Your heredity

All of us enter this world with 46 chromosomes in each of our cells - the result of the joint contribution of both parents. Each chromosome contains thousands of genes that predetermine most of our traits - eye color, hair color, height, intelligence, etc. However, genes are more than just copying paper. They determine the state of your health. Knowing the "medical history" of your family will help you assess your own vulnerability and, therefore, understand the meaning of a particular symptom.

But do not despair ahead of time! Many make a huge mistake, refusing to fight and saying: "What's the point? This disease will stick to me, whatever I do, it's embedded in my genes." Such an attitude is sometimes justified, for example, with Huntington's chorea, a hereditary brain disorder that does not manifest itself to the middle of a person's life; And then everything quickly rolls down the slope, to death. If one of your parents had Huntington's disease , you can say with 50% confidence that you inherited it, and currently there are no funds to help you avoid it. The same applies to sickle cell anemia , if you inherited the disease from both parents.

But relatively few family illnesses are so serious and so obviously hereditary. The environment at least equally affects their development. Despite the obvious family "anchorage", the disease may not be "in the blood", but in the air. For example, there is a case where in one family, many have had lung cancer. Heredity? Maybe, but the fact that they all abused smoking certainly made a difference. One can only guess how many of them would have had cancer if they had never smoked. When several members of the family have high blood pressure, the low-salt diet and medications can effectively control the disease and prevent its complications, whatever they say about heredity. So in most cases there is no reason to occupy a nihilistic position because of the bad "medical history" of the family.

Here are some of the most common and serious diseases that can go from generation to generation. Remember, however, about the role of the environment.

Alcoholism (yes, it's a disease). An hereditary factor was found in 35 - 40% of alcoholics and alcohol abusers (the dividing line between these groups is very very thin). If one or both parents had appropriate "problems", the child is four times more likely to become an alcoholic than the children whose parents did not drink at all. So, if you think you can become an alcoholic or are already close to this, study the history of your family. Regardless of the information received, if the addiction to drinking worries you, consult an experienced narcologist.

Alzheimer's disease . There is no other disease, perhaps with the exception of cancer, which would cause such anxiety among blood relatives of people who are sick with it. And there are reasons for this, because the risk of getting it increases by 10 - 15% if your close relative is sick at a young age. But before you assign any change in behavior or memory loss to the Alzheimer's disease, make sure that other, more common causes are excluded, for example, chronic alcoholism, poor nutrition, head trauma and multiple untreated strokes. Almost half of the cases diagnosed as Alzheimer's disease are the result of some other disease, often treatable and preventable.

Arteriosclerosis . Arteries can clog up anywhere in the body - legs, heart, brain, kidneys, even eyes. Although this disease is sometimes hereditary, there are almost always accompanying risk factors that you are able to control and therefore reduce your own vulnerability. For example, your hypertension can be cured; You are able to lose weight; You can lower the cholesterol level by diet and / or medications; You can go in for sports, quit smoking and have a more optimistic view of life. You must take all these actions, regardless of whether the arteriosclerosis was very common among members of your family. Do not expect that the good health of your ancestors will protect you, if you smoke two packets of cigarettes a day, you have excess weight, hypertension and high cholesterol in the blood. But if you are over 40, you feel the pressing pains in the chest with physical activity and suspect the angina pectoris, then you should take this symptom very seriously, especially if your father or another male relative suffered from coronary artery disease at a young age.

Breast cancer . If your mother and sister have breast cancer, about 30% of the likelihood that he will be with you, even though at the moment your mammogram is normal and you do not feel any seals in the mammary glands. If your mother was healthy, but your two sisters had breast cancer, the probability is 15%. The possibility of a malignant breast enlargement is doubled if your mother or sister has contracted breast cancer before menopause. The risk is increased six-fold , if both your mother and sister had this disease.

But this is only statistics. That's what really matters. If you find a seal in your chest - it does not matter whether you are young or old, male or female, with a good family background or bad - immediately and thoroughly examine yourself.

Each woman should make a mammogram at the age of 35, do it every two years after 40 and annually after 50. But do not rely entirely on the mammogram. Examine your breasts every month and make sure that your doctor does this every time you visit.

