#18,448
One of the perils of blogging is that over time embedded links to outside sources no longer function. This year as been particularly bad following major upgrades/revamping of both the CDC and WHO websites, where even some of their internal links go nowhere.
Normally, the day before Thanksgiving I re-post my `Thanksgiving Is National Family History Day' blog, with links and quotes from the CDC, the HHS, and the Office of the Surgeon General. This year, those links are all dead.
So, starting over . . .
Every year since 2004 the Surgeon General of the United States has declared Thanksgiving – a day when families traditionally gather together - as National Family History Day, since it provides an excellent opportunity to ask about and document the medical history of relatives.As a former paramedic, I am keenly aware of how important it is for everyone to know and have access to their personal and family medical history.
During routine visits with your doctor, knowing your family history can provide important information regarding your care. Under more urgent conditions, emergency room doctors are often faced with patients unable to remember or relay their health history, current medications, or even drug allergies during a medical crisis.
Which is why I always keep an EMERGENCY MEDICAL HISTORY CARD – filled out and frequently updated – in my wallet, and have urged (and have helped) others in my family to do the same.
I addressed this issue at some length in a blog called Those Who Forget Their History . . . . A few excerpts (but follow the link to read the whole thing):
Since you can’t always know, in advance when you might need medical care it is important to carry with you some kind of medical history at all times. It can tell doctors important information about your history, medications, and allergies when you can’t.
Many hospitals and pharmacies provide – either free, or for a very nominal sum – folding wallet medical history forms with a plastic sleeve to protect them. Alternatively, there are templates available online.
I’ve scanned the one offered by one of our local hospitals below. It is rudimentary, but covers the basics.
Since family gatherings are common over the holidays, Thanksgiving is often an ideal time to ask family members about their medical history. The HHS even provides a free, online tool, for organizing and storing (on your own computer) this information.
The CDC offers the following advice on collecting and sharing family medical histories.
Collect and share your family health history
Are you ready to collect your family health history but don't know where to start? Here's how!
- Talk to your family. Write down the names of your close blood relatives from both sides of the family: parents, siblings, half-siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, nieces, and nephews. Talk to these family members about what conditions they have or had, and at what age the conditions were first diagnosed. You might think you know about all of the conditions in your parents or siblings, but you might find out more information if you ask.
- Ask questions. To find out about your risk for chronic diseases, ask your relatives about which of these diseases they have had and when they were diagnosed. Questions can include
- Do you have any chronic diseases, such as heart disease or diabetes, or health conditions such as high blood pressure or high cholesterol?
- Have you had any other serious diseases, such as cancer or stroke? What type of cancer?
- How old were you when each of these diseases and health conditions were diagnosed? (If your relative doesn't remember the exact age, knowing the approximate age is still useful.)
- What is our family's ancestry? From what countries did our ancestors come to the United States?
- What were the cause and age of death for relatives who have died?
- Record the information and update it whenever you learn new family health history information. My Family Health Portrait, a free web-based tool, is helpful in organizing the information in your family health history. My Family Health Portrait allows you to share this information easily with your healthcare provider and other family members.
- Share family health history information with your healthcare provider. If you are concerned about diseases that are common in your family, talk with your healthcare provider at your next visit. Even if you don't know all of your family health history information, share what you do know. Family health history information, even if incomplete, can help your healthcare provider decide which screening tests you need and when those tests should start.
- Share your medical and family health history with your family members. If you have a medical condition, such as cancer, heart disease, or diabetes, be sure to let your family members know about your diagnosis. If you have had genetic testing done, share your results with your family members. If you are one of the older members of your family, you may know more about diseases and health conditions in your family, especially in relatives who are no longer living. Be sure to share this information with your younger relatives so that you may all benefit from knowing this family health history information.
And lastly, a couple of other items that - while not exactly a medical history - may merit discussion in your family as it has in mine (see His Bags Are Packed, He’s Ready To Go).
- First, all adults should consider having a Living Will that specifies what types of medical treatment you desire should you become incapacitated.
- You may also wish to consider assigning someone as your Health Care Proxy, who can make decisions regarding your treatment should you be unable to do so for yourself.
- Elderly family members with chronic health problems, or those with terminal illnesses, may even desire a home DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) Order. Without legal documentation, verbal instructions by family members – even if the patient is in the last stages of an incurable illness – are likely to be ignored by emergency personnel.
While admittedly, not the cheeriest topic of conversation in the world, a few minutes spent during this Thanksgiving holiday putting together medical histories could spare you and your family a great deal of anguish down the road.
