An Ounce of Prevention
An ounce of prevention is worth a
pound of cure.
Meaning:
·
You use this proverb
to say that it is much easier to do something to prevent a problem than to deal
with it after it has happened.
·
This proverb
expresses a similar idea to that of A
stitch in time saves nine.
Example:
·
I strongly recommend backing up your data at least once a day. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
·
This vaccine costs $25, but it would cost you at least $1500 if you
caught the disease and had to be treated in a hospital. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. ~ dictionary.com
At the risk of jinxing
myself I will tell you that I have always been blessed with great health. This isn’t a testimonial for the vaccine
controversy but I can give credit to my mother for making sure that I had all
my vaccinations while young and continued the habit after I grew up and left
the nest.
I can point out to the fact
that right around 1951 there were almost 60,000 cases of Polio in the United
States and it definitely was a motivator for mothers to vaccinate their
children. In my small circle of friends,
I had one friend that had Polio, and in my elementary school I was aware of two
others that wore braces due to Polio.
Washington State
Department of Health reports that the 2016-17 Influenza year records 46 deaths
due to the flu. Any preventative effort
taken is worth the effort in cutting down the risk.
Many members of my
immediate family have come down with the flu this season and are fully
recovered or recovering as I write this.
While standing in the middle of it all serving as a caregiver to my
family, I have not yet caught the flu this last year or any of the last 5 years
(fingers crossed).
Up until 8 or 9 years ago,
I didn’t think that I could benefit from the annual flu shot especially that
the vaccine doesn’t always cover the strain of flue that will hit on anyone
given year. It is, however, estimated
that the flu shot has an 80% possibility of protecting the public of the strain
that is affecting the population on a given year.
I’ve been known to be
stubborn, but then again, I also have a reputation for being sensible. One day it just seemed to make sense that I
should take a chance on the flu shot. My
(lady) doctor whom I only visit twice a year for checkup and lab work convinced
me that I should try it out. Haven’t had
the flu since.
If you haven’t tried it,
take it from me (I get mine free from my care provider) nothing to lose and
everything to gain. Remember an ounce of
prevention is worth a week or two in bed recovering (or worst). The best is yet to come……….
