An Ounce of Prevention

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……….