Again, just for general interest.
I've been right about a few things medical, but this one escaped me totally. The half-dozen times I've just given up on a lovely day out due to back pain, I now realise the feeling has been one of illness rather than sharp mechanical issues.
I knew I'd got a fuzzed up mass of stalactites in me spine, so assumed it must all be down to that. Judo to a silly age probably didn't help. Building work that I didn't have to do kept me strong, but seemingly not fit. One day, nearing 60, I felt a pain down my leg. It was to change my life. Just a nuisance at first, but eventually back pain became tedious enough for my lovely girls to offer to carry my flight bad. Awwwww.
The big one was I could no longer run. Amazing the psychological difference that makes.
Parallel with this was the allergies to wheat etc,. the soap reaction was to come later. A doctor I was chatting to yesterday was particularly well briefed on anaphylaxis. I know for the first time why I felt so horrifyingly ill - the cause, hospital soap. Thank God I'd finally retired before things got that bad.
The cause of becoming allergic to things seems to get worse with age (discounting adolescence) and while probably due to a breakdown of our 'systems' there might well be issues deep in the mind, kindled at a very young age. In my case I'm sure, due to over-thinking medical issues probably from the age of 6.
Parents. They need to be careful. One PPRuNer friend had healthy and adventurous parents. To this day it doesn't occur to him to think there might be some physical reason not to do whatever he wants to do. My Mom however, used to sit with relatives and they'd all discuss terrifying ailments. It's no wonder I'm so preoccupied with health issues.
She died aged 93 having taken medical books out of the library and correctly diagnosed her ailment. The doctor said, You don't need a doctor, do you? I'm calling an ambulance. It was her last ride.
Probably one of the most important things we can do is pass on healthy mind-set to the next generations, but that may not be as easy as one thought. Smoking is obviously the first issue, but the oddest things come out of the woodwork from time to time. Today it seems, good cholesterol might be a problem. In some cases, as it fights bad cholesterol, the long term affects can be as bad as smoking. Oh, my . . .