Family health history is important to know. Why?

When you consult a doctor for a certain complaint or disease, one of the first things the doctor will ask is your medical record and family medical history. Unfortunately, many people don't know what their own family history is like. Even though it is important to know the family tree of health and hereditary diseases. Why is it important, and how do you know it? Check out the following explanation.

Knowing your family medical history can predict your health

The family health pedigree relates to your health. The reason is, there are several diseases that can be passed down from ancestor to posterity. Unlike influenza or dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF), genetic diseases are not solely caused by external bacterial or viral infections. The cause is damage to the genes in the body due to free radicals and chemicals which then change your genetic code. The manifestation of genetic damage to posterity can be in the form of congenital physical defects or hereditary diseases.

The genes in your body are formed from a combination of the genes of the father and the genes of the mother. Later, the genes that are most dominant will determine your physical and psychological condition. Suppose your father has been fond of smoking since you were not born. The toxins and chemicals from cigarettes also cause damage to the father's genes. This damage eventually leads to lung cancer.

The damaged father gene will be carried away by sperm cells. If this gene is strong and dominant enough, this gene will survive in the fetus which is formed from the fertilization of sperm and egg cells. So when you are born, you have inherited the talent for lung cancer from your father's genes. Damaged genes will continue to be passed down from generation to generation in your family tree.

The risk of lung cancer increases if you live a lifestyle that can trigger this disease. For example, you were exposed to cigarette smoke from your father since childhood or you smoke yourself. So, by knowing your family history in detail, this can help your doctor diagnose your health condition, if you are experiencing a certain health problem.

Moreover, even if you don't have certain health problems, knowing your family medical history will make you more alert and pay attention to your health condition.

Diseases that usually run in families

Some diseases are known to be caused by genetic factors. Diseases that may be caused by inherited genetic factors, namely:

• Cancer
• Diabetes
• Asthma
• Heart and blood vessel disease
• Alzheimer's and dementia
• Arthritis
• Depression
• High blood pressure

Where can I get my family medical history information from?

It is not easy to find out the medical history of all family members, especially if you have a very large family. You can get all this information from family members with whom you are related by blood.

Here are some questions you can ask your family members:

• Has anyone in your family died from chronic disease? What disease did he have and at what age did he get sick?
• Are there any medical problems that have been passed down from generation to generation?
• Is there a history of miscarriage or birth defects in your family?
• Do you have any allergies in your family?

You can start asking and digging up information from nuclear family members, such as fathers, mothers, and siblings. If you still have a grandparent, this is even better because you can get more information from both of them.

What information do I need to get to find out my family medical history?

Maybe at first, you thought that it was quite difficult to gather this kind of information. However, you don't actually need to dig up all the information from your family. not necessarily, they also remember the information you need. So, focus on the important things like:

• Major health problems that have ever been experienced. You don't need to ask all the diseases that have attacked your family members one by one. Focus on the main disease which is usually a chronic illness in your family. Ask him, the type of disease and the severity of what he was experiencing at that time.
• Cause of death. You have to find out what caused the death of some of your previous family members. Remember, if the cause is chronic disease. This may be an inherited genetic disease and put you at risk of experiencing it too.
• Age at disease. Not only the type and severity of a disease, but you also need to know at what age your family is affected by the chronic disease.
• Ethnicity. You must know the ethnicity of your family, because ethnicity is a risk factor for certain health problems.