Western doctors generally advise patients to make a "genealogical tree" of their illnesses, where to write in detail what health problems and when were your nearest relatives. An attentive person will probably notice that members of the same family often suffer from similar diseases. In such cases it is usually said: "The apple is not far from the apple tree". And this proverb is not far from the truth. Although in fact heredity is not a verdict. Today, many diseases can be prevented if you know about them in advance. Therefore, do not expect that a kind doctor Aibolit will take you by the pen to the necessary office. Responsibility for your health is your own business. So, we ask questions to determine possible hereditary diseases, the diagnosis of diseases is determined independently.
Is everything alright with the pressure?
Regardless of age, it should not exceed 140/90 mm Hg. This is the upper limit of the norm. Does Mom have more? Make sure that she takes the pressure under control, and her own measure once a week. Although the hereditary factor plays not the least role in the development of hypertension, but in general it is, in the language of specialists, a multifactorial disease. This means that many reasons lead to increased pressure. This stress, smoking, sedentary lifestyle, overweight, addiction to alcohol, meat, fatty and salty foods, taking certain hormonal contraceptives and medications. Exclude them, and the danger of developing hypertension will be much reduced. In this disease, it is good that the risk factors are modifiable, that is, changeable at our request. So there is no and can not be a rigid genetic program, according to which nature punches hypertensives.
However, it is necessary immediately to understand what kind of heredity is considered bad, and which is good. Say, if a great-aunt, having retired, fell ill with hypertension, you can sleep peacefully. Your chances of earning a disease from this have not increased. But if there were cases of juvenile hypertension, infarction or stroke at the young age (under 40 years), some of the relatives did not live up to 60 years because of the complications associated with this disease, then the danger really exists. And a lot! There are reasons to believe that the disease will proceed with complications, and the pressure will refuse to comply with antihypertensive drugs. To prevent this scenario from happening, do not stress yourself, take care of your health, and check the tonometer readings every day!
At what age did the men stop?
Approximately half of the cases from the mother to the daughter are transmitted a hereditary predisposition to hormonal activity and the characteristics of menopause. It may occur early or, conversely, late, accompanied by sweating, tidal flashes, mood swings. This knowledge, if they were shared with you by your mother and grandmother, will help to take action in advance. And thus avoid many unpleasant phenomena of the transition period. Hormonal restructuring of the body begins 10-15 years before the end of menstruation (menopause). In modern women it occurs in 50-55 years, and 100 years ago it was at the age of 40 years. Hence the saying "Forty years is a woman's age".
If it turns out that your menstrual function ends before the age of 45, be sure to tell the gynecologist-endocrinologist about it. Ask him for advice in advance so that he can observe the hormonal background and, if necessary, adjust it by pushing away menopause. It only seems at first glance that, having got rid of the red days of the calendar, a woman can breathe a sigh of relief. It seems that you should not suffer monthly ailments, protect yourself, be afraid to leak at the wrong time and get ruined by gaskets. In fact, there is nothing good in early menopause. Ovaries reduce the production of sex hormones, and you begin to age. And not only outwardly: the heart is weakened, nerves are loosened, calcium leaves the bones. Such violations should be anticipated in order to prevent their occurrence in the future.
Are there any serious problems with the veins?
Health is recorded in the genes. If your mother suffers from varicose veins, your veins are unlikely to be particularly strong. Go through a special ultrasound scan - Doplerography, to find out what condition the venous vessels are in. The fact is that nature, in a short period of intrauterine development, literally from nothing creates a human body. First weave the venous "spiderweb" in black, so that by the time of birth there was at least some vascular network. All the same, it will begin to function actively only in a year, when the child gets to his feet. By this time the infant "spiderweb" should resolve, and the branched out system of peripheral veins to transform into a single thread - the trunk.
However, this process can block the genes that you inherited. Then the venous reconstruction will be interrupted in the intermediate stage. Temporary capillaries are not completely destroyed, the trunk is not completely formed. This is a constructive feature of the venous bed and reveals a special examination. Sometimes even without any ultrasound under the skin, crimson, strongly branching blue sosudae are visible. This is an alarming symptom! If the hereditary predisposition to varicose enlargement is confirmed during the examination, show special concern for the veins!
Is sugar raised in the blood?
The sugar in the blood is 3.3-5.5 mmol / l, provided that the blood was given in the morning on an empty stomach. Persuade Mom to do this analysis! After 40 years, it should be repeated at least once a year, as the risk of developing type 2 diabetes increases. It is also called the diabetes of the elderly. The sweet ailment develops imperceptibly and leads to catastrophic consequences for the body - blindness, hypertension, kidney damage, dying of the foot tissues, because of which doctors have to go for amputation.
