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Show Start New Year by Launching Valuable Family Medical Record This is the week for New Year's resolutions, and Harold Bowman, executive secretary of the TLTtah State Medical Association, Associ-ation, suggests you resolve to begin in 1962 keeping a Family Health Record. How many times have you needed basic health facts about members 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 health kept accurately and up to date can be of permanent value. The record should contain pertinent per-tinent facts on immunizations, illnesses, injuries and physical examinations. The record will prove its worth only if kept carefully. Start immediately 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 book or ledger from a stationery shop. Copies may be obtained of "Your Family Health Record" by writing this newspaper. Begin with a brief listing of the family history. Date and place of birth of each member. If any are deceased, date and cause of death. Pertinent medical facts about each family member, such as chronic diseases or illnesses ill-nesses (cancer, diabetes, epilepsy). epilep-sy). Next should come a section for dates of immunizations, with spaces for each member of the family. The columns should al low room for listing immunizations immuniza-tions against whooping cough, diphtheria, tetanus, typhoid, polio and smallpox. There should be space for noting dates of booster shots. A section an general information informa-tion 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 com-mon diseases chicken pox, measles, mea-sles, German measles, mumps, whooping cough, scarlet fever, diphtheria should be included. Most of these are childhood diseases, dis-eases, but sometimes an adult is exposed. German measles can be very serious in an expectant mother. Mumps is a 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 spe-cial advice or instructions that followed the checkup. Illnesses requiring hospitalization should be recorded, listing nature of the illness or injury, name of physician, physi-cian, name of hospital, dates of entry and discharge, length of illness, ill-ness, if surgery was performed describe it briefly. Illnesses at home should be recorded also. Finally, a section listing the family's health and accident insurance in-surance information will be helpful. help-ful. "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 to your family's health," says Mr. Bowman. |