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Show FAMILY HEALTH RECORDS AVAILABLE AT NEWS OFFICE This is the week for New Year's resolutions, and Harold Bowman, executive secretary of the Utah State Medical Association, As-sociation, suggests you resolve to begin in 1962 keeping a Family Health Record. How many times have you needed basic facts about members mem-bers of your family for school records, for insurance forms, for a doctor's medical history? A family health record is your compilation of these facts. Like vital statistics in the family Bible, notations on family fam-ily health - kept accurately and up to date - can be of permanent value. - sesq The record should contain pertinent facts on immunizations, immuniza-tions, illnesses, injuries and physical examinations. The record re-cord will prove its worth only if kept carefully. Start immediately im-mediately to jot down basic information you know already. Enter accurately all injuries and illnesses. When you next see your physician, take the family health record along so notations can be made while they are fresh in your mind. A small schoolboy's notebook will do for a record book. Or you can obtain a' small account ac-count book or ledger from a stationary shop. Copies may be obtained of "Your Family Health Record" free, at the Beaver County News office in Milford. Beginning with a brief listing list-ing of the family history. Date and place of birth of each member. If any are deceased, date and cause of death. Pertinent Per-tinent medical facts about each family member, such as chronic chron-ic diseases or illnesses (cancer, diabetes, epilepsy). Next should come a section for dates of immunizations, with spaces for each member of the family. The columns should allow room for listing immunizations against whooping whoop-ing cough, diptheria, tetanus, typhoid, polio and smallpox. There should be space for noting dates of booster shots. A section of general information infor-mation should include such data as the blood type of each family member, whether the RH blood factor is known to be present in any of the family and special allergies or drug sensitivity of each. A check list of the more common diseases - chicken pox, measles, German measles, mumps, whooping cough, scarlet scar-let fever, diptheria - should be included. Most of these are childhood diseases, but sometimes some-times an adult is exposed. German Ger-man measles can be very serious ser-ious in an expectant mother. Mumps is a most serious disease dis-ease in adults. Another section should provide pro-vide a place for noting dates of physical examinations, with a line or two to make note of special advice or instructions that followed the checkup. Illnesses Ill-nesses requiring hospitaliza tion should be recorded, listing nature of the illness or injury, name of physician, name of hospital, dates of entry and discharge, length of illness, if surgery was performed describe des-cribe it " briefly. Illnesses at home should be recorded also. Finally, a section listing the family's health and acci dent insurance information will be helpful. "Relatively few families keep . -health records, but everyone sooner or later finds need for the information. Keep your family health record up to date at all times as an added safeguard safe-guard to your family's health," says Mr. Bowman. |