There is no exaggeration that life is hard; it always comes with problems; one of them being health issues, especially getting exposed to the disease at any age. Health is a susceptible component of life, and it should be prioritized over other factors.

You might not be shocked to know that the overall population’s health has been depleting over the years due to not understanding the importance of good health. Being fit, exercising, and eating right is the only way to live healthily, stay in good shape, and, most importantly, avoid lifestyle diseases.

For a deeper perspective, here are the 5 most common lifestyle diseases among people in this era. 

What are the Top Lifestyle Diseases?

1. Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia

From forgetting things and finding it hard to connect the dots to poor judgment and decision-making skills, Alzheimer’s and Dementia can be severe health concerns that build up gradually, especially in older people. 

Diagnosing Alzheimer’s means having difficulty participating in a normal conversation, forgetting things frequently or facing a challenge to manage finances and budgets. The following are some symptoms of Alzheimer’s patients.

Symptoms

Alzheimer’s and Dementia can be detected in a patient with these nine clear symptoms mentioned below.

• Frequent memory loss
• Poor judgment
• Having a hard time understanding and solving problems
• Completing daily chores becomes a challenge
• Don’t understand the time and forget places
• Having trouble understanding relationships and images
• Issues with vocabulary while speaking or writing
• Forgetting things and being unable to find them
• Mood and personality changes

People suffering from Alzheimer’s majorly forget things, even what they have recently learned. Simple examples could be dates, birthdays, events possibly asking the same question repeatedly etc. However, don’t get this confused with aging factors, like forgetting something but remembering later.

Prevention

If you do detect any one of these symptoms, it is quite understandable that you may not feel easy sharing it with people; however, professional advice is highly necessary so that you know what to do. Don’t prescribe yourself any medicine before consulting a doctor and act on whatever they suggest.

Don’t underestimate the value of early detection because it can help ease the symptoms or headaches that you may feel like a side effect of this disease. In addition, you will have a better chance of getting cured, and that is precisely the point.

Get yourself or your loved one suspected of Alzheimer’s checked. Better safe than sorry. Early detection may save lives. 

2. Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis is another dangerous lifestyle disease that can affect anyone at any age, particularly old people. It often attacks the lungs and causes intense cough and breathing problems, targeting an individual’s kidneys, heart, and spine. 

To help create awareness, here are some symptoms of Tuberculosis;

• Coughing for more than three weeks\
• Fever
• Coughing blood and mucus
• Fatigue, Chills
• Intense pain on the chest while coughing or breathing
• Unintended weight loss
• Loss of appetite
• Night sweats

There are 3 stages of TB; latent, exposure and active disease. If you think you might be a victim of Tuberculosis, get yourself tested or checked by a doctor so you can get instant treatments and you know what level you stand on.

This lifestyle disease can be deadly, especially because it can spread to other parts and damage them too. If that is the case, your symptoms will vary according to what organ is affected. To give you a broader view, if you have Tuberculosis in the spine, then you would probably have a lot of back pain, or if it’s in your kidneys, you may expect blood in your urine.

Lifestyle Changes

A tuberculosis patient would have a lot of lifestyle changes in their daily routines. The first one is intense pain. Whether you have an unending cough, chills, night sweats or any kind of body irritation, it does cause a lot of pain. Therefore, even completing the usual chores would be challenging. Secondly, there will be no satisfaction; you will always feel uneasy, and who wants that? 

Here are some prevention tips you can make use of if you think you or someone else might have this demanding lifestyle disease. 

Prevention

• Keep Your Distance

If you suspect you may have TB, it usually takes quite a while to get treated, and till then, you need to stay away from your family and friends. TB is highly contagious, and you have to be very careful so that you don’t spread it to others. 

• Stay Home

As a victim of TB, you must stay home. Skip school or work for a few days and stick to bed till you feel better. Rest is very important, and it’s ultimately what will get you better.

• Ventilate the Room

Ensure you sanitize where you are staying because tuberculosis germs spread like fire, especially in confined spaces without windows because there is no ventilation.

• Cover Your Mouth

Covering your mouth whenever you cough, talk, laugh or sneeze is extremely important. You can wear a mask to be on the safe side or use a tissue and dispose of it right away after you’re done using it so that the bacteria do not spread to other people.

• Take Your Meds

Make sure you don’t skip your medicines. If you are at risk or are already suffering from TB, then take your medicines regularly because TB bacteria have a high chance of developing multiple mutations, making them stronger to fight your prescribed drugs and beating those would mean you have a decreased chance to survive.

3. Coronary Artery Disease or CAD

You have probably heard of people getting heart attacks, wonder why? Well, they are victims of Coronary artery disease. This is a common lifestyle disease that many people fall victim to. However, CAD can be treated, depending on the intensity of the level your disease is, but professional help can, for sure, reduce the future risks you hold.

What causes a heart attack, clinically known as CAD, is the built-up plaque in the boundaries of an artery that supplies deoxygenated blood to the heart, blocking the blood flow. Therefore, when blood is not supplied to the heart, there is no oxygenated blood transporting to other organs in the body, hence pressuring the heart to stop.

