Wednesday, November 27, 1996 - North Shore News - 26A

Preparing your family for a move

MOST pcople don’t link
moving with their personal
health.

Burt according to Allied Van

Lines president Mike Mason, family -

and personal health should be sight
up there at the cop of the agenda,
largely because a major event like a
family move tends to push other
important items off to the side,
where they're sometimes forgotten.

Allied suggests taking a few min-
utes to look over the following
guidelines that professional health
educators recommend everyone
involved in a household move
should look at before, during and
after the event.

Vaccinations

All children in Canada are
required to be vaccinated against a
specific array of diseases, and these
immunizations, most of which are
for infants and young children, are
tied to a time schedule. They do not

provide the maximum level of pro-
tection unless they are given accord-
ing to this schedule, s0 a visit to
your family doctor or pediatrician is
recommended, once you know a
move is going to take place.
Medications

Canadians are a nation of savers,
particularly when it comes to pre-
scription and over-the-counter med-
ications. A move is an excellent time
to clean out the medicine chest, and
to dispose of any prescription med-
ications that are out of date (i.e., by
flushing down the toilet). Saving
them for possible future use is
potentially deadly.

As a general rule, over-the-
counter medications like headache
remedies and those for upset stom-
achs and other common. ailments,
should be discarded before they’re a
year old, particularly if they haven’t
been stored properly. These com-
mon nicdications should be dis-
posed of as carefully as outdated pre-

Taig Carigtoas

scription medications, Flushing
them down the toilet is the best way.
Tossing them in the garbage is the
worst. They might be found there by
curious small children or family pets.
Taken inappropriately or in’ tao-
large quantities, even the most com-
mon household medications can
lead to serious, potentially fatal,
health problems.
Records

Hf your move is more than just a
few miles down the road or across
town, youre going to need your
medical and dental records. You can
ask your doctor or dentist tu seal the
records, so you can carry them along
with you, or you can make arrange-
ments to have them forwarded to
your new health provider in your
new location.

If you don’* yet have a new fam-
ily doctor or dentist, make it the first
order of business to find one. Your
present doctor or dentist caiv proba-
bly make a recommendation based

on his or her knowledge of who's
practicing in the area.

Another set of records you
should get transterred as soon as
possible are your pharmacy records,
particularly if you or another family
member has a chronic health condi-
tion like arthritis, diabetes, heart dis-
case or any other that requires regu-
lar medication, Many pharmacies
today keep computerized records of
prescriptions thar can be easily and
efficiently transferred. Getting these
records to a pharmucist in your new
community simply helps to assure
thar all the health professionals tak-
ing care of you know the kind of
care and treatment you require.
Pharmacy records, in particular, can
sometimes help spor possible drug
interactions that could lead to new
and potentially threatening prob-
lems.

Current care

If you’re planning on combining

your move with a holiday, make sure

vou have a sufficient quantity of any
important prescription medications
to bring along with you, and to sat-
isfy your requirements until you get
settled with a physician near your
new home. Daily medications are
vitally important to the health of
some peuple, so make sure you
don’t run out.

Keep a list and keep it current, of
any allergies that anyone in the fam-
ily may be suffering. This is impor-
tant for all your health providers,
including your pharmacist, to know.

Once youve found a doctor,
dentist and pharmacist you’re happy
with, stick with them. Continuity of
care ftom a health professional who
knows you is vital to good health. If
you're not happy after the first visit
or two, look for another, but don’t
go shopping around for someone
who will agree with the diagnosis
you’ve come up with.

Remember, health considerations
do not take a holiday, just because
you've decided to make a move, reit-
erates Mason, so take all the steps
necessary to make sure that your
good personal and family health care
continues without interruption.

reproductions ff
from New “
4 York

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