The upcoming year of 2022 will arrive sooner than you think. If you plan to prioritize your physical and mental well-being as part of your resolutions for the next year, consider incorporating a health journal into your routine. Maintaining a health journal offers numerous benefits. It enables you to document your overall health status, which can be shared with your medical team and loved ones. By recording your mood in a health journal, you can identify triggers and effectively manage them. Additionally, you can keep track of the medications you are taking and maintain a food diary. Monitoring your health history empowers you to be a well-informed patient.
For a comprehensive solution, My Health Journals is an excellent choice. These journals are thoughtfully designed with the individual in mind and developed by Licensed Practical Nurses. Whether you are a senior citizen, reside in a care facility, have recently undergone surgery, or are health-conscious, My Health Journals can be a valuable resource. They serve as a centralized repository for essential information, ensuring that you do not overlook crucial details during medical appointments. By using My Health Journals, you or your family member can create a comprehensive and detailed overview of your health status.
The journal includes a page where you can fill out your complete medical history including: Full name, health card, sex, date of birth, health wishes, allergies, special and needs and medical devises required.
There are also pages where you can record your life story to be passed on to your grandchildren or be left for other family members to read.
Included in the health journal there is a section to record your daily bowel movements, weight, food sensitivities and food intake. There is also a section to record important dates you need to remember like birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, etc. This section is very beneficial to my daughter who is living with a catastrophic traumatic brain injury.
Sleep tracker: We all know more sleep is usually better, but do you know how much you’re getting? The sleep tracker section allows you to record the time you went to bed, wake-up time, hours of sleep and if you had trouble sleeping. If you have difficulty falling or staying asleep, this can help find potential causes and solutions.
Medical Appointments: This section allows you to record appointment times, questions to ask your doctor and doctor notes from your appointment.
Mood tracker: It is easy to get lost in the daily struggles of life. The mood tracker helps keep track of your mood and record your emotion, along with the time you experienced that emotion. Not only will this help you improve your mood through mindfulness, meditation or going for a walk if you are physically able to. Keep a record of your mood is also beneficial to your physician if you are seeing your doctor for your mood.
The Care plan section is beneficial to your health care team, as well as to your family. Here you can list your current health concerns.
For example: Medical Diagnosis: High Blood Pressure. Current Health Concerns: Risk of heart attack or stroke. Plan of action: Exercise daily, reduce stress, take prescribed meds, monitor blood pressure at home, and eat a healthy diet. Expected outcome: Weight loss, reduce risks and lower blood pressure. Medical team: Dr. Strange, Pharmacist Jamie, Dr. Funk-cardiologist and My Wife.
Health Care wishes: It is important to make your health care wishes known, be it you are a senior or middle-aged. In this section of the journal, you can record your health care wishes, your medical team, specific wishes’ and safety measures you have taken.
Here is an example:
Health care wishes: stay independent, help in home, and stay in home.
Medical team: PSW Christine, Dr. Strange and Dr.Funk
Specific Wishes: Someone to take me shopping, help with cookies, someone to clean home and help bathing.
Safety Measures: Walker, railing in the bathtub, bed rails, shower chair and raised toilet seat.
You can also include in your health journal:
- Illnesses.
- Hospitalizations.
- Surgeries.
- Illnesses
- Conditions that run in your family.
- Vaccines
The journal isn’t dated, so you can start it anytime and use it whenever. It’s best to include as much health information as possible in your journal.
My Health Journals will make it easier for her to share significant information with doctors, us, and nursing staff. Jotting notes about level of confusion, behaviours, or ability to complete tasks will help determine if her cognitive function is declining or staying the same. Taking notes and looking for patterns and possible triggers in her behavior may also help her overall mental health too.
While my daughter may not be in charge of her care, My Health Journals will allow her to keep her own personal record of her care.
If you have an aging parent, grandparent or love one with medical conditions then you might want to add a health journal to their life. It is a gift that really makes a difference.
Website: https://myhealthjournals.com/
