Taking care of myself, resources?

[Evren]

This may be very obvious to most people, which is probably why I am having trouble finding information on it. I was never taught how to physically take care of myself, how many times a year do I go to the doctor? The dentist? The optometrist? The gynecoligist? When do I go to the doctor? Should I take a shower every day or every other? Am I cleaning myself correctly, or am I missing things I should be doing? What exactly is healthy food, especially for breakfast? How do I actually start a sleep schedule, when I get off work at different times most nights? Should I be concerned when some foods start making me sick for no reason? Is mouthwash really important? Is there a way to help my skin not be so dry? Is there a way to exercise when your fat, that doesn't mean I'm gasping for air in 5 minutes? How do I actually know when to go to the doctor, when I was told my whole life that I was just overreacting (even when I was seriouslh ill)?

Are there any books that I could get that might help me learn about this stuff, I can't take care of myself if I don't understand how to. Like I thought that flossing was optional and had to get 4 teeth filled because of it. Personal experience is also welcome, thanks bunches :)

[binary suns]

I'm needing to work on these same things myself :(

I have found google to be pretty useful. it's surprising sometimes when I type some obscure question into google, and find there are answers to it xD but the hardest part is creating habits...

although of course, google isn't entirely reliable. I typed "why do I itch at night" and now I have nightmares about bugs xD well although I already had nightmares about bugs before hand so.... (but well I did find out that itching can be due to dry skin)

[sir octepus tea]

*cracks knuckles* here's how I personally do it. I know these are probably not economically or practically viable for everyone, but use them as general guidelines. I myself don't even follow all this.

unless you have some chronic illness or the doctor says otherwise, a general exam can be made once a year. I'm not a doctor myself so you should ask one about that. personally, I'll start doing bloodwork once a year now, due to having an iron+b12+folate deficiency and mild anemia.

dentist-once a year for general check ups

optometrist- you can go once just to make sure. many people (like me) don't notice when their vision goes bad.

gynecologist-don't go unless you're told to go by a doctor or to test for stds if you're sxually active. this whole "you need to go every year just to be safe I don't care if you feel perfectly fine" is bullshit. I have personally never gone to one because I consider pelvic exams to be highly invasive and in most cases completely unnecessary. however, if you prefer to go just to be sure and take some of the pressure off your mind, do it. more ranting under the spoiler

many people consider going to the gynecologist to get yearly pelvic exams to be necessary only to make sure you're fertile and can have kids. since I'm deadbent on never having kids, that argument falls flat. for things like getting on birth control, taking your blood pressure is the only medically necessary thing, since most hormonal pills might thicken your blood or raise the pressure can't remember which. pap smears aren't even necessary until you turn 40. I'm very biased on this because I consider the practice to be invasive, unnecessary and easily replaced by more specific screenings.

you haven't really covered therapists visits here, which I believe anyone can benefit from, given the right therapist. I personally don't go despite clearly needing to due to bad experiences when I was young and being a generally untrusting person. if you feel you need to talk about something weighing you down, anything, you should give it a try.

showering- I shower every three days since showering too often can dry out your skin and hair. use deodorant when you don't shower, and you should be fine.

healthy food- ok so when I went to school we were taught about the "plate model", which seems to be a concept exclusively used where I live. so you (hypothetically) divide you plate into six parts: two parts consisting of carbs like rice, pasta, grains, etc. two parts consisting of vegetables or fresh fruit (actual, fresh vegetables not french fries or apple sauce), and one part protein (meat, legumes,fish,eggs). this gives you a nutritionally whole meal and keeps you full for longer than if you just eat a plate of pasta. try to eat whole grains and fresh fruit as often as you can, and keeping a varied diet is key to healthy eating habits. here's a link that seems good enough.

breakfast- eat it as often as you can, since you haven't eaten anything in about fourteen hours. a cup of tea with no sugar, two slices of wholegrain bread with butter is what I usually eat. yoghurt with wholegrain cereal and no sugar is also pretty good, but I don't eat much dairy (according to the country I live in, where dairy is a staple part of the diet). EDIT: some people get really nauseous if they eat too early, in which case it's almost better to wait for a couple hours. I'd recommend you at least try drinking something, like tea and a protein shake. skipping breakfast is never a good idea.

you should be very concerned when foods make you sick for no reason. this is grounds to visit a doctor.

mouthwash- don't know much, ask your dentist.

dry skin-visit your farmacy and ask them

exercise- yoga at home, there are plenty of videos on youtube. swimming is also really good exercise but you might get a bit winded

visiting doctor- if something is bothering you to the point of being distracting, or keeping you from functioning normally for several days, visit the doctor.

