Do You Know Your Family Health History?

Do You Know Your Family Health History?

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and National Family Health History Day. Since Thanksgiving is a time when families gather, the Surgeon General encourages us to talk about any health issues that are common within your family.

 

Why do I need to know my family health history?

Knowing your family medical history can increase your awareness about your risk for different hereditary conditions and diseases. Healthline.com suggests five questions to ask your family members:

  1. How old was your relative when they died, and what was the cause of death?
  2. Are there health problems that run in the family?
  3. Is there a history of pregnancy loss or birth defects in your family?
  4. What allergies to people in your family have?
  5. What is your ethnicity?

 

You should ask these questions to your parents, siblings, children, aunts and uncles, nieces and nephews, grandparents, and great-grandparents. People who aren’t blood-related to you don’t need to be included. Relatives beyond the ones listed have a different enough genetic makeup that you wouldn’t learn much about your own risk from them.

 

Make sure to find out about any major medical issues. Nothing is too small, but injuries and other illnesses caused by external factors don’t need to be included. It’s also important to note causes of death, age of onset, ethnic backgrounds, and environment. Different ethnicities have different levels of risk for certain conditions. Environmental factors can contribute to your health, and when families share similar environments they can be prone to the same conditions. Be sure to be as thorough as possible.

 

How do I keep track of my family health history?

 

There is a great tracker available online here from the Office of the Surgeon General. Using the tool, called “My Family Health Portrait”, you can enter your family health history, learn about your risk, print it to share with your family or your doctor, and save it so you can update it over time. This tool is private and does not keep a government record your information.


This paper version from Healthline is also helpful if you would rather not store the information online. This form is created for each individual family member, and asks about important details including hospitalizations, depression, blood disorders, and smoking history. Ancestry website and smartphone apps can also be helpful in keeping track of your family health history.

 

While you’re talking about health topics with your family, Thanksgiving is a wonderful opportunity to make sure your family members have health insurance for 2018. Remind them that Open Enrollment ends on December 15, and after that date they will not be able to enroll for coverage. Visit our navigator page here to make an appointment with a health insurance marketplace navigator who can help you understand your options and choose the plan that’s right for you.

 

The holidays are also a great time to quit tobacco. Have a family member who is constantly leaving the dinner table to smoke? Let them know about the free services provided by our tobacco team. And remind them that they have family that will support them on their quit journey!

 

Knowing your family health history is an important part of living a long, healthy life. Talking about it at Thanksgiving is also a great way to avoid some of those touchier subjects!

 

https://www.healthline.com/health/family-health-history-day#download-form4

https://familyhistory.hhs.gov/FHH/html/index.html#

By |2017-12-13T19:30:44-05:00November 23rd, 2017|Categories: Education, Health Insurance Navigation, Tobacco Cessation|Comments Off on Do You Know Your Family Health History?

About the Author:

Brittany is the Marketing Coordinator at Suwannee River AHEC.
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