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Category:
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Medical
Aid /
Medshield Medical Scheme / April 2008
How To Avoid Waisting Your Medical Scheme Benefits
With a
myriad of nasty viruses affecting millions of South Africans every
year, winter can therefore be an especially expensive time. Whether
it's you or a family member, being ill is generally inconvenient and
costly so prevention is most certainly better than cure.
 Following some basic guidelines can make a huge difference to your
health and bank balance this winter.
You
simply need to make the effort to incorporate them into your daily
routine. There's no point waiting until you're feeling sick to take
heed of this advice.
According to Peter Moyanga, Chairman of Medshield Medical Scheme,
there's no drain on your day-to-day medical scheme benefits quite
like common illnesses such as colds and flu.
He
comments, "Frequent and sometimes avoidable visits to the
specialist, along with prescription medicines can escalate
surprisingly quickly, especially for larger families.
Moyanga continues, "Add to that diminishing sick leave allocations
and suddenly, you'll be all too aware of how expensive it can become
to be unwell."
Moyanga suggests you help avoid these costs by doing the following:
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Go on, get your influenza vaccine - it only costs around R60. It
takes up to two weeks to become fully effective and you need a
new jab annually because the strains of flu change each year.
Flu jabs are particularly recommended for sufferers of asthma,
diabetes or angina, as well as the elderly since flu can put a
severe strain on weak hearts;
-
Ensure you are getting sufficient sleep - ideally eight hours.
Your body needs deep, regenerative sleep in order to make the
necessary immune-strengthening repairs;
-
Eat a wide variety of healthy foods including brown rice,
low-fat protein sources like fish and beans, and five to nine
daily servings of fruits and vegetables;
-
Wash your hands frequently. This is such a simple but crucial
way to eliminate many of the germs that can make you sick;
-
Keep your body well hydrated and simultaneously flush out toxins
by drinking plenty of fluids - ideally six glasses of water per
day;
-
Remember to stay active during the winter months - don't become
a couch potato simply because of the change in season;
-
And finally, taking supplements such as vitamin C, garlic and
Echinacea can provide effective remedies to assist your body in
fighting infection.
While temperatures are still surprisingly high and South Africans
feel far from the grips of winter, the characteristic bugs normally
associated with the change of season have already affected many
people.
Be
proactive in doing your bit towards keeping yourself and your family
healthy this winter. It's the logical thing to do.
Source: ITInews – Insurance
Times and Investments Online
www.itinews.co.za
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