Speaker 1: Beautiful view of the beach. Ladies, many of us worry about the health of our men’s in our men in our lives, but how do you get them to see the doctor without being invasive or even nagging? Dr. Erica Steele from Holistic Family Practice in Virginia Beach is here with Summit Advice. Hey, Dr. Steele. How are you doing?
Speaker 2: Hello? I’m doing well.
Speaker 1: The nagging effort only sometimes works. And I know I do it, and I’m sure women are into it. And we don’t even realize that we’re nagging.
Speaker 2: We just say the same because it’s important; we’re passionate about it, so we’re continuously on and on. And they perceive it as nagging.
Speaker 1: Got it. So what is another method of communication that will get your husband or your man and your life to the doctor?
Speaker 2: So masculine men, most of the men that typically don’t go to the doctor, right? More of the manly men, they really they wanna make us happy. Okay? And coming from our emotional state, I’m worried about this, or I’m concerned about this, or I have a fear about this, could you give them the power? Position in that and ultimately provide them with a choice. Okay.
Speaker 1: Give them the power. So you’re doing a little mind game. Okay, got that.
Speaker 2: Yeah! It’s not manipulation.
Speaker 1: that’s not with questions. Okay, so what are, what is being missed by men who decide not to go to the doctor? What are some of the things? That could happen to them. Yeah. Because they just wait till the last minute to go.
Speaker 2: I think common metabolic health concerns, so like hypertension, hyperlipidemia, which is high cholesterol, obviously if they’re overweight, they realize that, but typically these other contributing lifestyle factors, so they’re not drinking enough water, they’re eating too high fat of food. Those sorts of things. And what that is, it’s almost. Rocket fuel to whatever genetic predisposition they have, right? Unfortunately, sometimes that’s why men don’t go to the doctor because they’re so afraid. I’ve had many male patients come to the office. I don’t wanna end up like my dad. My grandfather all died young. I really wanna get on top of this, but that’s not the norm. Most men tend to avoid repressed. I got it and did not deal with that. I got it.
Speaker 1: So, what symptoms do you need to look out for that may be related to health issues?
Speaker 2: Yeah, so chronic headaches, a headache is not typical. Okay. That’s a classic sign of dehydration. Naturally, if you’re sluggish, energy is lost, and you must power through things. You’re fatigued, and you’re not sleeping well. These are all really precursors to letting you know that you know something is going on. If you just don’t feel fully revived, refreshed, and. And naturally, physically, you can’t do what you usually would’ve done.
Speaker 1: Got it. So when dealing with a health issue, are there some factors men should be mindful of as they age?
Speaker 2: Naturally, what I just mentioned in terms of all the metabolic health conditions, we talked about, you guys spoke with the other doctor from the urology perspective, prostate and inflammatory processes around the prostate, the bladder, those sorts of things increased Ur. Those are definitely things to pay attention to and be mindful of.
Speaker 1: So when you have that woman in your office with their man, Yeah. What is the dialogue like, and then what are some of the happy stories you know you’ve had because he’s decided.
Speaker 2: Some of the dynamics I’ve seen are that the wives are angry and afraid. Okay. That’s really because they’ve been trying and trying to enforce. Their husbands or significant others have generated a health condition, and they’re scared they may lose them. Oh. So that’s some dynamic, but recognizing for the woman, like it’s ultimately their choice, and you’re not making a choice for them, but you’re supporting them in the selection and communicating from a place of your concern. Okay. Because if you don’t speak from that, they really don’t understand its importance.
Speaker 1: And how are the men when they come in?
Speaker 2: I sometimes think a little shell-shocked. They. Do. They wanna make you happy. Sometimes they don’t know how. They’re overwhelmed. We, as women, sometimes get overwhelmed with our health. When you’ve been making a particular habit for 40-something-plus years. Yeah. And you’ve got this big elephant in the room, and you need to deal with it. It’s like, where do I start? What do I do? And that’s one of the things that I really do. Specialize in my practices, creating step-by-step approaches. We’re going to do some things over time. It’s, we’re gonna focus on our water and our stress. We do it incrementally, so it builds over time,
Speaker 1: so it’s manageable. Yeah. Okay. So I understand you have some classes that are coming up too. Tell me about them.
Speaker 2: So we have three classes. So this one’s all about Dad’s and Dad’s health. Obviously, in alignment with. Day. So we’re looking at helping and encouraging Dad to stay conscious of his health. This is the perfect opportunity to passively bring either your father or your husband’s significant other to that class cuz we’re all gonna be talking about mental health, and we’ll also be doing meditation in this class.
Speaker 1: Wonderful. And those are the dates for it. And then how do we make an appointment with you?
Speaker 2: We can; I have a scheduler, which is fantastic. So you just call our office at (757) 685-4325. Nine to nine is when our schedulers open, and they schedule. We make a 15-minute complimentary wellness appointment.
Speaker 1: Wonderful. Thank you so much, Dr. Steele. It’s always a pleasure when you come. Yes, sure.