Smoking: A Great Risk to Unhealthy Life
Health is considered as one of the most important aspects in our life. This is what we value in order to survive in this complex habitat. Mostly, it is the expense of health that brings us the burden in life. Being in a state of good health really needs a lot of work. The most important thing is that we know how to discipline ourselves. We may have certain limitations in life in order to prevent sickness. There are actually three approaches to deal with our health. These are the primary level of prevention, the secondary level of prevention, and the tertiary level of prevention.
What is the primary level of prevention? This includes the different ways on how to prevent illness and promote health (e.g. performing regular exercises to promote a good respiratory status, eating different kinds of vegetables and fruits to gain necessary nutrients for a healthy life. On the other hand, the secondary level of prevention deals with diagnostic procedure and planning on ways how to treat the current health condition (e.g. an individual who was suspected to have a breast problem was sent to her doctor to confirm if she has breast cancer, a man who was diagnosed with respiratory tuberculosis was given a set of medication to treat his health condition). What is all about the tertiary level of prevention? The tertiary level of prevention deals with health maintenance (e.g. a man with arthritis was encouraged to do regular exercise, an individual with second level hypertension was taking maintenance drug to lower his blood pressure to normal level).
What is the common factor that brought people to a poor health status? It is no other than smoking. This cannot only target to those individuals who smokes but also the people surrounding him or her. Smokers are now found worldwide, and they greatly influenced the young generations. Today we can see a lot of young people who smoke. Experts said that the second hand smokers will have a greater risk of getting into certain respiratory problems that those who smoke. This is because the smoke inhaled by the second hand smokers is not filtered. Unlike the primary smokers, the smoke that they inhaled from a stick of cigarette passes through a filter which limits the unhealthy components from getting into our system. Smoking can also result to different environmental problems. Just like environmental pollution and global warming.
A single stick of cigarette contributes to a big body that yields into several problems (especially health related problems). How can sticks of cigarettes affect our health status? We all know that a single stick of cigarette is composed of a tar and nicotine. After it is ignited it will produce carbon dioxide. What is tar? This is a carcinogen found in cigarettes. This is a substance that can cause cancer. It means that the more you smoke the more you get the risk of having cancer (common target is the respiratory system). What is nicotine? This is also a substance found in a cigarette stick the can cause addiction and increases the level of cholesterol in our system. This is why some people find it hard to stop smoking. What does carbon dioxide do in our body? As it enters our system it will bind and deactivate the oxygen in our body. This means that the more we smoke the lesser the oxygen that circulates into our body.
What are the major health problems that you get when smoking for several year? You will acquire different problems in your system. Just like coronary thrombosis, cerebral thrombosis, blockage of blood supply in extremities, and problems with the kidney’s arteries. Coronary thrombosis is a clot formation in the heart’s blood vessels. In this case, the heart will pump blood in a limited amount. This can cause further heart problems and increase the heart’s demand for oxygen.
The cerebral thrombosis is another major health problem that you get upon smoking for years. This is a condition wherein there will be a clot formation in the blood vessels that supplies blood to our brain. As the clot formation increases it will eventually block the blood from passing through a vessel. This will limit or block the blood supply to our brain, which may lead to the brain cell’s death and paralysis. What happens when blood supply in the kidney is limited? This will lead to a poor function of the body to eliminate waste, especially components that are pollutant to our system. Eventually there will also be an increase blood volume that results to hypertension. A hemodialysis is necessary when the kidney completely fails to function.
Still, Health is Wealth
One of the most essential things that all humans should prioritize in their everyday lives is their health. There are lots of people who fail to see the importance of good health and tend to abuse their bodies through unhealthy lifestyle. Even how overrated this adage may be – health is wealth – still, it holds true anytime to anyone. Also, with the fast-pace world we have right now that can cause stress and the presence of saturated pollution, people have become more vulnerable targets of poor health. If humans do not know how to take good care of their health and body, then it is not a remote possibility that mortality rate would surely go down.
Because of this, it is worth the time and effort to consistently remind people to give priority to their health.
The following are some simple reminders on how to put priorities in one’s health:
1. Invest in health insurances. There are some people who have doubts on the effectiveness of health insurances or other insurances, for that matter. Although they cannot be blamed because of reported insurance scams, but still they should be made to realize the benefits it can give if they only have genuine health insurance companies. This is very useful, especially if one has no enough cash every day. Illnesses and accidents occur unknowingly; hence, it helps that someone has an insurance to pay hospital and doctor’s fees. Also, health insurances can give someone some sort of security – what if I will get sick and have to be admitted, but I don’t have enough money? What if one of my family members gets into an accident and need to be operated immediately but my money is not enough to pay the dues? It is in this matter that a health insurance is ideal for people to have. One will never know its importance until it becomes important.
2. Follow doctor’s prescriptions. There are just stubborn people who always want to have it their way, than, follows doctor’s advices. Also, there are others who are scared to take medicines for reasons that it might lead to some complications. It should be embedded into the minds of people that medicines are there to cure illnesses or prevent the further spread of viruses in the body. Medicines can be extremely expensive, but one can always ask his/her doctor for an alternative of that expensive medicine (something that is generic and not “branded”). What is important here is that one is really taking his/her medicines. This is for the sake of one’s health as well as longevity.
3. Take time to relax. Human body is not a machine wherein it can function non-stop. It needs to rest and be rejuvenated after a long day of work. A well-relaxed body and mind can produce a good thoughts and active body. Also, a good relaxation will relieve someone from stress, which is the number one killer nowadays.
4. Observe a healthy lifestyle. A healthy lifestyle means regular exercises, zero vices (such as too much alcohol and smoking), balanced diet, and enough rest. A healthy lifestyle can strengthen someone’s immune system as well as keeps the mind alert and the body energized.