PREVENTIVE MEDICINE

Preventive medicine or preventive care refers to measures taken to prevent diseases or injuries rather than curing them or treating their symptoms.

Preventive medicine or preventive care is the specialty of medical practice focusing on the health of individuals. Preventive medicine's (preventive care) goal is to protect, promote and maintain health and well-being and to prevent disease, disability and death.

Dr. Maria Ridao Alonso

Specialist Traditional Chinese Medicine,
Specialist Preventive Medicine    

ONE DISTINGUISHES BETWEEN FOUR TYPES OF PREVENTIVE MEDICINE:

1

Primary prevention begins prior to the occurrence of the disease and aims to prevent any reccurrence. It is aimed at healthy people without any symptoms. Examples of primary prevention are school policies on nutrition, exercise and stress management.

2

Secondary prevention is applied in the early stages of an illness. It is used for early detection of diseases and their progression or containment of the disease before it becomes chronic.

3

Tertiary prevention occurs after an acute manifestation of a disease or treatment. Its aim is to prevent consequential effects and relapses. It is addressed to patients with chronic disabilities and rehabilitation.

4

In addition to the primary, secondary or tertiary prevention, there is the quaternary prevention, which seeks to avoid the unnecessary use of medicine.

Preventive medicine (preventive care) first and foremost deploys diagnostic strategies to capture the individual's risk for certain diseases such as:

  • Diabetes
  • Cardiovascular diseases
  • Cancer
  • Genetic predisposition
  • Depression
  • Burn-Out
  • Hypertension

Preventive care (Preventive medicine) reduces those risks through recommendations on lifestyle improvement and a holistic and sustainable approach. Furthermore, it helps reduce the probability of premature ageing and achieves an overall physically and psychologically balanced condition. It has been proven that potential heart attacks and strokes can be prevented by defining suitable measures based on state-of-the-art laboratory assessment tests, genetic tests and specific imaging diagnostics.

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