Cancer of the colon and rectum . This is one of the most common family illnesses. If your close blood relative has colon cancer, the probability of your disease increases two to five times. Therefore, always mark the appropriate symptoms and immediately tell them about the doctor: any change in the emptying regime (sudden attacks of constipation or diarrhea or intermittent diarrhea and constipation), blood in the feces, narrowing of its diameter (resembles a tape) and unexplained new symptoms such as pain or Cramps in the abdomen.

Diabetes . The classic symptoms of this disease are increased thirst and urine output, weight loss and, in women, vaginal itching due to the growth of yeast fungi in sugar-rich urine. No other disease known to me will give you all these three symptoms.

There are two types of diabetes: beginning in adulthood and depending on insulin, adolescent. The first is about 90% of all cases, and, as the name suggests, adults with overweight are ill. According to statistics, the risk of earning it doubles every ten years of life and with every 20 pounds of excess weight. Most cases of "adult" diabetes can be controlled by diet and weight reduction or tablets. However, if you lose weight more than the established rate and continue to experience increased thirst, therefore, there is no success and you, apparently, need insulin injections.

10% of diabetics who depend on insulin, usually get sick in childhood or in early adolescence. The use of insulin to control the level of sugar in the "adult" form of the disease does not at all lead to the same complications that can occur in diabetics since childhood.

Although the blood sugar level is elevated in both forms of diabetes, it is not the same disease. Their family risk factors are also completely different. For example, if both parents get diabetes at adulthood, in 60% of cases their children will develop until they reach 60 years of age. However, if one child is sick with insulin-dependent diabetes, the likelihood that his brother or sister will also become diabetics is much less.

Emphysema . Patients with this pulmonary disease lose tiny vesicles (alveoli) through which oxygen is exchanged for exhaled carbon dioxide. The cause of the disease in some cases is congenital deficiency of the enzyme. The main symptoms of emphysema are shortness of breath, noisy breathing with wheezing and repeated seizures of bronchitis. Because of the large amount of air that lingers in the lungs in this disease, the chest expands and becomes barrel-shaped. Your chances of getting emphysema increase if any close relative suffers from it. If you have this disease at any stage and you smoke, quit immediately. Smoking makes things worse. Better yet, do not start smoking, especially if you have a hereditary predisposition to emphysema.

Hypertension . Will you have high blood pressure, apparently, by 60% is predetermined by your genes and by 40% - by the environment. But, as we told before, regardless of genetics, anyone with high blood pressure can be cured by a combination of weight loss, diet (especially salt restriction, when necessary) and medications.

Migraine . This condition affects 5-10% of the population, and sufferers often have a family predisposition. For example, if both your parents suffer from migraine, seven chances out of ten, that you will have it too. If migraine is only one parent, this figure falls to four - still quite high. So, if you grew up in a "migraine" family and you have headaches on one side, with previous warning signs (flashing lights, strange sounds), you probably have a migraine.

Obesity . If you are a very full person, you, of course, may have a violation of the activity of endocrine glands (according to statistics, not often); You may be eating too much and moving too little (very likely); It can be embedded in your genes (much more likely than we usually think). Scientists are searching for the appropriate gene, but this can take years. We advise you to assume that extra pounds are associated with your lifestyle, not with genetics, and behave appropriately.

Prostate cancer . This is a fairly common disease and can also have hereditary roots. Sons and brothers of men with prostate cancer are three times more likely than others to die from this disease. So, if in your family there were frequent cases of this disease, check with your doctor every year, especially after 50 years of age. Remember that this form of cancer with early detection can be cured.

Psoriasis . This disease, the causes of which are unknown, but can have an autoimmune character, affects 1 - 2% of the inhabitants of our country. Large areas of the skin, especially on the head, are covered with unpleasant scales. Fortunately, the disease does not often capture the face. If one of your parents or any relative suffers from psoriasis, you have a one-to-ten risk of getting it, which is about 10 times more than those in whose families there were no cases of this disease.

These are just some of the common hereditary diseases. There are many others - duodenal ulcer , bronchial asthma, cancer of the uterus and stomach , schizophrenia and even osteoarthritis . When you are trying to find out which illness reflects a certain symptom, ask for the long-term illnesses suffered by members of your family. But remember that although many diseases tend to be hereditary, most of them can be influenced by removing from the environment specific, personally your risk factors. Bad medical heredity must lead to activity, not passive reconciliation.