and a longer one.
