Ever been curious why your doctor’s staff has you complete a sometimes long in-depth form inquiring about your health and the health of your immediate family members before you see the doctor? This step is critical because knowing your family health history is an important part of your lifelong wellness plan.
Think of your family’s health history as your body’s autobiography, complete with plot twists, recurring characters, and potential sequels. This form becomes the key to your health treasure chest of information that can help assess your risk for certain health conditions, guide preventive care, and even influence treatment decisions. For example, knowing your maternal grandmother had breast cancer might prompt more frequent screening, potentially catching any issues before they become a best-selling drama.
It is not just about family health drama predicting doom and gloom. Your family’s health history can also unveil your body’s superpowers. Maybe your family has a history of longevity, or even you come from a line of women who breeze through menopause with very few hot flashes.
Unfortunately, in some Black communities, health care was not always available especially in the rural areas of the south and/or affordable. This may have caused some health conditions to have possibly gone undiagnosed.
There could also be instances of missing chapters in your body’s autobiography because key family members were not present. Sometimes it was not widely discussed among Black family members especially around children years ago. Children had a place back then that did not include being in “grown folks’ business.” Thereby, making this task more difficult because of these factors but, no less important.
Therefore, from a personal health safety perspective it is crucial to do the following two things:
- Collect all the information possible about your family’s medical history starting with both parents, siblings and grandparents. Go back further if possible. It is important to share this information with your children as a priceless health autobiography being passed down to the next generation. Sharing this information helps protect future generations by helping them make more informed decisions about their own health and well-being.
- Write down all the medications you currently take, if any, and identify what the medical condition the medication is for. Share this information with your child(ren). Also gather this same health information from your child(ren) and even grandchild(ren), if appropriate.
Collecting this valuable healthcare information can help your healthcare provider to more accurately focus on maintaining and enhancing these genetics treasures. It is a way to Keep an Eye on your health safety for you and your family.
