Stressed? Relax, It’s Stress Awareness Month
April is Stress Awareness Month. What a perfect excuse to take a vacation or a long weekend to relax as the weather is slowly starting to warm up.
We all get caught up in our day to day activities, and if not properly dealt with, the result is stress. It’s important to remember to relax and take time to ourselves. It’s healthy and necessary. Busy lives and stressful activities can result in decreased attention to your health. That’s why Stress Awareness Month is a wonderful reminder to relax and overcome stress. Check out these 10 ways to celebrate Stress Awareness Month.
If your scheduled is slammed and you need lab tests but don’t have the time to do so, you may want to consider one of our complete health panels. This takes up less of your time, while giving you a complete overview of your health. The basic check up panel is a good start if you’re not sure where to begin. Take Control of Your Health® this April!
Medical Fitness Week Is Almost Here!
Each year, the Medical Fitness Association challenges local communities to “get up and move” by encouraging individuals to take 70,000 steps in 7 days. This week is known as Medical Fitness Week which takes place this year during the week of April 28 – May 4. The week gives communities, organizations and individuals the motivation they need to walk with a purpose!
We want to encourage you to participate. Feel even better and use the Charity Miles app during your walk or run. For every mile, sponsoring companies make a donation to your chosen charity from their list! In addition to taking extra steps to reach your goal, you can monitor your health further by taking one of our health and wellness lab tests. This helps to establish your health baseline, then you can monitor periodically as you progress with your exercise routine. We have tests tailored to men and women of all ages. It’s important to know exactly what’s going on inside your body, as well as the outside. These tests will provide you with the answers you are looking for.
Get your community, workplace or family involved during this year’s Medical Fitness Week. Happy walking!
Celebrate Your Siblings
Happy National Siblings Day! Siblings Day Foundation founder Claudia Evart was inspired to create a recognized day to celebrate and honor siblings after losing her own siblings early on in life. She chose April 10 specifically, as it is the birthday of her late sister.
Evart’s goal is to create a nationally known holiday, similar to Mother’s and Father’s day. Do something nice for your sibling today to let them know how much you appreciate them.
Because today is National Siblings Day, we’d like to remind you of our Siblingship DNA Test. If you want to know if siblings share one or both biological parents in common, a Siblingship DNA Test can determine the statistical probability of whether they are half or full siblings, or unrelated.
Don’t Be A Fool
It’s April Fools’ Day! Among all of the tricks and pranksters today, don’t fool yourself about the importance of monitoring your health. 
Remember our post about measuring your health to help maintain your New Year’s resolutions? We talked about our Basic Check Up Panel, which is an excellent way to examine your overall health. It’s extremely important to proactively monitor your health, so that you stay ahead of any signs and symptoms of possible health problems that could arise. Proactive health and wellness often correlates with lower healthcare costs, important in this day of high deductible insurance and health savings accounts (HSAa). We encourage you to come in to your local ANY LAB TEST NOW® and get tested today!
Don’t be fooled by what’s going on inside your body, or by any of the tricks played by your friends and family this April Fools’ Day! Share your prank stories with us by commenting below!
Alert! Curious about Diabetes?
Nearly 6 million people are affected by diabetes and don’t even know it. If left undetected, it can be a silent killer. Your chances of heart attack, strokes, kidney problems or infections increase due to diabetes.
American Diabetes Association Alert Day® takes place on the fourth Tuesday of every March and is dedicated to bringing awareness and to encourage the public to take an online Diabetes Risk Test to determine their risk for developing type 2 diabetes. Tips and suggestions are provided after the test tailored to your results. Today, March 25th, is this years Alert Day so encourage your friends and family members to get involved!
This past Diabetes Awareness Month, we shared some alarming statistics on the disease. For a deeper look into your health, take our Diabetes Maintenance Panel specific for diabetics and for those who are curious if they might have diabetes. Remember, you can’t manage what you don’t measure. Take Control of Your Health® this Alert Day.
Kick Cigarette’s Butt!
March 19th was National Kick Butts Day. No, this wasn’t an excuse for you to get revenge on an enemy. This was an excuse for you to get revenge on cigarettes for the damage they are causing to your body. This day is dedicated to youth to speak up and seize control against tobacco. Kick Butts Day is organized by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and sponsored by the United Health Foundation.