Symptoms

Some symptoms that you may want to be concerned about are;

• Chest pain 
• Feeling sick in the stomach and nausea
• Weakness
• Arm and shoulder pain
• Loss of breath
• Cold sweats

With time, repetitive heart attacks can weaken the heart’s walls and cause heart failure, which can be fatal where the heart stops pumping blood normally.

Preventive Measures

The reason why cases of CAD have been widely increased is that people don’t take care of their health as they did in older times. Getting this lifestyle disease can make you extremely ill and in pain, refraining you from running basic errands due to tiredness. Especially if you are obese, you are at high risk of a heart attack. 

Here are a few ways you can reduce your chances of risk.

• Have a Healthy and Balanced Diet

Of course, french fries and cakes every day are not ideal for any human’s health. It causes you to gain weight and increase fat in your body, and you don’t want that. Have a healthy, nutrition-packed meal every day and watch your health and activity level boost.

• Exercise

You cannot be physically fit unless you work out. Exercising or even being active can help you get that blood flowing in your body. It increases productivity and enhances positivity in your mood. While also helping you in losing weight, hence with low fat, your risks of getting a heart attack are significantly decreased.

• Limit Alcohol Intake

Get that alcohol level as low as possible because it’s a major catalyst that leads to heart failure.

Above mentioned were ways to lower your chances of getting CAD; however, what you should keep in mind if you have CAD, is to consult a professional.

Get a doctor’s opinion right away if you have any symptoms or feel a heavy pain in your chest. Getting treated immediately is the best possible option to increase prospects of survival.

4. Cancers

The second most usual cause of death in the world is Cancer. It is a fatal lifestyle disease where there is minimal to no cure. Cancer happens when some of your body cells keep growing and spreading to different organs, and the worst part is, it can start from anywhere in the body and spread like fire.

Symptoms

Look out for the following symptoms if you suspect Cancer:

• Fatigue
• Difficulty swallowing
• Lump or thickness under the skin
• Weight changes (unintentional gain or loss)
• Skin yellowing, redness, darkening causing sores that are not healing
• Bowel routine changes
• Tenacious coughing and breathing
• Persistent indigestion
• Discomfort after eating
• Unexplained muscle and joint pain, high fevers and night sweats
• Bleeding or bruising

Immediately follow up with a doctor if you have any of these symptoms, considering this lifestyle disease is getting common daily. On the other hand, if you think you might have cancer, get yourself tested and undergo necessary screenings.

Prevention

Some ways that might help reduce your risks of getting cancer are:

• Quit Smoking

Smoking itself is highly detrimental to health and is a major cause of Cancer.

• Avoid Sun Exposure

There are harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays excreted from the sun that enters your skin, causing skin cancer and irritation. Try wearing protective and covered clothing so that your risk is limited. Don’t forget to apply sunscreen.

• Exercise Regularly

A good heart rhythm and blood flow will automatically help you fight cancer cells at the highest potential.

• Maintain a Healthy Weight 

Aside from other extensive diseases like diabetes and CAD, obesity can also lead to Cancer, therefore, try working out more and have a healthy diet to ease weight loss.

5. Diarrhea

Diarrhea, even though it is short-lived, can cause a ton of pain in an individual’s body. It mainly causes loose and more watery stool frequently, with intense abdominal and stomach pains, repeated vomiting and dehydration. This pain usually goes away in a few days; however, if it stays for a longer time, you may have a serious problem.

With Diarrhea, your life gets extremely disrupted. It’s one thing that you have to run to the bathroom every five minutes, and it; ‘s a totally different story about the pains it comes with. Laying in bed all day will make you even more sick and uneasy. Your productivity falls to zero, and the motivation to go through really pushes you down. Therefore, you must take care.

Symptoms

Here’s what to expect if you think you have Diarrhea.

• Abdominal cramps or pain
• Blood in the stool
• Fever
• Bloating
• Urgent need for a bowel movement
• Vomiting
• Mucus in the stool
• Nausea

Preventing Infectious Diarrhea

Taking preventive measures is essential because this common lifestyle disease can hit you anytime at any age. Therefore, start with the basics;

• Ensure Cleanliness and Body Hygiene

Especially your hands and face, wash them frequently and thoroughly so that no bacteria enters your system through these areas. Wash your hands after using the toilet, blowing your nose etc., and use sanitizers as much as possible.

• Eat Cautiously

To prevent yourself from getting Diarrhea, especially when you are traveling, watch what you eat. Try having well-cooked food, especially chicken, to avoid getting infected with Salmonella. 

• Drink Cautiously

Drink more and more water to keep your system clean. If you are having Sodas, try drinking them in their original containers, drink bottled water instead of tap water and keep your mouth closed when showering.

These only explained how Diarrhea could be prevented; however, if you feel like you may be infected, consult a doctor immediately before it worsens and the pain gets unbearable. Do Not prescribe yourself medicines; instead, get yourself checked and tested. 

Final Words

The idea behind awareness of today’s most common lifestyle diseases is to make people conscious about their health and well-being. Without being fit and having the ideal health, you will never enjoy life the way it is. Take it slow, one step at a time, because you are not alone, but even the minor changes can get you your expected results. So start today!

Stay Safe, Stay Healthy.