Fortunately, it is possible to diagnose this hereditary disease. Diabetes mellitus can be avoided if the sugar is taken under control in time. And knowing in advance about the hereditary predisposition to type 2 diabetes, it is quite realistic not to admit it, despite the frightening statistics. If your mother and father suffer from this ailment, the probability that it will develop after you are 40 years old is 65-70%. To prevent the genetic program from being realized, replace sweets with fruits, do fitness, watch for weight - and health will not let you down!
Is there anything for allergies?
Although the allergy does not belong to hereditary diseases, predisposition to it is transmitted from generation to generation. The genetic mechanisms of this phenomenon are complex and have not yet been fully deciphered. If the mother belongs to the category of allergies, the risk of following her footsteps is 20-50%. Dad is also prone to allergic reactions? Your chances of joining the parents are increased to 40-75%. Parents are healthy? The likelihood of getting an allergy during life is reduced to 5-15%. Keep in mind: inherited not so much a specific disease as a certain mechanism for the development of an allergic reaction. For example, if a father suffers from bronchial asthma, and the mother does not tolerate red caviar and egg white, this does not mean that you will certainly inherit father's asthma, complete with my mother's hypersensitivity to food. Doctors can only guess how things turn out. Since the genes recorded only the principle ability of the body to react in a special way to contact with the allergen. And there is no information on what kind of substance provokes the pathological reaction and what it will result in in each particular case. An allergen that you should be worried about may not have anything in common with those that cause trouble to your parents.
Exception - an allergy to the bites of bees, wasps and other insects. She in 100% of cases passes to children from one of the parents. You should be aware of a specific reaction (great swelling and severe inflammation at the bite site) of a mom or dad. The first bite usually passes without consequences, but the second can be fatal. In no case should it be allowed!
Are there any problems with vision?
If my mother is nearsighted, your chances of acquiring the same visual disturbance are 25%. Save your eyes! Does the pope have the same problem? The probability that sooner or later it will become yours, increases to 50%. Parents do not complain about their eyesight? The risk of developing myopia is low - only 8%. And the inheritance is not the disease itself, but the features of metabolism and the structure of the eyeball. If the genes are pumped up, the insufficiently dense sclera (the white coat covering the eye) is stretched beyond measure, and the eyeball is deformed, creating the prerequisites for nearsightedness.
And after 40 years, because of loss of elasticity of the lens, almost all people face age-long farsightedness. As a rule, already in 40-45 years, most of us need reading glasses from +1 to +1.5 diopters. Since every 5 years, hyperopia increases by 0.5-1 dioptre, lenses in glasses will have to be replaced more often by stronger ones. True, these are averaged data: the speed of development of hyperopia differs in all. Ask how your parents are doing to know what to cook themselves for later.
How often is migraine?
Attacks of throbbing pain in one half of the head or (which is much less common) on both sides are transmitted along the female line - from mother, grandmother, aunt and other close relatives. Mom suffers from a migraine? The probability of inheriting this ailment is 72%. In men, it occurs 3-4 times less often. But if your father is among them, the chances of acquiring a family headache increase to 90%. To prevent them from realizing, you should take care of yourself - to sleep at least 8 hours a day, to avoid stress and spicy food, to train the vessels with contrast procedures.
What is the density of bone tissue?
After 40 years, when the risk of congenital fragility of bones increases - osteoporosis, densitometry should be done. Diagnosis of this hereditary disease should be included in the list of regular. Bones will probably be more fragile than it should be, if your mother has had fractures, for example, in a fall. After the first fracture, the risk is increased by a factor of 2.5. It is better not to admit them in principle, taking care of the prevention of this disease, which, by the way, is getting younger every year.
Lie on lactic acid foods and walk more often. The motor activity and the portion of ultraviolet that you will be able to intercept during the walk will provide a double protection against the age-related fragility of the bones. Keep in mind: if one of the parents or older relatives had a fracture after 50 years, the risk of repeating his fate is significantly increased. Take care of the elders and thus you will take care of yourself!
What does the mammologist say?
After 40 years, a woman should make annual visits to this specialist and undergo a mammographic examination. Do it no matter how old you are. Especially if the grandmother's, mother's, aunt's, sister's were sick with breast cancer, women with you in the first degree of kinship by the maternal line. This does not mean that the disease will certainly overtake you. Just need to show maximum attention to your health! According to the world data, the use of mammography reduced the mortality from breast cancer by 25% and increased the detection of the tumor at an early stage by 80%.
Did the family have smokers?
British scientists have found that smoking-induced changes in DNA are transmitted through a generation. If your mother smoked before pregnancy, and even more so during it, the risk of developing bronchial asthma increases 1.5 times. And your children - more than twice. This means that you not only can not deal with cigarettes yourself, but it is dangerous to be where you are smoked.
Only ten questions will help you prepare for the future. Do not hide from possible problems. If you know where to spread the straw, you can not be afraid of falling! Forecasting a hereditary disease, the diagnosis of the disease can be carried out in advance - to prevent the disease.