Have you ever skipped breakfast to catch a train on time? How about, settling for a coffee and smoke to get through your lunch break? Are these habits that you have done before or still doing now? If so, you are one of the many people who live a fast-paced lifestyle. You start your day the second your alarm goes off by taking a 5-minute shower and go to work with a full-day agenda but, even with that, there is still so much that you have to do.
You never get to seem satisfied with only having 24-hours in a day, so you spread yourself too thin. Well, do you want to know what happens when you try to accelerate your life every day? You are at risk of developing conditions and catching diseases.
It is not a secret that Singapore is one of the societies with people who have a fast-paced lifestyle. The walking speed of Singaporeans alone shows that they are always on a run to be productive. In 2006, a study conducted by the Pace of Life revealed that people in Singapore have the fastest walk speed in the world. They can cover about 19 metres in 10.55 seconds! Not only that, but they also work longer hours that prevent them from maintaining routines and develop a healthy diet.
Being a developed country, people are at risk of developing prevalent diseases that have been a problem in the United Kingdom, United States, and other economically developed countries. Also called a “disease of the western civilisation,” diverticular disease in Singapore is one of the increasing cases among the working class. If you are in the modern workforce of the country, you should monitor your health!
In this article, working people like you will learn the harmful effects of refusing to stop and smell the flowers. Slowing down is an essential part of living, and there are reasons why doctors will tell you to abandon the fast-paced lifestyle. If not, you will catch diseases that may not only be diverticular but are more alarming and requiring of costly medical treatments. You will find out as you keep reading!
Why is the Fast-Paced Lifestyle Harmful?
Are you always making yourself rush? In a society that values work and productivity, no one would blame you to pick up plenty of subconscious habits. One of them would be telling yourself to eat later, or not have the attitude to appreciate someone’s good cooking.
Your fast-paced lifestyle not only will lead to damage in relationships, but also damage yourself. With your rushed mindset, here are the reasons why you should realise that it is bad:
Develop unhealthy digestion
Nutrition is one of the most influential factors that can help in disease prevention. However, it is the most commonly ignored factor among regular exercise, adequate sleep, and regular health check-ups. More often than not, people with fast-paced lifestyles tend to starve their bodies of proper nutrition, instead, they consume instant but unhealthy foods. The result? Scheduling an appointment for an abscess removal in Singapore clinics.
You are always tired
As parents, you would want to dedicate time to your kids. Even if it is as simple as eating with them at the table during breakfast. Your fast-paced life and rushed mindset would not allow you that because you tend to choose sleep over eating a meal with them. Since you are always tired from working for longer hours, you would not get to have quality time with your children, and you will see them grow up in a blink of an eye.
Having a restful sleep is no longer in your dictionary. By that alone, you must be alarmed by what your fast-paced lifestyle can do to your body and in your life. You would not want to wake up one day full of regrets.
Stress is in your blood
Did you know that stress can kill you? The ‘sudden deaths’ in adults, such as heart attack is strongly associated with chronic stress. Whenever your body detects a stressor, you will go into a fight mode, which means a more alert brain and faster heart rate. Usually, it would go away when the stressor is no longer present or poses a threat, but a person in a fast-paced lifestyle might never shift into the flight or relaxation mode because their stressors are always present.
What happens if you never stop having elevated stress levels? You will have digestion problems, putting you more at risk for diverticular disease, and your relationships will be affected. Your immune system would also be compromised, making you more vulnerable to infections and develop serious disorders. If you want to live longer, you should slow down a bit.
Self-destruction
The most harmful effects of having a fast-paced lifestyle are that you are slowly self-destructing. Not only in health, but your relationship can be in total jeopardy if you continue neglecting them and choosing this chaotic lifestyle. You will not get to enjoy happiness boosting activities anymore because you think you should always be doing something productive.
All in all, you will miss many small pleasures of life. Once you retire, it might be too late for you to enjoy life to the fullest because your body would be giving up. You will have more doctor visits than trips to the beach. More removal surgeries than spa days. It is not something that you want to live with, hence you must be aware of the diseases and conditions that you may develop if you do not slow down.
The Diseases and Conditions You Can Get if You Don’t Slow Down
Have you ever had to get abscess removal surgery from Singapore clinics? If not, maintaining your fast-paced lifestyle may lead you to one surgery or another. It may be due to accidents or neglect of your digestive health.
People, like you, live in a twilight zone mostly because you are all about working. You may be free of any diseases, but you still do not qualify as being healthy either. If you keep living this way, you will be more susceptible to catching diseases and developing these conditions:
Depression and anxiety
One of the work-related ill health cases is found to be a mental health condition. Depression and anxiety disorders among workers are prevalent in well-developed economies, Singapore included. About 10% of the population suffer from these disorders, but they still go into their office even when it causes them to be less productive. People who are at risk to develop these disorders are:
- Women
- People in the low socio-economic status
- Middle-aged people
- People experiencing relationship problems, job loss, or illness of a loved one
- People who are anxious by nature
Cardiovascular disease
When you rush to go to work but sit for long periods can be damaging to your body. Sitting for long hours can lead to heart disease because your blood flow slows down, which allows fatty acids to build up in the blood vessels. It also causes the slow utilisation of energy that your body needs to digest food. As a result, you may become a number in the cases of patients who are obese or have diverticular disease in Singapore. To emphasise more on this disease, read further.
