Self-Care: Handling Common Medical Problems at Home

The aim of medicine is to prevent disease and prolong life; the ideal of medicine is to eliminate the need of a physician.
- William Mayo Not every medical problem that affects you should make you rush to your doctor. After all, most medical problems are minor and self-limited, and experts estimate that more than 80 per cent of them can be safely managed at home. You should constantly remember that your body possesses remarkable healing powers, and given enough time and tender loving care, it can 'repair' most ailments on its own! Home remedies, many of which have stood the test of time, have proved to be effective and helpful. Simple measures such as massage and compresses are helpful as well - use to learn them judiciously! Here are some practical and useful steps you can use in order to take care of common problems which affect most of us at some point of time or the other. These are based on guidelines suggested by the American Institute for preventive medicine. Note: When your symptoms fall under the "Call your Doctor" heading, you should do just that: call your doctor for with. State the problem precisely and you can get relevant instructions. When your symptoms fall under the "Get Immediate Care For" heading, you should get help fast - the situation may be a medical emergency!