|
|
|
Family Health History
CSA has always lived by the motto: "Celiacs Helping Celiacs", but now we would like to expand that to "Celiacs helping .....". The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has begun a program called the "US. Surgeon General's Family History Initiative." This program/initiative has been developed to help all American Families gather pertinent health information about their families. Many of you have probably already thought about or have even done some sort of genealogy since a survey named on the Health and Human Services website indicated that 96% of Americans believe that their family histories are important. Although names, personal stories and details about your ancestors lives are very interesting, they may not have the same impact on you as the genes which they have passed on directly to you. Physicians have long realized that certain diseases- including Celiac Disease, Dermatitis Herpetiformis, Diabetes and Cancer can be traced through family lines. In fact, chances are that you have been asked to provide family medical information each time you see a new physician. By tracing diseases in your family, doctors are better able to predict health risks you may have, and then help you to develop lifestyle changes (such as living gluten-free) which may help keep you from developing other diseases, or they may serve to improve the quality of your life by appropriately treating your symptoms ( ex: Celiac - vs - Irritable Bowel Syndrome.) Our Challenge For You
|
|
| Many opportunities such as birthdays, weddings, funerals, holiday gatherings, family reunions and family newsletter exchanges arise throughout the year. These are excellent times to discus family health issues. Unfortunately many undiagnosed Celiacs suffer needlessly because they are embarrassed to discuss their symptoms, even with family. It is time for each of us to take the lead and help to improve our families overall health. This year CSA would like to encourage you to take time to talk with your extended family members and begin to compile your family's health history. Not only will this benefit your personal physician as he/she will be better able to calculate your health risks, but it may also lead the nation's top scientists to find common links and perhaps even a cure for Celiac Disease. Wouldn't it be great to have future generations of our families speared the challenges and suffering that we have all endured as Celiacs? We at CSA would like to encourage you to visit http://www.hhs.gov/familyhistory to download a free copy of "My Family Health Portrait." This wonderful tool will help you to organize the information that you will be compiling. (A list of Celiac symptoms that you will want to discuss can be located at the bottom of this page.) Once you've completed your family health portrait we would encourage you to add your information to the Health and Human Services database so that the U.S. Surgeon General's Office will be able to provide information to researchers working on the Health and Human Services project including the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) http://www.nhgri.nih.gov, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) http://www.cdc.gov the Agency for Healthcare research and Quality (AHRQ) http://ahcpr.gov, and the Health Recourses and Services Administration (HRSA) http://www.hrsa.gov |
| |
| Symptoms of Celiac Disease to discuss with your family |
|
|
