If you have ever been at a doctor's appointment and had your mind go blank when your doctor asked about medical issues in your family history, you are not alone. There are plenty of people who do not know what health issues run in their family. However, you do need to know, as the same medical problems can crop up with every generation. Keep reading to learn how you can navigate family health issues of the past.

Check Family Medical History

Medical records are the preferred way to get detailed information on family medical history, but that is not a viable option in most cases. While it is against HIPAA regulations to release a patient's medical records to parties that have not been given permission to view them, there are other ways to get information about your family's medical history. If you are just wondering about relatively recent medical history, you can look into 1950 census records. Such census records might provide information about family births, deaths, and in some cases, ailments. Though it is not known how much information you will get from these records, it is definitely a good place to start your search.

Ask Living Family Members

If you have access to any living family members, it is worth asking them what conditions they personally have and what conditions tend to run in the family, both on your father's side and your mother's side, if they will sit down with you and tell you. Start with your parents, then grandparents on both sides, and so on. Your immediate family is the priority, but even someone such as a second cousin can provide valuable information. If they have any records that they can provide you with, ask to see them and be careful with them, especially if they are older ones. If you do not have access to family members, or you have been adopted, this might prove to be a more difficult task, as such people might have records you can view, but they are inaccessible.

Map Out Each Ailment in Your Family Tree

Once you have enough information to begin making sense of what things run in your family, try mapping out the conditions in your family tree. However you do this, you will see a pattern and might be able to guess how often or what generation might get this condition or a higher risk of it next.

Check Your Genetic Makeup

While it is good to know what you are at risk of getting based on family medical history, it is better to know just how much of a risk each condition poses for you personally. Modern technology allows for you to get detailed records of your own genetic makeup with a few swabs sent off for analysis. While you have to pay for it, the information is invaluable and may help you improve your quality of life just by obtaining and reading the report. The more knowledge you have, the less guesswork you will have to deal with.

Plan Accordingly

Once you know your family's medical history and your own genetic makeup, you can start the process of planning how you will deal with the risks that you have personally, as well as being prepared for the risks that your children may be exposed to, if you have children or are planning to have children. It will take some time, and may take some money, but if you are prepared or are willing to make the preparations as soon as you find everything out, the risk of you getting certain conditions will decrease.

It is not easy knowing that you are at risk for things that are outside of your control just because they run in your family. Keep this article in mind and hopefully you can improve your health and the health of future family generations by being ready with a detailed record and suggested treatments and preventative measures.