5 Ways to Spend Less and Stay Well
You don't have to spend a lot of money to get healthy and stay that way.
Aug. 13, 2008— -- Now that we've all been hit with the economic trifecta -- the mortgage, food and gasoline crises -- finding ways to cut back has become an imperative.
Of course, you never want to skimp when it comes to your health. Fortunately, there are ways to get well and stay that way for less.
Dr. Beth Corn, an allergy immunologist at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, says that one of the most common mistakes allergy sufferers make is to keep stacks of books and magazines, stuffed animals, decorative pillows and other "dust-mite breeding grounds" in the bedroom.
Dust mites, she says, are the leading cause of indoor, year-long allergies.
And when it comes to outdoor allergens, about 60 percent of us suffer from ragweed, leaf molds and other harbingers of fall.
Good as it feels to sleep with your windows open to the sound of breezes rustling the trees, that might be why you wake up with a puffy, drippy, Garbage Pail Kid face.
Corn has a simple remedy: Close your windows and turn on a fan.
And if you're a jogger, jog in the evening, she says. That's because pollen counts are higher in morning.
And when you get home, remove your clothes immediately and shower to get rid of the pollen that has attached itself to your clothes, skin and hair.
But the worst enemies may be your best friends. Many people let pets sleep not only in the room but in the bed.
It's a touchy subject, Corn says. Getting allergy sufferers to stop sleeping in the same room or even in the same bed with Tiger is just not easy. But pet dander is one of the worst culprits.
Marty Becker, author of "The Healing Power of Pets" and host of the "The Pet Doctor" on PBS, has a few key tips on making the transition a smooth one:
But you don't have to go to a lab to stock up your medicine cabinet. Dr. Wayne Anderson, author of "Habits of Health," says to use raw, unprocessed honey on your scrapes and cuts. The heating process used to clarify most grocery-story honey "probably eliminates the antibacterial property," he says. "If it's processed, it won't work."
Research on honey is still in its infancy, he says, but what is not in dispute is that honey contains hydrogen peroxide -- the perfect antidote for staph and other common skin bacteria.
Anderson says that when compared with over-the-counter creams, honey might be even more effective for small burns -- such as the kind you get from the stove or a hot iron. That's because most anti-bacterial creams stick to the skin as well as the gauze, causing further irritation when the gauze is lifted.
Honey, on the other hand, is partially absorbed by the fragile, puffy skin, providing a slippery membrane between the flesh and the bandage.
Passing out after a night of cocktails a la "Sex and the City," for example, may put you in a deep sleep, but there's a good chance you'll wake up suddenly in the early hours with a bout of insomnia, he says.
Habitually taking sleeping pills and painkillers is not such a great idea either, Walker adds. They may knock you out at bedtime, but the flat, dreamless sleep they often induce does not generally provide the healing and repair your mind and body craves.
"We tend to undervalue the importance of dreaming," says Walker, who is currently working on a book on the role dreams play in our mental health.
Dr. Janet Taylor, a psychiatrist at New York's Harlem Hospital, points to a recent study in the New England Journal of Medicine that indicates that obesity spreads through social ties. On the flip side, says Taylor, one's social network can be linked to health-promoting behaviors.
Intuitively, we already know this, don't we? Aren't you more inclined to choose a chef salad over pizza if you're with your "healthy" friend, and more inclined to order dessert or (gasp) take a drag on a cigarette if you're spending time with your "unhealthy" friend?
But there's an added benefit to spending quality time with friends and strengthening those bonds, Taylor says. "People who have good, trusting social support networks may have lower stress levels, which presumably can lessen the inflammatory response. A heightened inflammatory response has been linked to chronic disease and autoimmune illnesses."
"See Spot, Check Spot" is the slogan of the American Center for Dermatology. It has partnered with dermatologists across the country to offer free screenings. Just go to the extremely user-friendly www.melanomamonday.org to find a convenient location.
Blood pressure: Getting your blood pressure taken may seem as mindless as stepping up on the scale when you go to the doctor's office for a sore throat, but doctors say the measure of the force of your blood pumping from your heart through your arteries is one of the most important ways to monitor your overall health.
Blood pressure for most healthy people falls below 120/80. See how you measure up by taking advantage of one of the numerous free blood pressure machines in pharmacies and malls. To locate the one nearest you, go to www.lifeclinic.com/locator/search.asp.
Mammograms, pap smears and more: The National Cancer Institute advises most women older than 40 to get annual mammograms, and many health care providers across the nation now offer free mammograms, as well as a host of other free screenings.
A few examples:
Related Stories
ABC News Live