Health

IN THIS SECTION

Health

Wellbeing

Aged Care

Grief & Loss

Maintaining and improving your health and wellbeing as you get older is vital to enjoying your later years. YOURLifeChoices understands this and we bring you up-to-date information, resources and relevant feature articles on the health checks you need, nutrition, managing pain, choosing health insurance, the ins and outs of grandparenting and which alternative medicines may give you the health boost you need. We also explain how aged care works, including residential aged care, aged care services delivery and health and ageing.

Helpful Health Links

1. The go-to guide

Need a place to start? The Better Health Channel has a wide range of general health-related information to help kick-start your own research. It is a Victorian Government run website with up-to-date, doctor approved information on ailments, emerging treatments and developments in medical research.
www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au

2. Your GP on the web
Not sure if you should make an appointment with your doctor? Web MD teams up board-certified physicians with trained communicators to bring you readable health information. This is a US site but the information available is useable worldwide. So just how serious is that sniffle?
www.webmd.com

3. Feeling down?
Not all sickness is physical. Feeling sad for a long time can be as debilitating as any chronic disease, and it’s harder to diagnose. beyondblue provides information on depression, anxiety and substance misuse without the social stigma.
www.beyondblue.org.au

4. Cancer myths busted

With so much information available, it can be difficult to sort fact from fiction when it comes to cancer. The Australian Cancer Council’s website iheard is designed todispell cancer-related myths and it promises to respond to your query within fourteen days.
www.iheard.com.au

5. Wonderful women
The Jean Hailes Foundation aims to provide information to help improve the health and wellbeing of Australian women. You can find out about menopause, bone health and ageing well, or get involved with a research project.
www.jeanhailes.org.au

6. Playing doctor
Self-diagnosis has never been easier, but not all the information that you find on Google will be accurate. myDr is a doctor-approved Australian website where you can use the symptoms centre to help inform you before your next visit to the GP.
www.mydr.com.au

7. Protect yourself
Private health insurance can be one of the best investments you ever make, but how do you choose a provider? PrivateHealth is a government-run website which provides the Standard Information Statement for every health insurance product on the market, making it easier for you to see what you’re really getting.
www.privatehealth.gov.au

8. Get healthy, get active!
Being healthy and active can reduce your chances of cancer and heart disease, and it can improve your quality of life tenfold. HealthyActive has all the information on the Australian Government’s active-lifestyle initiatives, including finding out how you measure up.
www.healthyactive.gov.au

9. Pain in the gut
Bloating, abdominal pain, diarrhea and constipation can be symptoms of very specific abdominal problems, such as coeliacs disease, or they could simply indicate irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). If these symptoms sound familiar, then it’s time to arm yourself with knowledge at Shepherd Works, a group dedicated to you and your gastro-intestinal tract.
www.shepherdworks.com.au

10. Something different
Western medicine doesn’t always get it right, and sometimes the treatments you are receiving could be supplemented. Alternative and complementary medicine can be a fantastic way to make some headway on a medical issue which has the doctors scratching their heads. The National Institute of Complimentary Medicine (NICM) is a good entry point to the world of alternative therapies.
www.nicm.edu.au