Thanks to the internet and technology, we’re now better informed about our health than ever before. But that doesn’t necessarily make us healthy.
In the past, most people would continue with their normal lifestyle and only visit the doctor if there was an issue.
Today, with the explosion in the health tech centre. We can access more informative and predictive information on our health than ever before. The information we get from these can give us amazing insights into our own bodies and what we need to do to be healthier.
Dental Care
Most of us are searching for a beautiful smile. Having misaligned or crowded teeth can also cause issues with bites, jaw alignment and headaches. There are now a lot of options for teeth braces that you can customise and order online, without having to have the traditional metal-type braces fitted at the dentist.
Smart Watches
You can now wear something on your wrist that gives you more information about your health than you ever thought possible. Smartwatches have the ability to track your physical activity, heart rate, sleep patterns and much more. Some models can even tell you if you’re having atrial fibrillation, a potentially serious issue with your heart.
Many people use trackers to monitor and improve their exercise program, but they can also be connected to a number of other apps to give you a holistic view of your health, sleep patterns and even fertility.
Blood Analysis
As a snapshot of your overall health, your blood can tell you a lot. Usually, your doctor would only order a blood test if you had visited about a medical issue. Today, there are companies such as Thriva that offer the opportunity to assess your overall health with your fingerprick blood test. They will then analyse this send a report to you and point out any results that might need further investigation. Typically you can measure blood count, blood glucose, iron levels, thyroid function, hormone levels and vitamin levels.
Fertility
FemTech is currently having a moment. People are realising that women’s health needs a different approach and the gender health gap is narrowing. There are many great options for tracking and analysing cycles, which can be used to help with conception.
Screening Programmes
Depending on where you live, there will be various screening programmes running. These are often based on gender and age-related illnesses. For example, cervical cancer checks, and bowel or breast cancer. Some medical practices offer annual checkups for those over 40 which is designed to give an overview of health in general and pick up any issues early.
Final Thoughts
Your health is important, so why wait until something is wrong before changing your lifestyle? Being able to get detailed information on your health is now possible so that you can make changes and advocate for yourself if you need to with your doctor. It will be very interesting to see what types of technology and tests will be at our fingertips over the next few years too.
