The Curious Mom

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Dealing with any kind of issue with your health is a stressful enough experience. Whether it's an illness or long-term disability, you likely have enough to worry about that you really just want to focus on the day-to-day realities and improving your life as best you can. The last thing you want to have to be worrying about is how it is all going to impact your finances. Sadly, this is something that a lot of people are forced to do but that doesn't mean that there aren't ways that you can make it easier for yourself. With that in mind, here are some ways to avoid letting your health negatively impact your finances.

If you want to be sure that your health doesn't end up negatively impacting your finances, the best thing that you can do is to make sure that you plan things as carefully. This means that you need to start saving your money. Putting money aside in savings is hardly the most exciting thing in the world but it means that, if you find yourself in a position where your finances are being impacted by your health, you have some kind of safety net to fall back on so that you don't have to worry about your entire life being disrupted. 

It is not easy to part ways with a doctor that you’ve been seeing for many years. When you are familiar with the same physician, the idea of getting to know someone and trusting a whole new method is a hard concept. 

The thing is, there are times where you have no choice but to change doctors. You have to find one that will live up to your expectations and give you what you need for your health. There are some things that you need to consider when it comes to your physician, so let’s take a look at seven ways to fire your doctor.

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When you’re no longer confident in the way that your doctor works, you want to look for a new one. It may surprise you that many people just settle as they think that they need to be loyal to their doctor. The thing is, if your doctor is making common pharmacy errors and not spending enough time listening to you, you will lose confidence. You do not have to be loyal to someone who doesn't have your back.

If your doctor isn’t on the local hospital rota, he won’t be able to look at your chart if there’s a problem. You need a doctor to be able to treat you from more than one place.

We all deal with small health problems that seem to cause us more issues than they really should. If that’s the situation that you’re dealing with, you might be unsure of what to do. Should you put up with the pain and discomfort and go about your day to day life as you normally do? Or should you try to do something about it and find a remedy that works for you? Here are some examples of problems you don’t need to ignore.

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Heartburn

Heartburn might not often be a sign of big problems with your health, but it certainly is a frustrating issue. It often occurs because of an imbalance in the acids in your stomach. There are lots of very simple medications that can be used to treat it, so don’t ignore it. For many people, it causes disturbed sleep and that’s not something you’ll want to put up with it.

Ingrown Toenails

Anyone who’s had to deal with an ingrown toenail knows how horrible they can be. The nail literally starts to grow in the wrong direction and right into your flesh. It’s about as painful as it sounds. Luckily, there are very simple procedures used to cut away the ingrown nail. If that sounds painful as well, don’t worry because local anesthetic is used.

Athlete’s Foot

Athlete’s foot is nasty and unpleasant in all kinds of ways. If it’s a problem that you’ve been dealing with, you should start by using standard over the counter medication options and see how these work for you. In most cases, these will clear up the problem. But if they don’t, you should talk to your doctor about the problem and consider some other treatment options.

Varicose Veins

There are lots of things that can be responsible for causing varicose veins in your leg. If you need more information about getting treatment for varicose veins, there are lots of treatment options out there that you can make the most of. Talk to a professional and see what can be done for you. Changes in your daily routines can help a lot too.

A Stiff Neck

These are the kinds of health problems that you don’t want to ignore. They might not be cause for great concern in most cases, but they can all severely impact your quality of life and that’s not something you should have to put up with. So, if you’re dealing with any of the issues discussed above, get help today.

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Few people associate diet with the risk of becoming injured. After all, eating vegetables doesn’t give you a suit of armor that protects you against external threats, like car accidents, falls, or slips. The effects of food operate on the inside. 

It turns out, though, that the effects of diet on your body are more profound than you might think. And, indeed, they can prevent serious injury from occurring. 

For instance, in most car accidents, people get compensation through personal injury protection (PIP). Accidents jar their bones, damage their muscles, and lead to lasting injuries. 

But what if what you ate made a difference to the likelihood of experiencing a severe, lasting injury? It sounds like a pie-in-the-sky idea, but it has legs. 

When you eat a lot of junk, animal foods, and sugar, it leads to low-level, systemic inflammation in the body. The immune system goes into overdrive, fighting off what it sees as perceived threats and, over time, it damages tissues.

As we grow older, we pile up experiences and memories to hold onto and relive them in our old age. Unfortunately, the older we get, the less we tend to remember - and yet, that should be the case. With an estimated 50 million people living with dementia and other brain-related issues, it is important to learn how to keep your brain healthy so as to reduce the risk of dementia and enjoy a happy life in the future. Here are four natural ways to boost your brainpower.

Regular physical activity has been proven to be of immense benefits to the brain - from childhood all the way to adulthood. In children, regular physical activity has been shown to promote excellent cognitive development. In adults, it has been proven to improve thinking ability and memory, especially for adults with mild cognitive impairments. Activities such as aerobic exercises can increase brain volume while boosting short-term memory. Ten minutes of exercise each day is enough to boost areas of the brain responsible for problem-solving and decision-making. You can also opt for more gentle forms of exercise like yoga for 25 minutes a day.

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The kind of food you eat plays a crucial role in keeping your brain healthy. Brain food comes in several varieties that range from fish to fruits. Let’s take a look at some examples.

• Fatty fish: These include sardines, trout, and salmon. Fatty fishes are rich in omega 3 fatty acids.

• Coffee: This ‘morning delight’ contains antioxidants and caffeine that can help the brain but coffee should also be used in moderation. 

• Dark chocolate: This is packed with essential compounds that boost the brain. It also contains antioxidants and caffeine.

Other essential brain food examples include oranges, nuts, turmeric, green tea, eggs, pumpkin seeds, and broccoli.

Research has proven that learning a new language is one sure way to give your mind the training it needs by booting its cognitive capabilities. In infants, especially, learning a new or foreign language has been associated with cognitive development. While in adults, it has been proven to result in sharpened minds as learning new languages helps to enhance brain plasticity. This, in effect, boosts its ability to code information it receives. Even further research has shown that the ability to learn and speak more than one language helps to slow down the decline in cognition that comes with ageing.

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Not everybody can be a Mozart. However, studies have shown that learning to play a musical instrument comes with so many benefits for the brain. When children, in particular, are exposed to musical instruments at a very young age, it comes with several benefits. Children that learn to play musical instruments tend to ward off a decline in cognition associated with old age. But adults are not left out, though. Learning a musical instrument also helps to improve attention while expanding the brain’s capacity to store information for future reference. 

Good memory care today is vital for future memory health tomorrow. Engaging in activities that help to boost the power of the brain also helps to ward off cognitive decline that comes with age, and leaves us with our good memories to treasure for a long time.