Back-to-school season is in full swing.
Many students (K-12 and college) are already back in the classroom. Some students, like mine, do not go back until after the county fair has concluded in a couple of weeks (seriously, county fairs are a big deal and as a city girl, I just don’t understand). Regardless of the date of the first day of school, school is about to start!
Back-to-school marks the beginning of a new year. A fresh start. A new beginning.
And with that in mind, I’m writing a back-to-school series this week.
Five posts.
All focused on the ties between back-to-school season and community health.
Monday’s post focused on pandemic learning loss; yesterday was all about disease spread in the classroom.
Today is all about preventive care.
I will cover mental health on Thursday and safety on Friday. Be sure you are subscribed so you don’t miss one…
Hoping this post helps to educate and empower you
to be healthy and create healthy classrooms & communities.
The new school year is a new start. Whether you are going back to school, your kids or grandkids are, you are preparing to teach for another year, or you know that your daily schedule will be slowed down by school bus routes and crossing guards — this is the start of a new year.
It is a season of new beginnings.
New teachers. New classrooms. New subjects. New friends. New class preps. New schedules. New opportunities. New bus routes.
New, new, new.
The start of anything new is also a great time to pause and take stock of our health.
The American Red Cross and firefighters have claimed daylight savings time — when you move the clocks forward/back an hour, you check the smoke detectors in your house. I believe that the start of school should be associated with an inventory of preventive health care. At the start of each school year, we should all make sure that the following are lined up for the upcoming year —
☑️ Annual check-up with your primary care provider is scheduled.
Mark your calendar and commit to going to this appointment. It is really important. You should start to compile a list of questions or concerns for your provider now. Write them down (so you don’t forget). Questions and concerns should cover your physical and mental health as well as safety and emotional health concerns.
☑️ Annual check-up with your dentist is scheduled.
According to the American Dental Association, “Dentistry is an essential health care service because of its role in evaluating, diagnosing, preventing or treating oral diseases, which can affect systemic health.” Plus — tooth pain is awful; prevent that pain at all costs! And on a personal note, this is one area of preventive care that I have fallen behind on. As I’m typing this, I am also writing “schedule a dentist appointment” on my to-do list. It’s been a few years since I have gone to the dentist; I need to get an appointment on my own schedule today.
☑️ Annual appointment with your eye doctor is scheduled.
This goes without saying, but seeing clearly is important. Good eyesight is also tied to our ability to learn and the social, emotional, cognitive, and physical development of our children. Many years ago, I was a very stressed-out parent. My son, who was almost four years old, could not recognize the letters in the alphabet. I was worried about so many things. I reached out to a preschool teacher, who I trusted, and asked what we could do to help him before sending him off to pre-K. I was expecting her to say do this, this, and this. Instead, she encouraged me to get his hearing and eyesight tested before worrying anymore. Turns out my sweet kid has terrible eyes. He couldn’t learn the alphabet because he couldn’t see the letters. We got him glasses and everything changed — because he could see. Be sure you and your loved ones are seeing well and that your eyes are healthy.
☑️ For adults (over a certain age) — schedule your annual cancer screenings.
If you have a cervix and over 21, is your Pap test scheduled? If you are female and over 40, is your mammogram scheduled? If you have a prostate and are over 40, talk to your provider about prostate cancer screening. Everyone over 45 should be screened for colorectal cancer, yes — everyone. And if you are over 50 and smoke cigarettes (or did so previously), now is the time to be screened for lung cancer.
Do NOT skip your screening tests!
We also want to ensure that everyone is —
☑️ Up-to-date on their vaccines.
Wondering what vaccines you and your loved ones should be getting this fall, check this out. Schedule your flu and (if needed) RSV shot today (those COVID booster shots can be scheduled after we know who can get them and when; stay tuned…)
Back-to-school season is also a good time to double-check (just to be sure) that you are fully vaccinated against polio, measles, diphtheria, whooping cough, shingles (if you are over 50), and mumps. All of these diseases are spreading across the globe right now. Being vaccinated will prevent you from becoming ill and spreading these diseases to others. Be sure (100%) that you are up-to-date on your vaccines. Any one of these diseases will put a real damper on the new school year if you become infected. Get vaccinated!
After completing these five to-do items for yourself, make sure your friends, family, and kids are also completing them.
Just another friendly reminder that —
My health is intimately tied to your health and yours to mine.
And that being healthy — as individuals and as a community — means that we are all taking steps, including everything listed above, to be healthy.
Be sure to complete your to-do list today (download & print the list, seriously —
Questions? Please ask —
And be sure to share this to-do list with your friends and family.