Prevention is best defense when battling illness Published Feb. 8, 2011 By Airman 1st Class Heather Heiney 81st Training Wing Public Affairs KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. -- Editor's note: This is the sixth in a series of articles about personal wellness. While it's true that disease and illness can creep in like icy air through the cracks of a door, prevention can be like the seal that keeps out the cold. According to the Medical Wellness Association, medical wellness is not just the absence of disease and illness it is, "an approach to delivering health care that considers multiple influences on a person's health and consequently multiple modalities for treating and preventing disease as well as promoting optimal well-being." In other words, medical wellness considers several facets of a person's health and determines individual and specific needs. Dr. (Lt. Col.) Marcus Cranston, 81st Aerospace Medical Diagnostics Squadron preventive medicine and endocrinology flight commander, said that the three stages of prevention are primary, secondary and tertiary. "Primary preventions prevents the occurrence of the disease from happening, secondary prevention detects disease at an early stage in which it can be treated or cured and tertiary prevention prevents further disability when a disease is already present," he said. Dr. Cranston also said that some preventive measures such as not smoking are universal, but some such as eating a low carbohydrate diet to prevent or maintain diabetes are more specific to people with a higher risk of the disease. "Therefore, to prevent disease or illness, it's important to know what you are at risk for and what measures you can take to reduce that risk," Dr. Cranston said. Regular self-examinations are crucial to secondary prevention because you know your body better than anyone else; you would be the first to know when something is not normal. The earlier something is detected, the sooner it can be treated and the better chance of finding and implementing a cure. Some easy steps to maintaining medical wellness are: Keep up-to-date on immunizations. The 81st Medical Group offers immunizations on a walk-in basis weekdays, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wash hands. As much as it's been ingrained, it's surprising how many people neglect to follow this simple preventive step. Don't smoke. The health and wellness center offers free tobacco cessation classes every Wednesday with a wide variety of resources to help people quit. Maintain diet and exercise. Obesity is one of the leading causes of death in America and the best way to prevent obesity is to eat a healthy diet and exercise on a regular basis. Know your family history. If you are aware of common occurrences in your gene pool, you can heighten your awareness and your preventive measures against the diseases your family members have had in the past. Follow food safety guidelines. Make sure food is properly cleaned and prepared and that all cooking utensils are properly sanitized. Reduce stress. A large amount of stress can cause the immune system to weaken and therefore cause a person to be more susceptible to disease and illness. Medical wellness does not mean hiding in a bubble that no germ could possibly penetrate -- it simply means paying attention to what your body needs and then taking care of those needs. For more information or to set up a physical health examination, call public health, 376-3163.