[WinterWanderer]

Sorry for the wall of text ahead! I moved out of my parents' house four years ago, and these are some things I've learned since then:

It can be a good thing to get a check-up at the doctor every year or so. Not necessarily because something could be wrong, but just so you're confident that your health is as good as it was the year before. That's why many employers have their employees get yearly physicals. (Not sure about specific kinds of doctors, like gynecologists. But you can look up what age they test for things like HPV, breast cancer, etc., and that'll give you a good idea of when you should go.)

Side note: If you have a medical emergency, or symptoms that could mean a medical emergency (high fever, fever that has gotten worse in the last 3 days, blood suddenly coming out of anywhere, chest pain, loss of consciousness), it's always a good idea to go to the ER or an urgent care clinic. If your symptoms aren't too urgent, you can generally wait and just make a doctor's appointment if they persist.

I've also found that when I start having weird symptoms, keeping a diary of sleep habits, eating habits, and symptoms helps me better understand what could be causing them. That's especially important if you often have symptoms after eating certain foods. Keep track of what you eat and how you feel afterward, and it may help you and your doctor figure out what's wrong, if anything. Also~ when in doubt about whether symptoms are "important enough" to go to the doctor for, it's better to be safe than sorry, in my experience.

When you eat certain foods and have symptoms afterward, it could mean that you're either allergic to them, or you're intolerant to them (your body can't break them down). Or there could be something in them that is irritating your digestive system on the way down. If your symptoms are really bothering you, it can't hurt to ask a doctor.

I take a shower every day, but I know people that take one every other day. As long as you don't smell, I think you're fine. ;)

Also, another note about personal hygiene that I wish I'd followed earlier: It's okay not to wash your clothes after every time you wear them, as long as you don't start getting rashes/red bumps/boils on your skin. I know, I know, this should be obvious advice. But one time in college, I was busy and threw on the same pair of jeans every day for a week. I ended up getting a boil, and decided I wouldn't do that anymore.

And yet another side note: Skin infections in general are more common than people think. Keep a first-aid kit and put band-aids on your cuts, because our bodies aren't perfect and sometimes even small cuts can get infected. (Sorry, I don't mean to scare you, but I've had a skin infection and wouldn't wish it on anybody lol.)

I know how you feel about working out. It's so annoying to run or jog; my face gets all red, and I huff and puff, and eww. That's why I started lifting weights. It builds up your muscle and burns calories, just like other activities do, but it doesn't leave you looking like a red tomato. :P But make sure that if you do start weight-lifting, you read up on it first and know what you're doing. (You could hurt yourself if you start out with too heavy of weights, or with too many reps.) Health websites like LiveStrong.com and Health.com have some pretty good articles for beginners. Some gyms also offer free (or almost free) weight-lifting classes to their members.

As far as eating healthy goes, I've found that eating less processed foods (chips, sodas, candy) goes a long way. The more you cut them out, the less you're going to crave them. (I admit, it'll take a while before you stop craving them completely. But if you stick with it, it does get easier.)

I know some people just don't like healthy foods at all. So I'd recommending starting with a few fruits or vegetables that you do like, and look up healthy recipes that include them.

It helped me to start using a calorie counter, like the MyFitnessPal app. It tells you how many calories you should be eating per day. Once I saw how much I was eating, and how unhealthy it was, I became more conscious of everything I ate and made some healthier choices. (I still don't eat completely healthy foods, but I'm doing better than I was.)

Anyway, this was a HUGE wall of text. Sorry!! I hope it was helpful. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions about any of it, or for some awesome, cheap, healthy recipes that actually taste good. :) (I'm always writing down the best recipes I can find.)

[zoom]

Preventive visits as my health insurance covers them:

GP: 1x in two years

dentist: 2x in a year

gynecologist: 1x in a year

I don't know about optometrist (I've had LASIK so it is a different situation), but if you did not visit an optometrist for years, I would just go there "just in case" (mention driving if asked).

Going to doctors - when you have a problem + preventive checkups.

