Chronic disease is not easy to cure but also causes a lot of pain and discomfort. However, you can still make your illness more bearable with some pain-relieving and stress-relieving tips.
What is chronic disease?
Chronic disease is a disease that lasts for 3 months or more and is difficult and almost impossible to cure completely. The disease is not contagious but is recurrent and cannot be prevented with vaccines. Doctors usually just use the terms “controlled” or “stable” to refer to a condition that hasn’t changed or gotten worse over time. Chronic disease can appear at any age, but is more common in people over 65.
The most common chronic diseases are arthritis, cardiovascular diseases such as heart attack, stroke, breast cancer, diabetes, epilepsy, obesity and dental health problems. People with a chronic disease will have to live long with the disease and manage its symptoms. Chronic diseases greatly affect the health and life of patients, requiring patients and their families to take appropriate measures to live long with the disease.
Ways to manage chronic disease
Chronic disease can be painful, stressful, and frustrating with long treatment times. Here are some ways to control the disease:
1. Persistence in chronic disease treatment
Many patients with chronic diseases do not properly understand the importance of chronic disease treatment and do not persist in treatment. Chronic disease treatment courses are usually quite long with 3 stages:
- Treatment is aggressive to alleviate disease symptoms and relieve pain.
- Maintenance treatment helps stabilize the disease so that the disease does not get worse.
- Consolidation therapy helps to restore function and improve disease status or to manage developments that arise over time.
When treating chronic diseases, patients should strictly adhere to the following principles:
• Do not arbitrarily quit smoking, quit treatment: If you find that the medicine has side effects, talk to your doctor to fix it, not quit on your own. Some side effects will decrease and disappear completely after a while or can be overcome with supportive measures. If it cannot be overcome, the patient needs to change the medicine, not to quit the treatment on their own. Medications to treat chronic diseases often don’t work right away, so be patient with your doctor’s appointments.
• Do not arbitrarily use drugs: Many patients are advised by this person, so they arbitrarily buy functional foods or drugs that are not prescribed by doctors for treatment. Although some drugs can be effective quickly, they are not well controlled, so they can have serious health consequences, especially if you use them for a long time.
• No Stop the treatment when you get better: Many patients voluntarily stop taking the drug when they see that the disease has improved or recovered, but after a while the disease becomes worse, causing serious health effects. The doctor will let you know when the patient can stop the treatment, so you should strictly follow the instructions, check and monitor your condition regularly to avoid the disease getting worse.
• No discouraged even though the disease is difficult to cure: chronic disease is an illness you have to live with for the rest of your life. In many cases, despite taking many drugs and treating for a long time, there was no improvement, so the patient gave up without treatment. This will make the disease worse. Please be patient to find the most appropriate treatment.
2. Understand your chronic disease
Knowledge of the disease will help you stay proactive when living long-term with a chronic disease. Right from the moment you get sick, take the time to learn about your disease thoroughly, such as possible symptoms, treatment measures, diet, exercise, and rest when you are sick.
You can talk to your doctor, health care professional, and others who have the same condition as you. Knowledge of the condition will help you visualize the progression of the disease over time, understand how to handle each specific situation, and prevent other health problems effectively.
Knowledge of the clinical, treatment and care of patients with chronic disease is always up to date. There are always new drugs and treatments coming out that can dramatically improve your life. So you should regularly update all news about your disease to grasp new healing opportunities.
3. Take painkillers seriously
Most people with chronic diseases experience pain for a long time, and doctors often prescribe pain relievers based on the patient’s condition to control the pain. When using pain relievers, you should closely follow your doctor’s instructions about the dose, when to take it and for how long. Patients also need to talk to their doctor about the side effects of the drug, if any, and perform periodic tests according to the doctor’s instructions.
Patients are not allowed to arbitrarily buy pain relievers or functional foods, pharmaceuticals of unknown origin to use. If pain relievers don’t work or are less effective, your pain may have increased. Talk to your doctor about how to manage this pain with new medications or other non-drug ways to relieve chronic pain.
4. Monitor intensity and progression of pain
This is a very good habit that people with chronic diseases should adopt from the first days of illness. To be able to effectively help patients manage chronic pain, your doctor needs information about your specific pain at each visit. You should keep records of your pain levels and daily activities for information to your doctor.
5. Meditate for relaxation and pain relief
Deep breathing and meditation are effective methods to help the body relax and reduce pain. Focusing on the breath, putting the mind in a thoughtless state, and repeating a word sends relaxation signals to the muscles. Although you can teach yourself how to meditate at home, taking a meditation class can also help.
Deep breathing is also a great relaxation and pain reliever. You can find a quiet place, sit in a comfortable position, not think about anything but just focus on breathing in and out.
6. Relieve Pain With Exercise
Endorphins are hormones secreted by the brain that improve mood and block pain signals. Exercise helps the body release endorphins, thereby effectively reducing pain. Exercise also helps reduce pain by strengthening muscles, preventing injury, and controlling weight. You will also reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease and control your blood sugar more effectively if you exercise.
People with chronic diseases should exercise to suit their health status and diseases. Your doctor will probably recommend the right exercises, intensity and duration for you. You should avoid overtraining to prevent injury and consult your doctor to choose the right exercise method!
7. Massage for pain relief
Massage is an effective way to reduce stress and relieve pain that people with chronic conditions can apply, including back and neck pain.
In addition to massage, acupuncture, physical therapy methods also help reduce pain very effectively. You should consult a doctor as well as do it at reputable and specialized hospitals and medical centers.
8. Eat healthy and balanced
A healthy and balanced diet is extremely important for patients with chronic diseases. Nutrition helps support the digestive system, reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, control weight and improve blood sugar levels.
You should follow a low-fat, low-salt diet and eat plenty of fresh fruits, vegetables, beans, bread, whole grains, low-fat cheese, milk, yogurt, and lean meats. In addition, you should not smoke, drink alcohol and use stimulants. These stimulants can aggravate chronic disease and the pain associated with it.
In addition to choosing healthy foods, you should follow the diet prescribed by your doctor to help the disease recover faster.
9. Reduce stress in life
Stress makes chronic pain worse. Negative feelings like depression, anxiety, stress, and anger can make our bodies more sensitive to pain. If you learn to manage stress, you will find that the intensity of chronic pain is also significantly reduced as a result.
Some ways to reduce stress and help you relax include:
• Listen to music: Gentle, soothing tunes can help improve your mood very well and help you feel more comfortable when suffering from chronic pain. You can find tapes and CDs specifically for pain relief.
• Visualize peaceful images: When you can imagine peaceful images, your brain will be able to get rid of pain and stress.
• Muscle relaxation: Relaxing muscles is also an effective way to relieve stress.
When you focus on the pain, your condition will only get worse. So do something you enjoy to forget the pain.
10. Connect and share with everyone
People with chronic disease like you will be able to understand the difficulties and pain you are going through. When you meet and share with them, you will feel less alone and have more personal tips to help you cope with the pain of chronic illness.
In addition, you should also talk to a mental health professional when you have a chronic disease. Advice from experts can help you avoid negative thoughts and face tough times more gently, thereby reducing pain and living a more positive life. Don’t be afraid to seek help.
chronic disease can affect your life for a long time, so you need to learn how to manage it in order to live a more positive life. You can still have a happy, meaningful life despite struggling with illness.