Diverticular disease
What to Know About It?
If this is your first time hearing about this disease, you must know that it commonly happens to people with a fast-paced lifestyle. When this happens to you, there would be small pouches in your large intestine wall, also called diverticula, that would arise and push through the weak spots in your colon’s outer muscle layers.
There are two types of diverticular disease: diverticulosis and diverticulitis. The former happens when one or more of the small pouches become inflamed or infected. However, the latter occurs when the diverticula itself is inflamed.
Causes
In Singapore, a developed country, the often diverticular disease that patients occur is diverticulosis. The main cause of this disease is the high-fat and low-fibre diet. However, there are also possible causes, such as:
- Genetics
- Obesity
- Lack of physical activity or exercise
- Smoking
- Straining to have a bowel movement
Diverticulitis, however, is thought to be caused by increased pressure on the diverticula from the inside the intestine. It is also a common diverticular disease in Singapore patients because its causes are:
- Age; most common in people over 40
- Low fibre diet
- Smoking
- Obesity
Symptoms
With its different causes, symptoms can be specific as well. Most of the time diverticulosis does not cause symptoms, but if they do, it may include:
- Bloating
- Constipation
- Lower abdominal pain or cramping
Go to your doctor if these symptoms occur:
- A large amount of red or maroon-coloured blood in your stool
- Dizziness or lightheadedness
- Overall body weakness
Diverticulitis, however, may feel different due to the cause of inflammation of your diverticula. If you have it, the symptoms that would appear are:
- Severe abdominal pain on the left side
- Nausea
- Chills or fever
- Bloating
- Constipation or diarrhoea
Symptoms of diverticulitis can also go worse. You must call your doctor if:
- You are vomiting, have abdominal swelling along with fever and chills
- You have significant blood in your stool
- Your abdomen becomes rigid and your pain amplifies whenever you move
What to Do When You Have Diverticular Disease?
Diagnosis of diverticular disease is done with a physical exam. More than that, a trusted doctor would also take time to know the history of the patient. Hence, the first thing you would want to do is visit a doctor who is a trained and experienced endoscopist. Trust that they will do the necessary tests to find out more about your condition.
Unlike a sebaceous cyst removal in Singapore, early treatment is essential when it comes to these diseases. What is commonly recommended to do by patients who were successful in detecting their condition early on are:
Practice a high-fibre diet
A high-fibre diet helps reduce the risk of obesity, heart diseases, and diabetes. Incorporating pears, bananas, oats, almonds, among other high-fibre foods in your diet will prevent constipation!
Drink plenty of fluids
Pairing your foods with significant amounts of water will also help your stool stay soft. More than that, you would have no difficulty in the toilet. Thus, always have a bottle of water with you or make it a habit to drink a glass of water every hour or two.
Exercise or perform physical activities regularly
An active body will not only help you maintain a healthy weight, but it can also relieve digestive complaints, such as constipation and bloating. Having a regular exercise routine is beneficial, so ensure that you make time for a quick jog in your day.
See your doctor
While you may not need an abscess removal from Singapore clinics today, it does not mean you should lose contact with a health professional. They will help in monitoring your condition and give you the advice to maintain your digestive health.
Tips in Finding a Doctor to Treat Your Diverticular Disease
If it is your first time discovering your condition, visiting a doctor of a specialised field may seem daunting to you. As a result, you tend to delay your treatment. Not only is that bad for your health, but it would also cause you to underperform at work. Even in your fast-paced life, you must remember to monitor your health.
You can start by following these tips to find a doctor for your diverticular disease in Singapore:
Get a recommendation from friends and family
If your disease is caused by genetics, you will likely have a family member who is in contact with a trusted doctor. Ask your relatives if they know a local clinic that can help you manage your condition. Trust that they will lead you to a reliable one!
Surf the net
The internet is full of information, and it is all free! Take advantage of it by searching a nearby clinic in Singapore that offers abscesses removal or diverticular diseases. Remember to check its legitimacy by reading their reviews and ‘About Us’ page.
Post on online forums
You are likely not the first person who will ask strangers on the internet about a clinic for diverticular disease. Reach out to similar patients on online forums to gain recommendations for a trusted clinic in Singapore. Remember to avoid revealing your personal information to them.
You can do these steps, but you can also save your time by going to Dr QM Leong! He is an experienced surgeon that has performed plenty of operations to help patients in diagnosing diverticular disease to sebaceous cyst removal in Singapore.
You can reach him on his website to schedule a consultation today!