How often to shower... generally speaking, people shower too often nowadays. Especially if you have dry skin - showering every other day without a soap, just with water (unless necessary, like really getting dirty or removing sunblock and so on) and washing specific areas just with a sponge (like underarms and genitals) on the non-shower days could be a good option.

What exactly is healthy food - well, there are MANY opinions on this, so I am sticking to "don't eat too much of XXX" and "don't totally avoid XXX" because today we think that XXX is (un)healthy and tomorrows opinion is going to be opposite... so, variety is especially important IMO. Speaking about basic things, like grain X meat X milk X leafy greens and so on, not finished products.

Here are some very general recommendations about food: http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Goodfood/Pages/the-eatwell-guide.aspx

I am trying to stick to the 5aDay thing: http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/5ADAY/Pages/5ADAYhome.aspx

But there are many healthy diets, and it also depends on your needs and daily schedule and to some extent to your ethnicity / ancestry (that's totally playing a role in prevalence of lactose intolerance, for example) and I think it plays a role if your ancestors were mostly settled or nomads (for example), so don't be surprised if some popular diet does not work for you.

Sleep schedule when living irregular life can be really problematic... are you getting home so late that it is interfering with the sleep time? If no, then I would try to stick to the same sleep schedule, regardless how late you get home.

Speaking about exercise, if you are gasping for air, then the problem is probably cardiovascular or lung capacity, so first you need to strengthen this (I assume you are not referring to HIIT or something like then, because gasping for air is 100% normal in that case) - easy cardio to begin with is just walking, walking faster until it gets challenging, then still walking faster for a short time, slowing to comfortable pace and repeat. (next step would be changing between jogging and walking)

[zoom]

Examples of specific diets that are "officially" considered healthy:

http://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/the-nordic-diet-healthy-fare-with-an-eco-friendly-bent-201511198673

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Okinawa_diet

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediterranean_diet

You can see that there is quite some variety, so you can pick what agrees with you both physically and lifestyle-wise. Anything can affect your specific choices, e.g. I usually eat some kind of porridge for breakfast - just because I've had dislocated jaw several times and chewing in the morning is not really easy, and when I am busy (= leaving the house quickly in the morning) I eat a lot of bananas because they don't need washing and so on.

[Busrider]

Health professionals:

Reverse engineer rules from your insurance's offerings demands & discounts policy? - Mine wants proof of annual dental checkups to give me a 10% bonus on dentures. They want me screened for skin cancer every 4 years and I forgot which 5 components would earn me a little discount / premium. There were optional medical checks among them. In doubt: see a doctor whenever your health is molesting you. <- new (can be minor) issue that doesn't get swept below the carpet after a night's sleep.

Mention everything that hurts a wee bit once in a while. Ask for instruction resources about problems (eating, smoking...)

My health insurance would pay nutrition lessons & similar. - Check yours. They love us to weight less than marines. Doctors don't scan every minor issue on their own. - So its better to show up when your issues remind you to do so instead of doing an annual "hi & bye".

Exercises: take stairs up & elevator down. If the 10th floor isn't in your breath's reach walk to the 3rd for now and the 4th when you feel ready...

Bicycles are a good idea. - Look for a classic looking one. Fenders, non sportive saddle, add luggage racks so you can run errands on the thing. If you have hills: Buy a shitload of speeds gear. - Humans are no Harley engines! Torque kills knees! -> exercise for RPM gear down to avoid torque. - Buy gear trailer in mind. - 1st gear on a 12 speed street racer is still way too long for slobs going uphill.

Hit a real bike shop, not the super market. - Last "toys" I saw there had 75kg payload. That might be fine for skinny kids but... - I jump on my scales dressed, wearing my everyday backpack too. Get advice what kind of bike might carry you. - Most mainstream crap is made for skinny coolies, so don't be surprised if the bikes hop tells you you'll need different wheels with additional spokes.

I'm reluctant to suggest bikes with auxiliary electric motors. I knew 2 old chaps happy with theirs but: from my personal POV: the batteries are a heavy investment. Either you 'll need that thing at least 3x / week or it is wrong. Electricity + battery replacement cost were calculated to be 3Euro/100km. That money would also gas up a Honda Wave, that could stay in a truck's wind shadow on the highway.

Another idea about exercising: Go swimming! Paddling / rowing are nice ideas too.