The Christmas period is mostly a joyous time, spent with family, friends, and loved ones.
For many though, Christmas can be an awful period where they find themselves working, missing their family, or where the pressures around food and drinking can affect our mental or physical health.
One of these has led to an urgent NHS alert around a ‘silent killer’ which can commonly be made worse for millions over the Christmas period. This health risk has led the NHS to urge people to check their fingers and feet, a very common sign of ill health that many aren’t quick to listen to.
With the extra time off many will have this coming week, being more vigilant on this could help you spot a major health concern before it becomes more serious.
What is the ‘silent killer’ people should check their fingers and feet for?
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The ‘silent killer’ in question is high cholesterol, which you may not think sounds overly urgent, but can be incredibly serious if left unchecked.
One of the ways to spot signs of high cholesterol early is by keeping an eye on changes happening to your nails. Unlikely as it may seem, this can be one of the main ways to spot it early, particularly any changes to the colour.
If your nails change from their regular pink to yellow, blue, or a pale white, it could be an indication of issues with bloodflow. Cholesterol can cause blockages in circulation, and so any changes in your toenails or fingernails may point to issues.
Why is it called the ‘silent killer’ and what should you do if you spot it?
This term comes from the fact that, usually, you can only spot high cholesterol once its cause some pretty major issues already. It very rarely shows warnings signs until it has already wreaked havoc in your body.
While checking your hands and feet can be a possible early indicator, the main way you can find out is via a blood test, something which usually only happens after cholesterol has caused issues to your body. The ‘silent killer’ can block blood vessels and makes you far more likely to have heart problems or even a stroke.
If you spot the changes to your nails the best next step is to contact your GP, who will likely take a blood test to figure out if you have high cholesterol.
The NHS guidance around this suggests that ‘eating healthily and getting more exercise’ can lower your cholesterol, whilst some people have to take medicine.
This also means though that, if you're not careful, the Christmas period traditions of eating unhealthily and doing no exercise can cause issues, so should wherever possible try to be avoided.
Michael Slavin