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Celebrating Mother's Days by addressing health among UAE mums
Posted on Mar 10, 2017 by Travis Jones
Mother's Day is coming up soon! There are many things you could get for your mum this coming holiday, but the #1 thing you could give her is good health. Find out more here.
March 21st is coming up, which is one of the many days throughout the year on which mothers around the world will be celebrated. While different countries choose different dates, this is the date for Mother’s Day in the United Arab Emirates. While many people will make the effort to take their mother out for a nice dinner and/or purchase her a card or a nice gift, it’s also important to try to give your mother a gift that let's her keep being the great mum that she is: good health and long life. How can you achieve this, though? Well, as with non-mothers, health education, a healthy lifestyle and preventive medicine can go a long way to ensuring physical health and longevity. With this in mind, UAE Medical Insurance presents this helpful list of ailments that can affect mothers of all ages. Have a look and then let the mothers in your life know that you want them to be aware of these conditions because you want to see them happy and healthy.
Mothers in their 20s
While there aren’t many chronic diseases that women in their 20s are at risk for in generally, it is still good to research the family medical history of young mothers so that they are aware of issues that could become a problem later on down the line due to their genetics. If your mother can’t find out much in the way of family medical history, there are genetic tests out there – like 23andMe – that can give some hints as to what diseases to watch for.
When asking doctors about health risks for women in their 20s, STDs will undoubtedly come up time and again. Of course, this is not something that many mothers will have to worry about. HPV (human papillomavirus) however, which is perhaps the most common disease, should still be checked for, as it is believed to be linked to cervical cancer. And, as it happens, cervical cancer is the most common cancer found among women under the age of 35.
Mothers in their 30s
Mothers in their 30s are going to have to decide if they want to become a mum to even more children, as fertility issues will become more pronounced during this time frame. After the age of 35, some women will find it hard to conceive a child, and the risk of birth defects in newborns go up significantly.
Also at this time, if it wasn’t already experienced in her 20s, a woman is likely to have to start dealing with the weight gain that comes with the slowdown of her metabolism. Here, exercise is important, but diet is the queen bee. Your mum could eat the same amount of calories that she has for years and still start to put on significant weight. For this reason, it’s important that your mum keeps an eye on her caloric intake, as well as what types of foods she is eating. Proteins and vegetables should be focused on, while carbohydrates and sugars are sure to lead to the creation of more fat in her body.
This age range is also a good time to do pre-diabetes and thyroid hormone checks. Along with the weight gain that can come with age, diabetes can become a health concern for those mums that aren’t health-focused. This blood sugar condition can be a chronic issue that people struggle with for their entire life, so getting checked for indicators of the condition is certainly a good idea, as it can be avoided entirely.
Diabetes can also put women at risk for hypothyroidism, which is a hormonal imbalance that can further reduce a body’s metabolism, and cause a whole host of related symptoms. Of course, hypothyroidism can also be present entirely outside of any instance of diabetes, so encourage your mum to get checked for it regardless of the results of her pre-diabetes check.
Mothers in their 40s
When a mother is in her 40s, she may find it hard to balance family, career, aging parents and more. This can lead to depression. As such, make sure your mother is managing stress appropriately, help her out wherever you can, and consider therapy to help cope with the psychological burdens of being a modern mum.
Another major illness for which the risk levels rise dramatically in a woman’s 40s and beyond, especially if there is a family history of it, is breast cancer. While men are more likely to develop any particular type of cancer that can affect both men and women, the sheer number of cases of breast cancer that occur in women in their 30s and 40s make women in this age range twice as likely as men to contract cancer in general. Women need to be diligent in self checking and receiving annual mammograms to ensure that they do not develop this terrible affliction.
Mothers in their 50s
Another type of cancer where risks rise significantly in a woman’s 50s is colon cancer. For this reason, colonoscopies received at regular intervals – at least every ten years – are advisable. This interval should be increased substantially if your mother has a family history of colon cancer.
A woman’s 50s are also the years where she should begin worrying about her cholesterol levels. A blood screening can quickly let her know if her good and bad cholesterol levels are anything to worry about.
Mothers who are 60+
While it may not be the trendy ailment that gets the most attention when it comes to women’s health, it is still true that heart disease is the number one killer of women globally. The older she gets, the higher at risk a woman is. This makes sense, as plaque builds up over time on arterial walls, and estrogen is a heart protective hormone that will fall with each passing year. Again, proper exercise and diet will go a long way towards ensuring that your mum keeps her heart healthy.
If your mother has a history of smoking, the later years of life are also the ones when she should worry about lung cancer. A history of smoking is something that should divulged to her doctor, and regular annual checkups should be scheduled to monitor any symptoms that may arise, such as incessant coughing or pain in the lungs.
Finally, bone density can greatly deteriorate as a woman ages. Testing for bone density can actually be performed as early as a woman’s 30s to see if this can be an early chronic condition, but many women struggle with bone density problems into their 60s and beyond. Calcium supplementation and weight training can be used to combat the problem, but the earlier bone loss is detected and treatment can be started, the better.
Of course, the above list is not all encompassing when it comes to keeping the mothers in your life healthy. To stay on top of all health concerns, the number one thing you can do is encourage your mother to get check-ups with her primary care doctor regularly, and absolutely not dawdle if any signs of a disease appear. What’s more, you will want to ensure that your mother has access to the best healthcare available, without having to worry about the costs that typically come with it. This is where having a comprehensive health insurance plan comes in.
An International Health Insurance plan from UAE Medical Insurance is an excellent choice for expatriate mums in the UAE, as they can have access to care in the best private healthcare facilities in the country, as well as receive care at virtually any country and hospital in the world. Contact our agents today for plan comparisons from leading insurers, as well as a free price quote.
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