Kids are the main focus for Kick Butts Day. One reason, out of the many, is that an average of 700 kids become regular smokers each day. Numbers like that are shocking, especially when talking about kids under the age of 18. There’s no better time to take action to decrease these stats. Check out more facts and statistics here.
Teachers, young people and health advocates encourage participation in Kick Butts Day to raise awareness, to encourage rejection of tobacco and urge elected officials to take action to protect children from tobacco.
ANY LAB TEST NOW® is here to help kick the habit and encourage people to stop smoking. If you or someone you know is in need of a cotinine or nicotine test to monitor levels of tobacco in their body, we can help you.
Tell Your HR Administrator Thank You!
Not much time is dedicated to saying thank you- so here’s our way of saying thank you to HR professionals who may not get the daily recognition they deserve.
The American Society for Healthcare Human Resources Ad
ministration (ASHHRA) is dedicated to meeting the professional needs of human resource leaders in health care and make sure to set aside this week in March every year to celebrate them. They’ve compiled a list of activities to do during the week to show appreciation. The list ranges from team building exercises, luncheons or a simple pat on the back! It’s important to maintain healthy relationships within your job environment and your HR administrator is a big part of creating and evolving that environment. Among the numerous other daily tasks they complete, their priority is to keep you happy in the work place. That’s definitely something to appreciate!
Don’t forget if you ever need to take a health lab test for your job, we have you covered. Check out all of the tests we offer and find which one you need easily.
Here’s to you HR Administrators! Thank you.
Do Your Part to Get Rid of HIV/AIDS
Today, March 10, is National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. This day occurs every year to give everyone a chance to shine a light on the impact this disease has on women and young girls.
Uniting to prevent this disease spreading and to raise awareness is important as we take a stand against HIV/AIDS. According to the CDC, 1.1 million people in the US are living with HIV. Out of those people, one in four is a woman who is 13 years or older.
Even more surprising, 27,000 women have HIV but don’t even know it.
To decrease this number, encourage your friends, sisters, mothers and children to get tested to know their status. It’s so important to know what’s going on in your body. Symptom free doesn’t always mean disease free. Be bold and get the conversation started to increase awareness of safe practices to prevent HIV infection and the levels of care and treatment.
If You Don’t Test Your Kidneys Now, You Might Suffer Later
It’s National Kidney Month! Have you ever had your kidneys tested? Here’s why you should.
Your kidneys are an important part of your body as they function as filters to remove waste and balance fluids. The National Kidney Foundation reports that more than 26 million Americans have kidney disease, and most don’t know it. This is why it’s so important to test your body for diseases because you could be suffering without any knowledge of what’s going on. If you’re suffering from back or abdominal pain, blood in your urine, painful or frequent urination you should consider getting a test.
A couple of tests to consider are either the kidney function panel or a urinalysis in order to evaluate the kidneys and tell how well they are functioning. Many physicians consider ordering these tests during routine visits or prior to any medical procedures, to better determine the health of your kidneys.
Don’t forget to Take Control of Your Health® this month and get your kidneys tested!
Spring Breakers, Read This Before You Celebrate
Class is done for a week, it’s time for spring break! The “beer-soaked blur” as it is commonly referred to, is an exciting time for young adults to get away and have a good time with friends. It’s become the greatest week in college student’s lives.
But, did you know that ½ of sexual encounters are unplanned and unprotected on spring break trips? Young adults are one of the highest-risk age groups when it comes to getting an STD. When the drinks start flowing, your ability to make rational decisions declines. The risks and diseases that can result from unprotected sex should scare you. Be prepared and use protection to decrease your chance of bringing home an unexpected souvenir that affects your long-term health.
It’s better to know exactly what’s going on in your body rather than taking a chance and potentially spreading a STD. Getting a lab test is the only way to know. ANY LAB TEST NOW® offers affordable STD testing that is discreet and confidential with quick, reliable results.
Have you checked out Hula? It’s a mobile app that makes it easy and convenient to find an STD test center, get your results online and share your verified STD status if you choose to. Download the app here and be prepared this spring break!
